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does this happen other places? Why would anyone do this?


bettyandbob
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has anyone seen this. I don't shop at Walmart. I think they've improved some of the policies that made me stop shopping there years ago (maybe they haven't), but my habit of never going there is ingrained. 

 

Does this crap really happen. Verbally attacking food stamp users. Does it happen in other stores. Why would anyone be so ignorant? 

 

http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/05/03/woman-scolds-man-using-food-stamps-walmart-viral-video

 

 

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Yes, it happens. I've seen it happen a few times and have stuck up for the person using the food stamps. I also know people who will just silently judge in the moment and then b**** about it to others afterwards. My only reply for people like that is, "I have no time for your ignorance." Rinse repeat. I don't shop at Walmart so it happening elsewhere is all I know.

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I live in a rural area.  The nearest town where I shop is very economically depressed.  I see food stamp users every time I go shopping, and WIC users, too.  I have never seen anyone verbally attacked, or attacked at all.  I'm sure it happens, but I don't believe it's common.

 

ETA: "Why would anyone do this?" 

 

Because some people are *sshats, obviously.  I mean, we all know that.  If it wasn't food stamps it would be: race, religion, gender, the wrong pants, the wrong hair color, the wrong way of being, or whatever the heck the person could find to make someone else feel small so that they can feel large.  Because some people are *sshats.

Edited by TammyS
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Yes it happens, though often much quieter.

 

And not just at Walmart.

 

 

That's awful. I can't believe anyone wants foodstamps. 

 

Also, isn't Walmart a big beneficiary--as in it's a place people who have food stamps shop.I would think a manager wouldn't want this happening because it's got to make everyone uncomfortable.

 

It seems like the start of a What Would You Do episode. 

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People can be butt nuggets. Over anything.

 

I'm not surprised people do this. Is it common? Idk. I think most people are silent about their opinions. But I'm pretty sure that guy feels like everyone is looking at him thinking like her.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with Walmart though. WIC can be used at lots of grocery stores and I'm sure there's jerks in all of them at some point.

 

I think the woman is an turd. The guy says he just put in a 60 hr work week and she's still going off about moochers. The numbers of people who get various forms of assistance and who are employed is ridiculous. She doesn't know him. Those could be foster kids. He could have a serious illness that makes it difficult to hold a job, much less a good paying one.

 

And it's effin FOOD.

 

Of all the assistance the govt doles out of her paycheck, (don't you love how she acts like the entire country is paid out of only her paycheck?), bet she doesn't gripe about any of it she gets for things not nearly as essential as food.

 

I feel bad for the cashier too. I've been the cashier too. Not easy to serve with a smile people like that woman.

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It does happen everywhere. People can be so horrid. That's why they started giving them cards to be swiped instead of food stamps in our state. Because they don't want people not buying food at the grocery store and the kids going hungry because of humiliation. It is appalling.

 

Particularly given that patronizing Wal-Mart is patronizing a company many employees of which are on food stamps (not that this is exclusive to Wal-Mart, it is a huge issue in retail and discount retail in general)... so basically "I won't pay for you to work here but I'm going to judge you for being poor."

 

Disgusting.

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That woman is a b*tch. I have never seen this happen. If I did, I sincerely hope that I would be able to overcome my shock quickly enough to give that woman a piece of my mind. How did she even know that was how he was paying? How would anyone know unless they were close enough to read the card. And NO ONE should be invading a person's personal space so much that they can read their card. My heart hurts for people who have faced this attitude.

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No, but I've intervened in Facebook rants about how someone could afford a coach purse and still be on food stamps multiple times.  It never occurs to them that you can be hardworking and get laid off, or be hardworking and get disabled, or be hardworking and still make plenty of money but be supporting someone who does qualify (disabled family member, foster care, etc).  People are self-righteous morons a lot of the time.

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And the irony of the video? The majority of his cart is not covered by food stamps. Because it's not food. Which means he did indeed have to pay for it with his own paycheck.

 

Ugh. Her stupidity is just so damn annoying. He says he doesn't make the rules, which is true. The majority of the poor, working or not, have little voice in the rules they have to live within. They are often the silent and invisible majority.

 

So first she birches about him using it, then about him using it even tho she agrees he doesn't have a say in the system and doesn't even notice the effin cart only has like $30 of food in it. Diapers and such necessities were the rest and those aren't covered. Just... UGH. *smh*

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No, but I've intervened in Facebook rants about how someone could afford a coach purse and still be on food stamps multiple times.  It never occurs to them that you can be hardworking and get laid off, or be hardworking and get disabled, or be hardworking and still make plenty of money but be supporting someone who does qualify (disabled family member, foster care, etc).  People are self-righteous morons a lot of the time.

