NY food stamp recipients are shipping welfare-funded groceries to relatives in Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Haiti

New York - Sources have confirmed that New York residents are shipping hundreds of 55-gallon plastic drums filled with food staples bought with government-funded EBT cards to friends and relatives outside the country.

A NEW YORK POST Reports that the vast majority of the shipments are earmarked for Caribbean countries, namely Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

According to sources, the process is pretty simple. New York markets like Pioneer Supermarket and Associated Supermarket in Brooklyn sell empty plastic 45 and 55-gallon plastic drums to patrons for about $40, who then take them home and fill them over time with non-perishable staples like rice, beans, pasta, and canned milk.

When the barrel is full the customer simply then calls a shipping firm that charges them approximately $70 for the barrel to make its three week-long voyage to its Caribbean destination.

Most barrels typically contain food estimated to cost between $500 and $2,000.

“Everybody does it,” said an Associated Market employee. “A lot of people pay with EBT.”