Costco will accept food stamps!

[DGirl]

Costco will accept food stamps- Smart Spending - MSN Money



I feel the SAME way this person feels...

Food stamps are all well & good. However, even my daughter is guilty of not caring whether she bargain shops or not. She just throws into her basket. Why? She's not footing the bill. I cannot go w/her to the grocery store because of the vicious arguments we've gotten into over this.
I can't help but think how my husband & I are struggling to pay our bills & groceries, etc., & there she is buying pre-made sandwiches, frozen dinners, etc. Things I'd like to buy but CANNOT AFFORD!
I have a COSTCO card but rarely shop there because I call it the "$250 store". Every box you put in your cart is $10 or more.

 

[D_Ivana Dickenside]

what?! costco won't accept my visa credit card, but they're going to start accepting food stamps?! OMG! whoever is in charge at costco needs to get their heads out of their asses so i can punch them in their faces and ram my foot their asses!

 

[nedly32]

I think it's a great move on costcos part,more people that have never had to rely on social services need it to make ends meet.as for what consomers buy with there stamps like steaks.junkfood ect...its there business and i could not dehumanize them for that im just thankful my tax dollers are putting food on there tables

 

[TBSPW]

haha, yeah. They started taking food stamps at Sam's Club too... Its a nightmare for the people that work register. The registers we use arent designed to handle things like that and there is no training. There are all kinds of limits on food stamps, like no prepared foods, no vending supply items... but people that come in with food stamps just scream and holler. We actually had one lady demanding a rotisserre chicken and there is just no way to sell that with food stamps, so she ripped it open and started shoveling it into her face while at the store, then threw everything that was left at the manager and ran out of the building... I would have bought it for her if she wanted it that bad... especially if she was still going to throw it at my boss

 

[2322]

It's cool by me. I'm on food stamps right now and they really help make ends meet. They don't go a long way, however, so sometimes you have to buy cheap food just to fill your stomach. My oncologist even told me to eat foods low in anti-oxidants for 2-3 days following each chemo treatment because foods rich in anti-oxidants counter the effects of the chemotherapy drugs. I've bought candy on occasion, buy ice cream, and sometimes get frozen dinners if they're of good quality. It actually works out frequently because the cost of fresh produce is so damn high.

I'm grateful to have food stamps and do pay for those items not covered by them so not all of us are psycho welfare queens.

 

[D_Portelay Porquesword]

what?! costco won't accept my visa credit card, but they're going to start accepting food stamps?! OMG! whoever is in charge at costco needs to get their heads out of their asses so i can punch them in their faces and ram my foot their asses!

What? You're gonna give Costco toes for teeth with that foot? lol


I think it's high time they accepted them. It's not like they are going to suffer financially as a result.

 

[justmeincal]

I think it's a good idea. My only concern is how much it will slow down the lines at the registers. I know at my local grocery store, it seems to take forever to check out for the folks who use food stamps.

 

[2322]

Here in NY we just use a debit card that works like any other. You swipe it, enter your PIN, and the amount of the food is deducted automatically while the cost of the non-covered items remains. You then pay that out of cash or another card. It's quite quick if you can operate a simple credit card scanner though I admit that does seem to beyond the abilities of many people at the supermarket.

 

[D_Ivana Dickenside]

What? You're gonna give Costco toes for teeth with that foot? lol


I think it's high time they accepted them. It's not like they are going to suffer financially as a result.

costco has a deal with american express, which is the reason why other types of credit cards can't be used there. if they got rid of that contract they'd make so much more money since visa and mastercard are just as widely accepted as american express.

Here in NY we just use a debit card that works like any other. You swipe it, enter your PIN, and the amount of the food is deducted automatically while the cost of the non-covered items remains. You then pay that out of cash or another card. It's quite quick if you can operate a simple credit card scanner though I admit that does seem to beyond the abilities of many people at the supermarket.

we have the same thing in CA. it's called an EBT card, and it works just like a debit card too. i've seen people use it at the grocery store and there's even an option for it on the little swipey machine next to the "credit" and "atm" options.

