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Widespread concern after EBT cards malfunction nationally

When a system failure caused millions to be denied access to food stamps, concern and questions were risen.

When Danielle Wilson woke up Saturday morning, she had no idea what lie ahead of her.

She received a call from her babysitter stating she would no longer be able to watch her two children if the food stamps program was not fixed soon.

Confused and concerned, Wilson called on her EBT card.

"I called my Link card and it said it was unavailable," she continued, "I called my mom crying and I told her I didn't know what I was going to do."

The EBT system, which is operated by Xerox, was down nearly all day Saturday, October 12, 2013. But that statement came too late for consumers in the Quad Cities.

Those like Tasha Dixon, a mother of five, was getting a birthday cake for her three year old son, when she was told her EBT card was denied.

"They didn't tell us why they just said over the intercom that you could not use your Link card," said Dixon.

With questions looming around as to why the system was down, Uncle Sam seemed to receive the blame.

Tonya Smith works at a grocery store in Moline and was told my customers they heard the government shutdown was behind the system crash.

News 8 later confirmed that the government did not have any part with the system crash.

Xerox released a statement Saturday evening stating the system is operating again, but some states are still having issues. Xerox is expecting the system to be back up and operating for all states soon.

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