DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum One in seven Americans lives on food stamps

For that kind of money, wouldn't it be more cost effective to just supply freeze dried meals, powdered milk and powdered baby formula? No one would have to go hungry, fraud would be eliminated, and we'd be sure good nutrition is getting where it's needed. I'm not talking Soylent Green wafers, but you can get good healthy meals freeze dried. Some of those backpacker meals are delicious.

Yahoo.com

One in seven Americans lives on food stamps
By Arun Kumar | IANS – Fri, Aug 5, 2011 (IANS)

Believe it or not, one in seven Americans - 15 percent of the country - now need government-provided food stamps simply to survive, according to latest government figures.

Nearly 46 million Americans receive food stamps out of a population of some 311 million people, the US Department of Agriculture, which administers what's officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme reported Thursday.

The continued high unemployment and the weak US economy have contributed to the explosive growth of the food stamp programme with no end in sight to the monthly increases, CNN said noting that 27 million people were dependent on food stamps in October 2007.

Under the food stamps programme, an eligible individual gets $200 a month in food stamps - in the form of a debit card that can be used at supermarkets and stores to buy authorised food.

A two-person household gets $367 a month. A three-person household gets $526 a month. And a four-person household gets $668 a month.

To a point yes, you could provide that kind of food but you still need something for paper towles, toilet paper, tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, soap, shampoo, dish washing soap, etc...

There is a lot more allotted for than just food in that money.

I suppose we could ask those folks to use their finger and some baking soda to brush their teeth, and beat their clothes on a rock.

Not according to this:

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You cannot use your EBT card to buy soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, tobacco, or anything else that is not food.

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http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatfood.htm

Saw a lady using her food stamps to buy a few steaks the other day.... there are times I wish I qualified for food stamps... couple extra a month for food would be nice....

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To a point yes, you could provide that kind of food but you still need something for paper towles, toilet paper, tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, soap, shampoo, dish washing soap, etc...

There is a lot more allotted for than just food in that money.

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You can't buy any of that stuff with food stamps.

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When I was a kid back in the '50's and my dad was laid off from his steel workers job for awhile there were no food stamps. Instead we got something called "Relief". Once a week he would go to some destination and pick up food items, canned meats, rice, pasta, powdered milk, government cheese, etc, etc. The food was good and it was, in my opinion, a good way to distribute nutrition.

But the cost of maintaining brick & mortar distribution centers and employees to man them makes it prohibited. Making those "food credit cards" and mailing them out is so much more efficient and cost effective.

That kind of BS is rampant. You can't go to the grocery store without seeing this type of abuse. If we supplied the food instead of the money, we'd eliminate fraud and save a bundle. Those who are in real need would get their food, and those who are in it for the cash would be SOL.

Well, I am by no means proud of this, but I do receive food stamps. I am a single father of three and I just finished school. Now I am in the process of looking for a job. The job market is tough out there. Especially when you can't work any schedule due to having 3 kids.

I would be buried in credit card debt if it wasn't for the food stamps and I am grateful it. At the same time, I can't wait until I don't have them anymore because that will mean the Lord has blessed me with a good job.

I will say this though. $668 a month is way too much for a family of four. If you are on food stamps, you shouldn't be eating better than the majority of the population. And I would go as far as to say it promotes obesity because if you aren't smart about what you eat and you always have money for food, but nothing else, what are you going to do for fun on a saturday night? Go to the grocery store and get some junk food!

So the system really does need to be revamped in a big way!

The program is obviously in place for people like you, Hutch, who are going through a rough spell. Also obviously, we are in some tough times economically and more people are going to need them.

It's the abuse of the system that gets some of us frustrated. And the abuse is rampant. Anyone who denies that is either in denial or completely blind.....or will say it's nothing compared the abuses in the corporate world.

Oh it's definitely abused.

My brother's baby mama is on welfare, gets food stamps, and lives in a nice house with an in ground pool. She just bought a $3,000 TV the other day, and drives a pretty nice car.

She actually only claims taxes on one job, when she works 2. And because it said she made under 20k, she of course went to the courts and tried to get her child support raised as well. Even though my brother said she brings home as much per week as he did- she just doesn't claim the tips from her restaurant job and was being paid under the table at another.

So, she isn't claiming all her income, collecting welfare, getting free food, getting child support but doesn't spend it on him and just gives him hand-me-downs from her other kid, and doesn't even pay taxes on most of her income. Must be nice, right?

I seem to remember people using them for such things, maybe they were separating them out at the register and paying cash for those items before they loaded the food in their Caddy...

I've been working for the same company for 32 years so I've never had them myself.

I worked at a grocery store for 11 years when food stamps weren't on a card, they were actual paper slips (they looked a little like Monopoly money). I remember people would give each of their kids a $1 food stamp, have them each buy one item of the cheapest food possible so they'd get real change, and then use that change to buy cigarettes or beer. That always ticked me off. I think these new credit card-type food stamps are brilliant.

Unfortunately, my wife lost her teaching job 2 months ago due to the state budget getting slashed, so she's headed back to college for a new degree and we're applying for food stamps to help us through these tough times. I plan to really stretch the allowance by concentrating on getting the most "bang for the buck" foods that we can...lots of soup, pasta, canned veggies, etc.

Hopefully, as soon as she gets her degree and finds a new job , we'll be back on our feet and paying back into the safety-net system and not taking from it.

There are a ton of people (many tons, actually) in the YTown area who use the card.

Most registers separate the eligible total from the non-eligible total. They pay with their card, then the cash part in cash.

It's nothing new. When I ran a convenience store some 20 years ago, the registers gave a food stamp total and a cash total.

j/c

The sad part is that many of these people work but their jobs pay so little that they qualify for food stamps to make ends meet. Just more proof that were killing the middle class.

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It's the abuse of the system that gets some of us frustrated. And the abuse is rampant.

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Like the young, single mother of one who is one of my relatives. She trades food card purchases for cash. She takes a friend to the store and allows them to choose their purchase which she then pays for with her card. $100 worth of food for $50 cash which she promptly goes out and spends on beer and drugs and partying, by her own admission.

I wasted no words when I told her she was stealing food out of her child's mouth. Unfortunately, she doesn't see it that way. To her it was a necessary method to gain cash because welfare doesn't give her enough money.

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I wasted no words when I told her she was stealing food out of her child's mouth.

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Not to mention it's stealing money from the taxpaying citizen. Which is why we should provide real food instead of a credit card.