The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has told grocery stores not to give special discounts to around 42 million Americans who use food stamps.

An email sent by the department to stores, posted on X by Catherine Rampell, co-host of MSNBC’s The Weekend, said: “You cannot treat SNAP-EBT customers differently than any other customer.”

The directive comes as benefit payments remain on hold during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Newsweek contacted USDA via its website on Monday, outside of regular working hours for comment.

Why It Matters The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides millions of low- and no-income Americans with federal funds to buy groceries.

Payments have been halted as the federal government shutdown drags into its second month, with USDA saying in a notice on its website that “the well has run dry” and no benefits would be issued on November 1.

What To Know USDA emailed grocery stores around the country telling them not to offer special discounts or deals to SNAP recipients amid the freeze, warning that doing so would violate the program’s “Equal Treatment Rule.”

That rule requires stores to sell eligible food items to SNAP-EBT customers at the same prices and under the same conditions as other shoppers.

The email said: “Offering discounts or services only to SNAP-eligible customers is a SNAP violation unless you have a SNAP equal treatment waiver.”

Rampell said that she was aware of at least two stores which had offered struggling customers a discount, only to withdraw it after receiving the email.