Sorry; I was unclear. I referred to multiple news outlets calling SNAP “cash” and happened to remember a tweet from NPR that did so. You can view it here.
My church was an Angel Food vendor until - well, read about it in the link. 
We then used a similar program for a short time until the same thing happened with it. It was not FOR SNAP recipients, but it did accept SNAP payments. They also had no religious requirements of any kind, and IIRC did have kosher and halal packages. (Maybe it was the program we used later that did this.)
We were especially disgusted by the outcome because it was done in the name of “Christianity.”
You can’t buy cigarettes or alcohol on a SNAP card. These people may be using some kind of debit card; some areas put aid like TANF, child support, or unemployment on debit cards, and some independent contractors use them too.
Other people have commented that they saw people buying Kotex, dog food, diapers, etc. on a SNAP card. No, they weren’t.
You also can’t buy hot ready-to-eat food with SNAP. Cold sandwiches, deli products or refrigerated rotisserie chicken are acceptable.
I’ve never been on food stamps, nor have I ever needed them, although I was probably eligible when I was in college. I do have relatives who have used them and they were very grateful that they could get them.
We loved Angel Food Ministries. You didn’t need to qualify for SNAP to buy food boxes from them. Angel Food was able to distribute fresh foods, including meats, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and bread far better than any food bank I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, the leadership let success corrupt them and they embezzled and money-laundered themselves into prison. There are similar ministries around the country, but none nation-wide.
I like the idea of discount food boxes. SNAP is also a good idea, but like any government program, waste and fraud suck up so much cash that the system is teetering.
There is so much hypocrisy and orwellian doublethink coming from the right (every lie and conspiracy theory they’ve ever invented to tarnish the left, their side is actually doing brazenly) that a lot of us have just become numb. Unless the public actually starts caring (and by the public, I mean non-voters and Trump voters. Those of us who didn’t vote for him already care) it won’t matter.
Having said that, I fail to see how this program will help. One benefit of the SNAP program is that it encourages economic activity at grocery stores, which helps the economy overall. But the admin buying bulk food products to distribute would also do that too, even if it cut out the grocery stores (demand for food would still be there).
I can’t see any real benefit to this other than humiliating poor people, which is the real goal. As Broomstick said, government cheese was given out when the government had a surplus of cheese. The government doesn’t have a surplus of pasta and other commodities being given out in this plan. Setting up a parallel distribution network to grocery stores (which are already run quite well) doesn’t seem like a good idea.
The only scam I’ve seen with this is what was related to me by a local grocery clerk. When people use SNAP to purchase groceries, there is a code printed on the bottom of the receipt, which tells the store what was purchased via the card. What some few customers do is to purchase something relatively expensive, cut off the bottom of the receipt, then bring the food item back for a cash refund. I’m assuming that’s so they can use the cash to buy items not allowed with the card. The store’s policy is to not confront customers on refunds, even if they know the person is a SNAP customer, so they largely get away with it.
He wants the government to get out of the space station industry and turn it over to private business, but then he wants the government to go into the grocery business. Brilliant!
Because SNAP is on a debit card now it functions much like cash and people refer to it as "money. You sure as hell CAN buy stuff with it - they whole purpose is to BUY food with it.
Calm down - calling it “cash” is like calling the program “food stamps” - it’s not technically accurate but everyone knows what it means.
Oh, man, you’ve never had to process a WIC transaction, have you? Used to be as soon as the voucher came out everyone else in line behind the WIC person would just up and leave for another check-out.
Thank Og my area has moved to WIC debit cards - so much easier, although there’s still the headache of trying to explain that no, the program only allows you to purchase X in the 16 ounce container, you can’t substitute two 8 ounce containers. Because you can’t. It’s VERY restricted to brand, size, and flavor choices.
(My most complicated transaction I’ve processed so far was a woman who used, in order, WIC card, EBT card, “merchandise return card”, gift card, gift card, and a $10 bill. After including the stack of coupons. That was fun.)
The USDA website has actually addressed this. Define “junk food”. Define “luxury”. More detail on same topic.
Fruit juice sounds soooo much healthier than “soda” but from a nutritional standpoint it’s not much different. Some areas (Flint, MI and East Chicago, IN) have bad water, as in TOXIC (lead in both cities) so should SNAP recipients be allowed to purchase water? If yes, what about vitamin-fortified water?
No steak? What if steak is on sale that week and costs less than something else allowed? What about meat or fish (yes, including lobster) that is on its very, very last day of sale, deeply discounted, and will be thrown out if not sold? Just bananas, oranges, and apples allowed for fruit or will any fruit be OK?
The reason for the current broad rules is because making them more specific is going to cost more for oversight and administration. Not to mention a potential headache at point of sale.
Right now the allowable stuff is typically programmed into the register computer, considerably streamlining service and making fraud significantly more difficult than in the past.
No, they are NOT buying cigarettes and booze with SNAP cards. That is just not happening. They can buy “junk food” on it, see above links to USDA.
What is happening is that SNAP recipients - 80% of whom actually do work and have an income of some sort - are using other money or other cards to purchase alcohol and tobacco and non-food items. The SNAP cards and accounts will not release funds without coding indicating the items are qualified purchases.
Unless of course fraud on the part of the seller is being committed, in which case throw the bastards in jail. Which has happened in my area, and probably yours, too.
Don’t be too sure on that. We’ve had quite a few convenience store owners and clerks in my area try that and wind up with criminal penalties.
Sorry to say but purchasing candy and RedBull on SNAP is, at present, allowed. So for that she did nothing legally wrong although I would agree there’s some moral problems with her.
