The battle for SNAP: The battle for grocery customers continued this week with Amazon’s announcement that it will begin offering half-price subscriptions to its loyalty program, Amazon Prime, for those who use EBT (electronic benefits transfer) payments. That means millions of U.S. citizens who receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits will get a discount. That’s good news for those struggling to keep their refrigerators stocked and bad news for Amazon’s competition. Online news organization PYMNTS reports that Walmart and Kroger shares dipped by 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively, following the change, and online stock analysis news organization Seeking Alpha attributes the ding in stock value to Amazon’s announcement. – Timothy Inklebarger
Topping the charts: If you are going to do a grocer dirty, do it with posters and a song. This shopper protest of Loblaws is getting serious, folks, and let’s be honest…it’s getting goofy. Earlier this month posters were found taped and stapled to poles in Toronto announcing a national theft day at all Loblaws, and a shopper boycott of the chain is scheduled to take place in May. However, it would not be complete without a song. TikTokker Callum has put together a little jingle that comes across like a cheesy rap (I think that’s the goal here) about stealing from Loblaw and why it should not be reserved for one day. The opening line is “Galen Weston [CEO of Loblaws] is a man with 15,000 times more money than the average man.” I don’t think you need to know more than that when it comes to the rap. Did I just create my own line of hip-hop there? Admittingly, the song is pretty hilarious and it does hit what has been a tender spot for Canadians (and us Americans as well) frustrated over high food prices…which have been too legit, too legit to quit. —Bill Wilson
I’ll raise your gold bars: Gold bars at Costco? Ha! How about a clean car at Sam’s Club? Well, one Sam’s Club anyways. A Sam’s Club car wash is celebrating its grand opening in Grapevine, Texas, this weekend. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 27 and 28, Sam’s Club members and Plus members will receive free scrubs at the event, and Plus members will also be able to receive free car washes after the grand opening. Member’s Mark food trucks will also be on hand, but not in the car wash, and there will also be free goodie bags and demos. The store and gas station closed back in December 2022 after a tornado swept through the area. I also do not know of another Sam’s Club car wash in the U.S., but I could be wrong. I still have those Loblaws theft lyrics dancing around my head so I am not thinking too clearly. —BW
Oops, here’s your massive order: Last week right on this very page I wrote about a Walmart customer who received each item she ordered individually wrapped in grocery bags. This time I’m here to tell you about the delivery order fit for an army that dropped a bomb on a couple in Mississippi. The husband came back from picking up an order and quickly realized he got the wrong one. The back of the car was overflowing with grocery bags (luckily in this case the shopper was more sensible when it came to packing) in what was estimated to be an order ranging from $300-$500. The couple called Walmart about the mixup, and the store told them to go ahead and keep the grub. Not only that, Walmart then shipped them their correct order and also made peace with the transaction made with that army. A neighborhood block party shortly broke out because how else are you going to consume a million pieces of grocery? But I’m dying to ask: How on Earth did the husband not know something was amiss when the worker was piling all those bags in the back of his car? I mean, wouldn’t you think after the sixth or so package the guy would be, “Hmmmm.” Stop texting while parking! —BW
May the force be with blue: Only the most dedicated Star Wars fans know about the blue milk, but apparently the beverage was consumed by Luke Skywalker in the Cantina scene in the original film. The Jedi to be had not yet met Yoda and trained in the swamps of Degobah nor had he learned that Darth Vader was his father. Perhaps, that’s the reason they gave this Tatooine farm boy a big glass of milk to drink in a bar — to show his naivete and lack of experience in the world. They had to give it a twist, though, and decided to make the space milk blue. On the fourth of May this year, (Star Wars nerds celebrate this as May the Fourth Be With You Day) TruMoo milk company is releasing Star Wars blue milk, which features a grown-up Skywalker fighting Darth Vader on the side of the carton. The blue milk is in limited supply, though, so if you can’t find any, please don’t turn to the dark side. – TI
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It’s getting ugly in Canada, where shoppers are launching campaigns against grocery giant Loblaws. First there was a social media group calling for a day in May for customers to boycott the grocer, then came posters encouraging a theft ring at stores, and now comes a cheesy rap song about the company’s greed. Does this call for increased security at Loblaws? Email us your thoughts at [email protected].