 

 

I'm no where needing food stamps, but I work three jobs and have a Coach purse. It was bought at the outlet as a birthday present from my mom who thankfully prepared well for retirement because there's no way dh and I could help her if she needed it. I suppose people wonder how someone who works so many jobs for no benefits has a nice accessory and think I don't manage my budget appropriately. 

 

I have a feeling that if I saw this in public I'd just stand there staring in shock. That, unfortunately, has been my response to a couple of really appalling events in my life. Something less shocking I might actually respond to. But this is over the top to me. 

 

I guess I just don't notice how people pay. I know there must be people with foodstamps all around. I live in a wealthy county, but the local high school is 35% free lunch and there's a lot of low income house within a mile radius of my home.

 

Maybe we have on a card in my state too. That would be so much better than having something different to pay with. I know at the schools, everyone who wants lunch has to set up an account and parents pay the account online or send in a check before the kids can buy lunch. I think they did that so the kids getting free lunch didn't look any different. Every kid has an account code and they punch it in when they pass through the line. 

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 Diapers and such necessities were the rest and those aren't covered. Just... UGH. *smh*

 

 

I think that is so ridiculous. I first learned that several years ago. I used to donate diapers all the time. I should start again. And yeah that man did pay for most of his stuff. 

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More likely she didn't notice how he paid so much that he separated out his groceries from his non groceries to make it easier on the cashier. Some times the system auto sorts but some don't and you have to pay for the food stamps items and then they ring up the other items to pay what ever other way.

 

But yeah. Usually I'm too busy keeping track of my own monkeys to notice other people's circus.

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I read about it, but I'm not watching the video because I know it will just tick me off. I was on food stamps until recently and I shop at Walmart (cheaper of the two stores in my town). I knew not to go through a few cashiers' lines because of the way they reacted the first time I used food stamps in their line. So, yes, it's not usually so blatant, but those judgmental glances happen. Most people have enough tact to be not be a donkey's behind about it though. 

 

What is surprising is the number of fully employed people who don't make enough to provide food for their families. 

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No kidding. It's insane how many people who are working and working a LOT and still need things like food stamps.

 

If someone wants to get furious. Get furious that wages suck so much people working full time still can't afford to buy their own food.

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Walmart is actually one of the better places to shop if you use SNAP, because unlike many other grocery stores, when you pay you don't have to disclose or mention it, and the cashier doesn't have to ask, they hit the same button for EBT as for regular debit cards, and you choose on the pinpad if it's food (SNAP) or cash benefits (TANF). They usually know how to do WIC, too, and yes, many many Walmart employees also use those benefits, because Walmart doesn't pay enough to disqualify them.

 

I have never personally seen someone do something like this (and I worked as a Walmart cashier for 5 years). I have had a good samaritan buy my $50 in groceries when they saw me putting back staples because I didn't have enough $$ to pay for them (when DH and I were both unemployed, I was very pregnant with DD, our car had been stolen so I was shopping with the baby stroller to carry the stuff home, and we didn't have SNAP because some busybody social worker couldn't tell the difference between people who don't know the system and people who are trying to game it).

 

I'm pretty sure the quietly kind people in the world outnumber the @sshats, and most people just mind their own business.

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More likely she didn't notice how he paid so much that he separated out his groceries from his non groceries to make it easier on the cashier. Some times the system auto sorts but some don't and you have to pay for the food stamps items and then they ring up the other items to pay what ever other way.

 

But yeah. Usually I'm too busy keeping track of my own monkeys to notice other people's circus.

 

Walmart computers auto-sort, there's no need to do it manually. Another reason why it's a better choice if you're concerned about judgmental stares.

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I've never witnessed this IRL, though I've certainly seen enough online whining about people using SNAP or welfare.

 

I tell all those people the same things - your taxes aren't paying for this dude's groceries, mine are. Your taxes went towards fixing the potholes. (Money being fungible, this isn't really true, but they're usually at a loss for how to reply so I call that a win.)

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Walmart computers auto-sort, there's no need to do it manually. Another reason why it's a better choice if you're concerned about judgmental stares.

Yes and no. If you are trying to be extra sure you don't go over budget, you will probably want to sort it and pay seperate. Bc the system otherwise totals like any other order making it harder to keep track of how much will be stamps and how much will be out of pocket. Anyways. It doesn't really matter what tipped her off. He didn't do anything wrong.

