Since 2004, the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) was introduced. This program allows for benefits to be put into a retailer account to be used as a debit card. The individual then uses the card, subtracting the amount that has been deposit with each use. You are not expected to use the amount deposited at once.The switch was made to save the government money by eliminating the cost of printing coupons. Also, the funds would be available immediately to the recipients instead of having to wait for food stamps to be delivered by mail. The EBT also helps to reduce theft.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average amount deposited into an EBT account was $125 in 2015.
Recipients can only use their EBT cards to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages. But it wasn’t what the individual bought that was shocking but rather the balance on the individual’s account.
The balance, however, was $5583.42. The person who found the receipt took a photo of it and posted it on social media.
The Food and Nutrition Service, a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), allows recipients to carry a balance.
The EBT account as to be used at least once during a 12-month period. Again, there is no cap on the amount that you can carry over from month to month.
The post had the caption “When you figure it out, comment your thoughts WITHOUT giving it away.” The balance on this receipt was $15,464.
The Station Kiro7 in Washington ran a story in which a grocery store employee began to collect receipts of EBT recipients. The woman went by the alias Alice.
“Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong in the system, that these people are getting this much money on their EBT card,” Alice told the TV station.
Nonetheless, the USDA requires folks to report changes of income every six months. They are also required to re-certify their eligibility every 12 months.
Those who do not report a change of income are required to re-pay the overpayment.
“That represents 0.00008 percent of the 22,436,441 households nationwide in the same month,” the statement said. “It’s actually 0.008%, but even if the shopper in Liberty, Kentucky happened to be one of the less than 1 percent of households with a EBT balance over $2,500, the balance in and of itself doesn’t represent ‘abuse.'”
