4 ms·

> No, I can use EBT at most corner stores. > What's your point? That large, established chains can't accept EBT? Corner store is already way more overhead th

> No, I can use EBT at most corner stores. > What's your point? That large, established chains can't accept EBT? Corner store is already way more overhead than needed in some cases when a seller can market their product online and can communicate with any would-be buyer over any messaging channel and drive it to you while handling their periodic activities that may have them already out and about.

joshuamorton 3y ago
Are you implying the existence of an alternate universe where I buy lettuce online direct from the farmer with EBT, and they deliver it to me? Because there's an extremely small set of cases where such a direct delivery model makes any kind of economic sense. Distributors as intermediaries are more efficient for almost all cases.
- cinquemb 3y ago
  > Are you implying the existence of an alternate universe where I buy lettuce online direct from the farmer with EBT I'm implying it should be available. > , and they deliver it to me? > Distributors as intermediaries are more efficient for almost all cases. Except it should be possible for someone to grow in their local community at any scale desirable (esp important for urban agg entrepreneurs) and accept EBT from anyone near by. As kid, i helped a lot in a few community gardens in the city where i lived (where there also happened to be a lot of people already on government assistance within walking distance) and being able to sell produce and accept EBT would have changed the economics completely and incentivized way more productive economics beyond the donation model. Current distributors would also have way more competition for the same pie of funds allocated for EBT, and help make the program more efficient. If the availability for funding for something that is considered a public good is not broad and supportive of the smallest possible economic interactions, it is doing a disservice to the populations it is meant to support, esp for building wealth (esp for those building wealth in those communities have to subsidize big co distribution system). I can understand arguments against if they were framed in the context that these gov programs didn't have the infra in place historically to support this in May 16, 1939 - but that is far from the case today. I live in an EM country now that has a simmilar program to how food banks operate in the US (except the gov is doing it) abbreviated as SEMBAKO, and nothing like SNAP/EBT. Yet with technology, private banks are willing to finance peoples purchases of food online while paying full price at the local "stores" people choose to order food from (which is a big deal if you go out sometimes and talk to some of the sellers who would have no access otherwise to the markets they are selling into, some even going as far as sending hand written thank you notes on delivery).
  - joshuamorton 3y ago
    > Except it should be possible for someone to grow in their local community at any scale desirable (esp important for urban agg entrepreneurs) and accept EBT from anyone near by. As kid, i helped a lot in a few community gardens in the city where i lived (where there also happened to be a lot of people already on government assistance within walking distance) and being able to sell produce and accept EBT would have changed the economics completely and incentivized way more productive economics beyond the donation model. Farmers markets allow this, at least in my area. I don't think your objection is specific or related to EBT or delivery services, it really seems to be an objection to how economics works. Urban Agg is basically always going to (in the US) be vastly more expensive than (still localish but rural) agg. > Current distributors would also have way more competition for the same pie of funds allocated for EBT, and help make the program more efficient. There's like a dozen stores that sell produce and accept EBT within 3 blocks of where I live. None of them (that I know of) are chains or franchises. Like, independently owned corner stores that contract with a farm whose name I know, and farmers markets that sell direct to consumer aren't subsidizing "big-co" distributors. I'm really not sure what you're getting at.
    - cinquemb 3y ago
      > Farmers markets allow this, at least in my area. In the area I grew up in, having to pay fees to sell at a farmers market stall with everyone else was already way more overhead than desired. > Urban Agg is basically always going to (in the US) be vastly more expensive than (still localish but rural) agg. People growing in what space they have available at no extra cost to them and selling at the same/lower or even higher prices (at whatever volume) than stores (or thru a farmers market) should still be able to accept EBT. People should be able to sell out of their section 8 housing (1937 gov program) and accept EBT. > I'm really not sure what you're getting at. Clearly, I'm getting at that people should be able to sell without having a extra physical overhead any kind of store or incorporating (or paying without fees to those who do) and still be able to accept EBT. If you ever come to Jakarta, you will quickly see what I'm talking about. Can use the same app to buy from a big/small grocery stores as from someone selling out of their corrugated metal roof "house" and have it delivered. Banks finance transaction volume regardless, no gov sponsored channel available to any actor over others in the apps.

joshuamorton 3y ago

Are you implying the existence of an alternate universe where I buy lettuce online direct from the farmer with EBT, and they deliver it to me? Because there's an extremely small set of cases where such a direct delivery model makes any kind of economic sense. Distributors as intermediaries are more efficient for almost all cases.

cinquemb 3y ago
> Are you implying the existence of an alternate universe where I buy lettuce online direct from the farmer with EBT I'm implying it should be available. > , and they deliver it to me? > Distributors as intermediaries are more efficient for almost all cases. Except it should be possible for someone to grow in their local community at any scale desirable (esp important for urban agg entrepreneurs) and accept EBT from anyone near by. As kid, i helped a lot in a few community gardens in the city where i lived (where there also happened to be a lot of people already on government assistance within walking distance) and being able to sell produce and accept EBT would have changed the economics completely and incentivized way more productive economics beyond the donation model. Current distributors would also have way more competition for the same pie of funds allocated for EBT, and help make the program more efficient. If the availability for funding for something that is considered a public good is not broad and supportive of the smallest possible economic interactions, it is doing a disservice to the populations it is meant to support, esp for building wealth (esp for those building wealth in those communities have to subsidize big co distribution system). I can understand arguments against if they were framed in the context that these gov programs didn't have the infra in place historically to support this in May 16, 1939 - but that is far from the case today. I live in an EM country now that has a simmilar program to how food banks operate in the US (except the gov is doing it) abbreviated as SEMBAKO, and nothing like SNAP/EBT. Yet with technology, private banks are willing to finance peoples purchases of food online while paying full price at the local "stores" people choose to order food from (which is a big deal if you go out sometimes and talk to some of the sellers who would have no access otherwise to the markets they are selling into, some even going as far as sending hand written thank you notes on delivery).
- joshuamorton 3y ago
  > Except it should be possible for someone to grow in their local community at any scale desirable (esp important for urban agg entrepreneurs) and accept EBT from anyone near by. As kid, i helped a lot in a few community gardens in the city where i lived (where there also happened to be a lot of people already on government assistance within walking distance) and being able to sell produce and accept EBT would have changed the economics completely and incentivized way more productive economics beyond the donation model. Farmers markets allow this, at least in my area. I don't think your objection is specific or related to EBT or delivery services, it really seems to be an objection to how economics works. Urban Agg is basically always going to (in the US) be vastly more expensive than (still localish but rural) agg. > Current distributors would also have way more competition for the same pie of funds allocated for EBT, and help make the program more efficient. There's like a dozen stores that sell produce and accept EBT within 3 blocks of where I live. None of them (that I know of) are chains or franchises. Like, independently owned corner stores that contract with a farm whose name I know, and farmers markets that sell direct to consumer aren't subsidizing "big-co" distributors. I'm really not sure what you're getting at.
  - cinquemb 3y ago
    > Farmers markets allow this, at least in my area. In the area I grew up in, having to pay fees to sell at a farmers market stall with everyone else was already way more overhead than desired. > Urban Agg is basically always going to (in the US) be vastly more expensive than (still localish but rural) agg. People growing in what space they have available at no extra cost to them and selling at the same/lower or even higher prices (at whatever volume) than stores (or thru a farmers market) should still be able to accept EBT. People should be able to sell out of their section 8 housing (1937 gov program) and accept EBT. > I'm really not sure what you're getting at. Clearly, I'm getting at that people should be able to sell without having a extra physical overhead any kind of store or incorporating (or paying without fees to those who do) and still be able to accept EBT. If you ever come to Jakarta, you will quickly see what I'm talking about. Can use the same app to buy from a big/small grocery stores as from someone selling out of their corrugated metal roof "house" and have it delivered. Banks finance transaction volume regardless, no gov sponsored channel available to any actor over others in the apps.