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My daughter is a cashier at our local grocery store.  She says this happens [in a lesser degree] pretty much every day.  Our area has both the very wealthy and the very poor.

 

"Mom, you would not believe how rude people can be to other human beings!"

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I wish this surprised me.

 

I'm glad I've never seen anything like it. I have seen people being kind about food stamps, which is nice. Most notably, years ago, I saw an older woman impromptu take a super young couple with a super brand new baby who were obviously new to food stamps all around the store and tell how to get the most for their money - what was the best buys. They were so shell shocked looking and she just walked up and was like, I've raised kids let me tell you how to work this thing. I kept thinking as she was telling them stuff that it sounded so complicated. You get this much per month vs. per week and so forth.

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The irony...is... many (most?) of our nation's military junior enlisted members are on food stamps... the same service members who protect her right to bitch about food stamps... (LOL)

I remember hearing that too. Years ago I met a woman whose dh was some sort of senior officer. I remember her talking about how her family always "adopted" a few enlisted families at Christmas. I was surprised that they made so little that they had to depend on someone else to get presents for their DC. It's kind of sad people volunteer to protect our rights and they don't get compensated enough to provide for a family

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I read about it, but I'm not watching the video because I know it will just tick me off. I was on food stamps until recently and I shop at Walmart (cheaper of the two stores in my town). I knew not to go through a few cashiers' lines because of the way they reacted the first time I used food stamps in their line. So, yes, it's not usually so blatant, but those judgmental glances happen. Most people have enough tact to be not be a donkey's behind about it though.

 

What is surprising is the number of fully employed people who don't make enough to provide food for their families.

Yep. Majority of SNAP recipients work.

 

You learn to avoid judgement lines, and often use self check out if it's an option.

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Thought of two more things.

 

First of all, according to this site, a married person who earns $50,000 a year and has one child will pay a whopping $36.82 into SNAP as taxes. If that's breaking the bank, maybe you ought to apply for assistance.

 

Secondly, giving money to the poor acts as an economic stimulus. We make more money in SNAP than we spend.

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I remember hearing that too. Years ago I met a woman whose dh was some sort of senior officer. I remember her talking about how her family always "adopted" a few enlisted families at Christmas. I was surprised that they made so little that they had to depend on someone else to get presents for their DC. It's kind of sad people volunteer to protect our rights and they don't get compensated enough to provide for a family

 

I was in the Army (low ranking enlisted, discharged for medical reasons) back in '03, and when I had to take a Greyhound from California back home to MN, I was so broke that I ran out of money for food after the first day. I went hungry except for lunch the second day because a nice man from Sierra Leone bought me a sandwich.

 

I don't know what things are like for members of the military now, but back then the pay was a pittance and after they took out all their deductions, there wasn't much left. There's no way I could have supported a family on that amount without a good chunk of government assistance. Honestly, for the amount of time I put in each month, I would have made more working at Walmart. 

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More likely she didn't notice how he paid so much that he separated out his groceries from his non groceries to make it easier on the cashier. Some times the system auto sorts but some don't and you have to pay for the food stamps items and then they ring up the other items to pay what ever other way.

 

But yeah. Usually I'm too busy keeping track of my own monkeys to notice other people's circus.

 

 

I sort my stuff all the time and run two tickets so I can keep track of what is food vs non food.  I would love some busy body to go off on me like that.  Ugh.

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  How did she even know that was how he was paying? How would anyone know unless they were close enough to read the card. And NO ONE should be invading a person's personal space so much that they can read their card. 

 

 

Great point.

 

I've been using the pull-out purse shelf at the check- out at one of the stores I go to just to thwart the space invaders!

 

There are quite a few impolite people who don't mind their own business.  I usually shop weekly, and people sometimes make nasty remarks about the amount of groceries in my cart.  Usually if only one person comes up behind me in line I'll offer to let them go ahead of me.  Recently when I asked a woman if she'd like to go ahead of me she replied with this really nasty tone, "Yes I would!"  and she never even said thank you.   Now I kind of feel like people can just wait for me or go to the self service checkout.

 

This is one of the reasons I shop very early in the morning...to avoid as many people as possible!   I've never heard anything like this video, though.   The biggest scene I've ever witnessed at the check-out was on Cinco de Mayo a few years ago.  A customer was very angry about the costumes that some of the employees were wearing.            

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I live in a rural area.  The nearest town where I shop is very economically depressed.  I see food stamp users every time I go shopping, and WIC users, too.  I have never seen anyone verbally attacked, or attacked at all.  I'm sure it happens, but I don't believe it's common.

