Supreme Court to hear case over stores’ food stamp sales

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court says it will hear an appeal from a group representing food retailers to prevent the release of information about the federal food stamp program to a South Dakota newspaper.

The justices say they’ll review an appellate ruling that said information maintained by the Agriculture Department about where people spend their food stamp dollars is public.

The Food Marketing Institute is trying to prevent what it considers confidential sales information from being handed to the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls. The paper filed a lawsuit for the data under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The Supreme Court has blocked the release while it considers the appeal.