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15 Cents - Food Stamp Scrip Family Thrift Center
| Issuer | Family Thrift Center, Williston, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Obverse description | Plain pale yellow scrip on unadorned stock, printed in black letterpress. The issuer name and location appear in bold serif capitals across the upper field, above the large legend FOOD STAMP CREDIT. A manuscript signature occupies the centre, with the handwritten denomination 15 entered in the credit line and the cautionary note Not To Exceed 49 Cents at foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is unprinted pale yellow stock, with faint show-through of the obverse letterpress text visible through the thin paper substrate. No design elements, legends, or security devices are present. |
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| Comments |
Food stamp scrip of this type emerged from a federal loophole that persisted until the 1990s: when a food stamp purchase left a fractional change amount below a set threshold, retailers were permitted to issue their own paper scrip redeemable for future purchases rather than making change in cash. Family Thrift Center in Williston issued these 15-cent notes under exactly that provision. The practice was effectively killed by the 1996 welfare reform legislation, which phased out paper food stamps entirely in favor of the EBT card system.
Williston, in McKenzie County oil country, was a small-market town when these circulated — a single grocery chain issuing its own fractional currency is an odd footnote to federal food assistance policy.