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This Army Dad Went Out To Buy Groceries And He Was Outraged By What He Saw

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In line

After carefully picking out the items he thinks were important, he fell in line patiently at the counter. It was supposed to be just another regular shopping trip until he noticed the people lined up in front of him.

(Medium.com) 

He was outraged by what he saw… 

Patrick Gibson

Patrick Gibson is an army man who just wanted to provide for his family. He enlisted in the US Army in hopes of giving his family a comfortable life.

(Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

In exchange, he would have less time with his loved ones, but he didn’t let this hinder him from serving his country and doing a good job. 

Important lesson

Ever since Patrick was a child, his parents instilled an important lesson in him. He learned to appreciate the value of working hard. 

( Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

His parents would tell him that nothing was ever given free and he decided to live by this philosophy by working as hard as he could. 

Meeting the one

It didn’t take long before Patrick met the love of his life, Whitney. After the couple tied the knot, they were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl. 

(Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

It seems everything was going well with Patrick. He married a wonderful woman and built a family for himself, but maintaining one wasn’t easy. 

Becoming a father

Becoming a father wasn’t easy, in fact, Patrick must have felt that it was probably a lot harder than serving the military! Patrick had to sacrifice his own well-being in order to ensure that his family would be well-fed. 

(Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

He would usually skip breakfast in order to save money. He would try to stretch his $70 budget as far as he could, but it proved to be difficult especially when he has four mouths to feed now. 

On a budget 

At the end of every month, Patrick would check how much money he has leftover from his previous paycheck. He would then use that money to do some grocery shopping. 

(Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

Grocery shopping sounds fun, but it wasn’t an easy task for Patrick especially because of the fact that he’s on a tight budget. As he calculated how much he had leftover, Patrick let out a hefty sigh and drove to Walmart. 

Buying groceries 

Patrick was careful. He would look at the specials and best buys before proceeding with his purchase. He couldn’t just pick up whatever he wanted, he had to make sure that he stays on a budget in order to feed his family. 

(Bloglet.com) 

He walked through the aisles of the grocery store and started picking the things his family needed. “Maybe I can treat my family a little today,” he thought to himself as he smiled sheepishly after passing through the crate of grapes. But Patrick had no idea that his smile would eventually turn into a frown. 

Getting impatient 

As usual, Walmart was filled with people. He can hear crying children from a distance and see that they’re being accompanied by their uninterested mothers. Patrick also felt the wheels of another person’s shopping cart hit his heels. 

(WSJ.com) 

Not wanting to deal with other rude customers anymore, Patrick decided to check out in order to get home early.  

Something strange

Patrick patiently waited in line as a crowd of customers checked out in front of him. He would sometimes find himself glancing at other people’s groceries, inevitably comparing their items with his own. 

(Expee) 

One customer caught Patrick’s attention, he saw how their grocery cart was FILLED with items. “Damn, I wish I could do the same,” he thought to himself. He had no issue with people buying more things until he noticed something strange… 

Stacked with items 

He observed the people in front of him. Their grocery cart was stacked with items! From a distance, he could see fresh steaks, butter, bacon, cheese, shrimp, lobster, and other expensive items loaded in their two carts. He felt a little jealous but there was nothing he could do about it. 

(Supermarketnews)

After all, it was their money he thought to himself. But Patrick was wrong… 

Checking out

As the people in front of him were about to check out, he saw their bill. It was over $800, which was expected since they had hundreds of items piled up. 

(Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

Patrick thought that the people in front of him would pay for their items but he was caught off guard by what they did. 

Unexpected turn

He saw the man pull out his wallet, setting his $100 bills aside to fish out his EBT card. “Wait a minute…’ Patrick thought to himself. 

( The Olympian )

Patrick was familiar with how EBT cards are used and he was surprised at how these people were able to get one… 

EBT Card 

An Electronic Benefits Card or more commonly referred to as an “EBT” card is an electronic food stamp system that allows people in need to receive benefits easier. State welfare departments would issue benefits to people in need via payment card instead of using separate food stamps. 

( http://mamiihondenk.org/ )

Through this system, transactions are now made easier. But Patrick felt odd, how can these people in front of him use an EBT card to afford luxury items? 

Enraged 

Patrick felt enraged, he knew how hard it was to apply for a benefits card yet these people who can seem to afford their groceries were given the privilege to use it. 

(Freepik)

In a fit of anger, Patrick felt the need to get evidence… 

Sneaky 

Patrick initially didn’t plan to get involved but he couldn’t help but think of all the people in need who were denied the privilege of using an EBT card. 

(Trendhunter) 

Carefully, Patrick pulled out his phone and sneakily took a snapshot of the items the people in front of him bought. When Patrick was done checking out, it seems his speculation was further backed up by what he saw. 

Loading up

(Simplemost) 

He saw the couple trying to load up their enormous purchase into their car. But it wasn’t just any ordinary car. When Patrick saw what kind of vehicle the couple was driving, he was convinced that he had to take this to social media. 

Sickening 

Patrick saw the couple’s car, it was a brand new Hyundai Genesis which costs from $15,000 to $20,000. It costs more than his own family’s car!

(Ray Skillman Avon Hyundai)

Patrick couldn’t seem to fathom the thought of how this couple was able to get an EBT card despite being obviously well-off and possibly wealthier than Patrick. Sickened by the thought that the couple may have cheated through the system, he decided to vent on social media. 

Patrick’s post 

“Sorry, but I had to vent. The picture you see on the left is the amount of groceries including diapers that I was able to afford this pay period for my family (wife, son, daughter, myself) which was paid in cash since I actually work hard for a living. The picture on the right is of the purchase in front of me in line,” Patrick started in his post. 

( Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

“If you can’t tell in the picture there are 2 full buggies of groceries including such items like steak and some other very nice choices of food. Here’s the kicker. This purchase was made in food stamps,” Patrick revealed. 

Confused 

Patrick explained how he wouldn’t have any issue with the couple he saw if it weren’t for the fact that he saw “ the person move their big fold of cash out of the way to get to the debit card and then load them into the back of a brand new Hyundai Genesis.”

( Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

“That is about 15k-20k more than my car. I just thought I would take the time to tell this person/family that you are very welcome from all of us hard-working/ struggling to buy food Americans that have to foot the bill for your fancy steak feast while I skip breakfast and lunch every day that way my wife and children have food to eat every day because $50-$75 dollars doesn’t go very far,” Patrick added. But how did people react to his controversial post? 

Mixed reactions

It seems Patrick’s post garnered a number of mixed reactions, one of them reacting negatively and telling Patrick that he was too quick to judge. 

( Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

Support 

But most of the commenters on the post agreed with Patrick’s sentiment, possibly because of how relatable it was. 

( Facebook/Patrick Gibson)

It seems a lot of people understand how it’s a struggle to get by. After all, Patrick has experienced being denied assistance before as well and how difficult it was to even get any.  Patrick then ended his post with: “So you enjoy your $800 free grocery purchase.”

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