Julia Pierce | August 3, 2026

Marion County citizens have relied on the provisions of the Oakland IGA on the North and East side of Marion County, now known as the Oakland Supermarket, thanks to Alex Rana, one of the previous owners, and in my opinion, one of the best owners that I have had the pleasure to meet.

Since TJ sold the IGA in 2021, the citizens have gone through several owners of the IGA, some of which were less than acceptable to the citizens.

Recently, the Oakland Supermarket has undergone new ownership yet again. Mr. Kenny is the current owner and he has added a Hunts Brothers pizza and wing oven, which is a joy to those of us who remember Pops Pizza in Oakland. And though this addition is very welcome, many citizens are unable to continue shopping at his store, impacting his bottom line, because he is not able to accept EBT benefits and hasn’t been able to for several months now. I wondered if I might could assist Mr. Kenny in his ability to accept EBT benefits once more, as it has been communicated to me that they are waiting on approval, so that more customers can resume their grocery shopping at this delightful little store and put more bang in his buck.

The Backstory

Several months ago, I went into the Oakland Supermarket and not only saw that we had new ownership – I always looked forward to seeing Nick, since he took over after Alex – but I also realized that they no longer accepted EBT. There were two signs on the door that said that they were temporarily out of service and that EBT was not accepted. Fast forward many months later and they are still not accepting EBT, which is a long time for EBT customers to wait to be able to use their benefits where they are used to shopping. This has impacted some of our citizens such as our veterans, retired, elderly, single mothers, low income families, disabled, fixed-income, and those who live in district 2, which has been touted as the poorest district in Marion County.

As of 2024, the poverty rate for Marion County, Georgia was 20.9 percent of the total population, which is higher than the state and national average. Residents 65 and older make up about 10 percent of the poverty rate, and children under 18 experience the highest impact of poverty at a whopping 35 percent.

That being said, several Marion County citizens have felt the impact of not being able to use their benefits, either having to travel to the opposite side of the county to the Eagle Foods, or go to the Dollar General, which doesn’t have much of the meat, dairy, and produce selections that Oakland Supermarket provides, and the cost of those groceries at the DG are significantly higher, making a large impact on how many groceries they can purchase with their monthly allotment. It also reduces the healthier options that they have that a supermarket provides.

I have asked the staff at the Oakland Supermarket multiple times about when they will get the EBT program back, and I have been told that they don’t know. It was only a little over a month ago that a new employee mentioned that they were waiting on the approval process. That being said, I sent an email to the compliance division of the Department of Agriculture to see what I could do to speed up the process and what the status of that approval process for the Oakland Supermarket is so that our community’s citizens may now resume the joy of shopping at our beloved store.

Below is the email that was sent.

For those who are unable to read the attachment on your phone or tablet, the email states,

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Julia Pierce, and I am a resident of Marion County, Georgia. I have lived in this community for approximately 20 years.

For many years, the Oakland grocery store in Mauk—now operating as Oakland Supermarket—accepted Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payments under previous ownership. Several months ago, the business came under new ownership, and shortly thereafter a notice was posted stating that EBT transactions were temporarily unavailable.

It has now been approximately three to four months, and EBT services have still not been restored. During this time, I have asked store employees on multiple occasions when EBT acceptance would resume. Initially, I was told they did not know. More recently, I was informed that the store was waiting for paperwork to be approved.

Because this store has historically served many Marion County residents who rely on SNAP/EBT benefits, the prolonged interruption has created a significant hardship for members of our community. On this side of the county, residents have very limited grocery options. While the local Dollar General provides some food items, it does not offer the same selection of fresh meat and produce that Oakland Supermarket has traditionally provided. As a result, many EBT recipients must now travel to the opposite side of the county to purchase groceries using their benefits.

I respectfully request that your office determine whether Oakland Supermarket has an active application or authorization pending to accept SNAP/EBT benefits and, if appropriate, whether there are any issues delaying the approval process. If the store is not currently authorized to accept EBT, I would appreciate any information you can provide regarding its status and whether the representations made to customers that approval is pending are accurate.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. I appreciate any assistance or information you are able to provide.

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