The EBT card system is not working for thousands across the state, and folks in at least 10 other states.
US government officials said it's a problem with the vendor, and is not because of the government shutdown.
No matter where shoppers went Saturday in Pennsylvania, signs were all over the front doors of supermarkets saying food stamps are down or EBT is shut down.
At the Gerrity's on Meadow Avenue in Scranton, shoppers who usually rely on the food stamp program to buy groceries were unable to use those EBT cards. Management apologized for any inconvenience.
Workers at Gerrity's first noticed there was a problem around 11 a.m.
"We have no idea, like what exactly made it go down, and we're not sure when it's going to be coming back up, so just kind of waiting it out," said Eileen Kelly, Gerrity's employee.
That's the only choice food stamp users have right now, to wait.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Agriculture said a number of states are in the same predicament, and said it's due to a technical issue.
"The vendor is working to fix this issue and EBT cards will work again once it is resolved. This issue is not related to the government shutdown," said the spokesperson.
No matter what supermarket employees tried to do to allow folks to use their EBT cards, it was not, and is not working.
"Just like one we tried to call it in, and it didn't go through, so other than that, nothing too major," said Kelly.
Again, folks who use the food stamp program, specifically EBT cards, are unable to buy food after an outage in the system.
There has been no word when the system may be back up and running.