People Getting Cash Back by Using Food Stamp/EBT Cards With Minimum Purchase at Gainesville Publix Store- Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
This is a forwarded email of an alleged eyewitness account of a transaction by a customer using an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card at a Publix Store on Main Street in Gainesville, Florida. The email said that the eyewitness was standing in line at the check out counter and saw a customer buy a single grape for 2 cents with an EBT card. The customer then asked for $24 in change back from the customer service representative and got it.
The Truth:
Transactions like this happen every day at this Gainesville Publix store, according to a company spokesperson, but the cards being used are not EBT or any sort of government issued assistance for food.
The spokesperson told us that these cards are pre-loaded ATM cards handed out by a nearby plasma center who compensates donors for their time. He also told us that the donors are easy to spot as they shop for low cost sodas or chips to cash out their ATM cards. Their arms are bandaged near the elbow.
updated 10/16/12