Has a New Jersey supermarket shuttered its windows ever since Nov. 1, 2025 when SNAP payments were cut off? No, that's not true: The store had not, at the time this was written, closed because of a delay in the dispersal of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. The store manager told Lead Stories they have been open during their usual business hours. Some security gates remained closed during the first weekend in November to protect merchandise displayed outdoors from windy weather.
The misleading report appeared with a video (archived here) published on X by @NJEGmedia on Nov. 3, 2025. The post was captioned:
Food Bazaar in North Bergen NJ has their security gates down, covering the windows since November 1st after SNAP payments were cut off. Signs posted inside the store inform costumers that they won't be able to use EBT cards due to the government shutdown.
This is a screen capture of the video:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from x.com/NJEGmedia/status/1985397672203665441.)
Lead Stories called the North Bergen Food Bazaar Supermarket and spoke with the store manager on Nov. 4, 2025. We asked about the security gates and the store's operating hours. He said that the store has been operating as usual, opening at 7:00 a.m. and closing at 10:30 p.m.. The store was open as usual over the weekend. There is some store merchandise kept in the covered area in front of the store which is protected with security gates when the store is closed. The manager said that over the weekend the gates were left down during operating hours because it had been very windy.
The manager also noted that signs posted in the store do not inform customers that they won't be able to use EBT cards due to the government shutdown, as was claimed in the post.
In the last seconds of the 37-second video, signs are shown hanging on the store window. One sign on yellow paper warns that buying or selling SNAP benefits is illegal. Two signs copied on bright green paper, one in English and one in Spanish, are marked "Important Update NOV 2025 NJSNAP". These signs contain information from the New Jersey Department of Human Services webpage of NJSNAP (archived here). A pop up window (pictured below) with the latest update regarding the federal government shutdown can be translated into many languages (there are some small differences from this text and the text on the paper flyers). One paragraph emphasizes that existing funds on an EBT card will still be available to use and advises to check the account before shopping. It says:
SNAP benefits loaded on your Families First EBT card prior to October 31, 2025 will be available for you to use after November 1, 2025. Before going to the grocery store after November 1, we encourage SNAP food assistance recipients to check their account at NJFamiliesFirst.com or by calling 800 997-3333. If there are SNAP benefits in your NJ Families First account, they are available for you to use.
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/njsnap/#.)
Lead Stories cross-checked the store manager's weather concerns by consulting local meteorologist Joe Rocco's weekend report, (archived here) which said weather was calming, but the Bergen area could still see gusts up to 25 mph.
