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[Friday]

It strikes me as odd that I can buy candy and pop with food stamps. That's not food.

Agree with the rest... but ^^^ is, too, when you’re starving. If you can only eat one thing today? Or this week? Better a candy bar than an apple. Far more calories, and fats/protein in addition to brain saving sugar. Starving folk end up in low blood sugar seizures and comas. Candy has kept me alive more times than I care to think on. That and $1 whoppers. Bless fast food when you’re broke & starving. Super high calorie, so highly processed its absorbs almost instantly (very little energy wasted in digestion), honest to god protein, and dirt cheap.

When you’re not starving? It’s an insult to think that just because people can treat themselves or their kids to something sweet that all poor people are so ignorant as to only eat sweets & rich food.

 

[Fadeaway]

With the exception that THIS president is scary to a point that he’s destroying the country, and I believe he’s an autocrat that doesn’t believe in the constitution.

Oh, I do agree with that. That is why I said Trump has done things other presidents wouldn't morally dare to do.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Friday While that might be the case sometimes... I have stood in line behind people that use food stamps and the amount of “Junk Food” they purchase with food stamps is disgusting.

 

[mamachick]

What about disabled that are unable to cook what they provide. I don't think a sack of flour is going to be real helpful. Where I live,both homeless and those just getting housing sometimes do not even have stoves. People don't realize this and criticize when they see them purchase microwavable food with food card. There are working parents that get food cards and their kids have to microwave mac and cheese, make a sandwich, or other such foods. There are SO many reasons this is such a bad idea.

 

[mamachick]

I live in a city of about 22,000 people. We have 1 full size grocery store. We have a lot of homeless and a homeless coalition that gets many housing, but these apartments are in the worst area of the city and not within walking distance to the full size grocery store. All they have is a convenient mart with little selection. (frozen pizza or tv dinner) This makes it very difficult for them. I have volunteered with homeless and see just how difficult it is in so many way. Many things are being done here for these folks by local people but there are so many obstacles that many of us just don't realize. They can't get benefits until they get a form of ID, ss card, etc. Churches and groups donate food and a meal is served when the doors open at 9 pm from Dec-March but they have to be out at 7 am, on the streets where it is freezing. Some set up tents under bridges instead of going into shelter. If this is not bad enough, we want to take their food cards away. They have so little. Who am I to say if they want to eat ho ho's all day. They have so little.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@brat17 I’m not talking about the homeless when I spoke earlier. We don’t have a huge homeless population, but we do have some. I’m talking about well dressed people that are obviously not homeless and their carts are filled with soda, cookies, ice cream, candy bars and sugary cereal for their kids.

As far as the homeless are concerned... with this new budget, they will get hit the hardest. The poor will get hurt, and the middle class that need “some” help will no longer get the help. But the poorest of the poor will get hit the hardest. They are already down and out with nothing, so yes, losing their food stamps will do nothing but sign their death certificate or force them to eat garbage to stay alive.

All but the rich will hurt under this budget. It’s no different when he rolled out his Tax Plan. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Same old shit, just different day....

 

[Ronin]

the amount of “Junk Food” they purchase with food stamps is disgusting.

I dunno, but I'd guess it's everybody's choice what they ingest or not?

There may be so many reasons for why people buy just junk food, and they may be health ones, too.
I don't believe there should be regulation on this sort of a thing.

Mostly because as already pointed out, that super healthy may be unhealthy to downright toxic to nada of real nutrition when you're seriously unhealthy.

 

[Ronin]

I’m talking about well dressed people that are obviously not homeless

Obviously?

Just questioning the logic behind that is all.
Because I'd been homeless - and dressing the wellest I damn could at the moment, even if it had to be found god knows where in trash of more posh hoods of the area - to not get seized, or to not 'look' homeless as that brought more issues than not, or just to get anyone of the not-homeless to deal with me, and so on.

Looks can be so deceiving. Purposeful, too.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Ronin don’t want to get into a pissing contest about food stamps with anyone. I’m talking about what I’ve witnessed here, where I live. I’ve even had people that work in the stores (people that I know) tell me how disgusted they are with people abusing food stamps. They buy shit food, and then bitch when the food stamps run out.

 

[Ronin]

@She Cat, sure thing, and I don't think any pissing contest is had, we're just talking different opinions & options about food stamps and what's useful to whom which is all.

 

[Deleted member 41765]

AND....I'm going to change the subject, and likely garner much criticism, but the budget proposal is also requesting the elimination of the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) in fiscal year 2019, which is set to begin on October 1, 2018 because, you know, damn animals get in the way of oil rigs and tankers (and we haven't already done enough to the environment) (and clearly the scientific link between climate change via fossil fuels is absurd).

 

[Justmehere]

I’m talking about well dressed people that are obviously not homeless and their carts are filled with soda, cookies, ice cream, candy bars and sugary cereal for their kids.

Yeah, stop here. I’ve known homeless folks and those otherwise without food and dressed in thrift store business clothes from trying to get a job and used food stamps and gone to food banks dressed that way.

I had no idea there was a dress code to get help. The humiliating process to get food stamps is how people should qualify for them. If you don’t like it, then work on that process. Not the making it a matter for the court of public opinion on who looks homeless or down enough to get them.

I have a friend fighting a serious illness who is on food stamps. Her day to go to the store, man, she is dressed up as can be. More power to her.

They buy shit food, and then bitch when the food stamps run out.

How does one deem it to be shit food? What I can eat, would be shit food to some. What others can eat would make me sicker than can be.

WIC benefits are measured out to some types of food, but that doesn’t prevent buying something different than what you probably would want them to eat.

And the bitching? Welcome to retail. Let them bitch that the food stamps have run out. Maybe eventually running into that reality, will help people think for themselves. The solution isn’t to hold their hand more and treat them like children who can’t pick their own food. That doesn’t teach the responsibility I think you’d like them to learn.

This box food program won’t stop the bitching, only likely increase it. It’s not getting rid of food stamps all together and keeping the bitching (and struggling) out of sight... it’s only going to leave people more frustrated and possibly trying to even sell the food to get something they can eat.

It doesn’t solve a single problem you have with food stamps, or with a subset of the people who use them, but is likely to make every single issue worse. Much worse.