Foodstamps/EBT Purchases

[Canadian In Maine]

Besides the aggravation processing the cards for payment I am constantly amazed at what you can and cannot buy using the EBT cards.

You can buy a pound of coffee but not a cup of coffee - things like that but I am shocked that people are allowed to buy chips, sodas, candy bars, and other junk food.

The most shocking thing I have sold to a person using EBT cards was live lobster. Lobster???

I am still in shock that this was covered - unbelievable!!

And don't even get me started on the people who have these cards that have no idea how to use them.

Any unbelievable purchases to share?

[chainedbarista]

while i think the coffee thing is weird, putting a limit outside of crap food (chips, soda and other non essential foods), alcohol and cigarettes, may not be a good thing; some might want to buy higher quality foods, rather than just tuna, mac and cheese, etc.

if i personally had to use the system, i'd like to be able to buy something that was decent, rather than just cheap garbage, but would also keep in mind that i have a set limit and need to work with it, rather than spend it without considering costs of certain items.

i'd rather see the ebt spent on lobster than garbage, personally, but this person should also keep the set limit they have in mind when they spend. (budgeting...yay.)

[batmoody]

Our rules are if its hot its not. So the cup of coffee would not. Its because it's considered cooked/prepared like at a restauraunt. You can't use foodstamps there. The deli has the most of the confusing items for people. Hot chicken - No . Cold chicken (the same stuff, just that its been refrigerated) - Yes. Cold deli sandwiches - Yes (though totally prepared, they are not immediately ready for consumption because they are wrapped up )
The weirdest one I have encountered (and which I have never seen enforced) is fountain drinks. They are covered by foodstamps unless there is a straw in it.
Because then it is ready for consumption. Yeah, I'm not even going to try and enforce that one.

Rant
Everytime a foodstamp thread opens up I always have to comment about soda deposit being covered, and the guy we caught dumping out his 2 cases of foodstamp purchased generic soda on the side of the store, redeeming the cans for cash and buying a 40 ozer of beer. And its all legal, friends!
Deposits should never ever be covered by foodstamps.
grrrrrr.......
End Rant

[Noo_Noo]

At least you have a stamp system in the US.

In the UK, the people on the dole (or, rather, Jobseeker's Allowance is what we call it over here) just get money credited straight to their bank account. They then can spend it however they wish, which is usually on cheap cider and smokes, McDonalds food and tracksuits from the sports shops.

At least with food stams there is some restriction... I.E. they can't spend them all on fast food.

[NightAngel]

Here is where I'll step in and remind everyone that there are people on this board who receive government aid.

Play nicely.

[Noo_Noo]

Here is where I'll step in and remind everyone that there are people on this board who receive government aid.

Play nicely.

Yes, that is a fair point, I don't mean to say that everyone on Govt aid is like that. Myself included, since I'm returning to college.

[Dreamstalker]

The weirdest one I have encountered (and which I have never seen enforced) is fountain drinks. They are covered by foodstamps unless there is a straw in it.
Because then it is ready for consumption. Yeah, I'm not even going to try and enforce that one.

Bwuh?! Ow...my brain.

Yeah, there are people on aid who know what's covered and don't try to scam stuff (although, if it's exploting an unfortunate loophole can it be considered scamming?), but the bad ones sour things for everyone.

[Cvstos]

Would stuff like flour, seasoning, cooking oil, meat (not cooked), artisan bread, and pop be purchasable with food stamps? I'm in college and I don't think I can be claimed as a dependent next year, so it may be an option to look into that. I can cook so I've no problem buying stuff like that and making things myself. Heck, I enjoy cooking. Cooking is fun. (Yeah, I'm a foodie. Alton Brown rules all.)

The rules are weird and I don't entirely understand them. I can see how lobster would fall under purchasable with stamps, though. They don't limit things because it's considered a "high-class" food item. Odds are the rules are more generic than listing exactly what you can buy.

[Der Cute]

Would stuff like flour, seasoning, cooking oil, meat (not cooked), artisan bread, and pop be purchasable with food stamps? I'm in college and I don't think I can be claimed as a dependent next year, so it may be an option to look into that. I can cook so I've no problem buying stuff like that and making things myself. Heck, I enjoy cooking. Cooking is fun. (Yeah, I'm a foodie. Alton Brown rules all.)

