Food Stamp question

[leahjade]

Yep. We subsidize the worst, least healthy foods (directly or indirectly... and I don't hear nearly as much complaining about that

Because it's not true that's why! They get a credit card where they can buy whatever food they want. They make a CHOICE to buy processed food or use it for fast food (visit an inner city McDonalds on the first week of the month and you'll see what I mean) instead if purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. And don't tell me it's cheaper to buy processed food - I make everything from scratch and it's much less expensive than buying boxed meals, but it takes effort to buy what's on sale and take the time to plan menus accordingly.

 

[leahjade]

That was YOUR choice. Her choice was not wrong. She did what she needed to do to get an education so that she could support her family.

What if every student in the US wants to go on and get their graduate degree on the taxpayers' dollar? How can a government afford to pay to support everyone's education along with their food, shelter and insurance? Do you know that someone has to be working to pay for these programs??? What happens when those every dwindling group of people get tired of supporting everyone else then who pays so Susie can get her Masters or Bobby can get his PhD?

 

[deegack]

Because it's not true that's why! They get a credit card where they can buy whatever food they want. They make a CHOICE to buy processed food or use it for fast food (visit an inner city McDonalds on the first week of the month and you'll see what I mean) instead if purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. And don't tell me it's cheaper to buy processed food - I make everything from scratch and it's much less expensive than buying boxed meals, but it takes effort to buy what's on sale and take the time to plan menus accordingly.

You have access to fresh food. A great number of inner city poor do not have even a small grocery store to shop at so try have to shop at a bodega. Bodegas are not known for their selection of fruit and veggies. You may find a couple old cans of veggies and milk but that's about it.

By me food stamps cannot be used for fast food or even prepared foods.

 

[tasha99]

What if every student in the US wants to go on and get their graduate degree on the taxpayers' dollar? How can a government afford to pay to support everyone's education along with their food, shelter and insurance? Do you know that someone has to be working to pay for these programs??? What happens when those every dwindling group of people get tired of supporting everyone else then who pays so Susie can get her Masters or Bobby can get his PhD?

Well, just looking roughly at my numbers:

Before I got my graduate degree, I got about $3000--$5000 per year in Earned Income Tax Credit. The years I did go to school, I got about $160 per month in food stamps for my kids, so that would be $1920. Those years actually cost the tax payer less money than when I was working, since there was no EIC.

So then, look at the following years. My current tax rate is about $4500 per year. So compared to the years where I wasn't paying taxes, there is about a 8-10,000 dollar increase for Uncle Sam. Unless I'm missing something, getting my degree was helpful to my family, AND it ended up in the long run putting less burden on taxpayers. Usually, if you can't look at the big picture, you can't see the benefit of investing like that. In my case, however, it actually cost the taxpayer less for me to be on food stamps and in school than working low paying jobs.

Also, your idea that there is a "dwindling" group of people paying is false. Maybe in this economy the numbers are going down (I really don't know, although I had no trouble finding a job after graduation). In a healthy economy, people finish their training and become one of the payers. I think that when people use it to improve their lot in life, the system should actually pay for itself.

 

[tasha99]

Because it's not true that's why! They get a credit card where they can buy whatever food they want. They make a CHOICE to buy processed food or use it for fast food (visit an inner city McDonalds on the first week of the month and you'll see what I mean) instead if purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. And don't tell me it's cheaper to buy processed food - I make everything from scratch and it's much less expensive than buying boxed meals, but it takes effort to buy what's on sale and take the time to plan menus accordingly.

I don't think there is any state with a McDonalds that accepts food stamps. To get TANF, you have to be incredibly poor. I don't doubt that some people go to McDonalds on it, but it can't be that many.

Keep in mind that it could be easy for someone to clip coupons and shop sales when they have lots of time, but for a single parent working more than one job, they may find it difficult. Throw in having to ride the bus, and it could become a lot more difficult. I actually think boxes of healthy food instead of food stamps, at least for fruits and vegies, could be a good solution for some people.

