The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 officially replaced the food stamp program with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that uses debit cards instead of coupons. One year after the act became effective, on October 1, 2009, food coupons were no longer an obligation of the United States government. It is now legal for persons to acquire and hold coupons who never received them as a beneficiary of the food stamp program. Happy collecting!
Below are the pertinent sections of the act: