FOOD STAMPS & WELFARE THIEVES

Original posted here in August 2012

Reprinted March 2026

FOOD STAMP FRAUD.

I purchase a considerable amount of my produce and meat from a Latin market here in my small town. The quality is consistently better—fresher fruits and veggies, great cuts of meat—and the prices normality beat the big chains by a noticeable margin. Plus, the owner is a genuinely nice guy: friendly, hardworking, and always up for a good conversation. 

We chat about food trends, local news, Mexico, whatever comes up.

The other day, I was telling him about something I witnessed at another store. A couple in their late twenties or early thirties came through the checkout with four young kids, probably ranging from about 4 to 9 years old.

The husband was a big, burly guy—healthy and strong-looking—wearing blue jeans, a sleeveless cowboy shirt, and a stylishly crushed straw hat like something out of a Toby Keith video. He had a four-day reddish-blond beard and a homemade-looking tattoo on one arm that read "SOUTHERN BOYS KICK ASS" (done with a pocket knife or ballpoint pen, from the looks of it).

His wife was attractive, slim and as they saying goes, "well-put-together," with long light-brown hair, designer jeans, and a nice, newer style blouse. They loaded up a few hundred dollars worth of groceries, mostly beef steaks, judging by the packages.

She paid with what people used to call a welfare card (now it's an EBT card for SNAP benefits, I believe). I guess the term "welfare card" isn't PC anymore—don't want to make anyone feel bad about relying on government help.

I paid for my bologna and processed cheese slices and headed out. Sure enough, their ride was parked right next to mine: a nearly new, massive Chevrolet Suburban. They were loading all those free steaks into it.

I mentioned the scene to my friend at the Latin market. He nodded like it was nothing new. "I see it almost every day," he said. He knows plenty of hardworking folks—business owners, people with new cars, nice homes—who pay with those same cards. He estimates more than three-quarters of his customers use WIC benefits (the program for women, infants, and children) to buy groceries.

He also mentioned that a lot of his Hispanic customers send money overseas through his services. And here's the part that really gets under my skin: most aren't legal citizens, yet they have WIC cards. According to him, there's a church in Springdale (I know the one) that helps walk people through the process of women getting monthly government checks and applying for these benefit cards. The husband normally work but the wives claim they have been abandoned, thus welfare and WIC cards. Whether it's for the kids or something else, it feels like a loophole being exploited.

To me, it's a straight-up scam. And the politicians we elect? They don't seem to give a damn. It's a disgrace.

What do you think—am I the only one noticing this?

Thanks for stopping by — likes and comments are always welcome! After all I need the ego boost. 

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