The diverse mix of retailers comes at a time when the number of people getting the food subsidy is the highest it's ever been, including many consumers on the program for the first time.
Boosted by stimulus funds, the amount of food stamp dollars pouring into Tennessee stores each month surged to nearly $160 million in September, up 60 percent over a year ago, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
Food stamp benefits "are a much more important part of the revenue of food stores now than in any time of the history of the program," according to Kevin Concannon, undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services.
And in a time of a down economy, most stores don't want to give up that sort of market share, he said.
"A lot of people in the neighborhood asked us to accept them," said Yaseen Titi, an owner of the Sannabill Bakery, a small market and Middle Eastern bakery on East Thompson Lane. The shop opened in April and, driven by customer demand, began accepting food stamps a few months later.
Now, sales tied to food stamps make up about 40 percent of the business at the store where fresh-made pita bread is a specialty.
There were 1.17 million people in the state getting food stamps in September — a 22 percent increase from a year ago — with roughly one of every six Tennesseans now in the program.
Buying power draws shopsHalf of all those getting food stamps are children, and about 40 percent of households on the program include a working adult, which underscores how the program acts as a safety net for many working families, too, and not just the unemployed, Concannon said.
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