In a boost to its ability to help grocery retailers navigate the SNAP online approval process, the National Grocers Association Foundation (NGAF) has added two employees to its SNAP EBT Modernization Technical Assistance Center (SEMTAC).
Dawn Tullis is joining SEMTAC as a project coordinator, while Kari Wolkwitz will serve as a project manager.
SEMTAC aims to help retailers with the federal requirements for SNAP EBT modernization, including online purchasing and mobile payment pilots. Brielle Underwood joined SEMTAC as its project director on May 1.
“We are excited to have Dawn and Kari join our team, which greatly increases our ability to develop the resources needed to facilitate technical assistance for more grocers, who will in turn be able to better serve the people in their communities who are most in need,” said Chelsea Matzen, NGAF VP.
Tullis has more than 20 years of administrative experience, including as an association membership coordinator. She also has managed high-volume member calls, coordinated webinars and supported marketing campaigns.
Wolkwitz has spent several years as a data and research analyst, including work on large-scale technical projects and serving as the lead internal expert on CRM systems.
The foundation received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to establish a technical assistance center that will guide grocers through the process of implementing SNAP online grocery purchasing and other modernization efforts in the future.
The development of SEMTAC will pave the way for smaller grocery operators to offer SNAP online purchasing, making them more competitive and better able to serve food-insecure Americans. Increasing access to online grocery purchasing is particularly important to rural communities and areas served by stores with limited selections of healthy foods.
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