Yes.

Ok. The foods NOT allowed w/ FS are:
Immediately edible HOT foods
Uncooked "cold" foodservice type foods (ie burritos still in cooler (defrosted))
Alcohol
Fast foods
Bulk Items (but may be changing, I hope), like the Quinoa grains, loose flour etc.


Foods you can purchase are up to you:
Cook at home
raw meat
vegetables
grains
breads

Remember when FS rules were written (1970's ish) our culture had people cooking at home. Also take into consideration the inflation and ratios of allowances are not very good.

So:
Find food to cook at home
find meats on sale
Make large batches and freeze
plan ahead
nickel & dime getting your spices (they are the most expensive)
look @ dented can section
look @ the thrift bread store

Invest in a breadmaker?

Meat and veggies here in AK are our downfall. Starches are easy to do, canned foods are ok, but for god's sake its a pita for beef.

Seeds, really, are available by FS. You can grow your own!

Also, look into foodbanks around your area, and please, remember to contribute when you are back in the black.

Cutenoob

[dispatch]

I grew up partially on government aid, and when I worked in a grocery store allot of my regulars were honest people that paid with stamps, but I have seen and heard of some places that treat foodstamps like cash. conveniently for me, the store I worked in had cash registers that automaticly seperated foodstamps from non-foodstamps and gave you the two totals.
maybe it should be more like the WIC system where there's a list of Items covered on every ticket and a space for the vendor to fill in the reimbursement amount

[Canadian In Maine]

Here is where I'll step in and remind everyone that there are people on this board who receive government aid.

Play nicely.

Oh absolutely, and no disrespect is intended toward those who require aid. Heck, I was "in the system" back when I lived in Ontario.

Really, my beef is with the way the system is set up - why some things are allowed and others aren't. It doesn't make sense - you can get hyper and rot your teeth cuz they allow you to buy soda, candy and chips but you can't buy a cup of coffee. Bottle of pop yes, cup of coffee no.

Unfortunately, there are those that abuse the system and I see my share of those also and it burns my ass that there is nothing I can do about it short of calling the people who administer foodstamps and get my employer or the card holders into trouble.

[Becks]

maybe it should be more like the WIC system where there's a list of Items covered on every ticket and a space for the vendor to fill in the reimbursement amount

THAT'S a good idea.

[Der Cute]

Well, years ago, I was on FS.

I was making about $600 a month, and my rent cost $300. OUCH.
Food stamps stepped in and helped me there.

What I did was stock up my pantry with the basics. Spaghetti, no name brand pasta, spices, stuff like that.

But one day I decided, Dammit. I want a STEAK. I've been working, and I've not had anything to reward self with lately.
So I went in and got 2 T bones. Nicely marbled. Poifect steaks!

The looks and growls I got from cashier & people in line were bad. I just kept my head up, smiled and thought: You have no farkin idea what I do. Keep your sneers to yourself, buttheads.

And went home and enjoyed the steaks.

Since then, I've been on FS once. I was unemployed for 7 months recently, and had to ask for help. My pantry was happy: I was eating healthier foods, and actually had enough $ to buy FRUIT. Scary.

I've also contributed BACK to the food bank programs and donated some $ towards them.

I have to say thank you somehow.

Cutenoob

[purplecat41877]

We accept Foodstamp (Access) cards where I work. If the customer buys both eligible and non-eligible items, the register will automically put the eligible amount toward the card and will have the remaining balance for the non-eligible items after the card goes through.

[MadMike]

We accept Foodstamp (Access) cards where I work. If the customer buys both eligible and non-eligible items, the register will automically put the eligible amount toward the card and will have the remaining balance for the non-eligible items after the card goes through.

That would have been nice to have back in my supermarket days. The store where I worked was from the days before scanners, and was never upgraded, so I didn't even have those. We had to key in the prices manually, so the machine had no way of knowing what was and was not eligible.

Most of our customers knew this, and separated their items, but there were a few that did not, and it was a royal pain: Call a manager to void off the ineligible items, pay with the food stamps, re-ring the rest, and pay with the cash or check.