Costco Expands Food Stamp Program Nationwide
10/30/2009 - NEW YORK -- Warehouse-club chain Costco announced this week that it will begin accepting food stamps at 420 stores nationwide, reports The Wall Street Journal, as “the number of Americans receiving government assistance continues to soar."
Earlier this year Costco began accepting food stamps at six New York City stores, which, to the company’s surprise, led to increases in both memberships and sales.
“Given the economy and layoffs, this was a positive for our members and the right thing to do," said Richard Galanti, CFO of Costco.
The newspaper writes that more than 35 million people received food stamps in June, a 22% increase over the previous June, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Other retailers that have “embraced" the government assistance program during the recession include BJ’s Wholesale Club, Target and Sam’s Club. Discount retailers such as Family Dollar Stores accepts food stamp cards at about 80% of its 6,500 stores.
Costco was hesitant to accept food stamps because it would slow down the checkout lines. However, the newspaper writes that this “proved not to be a problem" because food stamps are delivered on plastic cards similar to debit cards.
Source: NACS Online |