Where I live, fresh fruits and vegies are expensive, and often not very ripe. For people who live out in the bush, produce is exorbitant, though you can have a family sized box shipped in to many places for a little over $50/week. Produce boxes would be great for the poor here, where meat and fish are cheap (if self caught) but produce is often outrageous.

 

[Colleen27]

These conditions are very rare - it's a simple math problem. Weight = calories in minus calories expended. Genetics can't change in one generation, but obesity levels surely have in this country in the past twenty years due to poor eating habits and less activity - almost always the simplest answer is the correct one.

Calories in/calories out is an oversimplification, though. Genetics don't change in a generation but genetics aren't the sole determination of metabolism or overall health, and there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that our environment contributes to the skyrocketing rate of so many systemic and chronic illnesses.

Because it's not true that's why! They get a credit card where they can buy whatever food they want. They make a CHOICE to buy processed food or use it for fast food (visit an inner city McDonalds on the first week of the month and you'll see what I mean) instead if purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. And don't tell me it's cheaper to buy processed food - I make everything from scratch and it's much less expensive than buying boxed meals, but it takes effort to buy what's on sale and take the time to plan menus accordingly.

It is true - our farm bill is a massive subsidy for everything from soda to chicken nuggets. It isn't means tested so people don't get worked up over it the way they do welfare, but that's the reason fast food joints can have a $1 menu, soda costs less than milk or juice, and chicken nuggets cost less per-pound than most vegetables. I cook from scratch too, and even with shopping sales (at multiple stores, which requires transportation) and couponing I still spend more than if I was willing to feed my kids $1 Banquet frozen meals, boxed macaroni with powdered "cheese product", and other fatty, high-sodium processed junk.

If you want to see what a cheap diet in America looks like, take a look at a school lunch menu in an average-to-poor district - chicken nuggets, hot dogs, Bosco sticks (the dipping sauce counts as a vegetable ), cheese pizza, prettied up with a side of high-sodium mushy canned veggies or fruit in heavy syrup.

 

[mom2alix]

These conditions are very rare - it's a simple math problem. Weight = calories in minus calories expended. Genetics can't change in one generation, but obesity levels surely have in this country in the past twenty years due to poor eating habits and less activity - almost always the simplest answer is the correct one.

I'm not so sure this is true. Another thing that has definitely changed in a generation is the amount of food allergies. How many kids did you know growing up who were allergic to peanuts, or eggs or milk proteins and who ever heard of gluten allergy 20 years ago? There is definitely something strange going on with our food supply.

 

[Hannathy]

Again you don't have to eat expensive fresh fruits and vegetables to eat well. You can eat canned and frozen and cheaper fresh things like carrots. You can eat very healthy on canned and frozen.

And even if you are eating all processed it is still the amount you eat that makes the biggest difference.

 

[leahjade]

By Nina Terrero
Sep 7, 2011 5:34pm


In an ever-growing number of states, if you crave a taco or fried chicken from a fast-food restaurant, you can pay for it with food stamps.

Food stamps - known more formally as the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - have been in use for grocery staples, such as bread and milk, since 1934, but now, for the first time, they can be used for fast food in four states across the country.

Wrong again!

 

[dntd]

Again you don't have to eat expensive fresh fruits and vegetables to eat well. You can eat canned and frozen and cheaper fresh things like carrots. You can eat very healthy on canned and frozen.

And even if you are eating all processed it is still the amount you eat that makes the biggest difference.

canned food is much more expensive, a bag of apples costs less then apple sauce, frozen veggies per serving are cheaper then canned....Canned food tends to have high sodium and sugar and cans contain bpa.

 

[leahjade]

You have access to fresh food. A great number of inner city poor do not have even a small grocery store to shop

Every city different - in ours the majority of assistance recipients have cars so they can drive to a store that offers fruits and vegetables. And most larger cities I've been too such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York have markets where fresh food can be bought. You can have all the excuses you want not to have a healthy diet, it all comes back to personal responsibility.

 

[Hannathy]

canned food is much more expensive, a bag of apples costs less then apple sauce, frozen veggies per serving are cheaper then canned....Canned food tends to have high sodium and sugar and cans contain bpa.

