*By Conor White* Blockchain isn't just for cryptocurrency. Computing behemoth IBM ($IBM) is using the technology to ensure the food we eat is safe and properly sourced. "We're basically leveraging the blockchain technology to track each item of food as it travels through its trajectory and its transportation from the field all the way to the retailer," Bridget Karlin, chief technology officer for IBM Global Technology Services, told Cheddar's Hope King at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. According to Karlin, blockchain is revolutionizing the way big-box retailers like Walmart ($WMT) do business. "It used to take \[Walmart\] seven days to track an item from its origin all the way through to their shelves," Karlin said. "With blockchain, now it takes 2.2 seconds." Walmart is working with IBM to implement blockchain as part of new food safety requirements for its suppliers. The two companies have been collaborating since 2016 to apply new levels of traceability across the food supply chain. The partnership is part of The Food Trust blockchain, which includes other major forces like Nestlé (NSRGY), Dole ($DOLE), Kroger ($KR), and Tyson Foods (TSN). In the future, a public health incident like the recent E.coli outbreak linked to contaminated romaine lettuce could be detected much more quickly and accurately. "Now it's a matter of scaling that out more broadly to more participants," Karlin said.

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Small grocers and convenience stores feel an impact as customers go without SNAP benefits
Some small grocery stores and neighborhood convenience stores are eager for the U.S. government shutdown to end and for their customers to start receiving federal food aid again. Late last month, the Trump administration froze funding for the SNAP benefits that about 42 million Americans use to buy groceries. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says about 74% of the assistance was spent last year at superstores like Walmart and supermarkets like Kroger. Around 14% went to smaller stores that are more accessible to SNAP beneficiaries. A former director of the United Nations World Food Program says SNAP is not only a social safety net for families but a local economic engine that supports neighborhood businesses.
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