Connect with us

Know

South St. Pete produce stand sues federal government over denied EBT eligibility

Megan Holmes

Published

on

Dorian and Maria Speaker, owners of AMR Movers and their produce stand, Corner Garden Produce.

There is no full-service grocery store within a 42-block area of south St. Petersburg. From 4th Avenue South to 45th Avenue South, and 34th St. to downtown there are six “dollar” stores, but none of them sell fresh produce.

That 42-block area is notoriously unable to support a grocery store. Walmart and SweetBay, in the same location at Tangerine Plaza, both shuttered within a few short years of one another. Nothing has opened to fill the space.

Dorian Speaker and his wife Maria Speaker recently sought to change that. In January 2019, they opened Corner Garden Produce on their property at 2300 4th Avenue South. The Speakers purchased the property from Dorian’s family in 2015 and moved their main business, America’s Most Reliable (AMR) Movers into the space. Dorian’s grandfather, Willie Davis, previously owned a cement finishing business at that location, for 45 years.

They wanted to help the community and assuage the complaints of their daughter, a vegetarian, who often remarked abut the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables near the family business, where the family spends much of their time.

According to Maria, who oversees to the day-to-day operations of Corner Garden Produce, nearby residents would often walk over, pick out a bag of fresh produce and attempt to pay with their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance, known as food stamps. Time and again, Maria would have to explain that they couldn’t accept them. Inevitably, she explained, she would end up giving the produce to those neighbors anyway, for free.

In July 2019, Corner Garden Produce sought permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in SNAP. But a month later, the Agriculture Department permanently denied the produce stand’s request.

The Department of Agriculture cited Dorian Speaker’s 2001 misdemeanor for “resisting a police officer without violence,” which the agency said suggests a “lack of business integrity.”

Now, the Speakers have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture citing the wrongful denial of its bid to accept EBT. They’ve hired attorney Andrew Tapp of Metropolitan Law Group in Tampa, one of the leading experts in the nation in USDA SNAP cases.

St. Pete Catalyst first profiled the Speakers in 2019, when AMR Movers was awarded a place-based grant through the South St. Petersburg Community Revitalization Area. At that time, the Speakers invested $40,000 (matched by the City of St. Petersburg, to the allowed maximum of $20,000) to revitalize their property. Their business today is unrecognizable – the renovations and the produce stand they built as part of those renovations have drastically changed the way the Speakers do business.

Tapp told the Catalyst that the Speakers’ case is similar to a recent case he represented in Oregon, Astoria v. United States. In that case, Tapp successfully argued that the rules created around SNAP in the late ’90s rest solely on convictions for business-related charges like fraud, forgery, or misrepresentation.

Tapp argues charges outside of those, like Speaker’s 19-year-old misdemeanor, are not grounds for permanent denial, as they have no bearing on business integrity. Tapp said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a long history of making subjective judgments of character for small business owners, in an effort to discourage them from applying to accept EBT.

Regardless, Tapp said he expects that the USDA will double down on the denial, which he described as “overzealous” and hurtful to small business. According to Tapp, the USDA is denying small businesses the ability to accept EBT in order to drive consumers to larger stores like Walmart.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Check back with the St. Pete Catalyst for further updates as the lawsuit progresses.

Continue Reading
12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Avatar

    Amanda McMahon

    February 16, 2020at6:47 pm

    I’ve known Dorian and Maria for years now and have used their moving services for all of my personal and client moving needs. They are good, honest, hard working people and we need more business owners like them! Good for them for suing the federal government for such a ridiculous denial. I wish them the best and hope they conquer!

  2. Avatar

    Jay B

    February 16, 2020at2:16 pm

    We stand behind the Speakers!!

  3. Avatar

    Frankie Al Din

    February 14, 2020at3:41 pm

    Lets stand behind the Speakers!!!

  4. Avatar

    S. Rose Smith-Hayes

    February 14, 2020at2:33 pm

    This should be a no brainer for the government. The Saturday Morning Market vendors, some accept EBT. What is the problem here??/

  5. Avatar

    Josh Paesano

    February 14, 2020at12:31 pm

    Maria and Dorian are two of the nicest people I have met in my life, I hope this gets resolved for them while they try to help improve the area they live. Good luck to you both !!!!

  6. Avatar

    Dorian Speaker

    February 14, 2020at12:15 pm

    Thanks for everyone’s support. A special thanks to St. Pete Catalyst for taking interest and being a platform in this matter. I also like to thank Andrew Tapp of Metropolitain Law Group who to me is a Modern day hero who taps the giant on the shoulder and tell it to Go back and help rebuild the village it had trampled. I believe in a positive outcome, and I look forward to the day we are able to provide delicious produce to the whole of our community.

  7. Avatar

    Dorian Speaker

    February 14, 2020at12:11 pm

    Thanks for everyone’s support. A special thanks to St. Pete Catalyst for taking interest and being a platform in this matter. I also like to thank Andrew Tapp of Metropolitain Law Group who to me is a Modern day hero who taps the giant on the shoulder and tell it to Go back and help rebuild the village it had trampled. I believe in a positive outcome, and I look forward to the day we are able to provide delicious produce to the whole of our community.

  8. Avatar

    LJ Nicu

    February 13, 2020at10:29 pm

    I hope the Speakers prevail. What they are trying to do is great for everyone involved. Bringing fresh healthy food to a community should be applauded. There should be a statute of limitations on the requirements for things like this. People can mature and change for the better. One mistake shouldn’t follow you through your whole life.

  9. Avatar

    Amy Walsh

    February 13, 2020at9:10 pm

    Please let sanity and the Speakers prevail.

  10. Avatar

    Ericka Guy

    February 13, 2020at6:49 pm

    This is so sickening to read on so many levels. This administration wants nothing more than to cut SNAP benefits or make them increasingly difficult to get. They stigmatize families insisting they only buy junk food and they spread lies saying SNAP beneficiaries are buying cigarettes and alcohol when you can’t even buy a roll of toilet paper with an EBT card! There is just no end to the corruption against ordinary people trying to get by.

    • Avatar

      Joe Brown

      February 14, 2020at11:07 am

      This is ridiculous, let the speakers prevail and we got to stick together and help each other grow. If they have a long history of making subjective judgments of character for small business owners, in an effort to discourage them from applying to accept EBT. Let’s do the right thing this time and break these barriers. We should be giving a fair shake, and this is not fair at all . Praying

  11. Avatar

    Judith Turner

    February 13, 2020at4:07 pm

    thanks for publishing this story.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By posting a comment, I have read, understand and agree to the Posting Guidelines.

The St. Pete Catalyst

The Catalyst honors its name by aggregating & curating the sparks that propel the St Pete engine.  It is a modern news platform, powered by community sourced content and augmented with directed coverage.  Bring your news, your perspective and your spark to the St Pete Catalyst and take your seat at the table.

Email us: spark@stpetecatalyst.com

Subscribe for Free

Share with friend

Enter the details of the person you want to share this article with.