Can We Talk 2

Food Stamps and EBT

         Back when food stamps were paper, I worked in a grocery store in a so-so part of town. The alcoholics shopped there regularly, if you call buying cheap liquor shopping. They would come in the morning, buy an onion or a cucumber but not both. Prices were low then, so frequently it was only a nickel. The lowest denomination of a food stamp was $1. That meant giving back real change. They'd go to another store about 8 blocks away, downhill and up again, and do the same thing. They might beg or pick up trash somewhere for small change.

         In the afternoon, the same man would be back in with enough coins to buy his bottle of Boone's Farm or whatever. It was quite a system they worked out. Food stamps enabled their drinking addiction. Then along comes EBT. Not to mention prices had gone up on everything. You can't get an onion or cucumber for a nickel anymore, so there would not be as much change. I think they really ate the cucumbers, so they were getting a minute bit of nutrition. But with EBT, there is no change. It just reduces the month's balance. The plan definitely did not deceive store workers who could not police the use of the stamps. EBT put an end to that deceptive game.

         Now it may be worse in other ways. The homeless population has increased and includes women. They tend to congregate. Whereas the alcoholic men from decades ago would rake leaves or do other menial one=time jobs to make a few bucks, they just join the others and lay about in public places. They beg a lot.

         It amazes me how many men and women refuse free shelter because of rules or curfews. As for EBT, it is no longer up to a cashier to simply take the paper food stamp instead of cash, the computer analyzes what had been purchased. A ready made sandwich is not acceptable. Hot chicken or grocery salad bar are not payable. They are restaurant type items, and the law says they not covered by SNAP. Thus, the homeless person with no means of refrigerating or cooking cannot have a hot meal or a quick dinner.

         It's an ongoing problem. You hate to see fraud, laziness, or lack of self-pride, but you still want those people to be safe from extreme temperatures and to get at least passable nutrition. We do the best we can.