But a coalition of 14 states, New York City and the District of Columbia, have filed a lawsuit challenging the rule. The rule change and lost sales from the program may mean grocers start pulling back on orders to their suppliers, reducing labor in stores or even closing down.
Ground beef, whole milk and bananas are the items SNAP recipients most frequently buy at Weis with their assistance. Read More. It is a belly-filling, sobering basket. Around one-third of sales at Patel's store come from SNAP, a higher portion than typical American grocery stores receive through the program.
But those massive companies can absorb the hit. Grocers located in low-income neighborhoods in both rural and urban America will get hurt the most from the SNAP cuts, experts say. They can't suddenly make up lost sales from SNAP reductions. Markets, Superior Grocers and Weis Markets, according to one analyst. The biggest reason, that I experience is the complication of the process to be honest. That happens all the time. In calling the hotline, to ask those questions — there is almost like a trick to it.
I think this is probably a problem across the country and in Texas in particular. There are two things. Failure to provide information — so basically, when you apply for Snap benefits, you have to provide verification of every little aspect of your life. Another thing that happens a lot is something called management.
One of their eligibility determinators is management, which means how are you managing finances in your household. If someone has negative management, they will actually be denied for that.
It means they are going to take your income, and they are going to compare it to your expenses, and see if your income is less than your stated expenses. They are basically looking to see if there is any form of income that you are not telling them about. It happens all the time. I have been borrowing money. It becomes just a huge kind of complicated thing.
This happens all the time. There are families that will kind of preface their conversation with you with about how they never thought they would be in this situation and how embarrassed they are. Particularly seniors. And people in rural areas as well.
The approach that I take is trying to kind of normalize it and make people feel and understand that there is nothing inherently wrong or shameful with needing or accessing some assistance. Lots of people over 60 get prescription assistance [like] Medicare. Lots of people over 60 are receiving social security benefits. This is just another one of those things. Kind of approach it from that angle. Sara Peralta : We definitely want to emphasize that Snap is an important part of the support system.
Many times, there is a stereotype of folks who are on benefits. Overwhelmingly we see folks for whom this is a last resort. They want to be working. They want to be financially independent.
This is just a means to an end for them. And they can be getting back on their feet while they are looking for job, they can be accessing Snap. While their kids are not in school and their mom has to stay home to watch her kids, they can be accessing Snap. Another issue is that there is a lot of exaggeration about the rate of Snap fraud. SNAP fraud is extremely rare. Food stamps create economic growth.
An overlooked aspect of the program is how it supports businesses and economic growth. In fact, Walmart WMT could be one of the biggest losers if the program is cut because it accepts food-stamp payments at its grocery stores. Trump would cut a program that's already shrinking. The program's rolls swelled following the Great Recession, but enrollment and spending have declined each of the last four years.
Food stamps can't buy hot foods or household supplies. Food stamp recipients won't have any luck with buying that rotisserie chicken because the program prohibits spending on hot foods as well as nonfood items like cleaning supplies, vitamin supplements, cigarettes or alcoholic beverages. Soda consumption isn't any higher with food stamps. One criticism of the "Blue Apron" idea is that it effectively dictates what poor Americans can eat, blocking them from buying soda or sweets.
But the U. What difference does my payment method make? Why would I divulge that information — to a stranger no less? Then it hit me. The second time this happened in a high-end grocery chain, the gentlemen offered to sell me food stamps twice within 30 minutes. Buying food stamps might seem like a quick win-win. Your dollar goes further. There is no sales tax tacked on. You might even be helping someone in a cash-strapped bind. However, you could also be committing a felony.
Undercover officers documented hundreds of illegal exchanges. In one case, food stamps were even exchanged for cocaine. Do You Know? Chonce Maddox, a personal finance writer, once used the food stamp program to overcome poverty as a young adult. She finds the practice of buying food stamps unethical and harmful to those who most need assistance.
Many people are struggling to feed their family and make ends meet. Mandatory drug testing is only being proposed for 5 percent of all SNAP recipients. Fortunately, the fraud rates in the food stamps program have declined dramatically over the years.
In , the fraud uncovered was equal to about 4 cents for every U.
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