[Lady Lucky]

Don’t know for sure but I believe EBT cards are used with both food stamps and cash assistance. So if it is coming out of a person’s cash assistance funds, he should be able to take out cash just as you would with a debit card. For the cash there’d be no rule about what he can purchase.
And may I respectfully suggest that you write your representatives and perhaps run for office yourself, in order to do something about this sort of thing if it distresses you so much. (Did you actually follow him to confirm he was buying beer?)

[Calliecat]

You are right. There is cash assistance, although it’s not available to all EBT recipients. I only know this because I have an acquaintance who suffered many financial losses last year and had to sign up for SNAP temporarily.

[Mama Shawna]

I was educated on this just last Friday at my local Winco. Went to swipe my card, and noticed that the screen said ‘EBT Card’ and also ‘EBT Cash’. I looked at the checker and said EBT CASH? What is that? She said it’s for people on assistance to get cash so they can pay bills, etc., and then said but we can’t knowingly sell them alcohol or tobacco. I just looked at her disgustedly and said ‘What’s stopping them from going across the street to Fred Meyer and buying it? I work my ASS off and this just PISSES me off!’ She then just kind of looked at me knowingly and said ‘I’m not allowed to comment on it.’ I told her I knew that, but it didn’t mean I COULDN’T, and I let her know it. Must be hard to be a checker and not be able to say anything! Also makes want to just give up sometimes and sign up for everything I can, but I couldn’t live with myself if I did! AARRGGHH!!

[ETL]

I respectfully suggest that you write your representatives and perhaps run for office yourself, in order to do something about this sort of thing if it distresses you so much. (Did you actually follow him to confirm he was buying beer?)

Crap like this should bother ANYONE who works for a living and pays taxes.