There are over 46 million people in the United States who are receiving financial assistance from the government to help pay for their food. According roughly $110 billion per year on food assistance programs. For years, the government would to a 2013 Senate Budget Committee calculation, the United States government spends issue eligible families Food Stamps, or paper coupons, for their purchases. In the late 1990s, with the introduction of new technology, paper coupons were phased out in favor of a specialized debit card system known as Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). With this system, the government automatically deposits monthly benefits in a special EBT account, and the recipient uses the card very similar to a credit card when paying for groceries at the check out. Sounds like a wonderful idea: less hassle obtaining funds, less waste of paper, and probably less embarrassment for the people than using the food stamps. However, there is much controversy and many stories in the news of fraud and abuse of the EBT system. I believe the concept of the EBT card is an admirable idea, but the laws behind it must be changed.


One of the controversies of the EBT card begins with the fact that the EBT card often has both food benefits and other cash benefit programs on the same card, and it is very difficult to distinguish between purchases from each financial assistance program. For example, there are typically two financial assistance programs on an EBT card. One of these programs is usually SNAP, Supplement Nutrition, and Assistance Program. The money in this program is used to buy food only. There are some restrictions to what food you can buy through the Snap Program. Alcohol, tobacco, and restaurant food are not allowed through the Snap program. The other program that typically is funded with the EBT card is called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TNAF). This program allows for families to get cash for up to 60 months, or 5 years. When a person has a TNAF benefit, he is allowed to withdraw cash from his EBT card right from an ATM machine or ask for cash back after a grocery store purchase.


As the laws are written at the present time, a recipient can use his EBT card and SNAP benefit to buy many foods that people consider to be unhealthy, such as sodas, high calorie and high fatty cookies, and packaged foods. I personally feel that the Snap program should only include healthy choice items such as vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat. If the government is paying for someone’s food, that food should only be healthy choices. Many people agree with the idea that SNAP should be used for nutritious foods only. There is a woman from Walpole, Massachusetts who recently made headlines in the news. She is a baker and has been selling her products at a farmers market. This farmers market wanted to allow the use of EBT cards. This woman baker did not want to sell her products to EBT card users because she deemed her products “dessert” items. She refused to sell her products even when people threatened her bakery. Although it was not against the law to buy “dessert” foods with an EBT card, she still refused to sell her products to EBT users.


With the TNAF program, a person can use this cash benefit on anything, to pay a mortgage, buy clothing, buy food, buy alcohol, buy lottery tickets, or even buy legal or illegal drugs. There does not seem to be any restrictions on this cash benefit. I do not agree with this program because of its lack of restrictions. I do not believe my parents’ tax dollars or anyone else’s hard-earned tax dollars should be used to buy drugs or alcohol. There should be restrictions and guidelines for what this money can be used for: housing, education, food, gasoline, etc.

There are other stories in the news that describe misuses of the EBT system. A Las Vegas journal article described EBT fraud when Nevada lawmakers realized they were issuing cards to over 27 people that had already died. Other stories in the news talk about people sharing their cards with friends who are ineligible for benefits, adding to more misuse of these cards. Obviously, the government must manage these programs much more carefully and conscientiously.

The EBT card is an excellent tool to give government benefits to those in need, but our lawmakers should provide insurance that these benefits will not be misused. I feel that the two programs, SNAP and TNAF should have two separate cards or accounts so there is more control of how each of these programs are being spent. Another possibility for reform would be to have the government pay someone’s bills directly to the service, whether it is to the apartment landlord, the gas company, the school, etc. This would ensure the cash would be used for the intended purpose of helping with the necessities of life and not be misused.