More and more SNAP recipients gravitating toward big-box retailers, Numerator says

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/38456232

The shutdown will halt about $8 billion a month in federal food assistance. Walmart captures 24% of all SNAP shopper spending, according to Numerator’s 2025 SNAP Evolution report—triple Kroger’s share and far ahead of Costco, Amazon and Sam’s Club.

Walmart was the first retailer to accept SNAP online in all 50 states in 2023 and launched the Walmart+ Assist program, which offers half-price memberships for those receiving aid.

“If SNAP payments stop, spending by the lowest income groups will fall,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of data and analytics firm GlobalData. “Walmart gets a plurality of the spending, so it will be hit the hardest.”

This was somewhat epiphanic for me.

I already recognized companies such as Walmart were subsidizing pay through social programs such as SNAP and essential funneling/laundering tax payer money to their executives.

This headline made me further realize they’re not only making taxpayers subsidize wages, they’ve also effectively turned the USD into a form of company scrip. While that scrip can be spent at some other locations I bet a large percent of funneled right back to e.g. Walmart itself. If you already work at Walmart it makes spending your SNAP benefit there easier.

  • yesman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    24·
    14 hours ago

    We need to remember that many “charity” government programs are stealth subsidies. We don’t “gift” weapons to Israel, we buy weapons from Raython. We don’t “gift” rice to poor countries, we buy rice from US farmers. We don’t “gift” food to poor families, we buy groceries from US retailers.

    Trump is one of the fools who thinks that government spending money is the same thing as throwing that money into the furnace.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
      12·
      17 hours ago

      If it was just them, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. This could escalate into something much bigger and uglier than just a corporation losing money. And a lot who will get hurt voted against the damn leopards, yet here they are roaming around.

    • Prove_your_argument@piefed.socialEnglish
      41·
      14 hours ago

      People go to walmart for groceries because they’re cheaper than a lot of the other options.

      Up here around Boston your cheap choices are literally Market Basket or Walmart. Everything else is substantially more expensive. Wholefoods might have a cute nickname of whole paycheck, but stop and shop, shaws, trader joe’s and others are not really cheaper nowadays and the quality of all of them has gone downhill.

      Market Basket is currently undergoing a leadership battle where the guy who has been keeping prices low and employees’ well compensated is being pushed out. If they go the way of everybody else… walmart is substantially cheaper.

      To that end, how do you suggest people with very tight budgets that use snap benefits afford groceries? Are you expecting everyone to rely on food banks exclusively? They literally do not have all kinds of things in my area, or at least didn’t when I was young and my parents had to rely on it. I don’t have SNAP and have never had it because i’m fortunate, but it’s not about me. It’s about the people who need it.

  • Lucky_777@lemmy.worldEnglish
    451·
    17 hours ago

    Yet Walmart funded the Republican party over and over again. Even corporate is getting fucked by Republicans. This is a bright spot honestly

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      12 hours ago

      They play both ends, about 50/50 GOP vs. Democrat donations, just a shade more to the GOP.

  • BigMacHole@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    32·
    17 hours ago

    This is HEARTBREAKING! That a Corporation might lose BILLIONS in Taxpayer Funded Subsidies! The CHILDREN on Taxpayer Funded Subsidies could DIE for All I Care!

    -Pro Life Patriotic Jesus Loving Republicans!

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    39·
    18 hours ago

    It’s more “doubling dipping”.

    Walmart pays their employees less than they need to survive, and so they can keep working, they help them get on Snap program.

    Then they use SNAP to buy groceries, likely from Walmart.

    But even if not, lots of others do.

    So they get hit twice as hard. Employees won’t be able to afford to keep working there…

    And a shit ton of their customers can’t afford to shop there, or anywhere else.

    So they’re likely to get hit by theft as well, when people starve, they stop thinking about anything besides the next meal, and everyone knows Walmart lets you walk out till you pass felony threshold.

    People really going to be snatch and grabbing groceries soon. Shits gonna get real bad real soon if we have even more desperate people not thinking past tomorrow.