A Food Lion worker recently went viral on TikTok after expressing frustration with a customer who attempted to buy their groceries using food stamps.
Malik (@ayeitslik), the worker, posted the video, which showed three shopping carts filled to the brim. He recorded the TikTok from a Food Lion check-out line and said that the customer—who was not shown—attempted to purchase over $1,000 worth of groceries using food stamps.
Malik told viewers that he hates working on “food stamp day” because of large purchases like these.
@ayeitslik I hate food stamp day 😭 #FoodLion #foodstamps #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Malik
“Yo, they didn’t even buy it and that’s what’s making me even more mad,” he said. Malik then showed viewers a snippet of the customer’s receipt, which showed a whopping total of $1,013. “This is why I be mad at work.” He noted, too, that the total bill might’ve been even higher since not everything was “rung up.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Malik via TikTok comment. As of Wednesday afternoon, Malik’s video had over 893,600 views, with many commenters lamenting about the rising cost of food.
“I remember when three basket[s] totaled 300,” one user said. “$1,000 is crazy.”
“I’m working full-time and still cant feed my kids,” another said.
“I’m a nurse and I can’t afford a hand basket full of groceries,” a third user shared.
Others, meanwhile, questioned why the shoppers didn’t check the balance of their EBT card before trying to make such a large purchase.
“That’s why you check your card the night b4,” one viewer wrote.
“how do people not check the card balance before going to the store,” another questioned.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, food inflation is up 11.4%—the highest it’s been since 1979. Many TikTok users, however, have gone viral for posts claiming that food prices are even higher than what’s being reported. In March, for instance, one Walmart shopper said that the price of her curbside order increased astronomically between 2021 and 2023.
Update 10:55am CT, Sept. 8:
In an email to The Daily Dot, a Food Lion spokesperson said that the store “values and appreciates each and every customer who chooses to shop in our stores. It is our goal that all customers are treated with respect and care, however they choose to pay. We have a long heritage of providing fresh, quality groceries at affordable prices and will continue to do so.”
