Erie convenience store, USDA settle food stamp lawsuit

Quick Stop, in Erie’s Little Italy neighborhood, filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the USDA ruling that would have blocked the store from accepting SNAP benefits for six months.

The federal government and a convenience store in Erie’s impoverished Little Italy neighborhood have ended a dispute that threatened the store’s ability to accept food stamps.

A settlement ended the lawsuit filed by Quick Stop at West 18th and Chestnut streets in U.S. District Court in Erie to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision on the store’s acceptance of program benefits. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, known as SNAP.

The USDA wanted to suspend the Quick Stop’s ability to accept food stamps for six months.

The department said it based its decision on an investigation that it said showed the store accepted food stamps as payment for items not eligible for purchase under the SNAP program, including trash bags, dish soap, plastic spoons and paper plates, according to the lawsuit.

The ban never took effect as Quick attempted to block it by filing a lawsuit on May 31. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, which represented the USDA, had not yet responded to the complaint in court before the two sides reached a settlement, according to court records.

Quick Stop, Feds Working on Written Agreement to Close Case

A notice of settlement was filed on June 13. The conditions were not disclosed in the notice.

The parties “have reached an agreement in principle and are working to finalize the written agreement and will file a stipulation of termination when the agreement becomes effective,” attorneys for Quick Stop and the government said in the notice they jointly filed .

Quick Stop’s attorney, Andrew Z. Tapp of Florida, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Complaint filed at the end of the administrative process

Had it occurred, the trial would have publicized the type of administrative dispute that is rarely made public in an Erie courtroom.

Quick Stop decided to sue after the USDA rejected its final administrative appeal on May 14, according to the lawsuit. The fight had been going on for years.

The Quick Stop, located at 408 W. 18th St., said in the suit that the USDA Food and Nutrition Service issued “a letter of charge” on Nov. 28, 2022, alleging the store sold items not eligible for SNAP. The letter stated that the USDA was seeking to ban Quick Stop from accepting food stamps for six months.

Quick Stop criticized the findings and said a six-month suspension of the SNAP program would eliminate a significant source of its revenue during that time.

He claimed in the lawsuit that the USDA provided no evidence that “the ownership or management of the store was negligent or negligent in its supervision or operation of the store.” Quick Stop adequately supervised its employees and provided SNAP training, the suit alleges.

The suit also claimed that the USDA improperly failed to consider a civil penalty rather than a six-month disqualification.

Ed Palattella at [email protected] or 814-870-1813. Follow him on @ETNpalattella.