GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CNN)- Viewers have been calling the Fox 17 Newsroom about their EBT Food Stamp Cards not working at local grocery stores Saturday around West Michigan.
Viewers say they would attempt to buy groceries with their Bridge Card, but the system is not working and they either had to leave the store or are sitting and waiting for the system to start up again.
According to CNN, A computer failure halted the processing of food stamp purchases in parts of the country Saturday, a Xerox spokeswoman confirmed.
A system shutdown began at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, spokeswoman Karen Arena said.
Xerox has released this statement, “During a routine test of our back-up systems Saturday morning, Xerox’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system experienced a temporary shutdown. While the system is now up and running, beneficiaries in the 17 affected states continue to experience connectivity issues to access their benefits. This disruption impacts EBT beneficiaries who rely on the system for SNAP and WIC. Technical staff is addressing the issue and expect the system to be restored soon. Beneficiaries requiring access to their benefits can work with their local retailers who can activate an emergency voucher system where available. We appreciate our clients’ patience while we work through this outage as quickly as possible.” -Kevin Lightfoot/Vice President/Xerox Corporate Communications
Issues are being reported in states all over the country, including, Ohio, Mississippi, Maine and Georgia.
The food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, allows many beneficiaries to present a payment card at grocery stories. Those transactions were being prevented Saturday in unspecified parts of the country.
The issue is wide spread, the problem should be corrected today.
