NM smoke shop owner says food desert, not fraud, the reason for his high SNAP revenue

The USDA conducted two surprise inspections of smoke shops highlighted in recent legislative report and disqualified one from accepting SNAP.

By: Patrick Lohmann

Outlets: Source New Mexico

Published: June 26, 2026

Words: 1,070

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 6 days ago

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An Albuquerque business owner whose smoke shop legislative analysts recently flagged for suspiciously high federal food assistance revenues told Source NM that his shop’s high sales don’t signal fraud. Rather, they reflect the few grocery options in a struggling neighborhood.

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Last week, the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee released the results of a long-awaited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program evaluation, which concluded that the New Mexico …

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