An EBT spending spree in Louisiana resulted from a temporary glitch in the function of SNAP cards, which are used to disburse food stamps.
According to a local CBS affiliate, a temporary EBT glitch caused a spending frenzy, in which card users were able to access unlimited funds for EBT purchases .
Subsequently, one report claims, the shelves at Walmarts in Springfield and Mansfield Walmarts in Louisiana were “swept clean,” as staff struggled to maintain order during the chaotic spending spree.
Videos of the Louisiana EBT glitch affecting Walmarts began popping up on the web this weekend, sparking outrage and forcing Walmart to confirm the situation involving SNAP spending in their stores.
Walmart representative Kayla Whaling admitted that Walmart continued to accept SNAP cards despite the EBT glitch, saying that the possibility of misuse was outweighed by the fear families would go hungry:
“We did make the decision to continue to accept EBT cards during the outage so that they could get food for their families… [Walmart remained] fully engaged and monitoring the situation and transactions during the outage.”
Shoppers reacted in different ways to the EBT glitch spending frenzy in Louisiana, with one calling the shopping sprees “pure theft.” Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd described the EBT spending spree as “worse than any black Friday,” and reports of merchandise abandoned after the EBT glitch was fixed also proliferated.
One witness said:
“It looked like a tornado had come through… I am so glad my mom does not work there anymore.”
A local news source explains how the EBT glitch caused the spending stampede:
“It all happened at the end of a day in which the EBT system went down in several states, including Louisiana. Xerox, a vendor for the EBT system, experienced a power outage while conducting a routine backup test in one of the company’s locations. While the system was back up Saturday night, it appears that it was not functioning entirely properly in some areas.”
After the costly EBT glitch, Walmart is believed to be likely to “eat” the costs of the SNAP card outage.