I was pointing out you do not have to have fresh fruit and vegetables to eat fruit and vegetables. Also most people don't have a problem with sodium so the little extra in canned doesn't matter if they cut back other ways. Also frozen is often cheaper than fresh and very accessible as is canned. and canned is often not more expensive especially in the winter. Canned tomatoes are almost always cheaper than fresh tomatoes in a store, except in the middle of summer maybe.

And considering the cost of fresh produce I wouldn't even bet on that comparison of applesauce and apples. Generic applesauce is pretty cheap.

 

[deegack]

Every city different - in ours the majority of assistance recipients have cars so they can drive to a store that offers fruits and vegetables. And most larger cities I've been too such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York have markets where fresh food can be bought. You can have all the excuses you want not to have a healthy diet, it all comes back to personal responsibility.

Well in both NYC and Nola, places I have lived, and Newark, where I have worked, this is just simply not true. There are huge sections of both Newark and NYC where a person relying on public transportation is 2+ hours from a grocery store. Usually it involves transfers and long walks. If you are a single mother raising kids and working and/or going to school adding this time to your day simply is not possible. So you do your best and go to the corner store and get the box of mac and cheese because it may not be healthy but it will keep your kids from going to bed hungry.
A new grocery store opened in Newark's central ward a couple months ago. The first grocery store in that area in 30 years. It made the front page of the local paper and the mayor went to the opening. It is a big deal. When I worked in Newark I wanted to grab something for a luncheon I was having and asked where the local grocery store was and people laughed at me. There is no local grocery store.

When I lived in NOLA I rode my bike 30 minutes to the grocery store. My other option was a walk to the street car to a long walk to a grocery store. Thankfully I had friends with cars and they took me. The neighborhood stores had outdated canned goods and questionable milk.

Is it my responsibility to make sure people eat healthy, no, but for a lot of people its not as simple as jumping into your car and going to the grocery store to choose between healthy food and unhealthy food. Its a choice between eating or not.

 

[fall08CP]

Very interesting speculations about people on snap/EBT.

I am on food stamps. I am college educated. I am normal weight and run half marathons. I am a vegan, which means I don't eat meat, dairy, eggs, honey- and that encompasses most processed crap.

I eat out maybe once a week, $5 or less, on my own dime. I make every meal from scratch- only using dried beans (overnight soak + 1hr boiling), all baked goods including bread, and I grow my own lettuce/kale/spinach/carrots/tomatoes. Peppers and watermelon were planted last week.

It IS cheaper to eat healthy. I work in public policy concerning food justice, and I live in a food desert. Half-time of my job allows me to plant community gardens, teach crockpot cooking lessons, diabetes education, and run yoga/walking/Zumba lessons. I am currently introducing fresh vegetables to over 200 community members on EBT, and that number is growing as I plant new community gardens weekly.

I work 50 hours/week, but still earn below the poverty line. Go ahead, judge me. But do realize that are tens of thousands just like me working our tails off to solve poverty, yet living in poverty as well. Oh, and I don't have Internet or cable at home. Yay for spending the weekend in my office for Internet!

But if you want to complain about people "like me", get off your bum and do something about it. Plant a garden with a homeless shelter. Donate to your food bank. There are plenty of ways to address food justice, but an Internet forum isn't one

 

[Colleen27]

What if every student in the US wants to go on and get their graduate degree on the taxpayers' dollar? How can a government afford to pay to support everyone's education along with their food, shelter and insurance? Do you know that someone has to be working to pay for these programs??? What happens when those every dwindling group of people get tired of supporting everyone else then who pays so Susie can get her Masters or Bobby can get his PhD?

That's a ridiculous premise. First of all, only a small percentage of our population goes on to higher education in the first place. And second, someone who does earn that higher education is far more likely to end up paying into the system than someone who doesn't. The 50% figure of Americans not paying taxes isn't because of a surge in people choosing not to work - it is the inevitable result of declining wages for the uneducated majority of our workforce, and on an individual scale education is the factor most likely to lift someone out of those ranks.

 

[Colleen27]

Wrong again!

