07-31-2026, 11:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-01-2026, 12:10 AM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
Fraud or entrapment? Once again big government weasels prove they are willing to engage in practices used by the worst of the worst.
Several Big Island food stores have recently lost their ability to accept SNAP payments, which in Puna is a large portion of food purchases for stores. Nobody can afford to lose business in this economy. Residents have less choices when buying fresh natural foods.
At the Waiholokui Garden grocery store on the Big Island, owner Elizabeth Ward said a minor slip up led to disqualification.
A person performing a USDA inspection and posing as a shopper came into the Pāhoa store three days in a row. On the first day, the inspector tried to buy products that weren’t SNAP-eligible, including a tea infuser, Ward said.
Elizabeth Ward, the owner of Waiholokui Garden, in her Pāhoa store, which the USDA said can no longer accept SNAP as payment. (Courtesy: Elizabeth Ward)
“She’s like, ‘Can you just help me out this one time?’ Ward said. “And then one of my cashiers said, ‘No, sorry about that. Can’t.”
The next day, the inspector returned, again posing as a customer. She engaged the cashier — Ward’s daughter — in conversation about having a surname in common, and bought an array of products with SNAP including a bottle of coconut oil. However, it was oil for skin, when only coconut cooking oil can be bought with SNAP.
The next day, Ward said, the inspector came in and tried to buy the same coconut oil. “My daughter said, ‘Oh no, you can’t buy that one with EBT (the SNAP payment card). Then the inspector said, ‘But you let me buy it yesterday.’ She goes, ‘Oh, I don’t know how that happened, but we’re not supposed to.’ And that’s how they got us.”
https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/07/federa...s-program/
Keaau Natural Foods recently lost their ability to process EBT purchases as well. My understanding is that once revoked they cannot reapply for EBT/SNAP acceptance for 6 months. Stores have employees. Employees are trained, and informed of proper procedures. If they don’t follow it to the letter, the owner suffers.
I once had a worker tape up a box for shipment, apply an address label and invoice. The customer called when it arrived and asked me if this was a joke? The worker had shipped an empty box. They never noticed, even though part of their job was to pack the box.
Several Big Island food stores have recently lost their ability to accept SNAP payments, which in Puna is a large portion of food purchases for stores. Nobody can afford to lose business in this economy. Residents have less choices when buying fresh natural foods.
At the Waiholokui Garden grocery store on the Big Island, owner Elizabeth Ward said a minor slip up led to disqualification.
A person performing a USDA inspection and posing as a shopper came into the Pāhoa store three days in a row. On the first day, the inspector tried to buy products that weren’t SNAP-eligible, including a tea infuser, Ward said.
Elizabeth Ward, the owner of Waiholokui Garden, in her Pāhoa store, which the USDA said can no longer accept SNAP as payment. (Courtesy: Elizabeth Ward)
“She’s like, ‘Can you just help me out this one time?’ Ward said. “And then one of my cashiers said, ‘No, sorry about that. Can’t.”
The next day, the inspector returned, again posing as a customer. She engaged the cashier — Ward’s daughter — in conversation about having a surname in common, and bought an array of products with SNAP including a bottle of coconut oil. However, it was oil for skin, when only coconut cooking oil can be bought with SNAP.
The next day, Ward said, the inspector came in and tried to buy the same coconut oil. “My daughter said, ‘Oh no, you can’t buy that one with EBT (the SNAP payment card). Then the inspector said, ‘But you let me buy it yesterday.’ She goes, ‘Oh, I don’t know how that happened, but we’re not supposed to.’ And that’s how they got us.”
https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/07/federa...s-program/
Keaau Natural Foods recently lost their ability to process EBT purchases as well. My understanding is that once revoked they cannot reapply for EBT/SNAP acceptance for 6 months. Stores have employees. Employees are trained, and informed of proper procedures. If they don’t follow it to the letter, the owner suffers.
I once had a worker tape up a box for shipment, apply an address label and invoice. The customer called when it arrived and asked me if this was a joke? The worker had shipped an empty box. They never noticed, even though part of their job was to pack the box.