Mom-and-pop stores losing EBT customers struggle to survive

It’s not only making it harder for families to put food on their tables—

“It’s usually really big families that come in even now when they’ve been slowly coming in after the shutdown. They see the signs that we’ve put up and they’re really shocked and disappointed that they can’t use it,” Mato added.

It’s also affecting people’s livelihoods.

“These small businesses in especially in these low-income, high-poverty neighborhoods that rely heavily on SNAP are oftentimes looking at 50 percent of their monthly revenue is coming from SNAP,” said Daniela Spoto, deputy director at Hawaiʻi Appleseed, a nonprofit advocacy group. “They are employing staff that are at risk of losing their jobs. They’re not able to restock their shelves and in worst case scenario, they’re at risk of closing their doors.”

Madison is the third generation helping to run the small business.

“If it does go on like this, I don’t think it would be very long,” Mato said. “It’s really sad, especially because we’ve been here for a really long time.”