Archived Feed u.s.a.

[OyeShopgirl]

So glad there seems to be such a thoughtful discussion going on-maybe FEED USA is doing some good inadvertently...

When I was a pre-teen I lived with my grandmother who was far too feeble and frail to work and I was too young, so we were on all kinds of public assistance, including food stamps, back when they were actually stamps-more accurately, paper vouchers a bit larger than bank checks.

When I would go shopping ( I ran all the errands since she was virtually homebound ), I couldn't win for losing-stock up on strawberries and grapes when they were on sale and actually get some vitamin C and fiber? Nasty looks and "whispers". Grab a bunch of cheap tv dinners and generic potato chips because they were far less perishable and far less costly? Glares and comments. This was the time of my life I learned to appreciate truly kind and professional store staff, let me tell you...

Having worked at a "high-end" supermarket, I have no problems with EBT customers-they may have severe food allergies or nutritional needs that cannot be met theough conventional store options, especially if they are shopping for very young kids, and they may be looking to nutritionally maximize their EBT value-even shopping at Traders or Whole Foods doesn't HAVE to break the bank if you clip coupons, shop sales, and plan very wisely and stick to your list.

That said, here's a puzzler, in my opinion...

Why the ### is CHEWING GUM a permitted purchase with EBT???? IT'S NOT FOOD.

THAT said, any other front end people ever notice that occasionally a seemingly random item will come up non food-stampable??? ( Random as in, guest buying nine packs of organic baby food, the banana one isn't food stampable, but the squash, berry, and corn ones are??? )

 

[OyeShopgirl]

THAT said, any other front end people ever notice that occasionally a seemingly random item will come up non food-stampable??? ( Random as in, guest buying nine packs of organic baby food, the banana one isn't food stampable, but the squash, berry, and corn ones are??? )

That's why the POS gives us the ability to make the item food stampable. Though it's usually a good idea to check with the GSTL first.

That's how I usually proceed...I just find it all kind of unnecessarily complex and silly, but so are so many things in life...

 

[commiecorvus]

THAT said, any other front end people ever notice that occasionally a seemingly random item will come up non food-stampable??? ( Random as in, guest buying nine packs of organic baby food, the banana one isn't food stampable, but the squash, berry, and corn ones are??? )

That's why the POS gives us the ability to make the item food stampable. Though it's usually a good idea to check with the GSTL first.

That's how I usually proceed...I just find it all kind of unnecessarily complex and silly, but so are so many things in life...

I ran into that a number of times with products that had been put in the dented and 'as is' shelves.
That was back in the days when grocery stores used to have those.
I think it probably had to do with how they were marked down in the system.
The good cashiers always knew how to fix it, the new ones freaked out and had to call someone.

 

[konk]

It's definitely a sensitive subject. Part of me wants it to be more like WIC, but part if me says they should be able to buy junk food too. Not to mention all the donations Coke and Frito-Lay make...

 

[HardlinesFour]

THAT said, any other front end people ever notice that occasionally a seemingly random item will come up non food-stampable??? ( Random as in, guest buying nine packs of organic baby food, the banana one isn't food stampable, but the squash, berry, and corn ones are??? )

That's why the POS gives us the ability to make the item food stampable. Though it's usually a good idea to check with the GSTL first.

At my store, we'd just give it to them if it was under $2.00. Ring it in normally, and then hit K3, Discount, Coupon, Target Coupon and enter Price. GSTL writes it on log, and fixes it later.

 

[OyeShopgirl]

It's definitely a sensitive subject. Part of me wants it to be more like WIC, but part if me says they should be able to buy junk food too. Not to mention all the donations Coke and Frito-Lay make...

As far as I'm concerned, I think they should be allowed to buy junk food. It may be unhealthy and quite ill-advised for people with certain medical conditions, however, it is ubiquitous, it usually has a long shelf life, it's usually fairly chaep and has a high caloric density which may seem like a drawback but if you are on assistance AND you work a retail or restaurant or some other service job AND you have no car so you are on your feet constantly, you can find yourself making trade-offs for nutrition versus temporary energy that a lot of other people would never have to make. ( See many Target team members' prediliction toward energy drinks for more details... )

Ideally, IMHO, the EBT program might be run more like WIC is, with specific allotments for "fun food" and then "real food", although I'll admit that even that gets into fairly murky territory for a lot of reasons, and I have little faith in bureaucracy to not screw that up.

Still escapes me how the h#$l gum is accepted by EBT, but what do I know...

 

[pellinore]

Some states are quite strict as to what you can purchase using the EBT. Some states are pretty lax about the EBT.
When you are on a food stamp program you do have the right to choose whatever food you'd like....there is a limit on how much money you have. Just because there are jerks out there who cheat the system, there are people who don't.
For the people who aren't cheating....and I have several TMs that use EBT cards....they have the right to use the money as allowed by the EBT system. Some items (on the EBT list) don't make much sense...but that is how things work. Cheaters will get their punishment in due time.

EBT cards don't cover non-food items.....like napkins, toilet paper, feminine products....but these are items that need to be bought.

Special items (like a cake....or pork ribs that might be on sale) should be allowed. For example....if you can't buy a cake, what would YOU tell the child that won't be able to have a cake for his birthday? Or another youngster does very well in school for an 8 week marking period...oops, sorry, we can't celebrate? Or, your daughter got engaged? Think about it, everyone deserves a special treat now and then.

Remember, in some large cities there are lots of people who are homeless...and they aren't there by choice. They need the EBT.

One thing for everyone to think about...you never know when YOU might be the one on EBT......how would you like to be judged?

 

[Retail Girl]

Not everyone gets EBT cash.

 

[sher]

I have $1 on the EBT cash and I have no idea why it's there. I'm not supposed to get any cash but in month 3, the dollar appeared.

 

[commiecorvus]

Not everyone gets EBT cash.

Really? Every time I've had a guest swipe an EBT card, it gave them the option to select EBT Cash rather than SNAP.

Does it vary by state, perhaps?

Yep, some states don't give cash at all.
Some families don't qualify.

 

[Retail Girl]

Not everyone gets EBT cash.

Really? Every time I've had a guest swipe an EBT card, it gave them the option to select EBT Cash rather than SNAP.

Does it vary by state, perhaps?

Just because they have the option doesn't mean they are given money in that part of the account. In my state, everyone gets the option to select one or the other, but many times they only are receiving food stamps.

 

[sher]

Yea, the option comes up for everyone. I always mistakenly click ebt cash and then it's like "umm, you don't have any" or more recently "would you like to use this $1?"

If it wasn't painfully obvious, none of those are direct quotes.