Costco and Food Stamps: A Good Neighbor Policy

[East Harlem Preservation]

Guest Editorial by Viveca Diaz

Why is Costco moving into non-middle income neighborhoods like East Harlem when they don’t accept food stamps? They want to live on the land of the people, but they don’t want people of the land who receive federal assistance to purchase food from their stores.

Box-box stores built in disadvantaged communities catering only to middle-income shoppers sure sounds like gentrification (not to mention segregation) to me.

Rather than snubbing lower-income residents in East Harlem, Costco should seize the opportunity to improve its corporate reputation by reversing its antiquated policy on food stamps.

In exchange for permission to make late-night deliveries, Costco is offering 2,000 free memberships to the East Harlem community. Seems like a great offer except for the fact that: (1) memberships are based on income, (2) the free memberships would only be good for two years and, (3) the free memberships will be based on a lottery system (to be overseen by supporters of this raw deal).

So let’s get this straight: Costco’s lease is for 30 years but neighborhood residents are only being offered a limited number of free two-year memberships? Seems a bit unfair, doesn’t it?

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the amount of food stamps an individual or families receives will be increased by up to 13%.

Given that none of those families fall into the middle-income bracket that make up the majority of Costco members, I suspect that the company will soon reconsider their food stamps policy.

[Yelimar Quinones]

Interestingly enough, Costco has decided that they will begin to accept food stamps in two of their locations--Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn---on a "trial basis" of course. They apparently have yet to decide if it is worth the investment to accept food stamps at their new East Harlem location. They should consider using some of that $60 million in tax exemptions they received for doing business in a state empowerment zone, in order to implemement a system that will allow our community residents to shop their. Their refusal to accept food stamps at the East Harlem location is blatantly wrong!

[East Harlem Preservation]

Zoila, if you want to focus on your personal experiences, I encourage you to do publish your own page at blogspot.com or elsewhere on ning.com. This is not the forum for insults. East Harlem Preservation is an educational website that is frequented by local students and others throughout the city and around the country every day. Do you honestly think it's helpful for young people to be presented with such a negative and hostile impression about new homeowners as you are doing by posting such hateful comments? Can we please take this conversation up a notch, say to a college-educated level? If you cannot respect our ground rules, I will be forced to bring this particular "conversation" to and end. Thank you.

[Zoila Arbelaez]

And by "thugs" I mean the young men dressed to the nines, in brand new sneakers, lots of gold jewelry and name brand clothes that hang out in front of playgrounds smoking pot, drinking and cursing at each other and saying things that are not appropriate to say in front of women and children when they should be at school or working That is by definition acting in a "thuggish" manner and being a downright "thug". Not to be insulting, just telling the truth.

[Zoila Arbelaez]

I am not calling anyone names in my post, just stating the facts. People abuse the food stamps. They sell them for cash to buy drugs. I came from a poor upbringing and improved my situation by working hard and getting an education and bought a condominium in East Harlem. It is also a fact that some of the poor, uneducated people that are walking down the street throw garbage on the street and scream obscenities at each other and their children. That is not building a sense of "community" that is not improving yourself or neihgborliness. I am tired of seeing this and hope that things can get better. That is why I pick up dog waste and litter everyday on the streets. For the children of the families that do not care about themselves or their own neighbors.

[East Harlem Preservation]

Zoila, disparaging generalizations about low-income families and their use of food stamps does not contribute to building a sense of "community" and neighborliness. This is a family-friendly social network and we do not encourage name-calling. insults, and personal venting at the expense of other local residents. Please bear this in mind when posting. Thank you.

[Zoila Arbelaez]

Why? Because often times in supermarkets there are people offering to sell their foodstamps for cash. They don't use foodstamps for food, they sell it to buy drugs. This is not what my poor family did when we came to this country and I was growing up and my parents needed to put food on the table. My father worked three jobs and went to night school and my mother watched children in our home and we never went on food stamps. Now I am college educated, have a good job and bought a home in a neighborhood in NYC that I can afford. I want my children to be able to go into a playground without having a bunch of thugs hanging out drinking, smoking pot and shouting profanities at each other. Why is that wrong?

[Yelimar Quinones]

Costco, costco, costco...what a dilemna they have posed. Their clear stance on not accepting food stamps is a clear and bold statement that they are not interested in serving the clients that reside in their new location here in East Harlem. You cant help but feel an echo of discrimination and consequentially racism, when you hear that a retailer is firmly against receiving money via an EBT card. Its as if it werent just as good as a dollar bill. There is no good reason provided yet as to why they will not accept food stamps. One is then left to believe that they have never intended to serve this community. Once again, East Harlem, has been designated as an easy place to do business. We must ensure that the pressures continue to be placed on fighting for the right to utilize food stamps!