Sunday update
(AP) — Xerox says its electronic benefits system is up and running again in the 17 states where food stamp recipients use debit-style cards to access their accounts.
Glitches prevented the cards from being used in states including Ohio, Michigan, Texas and California. A Xerox spokeswoman says restarting the EBT system required time to ensure service was back “at full functionality.” The problem was apparently triggered by maintenance procedures.
It meant shoppers were unable to acquire groceries. Shoppers left carts of groceries behind at a packed Market Basket grocery store in Biddeford, Maine.
An emergency voucher process was available in some of the areas while the problems were occurring,.
The government was quick to point out that the problems were not related to the government shutdown.
Shoppers in many states have found themselves unable to use their food stamp debit cards on Saturday, after a routine check by vendor Xerox Corp. resulted in a 
system failure. Shoppers from Maine to Oklahoma had to abandon baskets of groceries because they couldn’t access their benefits.
Ohio’s cash and food assistance card payment systems went down at 11 a.m., said Benjamin Johnson, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio’s cash system has been fixed, however its electronic benefits transfer card system is still down. All states that use Xerox systems are affected by the outage.
Xerox spokeswoman Karen Arena confirmed via email Saturday afternoon that some EBT systems are experiencing temporary connectivity issues. She said technical staff is addressing the issue and expects the system to be restored soon.