 

[justmeincal]

costco has a deal with american express, which is the reason why other types of credit cards can't be used there. if they got rid of that contract they'd make so much more money since visa and mastercard are just as widely accepted as american express.




we have the same thing in CA. it's called an EBT card, and it works just like a debit card too. i've seen people use it at the grocery store and there's even an option for it on the little swipey machine next to the "credit" and "atm" options.

That sounds like a great way of doing it. Where I live, all I ever see are people using some type of coupons with W.I.C. stamped on them. They scan a couple of items, like milk, then take the coupon, stamp it, write on it, then put it in the register. They repeat the procedure over and over again. It can take 15 to 20 minutes sometimes to checkout with the coupons.

 

[whatireallywant]

I think it's a great move on costcos part,more people that have never had to rely on social services need it to make ends meet.as for what consomers buy with there stamps like steaks.junkfood ect...its there business and i could not dehumanize them for that im just thankful my tax dollers are putting food on there tables

QFT! I get sooooo tired of the anti-welfare people! They've never had to walk in the other person's shoes. I'm not on food stamps but I probably should be. And yes, I do buy frozen dinners and stuff like that, because I don't cook, and actually I've found that it's cheaper to buy frozen dinners rather than all the ingredients for cooking something from scratch, for me. It's different if you have a family, but in my case it's just me, and cooking for just one person is difficult if you don't want to eat leftovers all week (and I have a problem with leftovers... "left over" stuff from childhood you could say). And far from being lazy... I work 5 days a week and go to school 4 nights a week! It's exhausting, but hopefully it will pay off soon.

It's cool by me. I'm on food stamps right now and they really help make ends meet. They don't go a long way, however, so sometimes you have to buy cheap food just to fill your stomach. My oncologist even told me to eat foods low in anti-oxidants for 2-3 days following each chemo treatment because foods rich in anti-oxidants counter the effects of the chemotherapy drugs. I've bought candy on occasion, buy ice cream, and sometimes get frozen dinners if they're of good quality. It actually works out frequently because the cost of fresh produce is so damn high.

I'm grateful to have food stamps and do pay for those items not covered by them so not all of us are psycho welfare queens.

Very true!

Here in NY we just use a debit card that works like any other. You swipe it, enter your PIN, and the amount of the food is deducted automatically while the cost of the non-covered items remains. You then pay that out of cash or another card. It's quite quick if you can operate a simple credit card scanner though I admit that does seem to beyond the abilities of many people at the supermarket.

One of my friends gets food stamps and he has an EBT card like what you described, too.

 

[midlifebear]

The COSTCOs in Ewetaw, Nevada, and Idaho ALL accept VISA and Master Card. But for those of us who live and die by American Express "No soup for you!" If you can't pay off your credit card in full every month you have no business having a credit card.

 

[D_Ivana Dickenside]

That sounds like a great way of doing it. Where I live, all I ever see are people using some type of coupons with W.I.C. stamped on them. They scan a couple of items, like milk, then take the coupon, stamp it, write on it, then put it in the register. They repeat the procedure over and over again. It can take 15 to 20 minutes sometimes to checkout with the coupons.

WIC (which stands for Women Infants Children) is different from welfare, food stamps, and EBT cards. it's a totally separate program that helps women, infants and children who are in need of assitance. it has its own set of rules of what can be bought and how many quantities can be bought etc. it'd be great if they didn't have to do everything by paper, but it's how they keep track of individual needs since each coupon is a different item. that's why it takes forever at the market.

 

[justmeincal]

Thanks for educating me on WIC, I appreciate it!

 

[Principessa]

It's cool by me. I'm on food stamps right now and they really help make ends meet. They don't go a long way, however, so sometimes you have to buy cheap food just to fill your stomach. My oncologist even told me to eat foods low in anti-oxidants for 2-3 days following each chemo treatment because foods rich in anti-oxidants counter the effects of the chemotherapy drugs. I've bought candy on occasion, buy ice cream, and sometimes get frozen dinners if they're of good quality. It actually works out frequently because the cost of fresh produce is so damn high.

I'm grateful to have food stamps and do pay for those items not covered by them so not all of us are psycho welfare queens.

I was on food stamps before I left Jersey and we had the EBT card which is only slightly less humiliating to use than the old fashioned paper 'food stamps'. I have no problem with Costco taking food stamps. Maybe it will allow people with families to buy bulk produce.