SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES—A recent Reuters articles says the rise in food stamp use is changing the way retailers do business. Stores are seeing a surge in shoppers on the first day of the month, which is when food stamp credits are loaded to electronic transfer cards.
Retailers are also adding more staff and restocking supplies during the first-day-of-the-month rush. And, throughout the month, retailers are updating systems to accept food stamps and focusing more on low-income shoppers, reports the article.
As of September, a record of more than 37 million people received food stamps in the United States, an increase of nearly 35 percent since the end of 2007. Reuters says the government expects more to enroll due to the high unemployment rate.