Food Stamps Outage Leaves People Hungry Across The Nation

Today was a typical fall Saturday across the United States. Many were out picking pumpkins, watching football, spending time with their family, or even out running some errands. However, this has not been a good day for individuals and families who are depending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to put food on their table.

Due to alleged technical difficulties with the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), many consumers’ cards were declined at the point of sale. Xerox, the vender for EBT, has claimed a power outage is responsible for the shutdown in service and expects to have the system back on line shortly. However, with many Americans already on edge due to the government shutdown, today’s technical issue with the EBT system certainly added anxiety to an already anxious nation. “Wide spread panic ensued today.” according to a women who volunteers at a local drop in center in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Another volunteer was quoted as saying, “They were putting signs up everywhere… Shoprite and Wal-Mart were just turning people away!”

This nearly unbelievable coincidence could very well be a glimpse of what is to come if the government continues to play games with the lives of Americans. Yesterday it was no death benefits for our fallen soldiers’ families, today it is a scare at the checkout line in a grocery store. It is well past the time to start making noise, it is incumbent on each and every one of us to give a voice to the most vulnerable and oppressed in our society. They are the ones who are paying the price for the failed policies of the federal government.

Written By Michael DeVilliers
Staff Writer