A Mommy Story

At the grocery this evening, I waited in line at the self-checker while three early 20-somethings unloaded their cart. In it were two bottles of vodka, a 6-pack of beer, and some Red Bull. They also asked the cashier to fetch them some cigarettes. He slowly shuffled off to get their cigarettes from the locked case after checking IDs.

I heard the three of them talking to each other in hushed, urgent voices. Finally, one of the two women said to the guy with them, “I said I don’t know! I’ll ask.”

She then turned towards the cashier and loudly asked, “Hey! Can I use my food stamps to buy this?” as she gestured to the Red Bull with one hand and held up her food assistance card in the other.

The cashier looked up with a bored expression, as if he had heard this question several times. “No,” he responded.

The three 20-somethings sighed in defeat. “Damn – I told you. Just pay for it already,” the other woman said. They paid for their items and soon were out the door.

As I stepped up to the self-checker, my eyes met those of the cashier. “You know,” I offered, “They actually can buy Red Bull with food stamps.”

“Yeah. I know,” he replied with a smile. “But if they don’t know that, I feel no need to tell them they can use assistance to buy that junk.”

I stifled a giggle. Sure, he was probably wrong to lie to them, but I wasn’t going to correct him while they were still there, either.

(FYI – They get a booklet when they get their food card telling them what they can and cannot buy.)