AMAZON’S FOOD STAMP STRATEGY RAISES IRE IN D.C.: Amazon’s new Prime membership discount for the millions of Americans who have EBT cards is leading competitors to complain that the e-commerce giant might not really be playing by the rules as it positions to grab a share of the $70 billion food stamp program, reports Pro Ag’s Helena Bottemiller Evich this morning.
The Department of Agriculture, for its part, contends that Amazon isn’t doing anything wrong. But brick-and-mortar grocers are quietly making a case to agency officials and lawmakers that the special deal on Prime, a program that provides rapid free shipping and other perks for a monthly fee, could violate a USDA rule mandating equal treatment for the 42 million participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program….