New Rochelle Grocery Stores Report Run on Cocoa Puffs, Sour Patch Kids and Sugary Soda as Children Go Wild with $1,000 EBT Card Windfall

Written By: Robert Cox

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — If you were a kid and suddenly had a $1,000 to spend at the grocery how much would you spend on fruit, vegetables and healthy snacks?

If you said “none” you would not be alone.

OK. The headline is meant as a joke but with a serious purpose. To raise awareness that thousands of P-EBT debit cards with up to $1,070 were sent to children by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance this week.

As the City School District of New Rochelle and the City of New Rochelle have not acted on our suggestion that they communicate about the P-EBT Program to the community we are doing what we can to get attention on the large sums of money flowing into New Rochelle households. In some case, skeptical parents have tossed the cards in the trash.

There is no run on sugary cereal, soda and candy (that we know of!). EBT cards can be used to purchase junk foods like chips, candy, snack crackers, ice cream, and soft drinks but the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is intended to provide food for people in need, preferably fruits and vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, dairy products, breads and cereals, baby food and formula, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Thousands of New Rochelle children have received a P-EBT debit card (pictured above)

To learn all about it — and what to do if you lost or tossed the card — read our article:

Why Did New Rochelle Students Unexpectedly Receive EBT Cards with More Than $1,000