Sunday’s story examines the growth in the use of food stamps in our area.

One issue brought up in several interviews with social service workers and store owners was how some recipients could be spending their funds more wisely.

Recipients I spoke with said they shopped around, used coupons and found other ways to save money.

Some food-stamp participants, though, purchase steaks and other expensive foods. Others often use their benefits to buy snacks, pop and junk foods.

We don’t know, though, how many of these items are actually purchased. The U.S. Department of Agriculture does not track individual items purchased, only monitoring usage at the transaction level.

The USDA manages the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.

Most local grocers, corner stores and markets accept the EBT Access cards issued to food-stamp recipients. You can view a map of these businesses on the USDA’s retailer locator website.

Many local retailers listed offer limited items of nutritional value. Of the 186 participating businesses with Erie addresses, 41 are gas stations and 21 are dollar stores.

Eligible stores must either sell at least three varieties of qualifying foods in each of four food groups or have eligible “staple” foods account for more than half of the total value of all retail sales. The USDA outlines more details on eligibility criteria online.

A complete list of participating businesses with Erie addresses is shown below. Surprised to see any on the list? Let us know in the comments section.