Video argument captures food stamps shaming
Debit, credit, EBT. When you check out at the grocery store those choices usually pop up on the card-swiper screen.
For thousands of Georgians who select EBT, that distinctive, plastic Electronic Benefits Transfer card is a signal to all around them that they are paying for their groceries with food stamps. But is it anyone's business other than the recipient's how the recipient pays for his or her food?
Those issues are front and center in a video that is pinging across the internet (caution: video contains profanity). While it's unclear where the incident takes place, and the video has not been verified as real, it nevertheless highlights the contentious nature of government assistance. The video portrays a man and his family paying for groceries with food stamps while another customer in line behind him berates him for using them. The exchange quickly turns political and profane. The man's companion apparently began filming the heated back-and-forth in the middle of the argument.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looked at similar shaming incidents in Georgia in a food-stamp series, including a quiz to test your knowledge about the food stamp program.
Again, the video does contain profanity but it documents an issue that people across the country are debating, sometimes in the checkout line.
About the Author
Rosalind Bentley is an award-winning feature writer focusing on culture, arts and sometimes food, as they are expressed and experienced in Atlanta. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
