my wife was at a kroger today when this happened. said the lady in front of her had the following in her basket:
wings from the deli
ham and cheese sandwiches
bottled water
schlitz
guess what she wound up buying?
the schlitz....with cash! doesn’t sound like she needs the ebt.
this would be a good time to overhaul the entire system and restrict the foods that can be purchased to the essentials. wings from the deli aren’t essential if you’re on the public dole.
Your sentiment has been posted on FR hundreds of times.
The reality is that the international food conglomerates, their distributors, retailers and lobbyists are dead set against that. They won't allow that to happen. They all play golf with congressman and senators.
It isn't a problem with the recipients "demanding" the fancy stuff. It is the manufacturers and sellers too comfortable with the gravy train or higher-margin items.
The reform has been attempted and failed due to the above reason.
Many recipients, if candid, will admit that it would be better if they could get only the more basic stuff (but not TOO basic -- MANY don't know how to prepare food).
You're right - and you can't buy them with a Food Stamp EBT card.
I have no clue why this is a "news" story. The system goes down and it has nothing to do with the so-called "shutdown" of the government.
I was in Food Lion about a month or so ago and the EBT system went down and no one got bent out of shape, until it was determined that the EBT system going down took down all electronic transactions - then there was a bit of angst, from folks using debit/credit cards (like me.)