Photos of Food Stamp Balances From Brewer Hannaford Ignite Internet Controversy [POLL]

An unknown employee at the Brewer Hannaford store has started an internet controversy after posting images of store receipts of purchases made with EBT cards (also known as food stamps) showing huge balances.According to a story on a Bangor Daily News blog, the pictures came to light last week after they were posted to the Facebook page of Howie Carr, a conservative talk show host from Boston.

The two receipts show EBT card balances of $2,325 and $1,491. As could be expected, the photo sparked reactions both from people who were angry about the high balances on the cards and speaking out against food stamp recipients and from people defending those who receive the benefits.

According to the BDN blog, there has also been an online call from some commenters to fire the employee who took and posted the photo, citing privacy concerns.

The BDN blog said that Hannaford has responded to several social media threads about the issue with the following statement: “Thanks for reaching out. We wanted to let you know that we’re looking into the situation. We welcome all forms of payment in our stores. Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and your feelings with us.”

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