Did you read your own source? That "ever growing number of states" is FOUR. Mine is one of them, and I do have some familiarity with the program because I worked in the system for a time. It isn't something every recipient qualifies for by any stretch; it is something that exists primarily to help the homeless and disabled, and is the same 'loophole' that allows food stamps to be used for prepared foods from Meals on Wheels.

From the MI DHS web site:

A list of participating restaurant locations is provided to help answer questions about where your Bridge card can be used. A Bridge card can be used at approved restaurants if you or your spouse meet any of the following criteria:
Aged 60 or older.
Blind, disabled and receive supplemental social security.
Homeless.

And there are 67 restaurants state-wide that are approved for the program as of 4/12, most in cities with high populations of shelter or motel homeless.

 

[KY*Figment]

Very interesting speculations about people on snap/EBT.

I am on food stamps. I am college educated. I am normal weight and run half marathons. I am a vegan, which means I don't eat meat, dairy, eggs, honey- and that encompasses most processed crap.

I eat out maybe once a week, $5 or less, on my own dime. I make every meal from scratch- only using dried beans (overnight soak + 1hr boiling), all baked goods including bread, and I grow my own lettuce/kale/spinach/carrots/tomatoes. Peppers and watermelon were planted last week.

It IS cheaper to eat healthy. I work in public policy concerning food justice, and I live in a food desert. Half-time of my job allows me to plant community gardens, teach crockpot cooking lessons, diabetes education, and run yoga/walking/Zumba lessons. I am currently introducing fresh vegetables to over 200 community members on EBT, and that number is growing as I plant new community gardens weekly.

I work 50 hours/week, but still earn below the poverty line. Go ahead, judge me. But do realize that are tens of thousands just like me working our tails off to solve poverty, yet living in poverty as well. Oh, and I don't have Internet or cable at home. Yay for spending the weekend in my office for Internet!

But if you want to complain about people "like me", get off your bum and do something about it. Plant a garden with a homeless shelter. Donate to your food bank. There are plenty of ways to address food justice, but an Internet forum isn't one

Thank you. This thread has been very unmagical & just plain judgmental. How about a little pixie dust to make it more magical?

 

[Hannathy]

That's a ridiculous premise. First of all, only a small percentage of our population goes on to higher education in the first place. And second, someone who does earn that higher education is far more likely to end up paying into the system than someone who doesn't. The 50% figure of Americans not paying taxes isn't because of a surge in people choosing not to work - it is the inevitable result of declining wages for the uneducated majority of our workforce, and on an individual scale education is the factor most likely to lift someone out of those ranks.

The point was many, many of us would have loved to continue our education on to grad school but we couldn't afford it. We chose to work and pay our own way instead of relying on others to pay for us so we could continue to be students. So yes if everyone graduating college this year decided to continue playing student instead of working and supporting them selves it would be even worse than it is now. If you want the benefits that grad degree is going to bring, work and earn it yourself instead of making us poor saps who chose to be responsible adults and go to work pay for it. No welfare or food stamps for grad students.

 

[SenecaWolf]

No you wouldn't. I've heard every lie in the overweighted book .
Tired? Try a chemo treatment and than tell me about tired. EVERY,EVERY pound goes through the mouth no matter how it is denied. Yes I had cancer and had to take every pill they ever invented.
It is so simple. If I don't feed the overweight monster inside me I will not gain weight.
I don't gain fat because I take pills or I only "drink water". That is plain nonsense.Just don't give your body calories it doesn't need or use and you won't get overweight.

You've never seen anyone on steroid treatments for a prolonged time. They can be an averaged sized person and quite literally nearly double their weight and they are still eating the same things they were before treatments start. Yes there are extenuating circumstances where weight gain can not be helped. Your complete unwillingness to hear legitimate reasons is pathetic.

And foreigners say its Americans that are ignorant

 

[delilah]

This thread reminds me of the day I was in line at the grocery. The woman ahead of me was doing this little dance at the checkout because she didn't have enough money in food stamps to pay for her purchases. She and the cashier went around and around, putting this item back, and then that one. Finally, she got things to balance, and pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket to head to the cigarette and lottery ticket counter. I guess there is nothing worse than having to spend cigarette money on groceries for the family...But she was sticking to her budget.