6. EBTs Started To Push Out Food Stamps Starting In 1988
Today, people know food stamps as EBT and receive their funds through a plastic card. But, one factor they do not know is this process started in the late 1980s. The first EBT cards came out in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1984. This became the test pilot for EBT cards.
The Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 pushed for more test pilot programs. Areas all around the United States continued to test the EBT cards instead of food stamp coupons. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 told states they all needed to start implementing EBT by October 2002.
