SPOKANE, Wash. — Grocery stores are preparing for potential impacts as SNAP benefits face a Saturday deadline.
Grocery Outlet locations in downtown Spokane and Spokane Valley are offering a 10% discount to customers with EBT cards. The discount continues until $5,000 worth of savings has been given out.
As a grocery store that already offers discounted rates, Grocery Outlet knows many who shop there rely on those benefits. A large number of their customers use these types of benefits to keep food on the table.
“I think that everybody is feeling a little bit of panic right now,” said Sage Dunaway, owner of two Grocery Outlet stores.
If SNAP benefits end Saturday, shoppers who typically use EBT cards may turn to other ways of getting food. This could impact grocery stores and their workers through lost revenue.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union estimates 80% of SNAP dollars are spent at traditional grocery stores. If that money goes away, workers throughout the food supply chain from meat packing to cashiers will see reduced hours and wages.
“This is going to be the first time anything like this has happened to us as owners. And so we are just going to do everything we can to continue to help the community and know that the community is there to support us as well,” Dunaway said.
Dunaway owns two Grocery Outlets in the area and doesn’t expect this to impact her store right away. In the meantime, she is doing everything she can to help those who need it.
Others in the community are also looking to help. Ken Vansickle was donating food to the Spokane Valley Food Bank.
“My wife and I decided that we need to come out today and get some more food and take it to the food bank, because there’s a lot of needy people out there, and we’re in a good spot. So we’re just trying to help out and help people in our community,” Vansickle said.
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