Feb. 4, 2002 – Come October, Food Stamp recipients in the territory will be paying for their purchases at all supermarkets and some smaller groceries with plastic.
Debit cards will replace the traditional paper food stamps, Human Services Commissioner Sedonie Halbert said Monday. "It's a federal mandate, part of the Welfare Reform Act," she said.
Officially, the new program is called the Electronic Benefit Transfer Project. The Department is kicking off its public awareness campaign on Tuesday with a by-invitation briefing.
Human Services has a contract with Citicorp Electronic Financial Services to implement the program. Halbert said she did not know how much it would cost.
However, she said, it will save the department money after the start-up phase because there will no longer a need to pay to store Food Stamp coupons at a bank, hire guards to accompany Food Stamp deliveries to Human Services, or pay staff to distribute them.
Initially, Halbert said, Food Stamp recipients will receive their debit cards in person so Human Services personnel can make sure they understand how they work. But once that phase is over, Citibank will mail them out — a procedure that will end the lines of people waiting at Human Services offices to collect their food stamp coupons. "It leaves a lot of pressure off us," Halbert said.
The cards will work similar to those used for pre-paid long-distance telephone calls. They initially will be worth whatever Food Stamp benefit the recipient is entitled to receive, for whatever foods and supplies are eligible. The value of the card will diminish as purchases are paid for.
Participation in the debit card program is mandatory for those receiving Food Stamp assistance. For more information, call the Food Stamp Program office on St. Thomas at 774-2399.
