Collecting USDA Food Coupons

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 officially replaced the food stamp program with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that uses debit cards instead of coupons. One year after the act became effective, on October 1, 2009, food coupons were no longer an obligation of the United States government. It is now legal for persons to acquire and hold coupons who never received them as a beneficiary of the food stamp program. Happy collecting!

Below are the pertinent sections of the act:

Sec. 4115. Issuance and use of program benefits.
(3) Devaluation and termination of issuance of paper coupons.
(A) Coupon issuance. Effective on the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, no State shall issue any coupon, stamp, certificate, or authorization card to a household that receives supplemental nutrition assistance under this Act.
* * *
(C) De-obligation of coupons. Coupons not redeemed during the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 shall:
(i) no longer be an obligation of the Federal Government; and
(ii) not be redeemable.
Sec. 4407. Effective and implementation dates. Except as otherwise provided in this title, this title and the amendments made by this title take effect on October 1, 2008.

Find a copy of the act here.

USDA Food Coupon Series 1980A replacement coupon.

By Jamie Yakes, March 2012.