In Warren County, KY, more than $3 million in SNAP (EBT) benefits are spent every month. That’s over 7,500 households and nearly 8,000 kids relying on that support to buy groceries, snacks, and essentials.
Look a little deeper, and you’ll see more than 32,000 households in our county receive SNAP, SSI, or TANF and have children in the home. These are working families. Retired grandparents. Single parents. People doing their best to make things stretch until payday.
We worked with one local business that started accepting EBT and saw a 25 percent increase in year-over-year sales. No gimmicks. No big marketing push. Just a simple message: you’re welcome here, however you pay.
Accepting EBT is not charity. It is smart business and it builds real community trust.
Yes, the numbers may shift. The state and federal governments are making it harder to qualify (roughly 350-1,500 could be kicked out of the program). New rules are pushing families and their kids off the rolls. But that doesn’t mean the need has disappeared. It means it is harder to see.
Now is the time for local businesses to step forward and meet their customers where they are.
If you run a market, a butcher shop, a grocery store, or a specialty food store and want to explore accepting EBT, I’d be happy to help. Send me a message.
There is no shame in needing help. But there is real pride in being the kind of business that offers.