Food Scam

 

Pretty busy morning at the Haymarket. Note that more than half the people are still wearing masks.

 

 

This business on King Street in Northampton  has been a convenience store for a long time under multiple names and owners. I think it was originally a 7/11.
 

 Around fifteen years ago, the owners at that time used to do food stamp scams. The way it worked was you would go inside and if there were customers being served you would pretend to be looking at the newspapers or magazines.

Once the coast was clear, you would go up to the counter and the owner/cashier would swipe your food stamp card, pocketing the entire benefit, then they would give you back 50 cents on the dollar for whatever was on your card. Voila! Your food stamp benefit was turned into cash that could then be used to buy things you weren't allowed to buy with food stamps, like cigarettes, booze and drugs.

It was a good scam while it lasted, but of course it was impossible to keep that kind of action quiet long term, and so eventually they got busted, lost their licenses and had to sell the business. 

 

Most people call this the Student Prince. Other people call it The Fort. Whatever it's called, it is one of downtown Springfield's finest restaurants. 

 

 

Bartlett Hall at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

 1950s photo of Dillon's Package Store, 589 High Street on the corner of Hampshire Street in Holyoke.

 

 

 

 Here is a recent picture.

 

 

 

 

Sad how all the windows are bricked up and a metal sheet covers the entrance when closed. What the hell happened to the apartments that were once above the package store?