1 Cent - Food Stamp Scrip Albertsons

When the U.S. federal food stamp program still operated with physical coupons, retailers were required to give change for purchases under one dollar in cash — but many simply didn't bother with pennies. Albertsons, like a number of large grocery chains in the late 1980s and early 1990s, issued proprietary scrip redeemable only at their own stores to sidestep that obligation while technically remaining compliant. The USDA eventually tightened rules around this practice, and most chain-issued food stamp change scrip was phased out by the mid-1990s.