 

ETA: "Why would anyone do this?" 

 

Because some people are *sshats, obviously.  I mean, we all know that.  If it wasn't food stamps it would be: race, religion, gender, the wrong pants, the wrong hair color, the wrong way of being, or whatever the heck the person could find to make someone else feel small so that they can feel large.  Because some people are *sshats.

 

Same here about the part that I see food stamp cards used all the time.  Never saw anything crazy.  Heck, I've seen people give people a few extra bucks or whatever if needed (including me). 

 

But then maybe that's what it is, that it's common around here. 

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That woman is a b*tch. I have never seen this happen. If I did, I sincerely hope that I would be able to overcome my shock quickly enough to give that woman a piece of my mind. How did she even know that was how he was paying? How would anyone know unless they were close enough to read the card. And NO ONE should be invading a person's personal space so much that they can read their card. My heart hurts for people who have faced this attitude.

 

Well here the cashiers always ask out loud debit or EBT.  They have to hit a specific button on the register. 

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My daughter is a cashier at our local grocery store.  She says this happens [in a lesser degree] pretty much every day.  Our area has both the very wealthy and the very poor.

 

"Mom, you would not believe how rude people can be to other human beings!"

 

 

Dd is a cashier at a grocery store here in town- the one folks who hate Walmart go to.  She says as she's ringing WIC orders up she can see people in line behind the person whispering and rolling their eyes.  Yeah, some of it is because it takes longer, but boy when the person has grabbed an item that's not WIC approved and wants to get one that is, the whole line groans. It really bothers dd.   She doesn't see many people comment on SNAP recipients, probably because it's not as time consuming or obvious as WIC. 

 

Mean people suck. 

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Although WIC is annoying.  Sorry, but it is.  I never roll my eyes and I wait patiently, but yes it's a royal production.  I don't blame the person who uses WIC for that. 

 

This is still a step up from when food stamps were literally basically a currency and the cashiers had to call out over the loud speaker that they needed change for food stamps.

 

 

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Although WIC is annoying.  Sorry, but it is.  I never roll my eyes and I wait patiently, but yes it's a royal production.  I don't blame the person who uses WIC for that. 

 

This is still a step up from when food stamps were literally basically a currency and the cashiers had to call out over the loud speaker that they needed change for food stamps.

 

We had WIC when dd was a baby, and yeah, it's just as annoying for the person using it. I dreaded those trips to the store. When I see someone using WIC now, I always try to smile and act kind, because I know what it's like. There's got to be some way to streamline the process.

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We had WIC when dd was a baby, and yeah, it's just as annoying for the person using it. I dreaded those trips to the store. When I see someone using WIC now, I always try to smile and act kind, because I know what it's like. There's got to be some way to streamline the process.

 

Absolutely.  I notice some people seem to just use all the checks at once.  If it's a production, might as well get that all done at once. 

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Although WIC is annoying.  Sorry, but it is.  I never roll my eyes and I wait patiently, but yes it's a royal production.  I don't blame the person who uses WIC for that. 

 

This is still a step up from when food stamps were literally basically a currency and the cashiers had to call out over the loud speaker that they needed change for food stamps.

 

I agree.  The WIC thing is out of control with how long it takes these transactions to be done.  And around here it seems like the women save them up or something, because they'll do like a half dozen checks at a time.  For-ev-er.

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I agree.  The WIC thing is out of control with how long it takes these transactions to be done.  And around here it seems like the women save them up or something, because they'll do like a half dozen checks at a time.  For-ev-er.

 

Yeah they go back and forth on which items qualify.  There are usually options, but the cashiers don't know all the options. Then each check and item is processed separately and carefully as if the person is buying diamond jewelry or something.  It's just freaking cheap food products.  Don't know why that has to be so complicated.

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I had to wait what felt like a long time for an older woman to write a check....but I was patient and didn't start yelling at her to get with modern way of doing stuff.

 

People are mean.  And stupid.

 

Yeah I don't encounter too many check writers. 

 

My husband is funny if he is paying in cash (rare).  He'll dig through his wallet for the exact change.  It might take 20 minutes...but he'll do it.  LOL  Meanwhile people are ready to start chewing on the walls.

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I have seen lots of people make comments about people using food stamps. It is usually not said directly to the person but they do say it so that others and possibly even the person can hear. When I worked at a grocery store years back food stamps were paper. I heard lots of comments about the people who used them. I still hear it now even though it us harder to tell unless they are using WIC.

