President Trump agreed with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to delay new SNAP store stocking rules for 90 days nationwide, a pause bodega owners said they needed to stay in the program.
Just the News reported that the agreement, announced late Friday, postpones U.S. Department of Agriculture enforcement of tougher staple-food requirements for retailers that accept food stamps.
The White House confirmed the temporary reprieve and said it applies to SNAP retailers across the country, not only New York. The pause gives stores 90 more days to meet the new stocking standards.
Thousands of city bodegas risked losing the ability to take SNAP if they could not comply. For many neighborhood shops, that would have meant a sharp hit to sales.
Mamdani said hundreds of bodegas came to his administration asking for help. He argued owners had not been given enough time to adjust inventory and meet the federal checklist.
At some stores, SNAP purchases already make up 15% to 20% of sales, the mayor said. He put the share even higher in the Bronx and other low-income neighborhoods.
Last week he wrote USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins urging a delay. The Friday deal followed that appeal and extended the extra compliance window nationwide.
"I am grateful that President Trump has agreed to delay beginning enforcement of this rule, and we will continue fighting to protect our neighborhood businesses and the New Yorkers who depend on them,"
Mamdani said.
He also framed the shops as central to local food access.
"These neighborhood businesses are the backbone of our small business economy and an essential source of affordable food for more than one million New Yorkers, and 36 million Americans, who rely on SNAP."
And he cast the outreach as a direct response to store owners:
"When hundreds of bodegas came to our administration asking for help, we stood with them,"
Mamdani said.
The Trump administration has said the new requirements are meant to improve access to more nutritious food. Under the rules, SNAP-authorized retailers must stock set varieties in four categories: dairy, grains, protein, and fruits and vegetables. They must also carry perishable items in several of those categories, among other conditions.
USDA said some products, including beef jerky, snack bars, and fruit spreads, will no longer count toward a retailer’s stocking totals. SNAP recipients can still buy those items. They simply will not help a store prove it meets the staple-food thresholds.
The White House tied the 90-day pause to both compliance time and the nutrition goal.
"This action offers retailers accepting SNAP 90 additional days to comply with staple food stocking requirements, making sure families have access to more dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein."
On the broader posture toward local business, the White House added:
"President Trump is always willing to work with those interested in helping their business community,"
the statement said.
The delay is temporary. After the extra 90 days, the stocking rules are still set to govern which stores may keep accepting SNAP. The reporting does not list a calendar start or end date for the pause, or the original enforcement date that was pushed back.
What is clear is the trade at the center of the deal: small retailers get breathing room; the administration keeps the healthier-staple framework in place rather than scrapping it. Mamdani sought relief for New York bodegas. Trump extended that relief to SNAP retailers nationwide while holding the nutrition standards on the books.
Working with willing partners to protect main-street stores, without junking rules meant to put real food on the shelf, is how a government should handle a compliance crunch.
