Tag Page SmallTownReality

The “Buy Cigarettes with EBT” Trick Everyone Knows

I worked a summer job at a gas station in rural Ohio. There’s a local “rule”: Customers swipe $40 EBT for food, get $25 cash from the clerk, then buy cigarettes or lottery tickets with it. One old man did it weekly. I asked why. “Because I can’t afford cigarettes, but the government keeps giving me food money.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sad. #SNAPFraud #SmallTownReality