Thread by @MaxGhenis

Imagine for a moment: You've lost your job and decide to apply for SNAP (food stamps) to feed your family. You go to the county human services agency for your qualification interview. The waiting room is filled with homeless people and you worry about your life trajectory. 1/

You answer questions about your finances, employment, expenses, assets, and family structure. You see signage warning about jail time for exchanging SNAP for cash. You sign up for workfare so you don't lose benefits after 3 months. You're approved! 2/

New EBT card in hand, you go to your neighborhood grocer. You get to the front of the line with some food, and discreetly show the cashier your card. They say "We don't take EBT." You look around, embarrassed and hoping none of your neighbors behind you heard, as you get cash. 3/

You go home and call other nearby grocers to ask if they take EBT. There's a corner store in a run-down neighborhood a few blocks away, and a big chain about a mile away. You want to avoid the bad area but don't have a car, so you take a bus to the chain. 4/

You pick up some veggies, meat, and grains, but you'll cook those tomorrow--it's been a long day. For tonight, you order sandwiches from the grocery deli.

When you go to pay, the cashier says "You can't buy sandwiches with EBT." Hiding your emotion, you buy them with cash. 5/

Discouraged and worried about your bank account, you go home and review all the minutiae of SNAP's rules. No hot foods. No medicines. No pet food. No hygiene items. And no "prepared foods fit for immediate consumption." That must have been the sandwiches. 6/

So again you take the bus to the chain grocer. It's been another long day (you did workfare), so you want something quick. Without the option of fresh sandwiches, you get a frozen pizza. You want your family to be healthy, but there are only so many hours and dollars. 7/

The next time you go, the lines are long, but self-checkout is empty. You're not sure if it takes EBT, so you just buy one item from your cart. It works! But the helper comes over to tell you to buy the rest of your items. You explain and start scanning your other food. 8/

You finish buying your food with EBT at the self checkout, but you still have some toilet paper. The attendant comes over again to say you need to buy that. The line is growing behind you as you explain again. Finally you buy the toilet paper with cash and leave the store. 9/

These are the experiences our safety net puts people through. 40 million people are on SNAP, and other programs can be even more burdensome. We gate access, we surveil, we restrict choices. We humiliate. We spend billions in administration to do this.

Just. Give. Cash. /end