DETROIT – A serious glitch created problems for thousands of people on food stamp assistance across the U.S. Saturday.
The system has now been fully restored. Xerox released this statement:
The EBT system went down Saturday in 17 states, including Michigan, stemming from a problem with the company that runs the system, Xerox. The company released this statement: "During a routine test of our back-up systems Saturday morning, Xerox' Electronics Benefits Transfer (EBT) system experienced a temporary shutdown."
Xerox says the system is now back up and running, but some states are still having problems. For stores like King Cole Foods, this is bad for business because 75% of sales is dependent on EBT.
"This is like a ghost town in here. Normally I would have four registers running. Unfortunately I had to send two of them home," says owner Dave Gasso.
There's been no word on when the problem will be completely fixed, but bridge card holders and store owners are hoping it's sooner than later.