She was NOT using her SNAP card to buy smokes. What she almost certainly did was buy some allowed food item or beverage for someone else, who then gave her money for the item. THEN she used that money to buy smokes. This is on par with buying smokes or booze for underage people. It’s a crime. But that’s not the fault of the SNAP system, it’s the fault of outside parties aiding and abetting a crime.
Yep. That is in fact legal. I agree, it would be ideal if the poor gave up booze but Prohibition doesn’t seem to work well. If the money to purchase the alcohol was legally obtained then you can’t stop them from buying booze any more than you can stop them from buying socks with cash.
As for steak - at least in my area, steak is cheaper than ground lamb. On sales week it can be cheaper per pound than the chicken or pork. When that is the case buying steak can be a reasonable fiscal decision. As can buying discounted steak on the last day of sale. Or, for that matter, buying a steak for a special occasion (some of my regular SNAP customers will buy a steak for memorial day or a birthday - I don’t have a problem with that, why do you? Or should the poor never eat meat by your reckoning?)
Bottom line, for a lot of people SNAP is not the whole of their food budget. When I was on the program I used to have a VERY large garden so I didn’t need to buy vegetables for half the year at all, and few the rest so I could spend my benefit money on things like beef rather than peanut butter. Or fruit other than just bananas.
You don’t know the backstories of the people you see at Wal-Mart. I doubt you track the sales, coupons, and discount specials as closely as a lot of the SNAP people do in trying to stretch their benefit.
True. I am, after all, a cashier these days. You can tell when the benefits reload although in my state they stagger the days people receive them so not everybody gets reloaded the same day.
Personally, I have some issues with people who attempt to purchase a month’s worth of food at once, I found it worked better for me to divide up the monthly benefit into four and shop once a week trying to keep to that number but, like I said, I also had a large garden and some barter arrangements for fresh eggs with someone who kept chickens, I might be a bit more organized than average in this regard. Also, physically able to work a large garden.
It’s not so much auditing the SNAP transactions as simply not allowing unauthorized purchases in the first place. You can NOT get the SNAP card (or WIC card) to dispense funds for anything but eligible items. It just won’t do it. Assuming Wal-Mart uses a similar loss control system to what my employer does all transactions are on video tape AND the tape is linked to the active register so if something hinky is suspected it’s going to be caught on tape.
The problem is that people with alcohol or tobacco addictions need to eat, too, and almost no one can quit cold turkey and make it stick, especially under stress like being poor and having trouble feeding yourself.
If you make it impossible to buy food AND booze/smokes at the same transaction, or less than 30 minutes apart, or whatever, they’ll just come back to buy booze/smokes later or go to a different store for that part of their purchases. How much are you willing to spend to police this?
No, SNAP is NOT “teetering”. It’s actually a pretty successful program. Yes, there is some fraud because no system is perfect. Here is information from the USDA on SNAP fraud. About 1% of SNAP benefits are diverted. ONE PERCENT. That’s nowhere near what you imply.
That would, however, suck for those of us that work at stores that sell groceries…
Yep, this is about humiliation and control of the poor. Possibly about diverting government funds to private contracts, but mostly humiliation and control.
From someone who has been on SNAP I can tell you there is no need to do this and thus I question if what you describe actually happened.
True people who are on SNAP can buy what they want with their own money, but there is no need for separate transactions. You just put everything through, then Uncle Sam pays first, you pay the remainder. Now this can be for booze or tampons or pillow cases, anything that SNAP does not pay for will be a remaining balance.
Maimodides told us that if ten beggars ask us for money, and nine were lying to us, we have still have done a good thing.
I currently get SNAP food benefits. It is a very small amount of my food spending. The majority of it is paid for with my own cash. The SNAP benefits just help to stretch it near the end of the month. When I use my card, my entire order is rung up. I run my SNAP card in the reader, the same as I use a debit card. Only eligible items get debited from my funds. Any ineligible items, such as toilet paper or dog food, and it will demand payment in an alternate form such as cash or a credit or debit card. There is no way you can fake the system to get cigarettes or booze directly at the point-of-sale with a SNAP card. As noted, people do sell their food for cash and buy booze and butts, but that’s not the fault of SNAP, it’s the fault of dishonest people.
I don’t get it.
I receive 257 dollars every month on my EBT card for food. If I buy a steak it doesn’t change the fact that I get 257 dollars. I’m not taking more of the taxpayer money for that steak than I would a bag of beans. I can take a steak and feed three people two meals if I mix it with beans and rice. Without it that makes one nights food, so it evens out. And honestly if I’m buying a steak it’s in the discount bin where I get most of the rest of my meat. Most nights I don’t even eat meat but if I decide once a week I might want some red meat, or a bag of chicken breasts, why does that matter? Meat is nutritious. It’s filling. It’s a heck of a lot better for you than a box of macaroni and a can of “peanut spread”.
Everyone always “knows someone” don’t they? They know someone cheating and not reporting income, or they’re buying steak and lobster or somehow magically getting cash back and using it for beer and smokes. Who the hell has time to be watching what all these people are doing at the checkout? I never notice what anyone is buying much less if they’re using EBT or a debit card.
Very briefly I was on TANF and got 142 dollars a month on the EBT card. In order to get that I had to work 30 hours a week. Because I couldn’t find a job that worked with my daughter’s three-a-week therapy sessions and my weekly therapy/shrink sessions I had to work “community service”. My job was in a church food pantry. The church got a grant for “job training”. I was trained to pack food in bags. They trained me for six months to put food in bags, 30 hours a week, for 142 dollars A MONTH. I eventually dropped the TANF because I couldn’t afford the gas to drive 50 minutes away five days a week.
Yeah, and funny how they all “know someone” but never report these people for fraud. If you really think fraud is occurring why wouldn’t you report it? But apparently they like to bitch more than they like to do anything else.