The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 26, June 28, 2004, Article 15

FOOD STAMP PHASEOUT

  One sideline of certain token collectors are food stamps
  and food stamp change tokens.  In the U.S. token section of
  my library is a June 1980 fixed price list by Paul Cunningham
  containing an article by Neil Shafer titled "Food Stamp Tokens"
  These came into use after 1939 when the U.S. government
  created the original Food Stamp Plan.  Recipients could buy
  food stamps at a discount or receive some free.  Grocers were
  required to accept the stamps but could not give out cash in
  change - they were required to provide change substitutes that
  could only be redeemed for food.  The program went through
  several changes and in 1978 it was decided to allow merchants
  to use regular coins as change.  In the meantime a large number
  of food stamp change substitutes were created and issued by
  grocers in towns all across the country.

  Can any of our readers tell us if a more recent catalog of
  food stamps tokens has been published?  Have any of the
  major numismatic institutions collected examples?

  The Food Stamp program is taking another turn.  The
  New York Times reported in a June 23, 2004 article
  that electronic cards will replace food stamp coupons:

  "The Bush administration announced Tuesday that it
  had completed one of the biggest changes in the history
  of the food stamp program, replacing paper coupons with
  electronic benefits and debit cards.

  At the same time, the administration said it wanted to rename
  the program because the term "food stamps" had become an
  anachronism. It is inviting the public to suggest how to update
  the name of a program that became a permanent part of the
  government, and the nation's vocabulary, during Lyndon B.
  Johnson's Great Society era."

  "Food stamp recipients generally like debit cards because
  they avoid the stigma that can be associated with the use of
  paper coupons. Grocers like the new technology because they
  are paid faster, often within 48 hours; cashiers do not have to
  handle vouchers; and there are no coupons to sort, count and
  bundle."

  "Robbin Smoke, 44, said she would prefer to have the paper
  coupons. "The cards don't always work," she said. "It's a pain.
  You can't get cash back now."

  She and several other food stamp recipients said they found it
  somewhat easier to keep track of their unused benefits when
  they had a booklet of  paper coupons."

  To read the full article, see: Full Article

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum