Skip To...
A man who identified himself as a former Walmart assistant manager has gone on TikTok to share his perspective on how Walmart’s business model and vendor relationships allegedly depend heavily on shoppers using EBT benefits. The Texas-based content creator explained that, in his experience, the majority of Walmart’s sales are tied to government assistance programs, and he believes that this dependency is part of why food prices have remained high.
In his video, the man claimed that Walmart “probably gets like over 90% of all the EBT out there,” suggesting that its suppliers, including major brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, and Blue Bell, also profit from the same customer base. “Walmart is an EBT business,” he said. “Their entire business model is built around it. All their vendors thrive on EBT. You’re like, oh, that’s junk food. Yep, that’s what goes in all them baskets.” He argued that most of the purchases made with EBT are processed foods, snacks, and drinks rather than healthier grocery items.
The man also suggested that the government’s long-term distribution of EBT funds has contributed to inflation in food prices. Drawing a comparison to student loans, he said that when government programs continuously fund certain sectors, businesses feel empowered to raise prices indefinitely. “If the government’s going to just pump out tons of money every single year, what’s to stop all these companies from raising food prices?” he said. “If you get so much money from the government, just keep raising prices, right?”
The EBT Cutoff
On another note, the man also touched on the recent news about the EBT cutoff, saying that the situation might “get real weird” in the coming weeks. He referenced the social media chatter about people making threats to steal from Walmart and even customers leaving with carts in grocery parking lots. “I don’t recommend that,” he cautioned. “You start attacking people in parking lots and threatening their lives, I don’t know what’s going to happen to you.”
He claimed that the retailer might shift to online-only orders in low-income areas and increase police presence in stores to prevent theft or unrest if disruptions arise. “They’re probably going to start beefing them up with police,” he said. “There’s probably police right now in their loss prevention offices just waiting for y’all to do something.”
Netizens React to the Texas Man’s Claims About Walmart and EBT
People’s opinions were mixed online. Some agreed with his assessment of the system, while others dismissed his claims about Walmart’s operations. One person wrote, “If people are too lazy to work, they’re gonna be too lazy to actually cook for and take care of their children, so junk food sells like crazy on EBT.” A second said, “It’s not that 40 million people are gonna lose their EBT, the question should be why are there 40 million people on EBT. Think about that.”
Some commenters also said they had noticed heightened security at Walmart locations in recent days. “I noticed a lot more security at my local Walmarts this past week,” one person said. Another added, “I heard Walmart is switching to pickup only. My own Walmart just installed 50 stalls.” However, others quickly dismissed those rumors, writing, “No they are not… Walmart is not closing and just doing online… just STOP IT.”
