We've opened our presents at home, and are leaving soon to enjoy the festivities at the two sets of grandparents' houses.
First, though, I wanted to share a beautiful story with a disappointing twist but a nice Christmas-y end. Maybe someone can explain some of it to me. On December 23rd, I was in line at Albertson's waiting to buy some eggs. There was a woman checking out, and a man in front of me waiting to check out. The woman had the basic staples: milk, eggs, cheese, bread, etc; and a few things for her child: diapers, pacifiers, and some little Christmas type things that could be stocking stuffers. She presented the cashier with a few coupons and brought out a food stamp credit card to pay for her purchases. The cashier told her, "I'm sorry ma'am, but you cannot use coupons with food stamps." The cashier began to cancel the sale so she could re-scan the items without the coupons, but the man in front of me stopped her and paid for the woman's purchases. It humbled me to see the man, a postal worker getting ready to head in to work, pay for her purchases when all I could think about was paying for my eggs and getting home.
Here's my problem with this story: WHY can't someone use coupons with a food stamps card? Wouldn't you think that even the small amount that woman was saving by using coupons would be a GOOD thing?
I truly hope that someone can explain all of this to me. I'm not against welfare, food stamps, and state/federal aid at all. Anthony qualified for Medicaid when he was waiting for his transplant; in fact, Medicaid paid for almost all of our out-of-pocket medical expenses (60% of them, to be exact!). I just wish I knew why this woman was not allowed to use coupons. I certainly hope there's a REALLY good reason so I can get over this disappointment! Still, this story has a wonderful end to it, and so I can't be totally disappointed.
Merry Christmas! I'll post pictures later today, or possibly tomorrow!
7 years ago
1 comment:
There often is a really good reason for things that sound inane. However, I can't think of a single legitimate reason you would not be allowed to use manufacturer's coupons with food stamps. Store coupons? Maybe.
The only thing I can think of is that maybe the coupons make it procedurally more difficult for the store to process the purchase and get their reimbursement from the state. The store then would not have incentive to do it. Just a guess though.
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