ATLANTANOMICS: Help for struggling consumers

We feel your pain.

That seems to be the response some U.S. companies are taking during this recession.

In a nod to hard times, Sam’s Club, the retail warehouse chain that sells everything from jumbo jugs of ketchup to flat-screen TVs, is accepting food stamps in Georgia and some other states. The Georgia clubs began taking the government-issued benefits Jan. 8.

The members-only warehouse club made the decision after hearing from members who’d lost jobs or were facing some sort of financial problem, spokeswoman Kristy Reed said.

“A lot of [food stamp recipients] are [Sam’s Club] members already. So they were asking if they could use the benefits at the club,” Reed added. “It’s the first time that I know of where we’re responding specifically to economic conditions.”

Shoppers who aren’t members can visit a club on a one-day guest pass, Reed noted.

The Georgia Department of Human Resources, which administers the federal food stamps program, has seen a surge in recipients.

“That’s awesome,” agency spokeswoman Taka Wiley said of Sam’s Club’s decision. “We do have a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet.”

Corporate empathy seems to be spreading.

Last month, automaker Hyundai said it would let car buyers who purchase cars now and lose their jobs within the next year return their car.

Some items you can purchase with food stamps

Milk, meat, eggs, beans, cereals, fruit, fish, chicken, infant formula, garden seeds and plants to grow at home.

Source: Georgia Human Resources and Labor departments

Food stamp allocation in Georgia

November

> Households: 480,103

> Individuals: 1.16 million

> Benefits: $133.4 million

> Unemployment rate: 7.4 percent

December

> Households: 493,228

> Individuals: 1.2 million

> Benefits: $136.84 million

> Unemployment rate: 8.1 percent