Florida Food Stamps To Shut Down At Midnight
SIMILAR STORY: Cuts Coming To Florida Food Stamps On November 1st
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Purchases with Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards (also known as Food Stamps) will not be available in Florida starting at midnight on Monday, September 16, 2013. That's because the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is contracting with a new vendor to provide EBT services to Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients which the agency says will save the State of Florida $21 million over the next three years.
Normal EBT purchases will resume the evening of September 16, 2013.
According to the latest U.S. Government revised data from SNAP, the number of Floridians on food stamps was 3,568,672 in June 2013, a 4.4% increase compared to June 2012. Florida food stamp enrollment grew at twice the national rate (2.3%) for the same time period.
DCF is urging SNAP recipients to prepare for the one-day downtime by purchasing groceries in advance. New EBT cards will not be needed after the system transition. A person’s existing EBT card will continue to be active.
To assist households, SNAP benefits that would normally be issued between September 11 - 15 will be issued early to ensure families have ample time to plan for their food needs during this short downtime.
Florida EBT retailers who have not yet converted their point-of-sale devices should immediately contact (800) 894-0050. Retailers who need installation assistance can dial (800) 236-3282 ext. 69224.
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