CORVALLIS, Ore. ― Oregon State University has become one of only a handful of universities with a store that can accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards.
The university’s Cascadia Market was approved to accept SNAP cards in August, but waited until Jan. 6 to begin accepting the cards to work out details for how it would accept the payments, said Tara Sanders, a nutritionist with University Housing & Dining Services. Last week the university announced the change to take SNAP cards, the aid program that replaced food stamps.
Sanders said University Housing & Dining Services has been working on being able to accept SNAP since shortly after Cascadia Market, in the International Living-Learning Center, opened in the fall of 2010.
Sanders said that in order to accept SNAP, a store has to carry a variety of “staple foods” such as grains, protein, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products. She said those requirements have prevented most other universities from having markets that can accept SNAP.
“It’s hard for smaller stores on campus to meet those criteria because they don’t have the space to stock them,” she said.
Cascadia, however, is larger than typical campus markets, with roughly 1,100 square feet of retail space.
Sanders said no changes were required to Cascadia’s offerings to meet the SNAP requirements.
