The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995                 TAG: 9503080215
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: E10B EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   89 lines

NEW FOOD STAMP SYSTEM CRITICIZED

Food stamps are being distributed in Chesapeake through a new system hailed by the Department of Social Services as more efficient and cost-effective but criticized by some recipients as inconvenient and demeaning.

The new system began in January, after Social Services' contract to distribute food stamps through Crestar Bank and the Bank of Hampton Roads ended. Instead of renewing the contracts, the department hired Cost Containment Inc., a private firm based in North Carolina that operates food stamp issuance locations in Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

Until recently, food stamp recipients received an ``Authorization to Purchase'' card in the mail, which could be redeemed for stamps at any one of five bank branches.

Under the new system, recipients are assigned a specific date and location to pick up their food stamps, said Jane Brockwell, assistant director of Social Services. The new process cuts down on paperwork and eliminates the possible delay in mail service, she said.

``Now they won't have to worry about the ATP cards being delayed in holiday mail, getting lost or stolen,'' she said. And the new system saves the city about $35,000 a year. About 6,000 Chesapeake residents currently receive food stamps.

The distribution method eliminates much of the postage cost as well as the cost of the cards, including replacements for lost and stolen ones, Brockwell said.

But some recipients say the new system is less convenient for them and more humiliating because of long food stamp lines that now form outside grocery stores where many of the food stamp pick-up locations are housed.

At Cost Containment's main site in the Farm Fresh on Providence Road, a line wrapped around the outside of the building last month, the first month of the new system. Recipients can pick up their food stamps any time between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., but a line usually forms early in the day, when a rush of people show up at the opening hour.

After receiving some complaints about the food stamp lines, the Social Services Department sent out a letter asking people not to come before 11 a.m. to avoid forming a line. But some recipients who found themselves standing outside again last week continued to complain about the inconvenience.

Brandi Blackstock, 19, said she used to walk the half-mile to Crestar Bank to get her food stamps from her South Norfolk home. Now, the seven miles to Holly Point Shopping Center, her assigned location, is much less convenient.

``I have to take off work just to come here,'' she said. ``And it's hard if you don't have transportation like me. I'm not ashamed, but it's kind of embarrassing having to ask my boss to give me a ride here.''

Blackstock and others stood behind a roped-off area in the entrance to the store as they waited to collect their stamps. A late start had her and other recipients waiting outside for about 15 minutes.

``When you come and stand on a line like this, it makes you feel like second class,'' she said. ``Before it was discreet. We went to the bank. Now it's obvious we're standing in a food stamp line.''

She and George Bangroff, 60, who was in front of her in line, shook off the cold as the line crept forward and they entered the store.

``The manager doesn't want us in the store, clogging up the aisles. That's what I was told,'' said Juanita Collins. She and others shook their heads, glanced at their watches, and strained periodically to see how much closer they were to the front of the line. Disgusted with the new system, they said they would not patronize the store once they received their stamps.

``In the long run, it'll be a lot better for people. . . . Of course, whenever you go to something new, it's always going to take some adjusting to,'' Brockwell said.

She and her department are working to discourage formation of the lines that occur in the opening hours, she said.

One of the new sites, Brockwell said, is the first one located in Western Branch. Food stamp sites for Western Branch recipients have typically been located in Deep Creek. The other new branches are the Be-Lo in Deep Creek, Great Bridge and Campostella Road. If any recipients find that they have a problem with their assigned location, she said, they should call the Social Services Department.

George Breiholz, who was standing in line behind Collins, said he felt degraded by the new system. When the line started to move, Breiholz and others only needed to wait about five minutes but, he said, it's the concept of the line that really bothers him.

``I got hurt on the job two years ago. I've never asked anyone for help,'' he said. ``Nobody want to ask for help, but sometimes you don't have a choice.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY

Food stamp recipients wait in line outside the Farm Fresh on

Providence Road, a main distribution point.

by CNB