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Well here the cashiers always ask out loud debit or EBT. They have to hit a specific button on the register.

I have never been asked that and I use debit 98% of the time. That part must be a location thing. But seriously, I realize that I am not the most observant person in the world- I have numerous examples of things I should have noticed and didn't. But still. I just can't imagine noticing how someone was paying. I can't imagine knowing someone was paying attention to how I was paying. Sure, I have been irritated when things are taking forever- but it is usually because something doesn't have a tag or whatever or there's some issue that takes two cashiers to figure out. I would never be rude to someone about it, but that I can understand people's irritation about that.

 

I was involved in a Facebook discussion not too long ago where people were talking about this. I mentioned there that I couldn't imagine people noticing other payment methods and someone seriously responded with "I always notice, banks use different colors" and she seriously started telling me which bank used which color. My mind was blown that someone could seriously care that much about it. I thought she needed to get a life.

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I read about it, but I'm not watching the video because I know it will just tick me off. I was on food stamps until recently and I shop at Walmart (cheaper of the two stores in my town). I knew not to go through a few cashiers' lines because of the way they reacted the first time I used food stamps in their line. So, yes, it's not usually so blatant, but those judgmental glances happen. Most people have enough tact to be not be a donkey's behind about it though. 

 

What is surprising is the number of fully employed people who don't make enough to provide food for their families. 

 

Including everyone in the US military who has a child and is stationed overseas. A soldier's salary, even a specialist's with several add ons (language, education bonuses) AND BAH is not enough for a family of three.

 

When I went back to work I worked just enough not to qualify.

 

Appalling. But it was the recession so there was that. Edit: wait, that was WIC. I think WIC has a higher threshold than food stamps.

 

 

 

I thought she needed to get a life.

 

For real. I'd rather be on food stamps than know that kind of crap or need that kind of involvement in other people's finances.

Edited by Tsuga
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I have never been asked that and I use debit 98% of the time. That part must be a location thing. But seriously, I realize that I am not the most observant person in the world- I have numerous examples of things I should have noticed and didn't. But still. I just can't imagine noticing how someone was paying. I can't imagine knowing someone was paying attention to how I was paying. Sure, I have been irritated when things are taking forever- but it is usually because something doesn't have a tag or whatever or there's some issue that takes two cashiers to figure out. I would never be rude to someone about it, but that I can understand people's irritation about that.

 

I was involved in a Facebook discussion not too long ago where people were talking about this. I mentioned there that I couldn't imagine people noticing other payment methods and someone seriously responded with "I always notice, banks use different colors" and she seriously started telling me which bank used which color. My mind was blown that someone could seriously care that much about it. I thought she needed to get a life.

 

Back when we were on food stamps because dh was unemployed, I had a cashier shout at me because I didn't announce I was using food stamps. She'd entered it in as a debit and I had to reswipe it. She made sure to yell loud enough so half the store heard, too.  :glare:  This was years ago, so maybe they have better systems now. Some cashiers really do want everyone to know if someone has the nerve to use an EBT card, though. 

 

More recently, I was at the grocery store and had a card come up declined because dh had forgotten to pay off one of the cards I normally use. The cashier started yelling (I am not even kidding) "Her CARD was DECLINED!" to everyone in line, while she glared at me like I'd done it on purpose to offend her. She seemed even more pissed off when I went ahead and paid with cash. I think she was hoping I'd have to leave my groceries behind in shame or something.

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We had WIC when dd was a baby, and yeah, it's just as annoying for the person using it. I dreaded those trips to the store. When I see someone using WIC now, I always try to smile and act kind, because I know what it's like. There's got to be some way to streamline the process.

Texas has figured it out. I was on WIC when my youngest was a baby and it is a card. And you didn't even have to sort out your order. Just ring it all up, insert WIC card, and then pay the difference. It was so much easier than the checks I had to use in Alaska.

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Texas has figured it out. I was on WIC when my youngest was a baby and it is a card. And you didn't even have to sort out your order. Just ring it all up, insert WIC card, and then pay the difference. It was so much easier than the checks I had to use in Alaska.

 

Nice! I don't know why all states don't do that if it's available.

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I agree.  The WIC thing is out of control with how long it takes these transactions to be done.  And around here it seems like the women save them up or something, because they'll do like a half dozen checks at a time.  For-ev-er.

 

Like ten years ago, there was a pilot program to use a chip on a card instead of those checks. They did it in several states, including Texas and it was SO MUCH EASIER. Easier to use, easier to ring up for the cashier...

 

why they haven't yet expanded it to all 50 states, I do not understand.

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