The US Food Stamp Program is a federal assistance program that provides food to low income people living in the United States. Benefits are distributed by the individual states, but the program is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most food stamp benefits are now distributed using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards but for most of its history the program has used paper vouchers of some kind.

A senior Democratic senator is pushing the leadership of the Senate to include a temporary expansion of Food Stamp benefits in the economic stimulus package now under development in Congress.

The economic stimulus plan announced today by House leaders and the Bush administration ignores two of the most important and effective methods to provide a quick economic boost—extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and increased food stamp benefits—and is weighted far too heavily with business, says the AFL-CIO.

Retirees in particular should be outraged at the federal government’s economic stimulus plan: The plan does not extend low income programs like unemployment benefits or food stamps. And, most critically it does not offer anything to seniors not receiving a paycheck (Social Security checks do not count.)

"...Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for gaining rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including low-income earners who make too little to pay income taxes..."

National Chain and local markets, stores, cafes and restaurants are illegally charing sales tax, surcharges and processing fees processed by J.P. Morgan EFS, to EBT Card (Food Stamp) Holder Food Benefit Accounts. State auditors and card processors like J.P. Morgan EFS (formerly CitiCorp) have known about this preventable problem for years...