SNAP study is just gross
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My son had a massive stroke and is handicapped because of it. He gets food stamps. He can't cook for himself so he tried to buy ready made hot food from the grocery store. He couldn't pay for it with his access card. The cashier told him it wasn't covered. Here he tried to buy a ready made rotisserie chicken and food stamps wouldn't pay for it. It would pay for a raw chicken from the same store but not the already cooked hot one. I can understand not allowing you to buy cigarettes or alcohol but to say you can't have a hot meal that you bought in a grocery store? Its not like he was in a restaurant.Placing restrictions on what they can buy might be confusing. If they didn't have the right items, the cashier would have to tell them that they did not buy the eligible items for the SNAP program. That would be humiliating. Doesn't everyone deserve a treat once in a while anyway? I am glad that food stamps exist so people do not have to starve.0 -
In my area, there is a farm share/CSA where you can use your food stamps to get fresh produce every week. I spend fully half my food stamps/grocery budget on my farm share every month. Instead of trying to control what people spend at the grocery store, I would love to see more programs like this, and more advertisement to let people know that this exists. Free nutrition classes would also probably be a great use of "taxpayer" money. Subsidizing these types of programs too, this farm has a scholarship program to reduce the weekly cost.
I think the whining about your taxpayer money regarding food stamps is pretty stupid, compared to all the actual dumbass things the government spends money on. Just sayin'.0 -
I have spent my life as an advocate for people with disabilities, and have lots of knowledge in this area. For someone who is disabled, but never able to work, they get SSI. The HIGHEST monthly amount on SSI is $698. They are eligible for food stamps, obviously. Most states give at most $200/ month in food stamps for one person. You try to buy only healthy foods for a month on only $200 and see how far it gets you! Many are forced to buy filler foods, pasta, etc. just to make ends meet. These are not the people who are buying soda with their food stamps, but if you start dictating what they can and cannot buy, you are going to limit their ability to eat towards the end of the month. Oh, and try living on only $698 a month, for even one month! People really should walk in the shoes of other people before they criticize or judge them!0
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BTW, I did not label anyone in the program, nor am I saying we should not help people in need. Help should be healthy. If you don't want someone else regulating your food choices, pay for them yourself. That's all. God knows I make some unhealthy choices, but I pay for them out of pocket.
My critique is that for some reason no one in the government has the guts to say soda is bad for humans, and there we will not pay for it. I get the point of the study, which is that it is hard to draw a line between healthy and not healthy for some things. Sure. But gee, are we really going to say that soda is healthy? Their own report suggests that some candy bars are healthier than cheese. That is just plain dumb. Anybody who took 8th grade health class knows better. These are educated people making the call. Yuck.
Whats dumb is that you think its your business what others buy even if it is with food stamps. Don't like it don't look in everyone elses shopping cart or how they're paying for it. I"m sure they feel humiliated to begin with without a big nose like yours butting in their business. Just wait till you fall on hard times and you need help. I hope no one ever comes up to you and says what are you doing using my tax dollars to pay for that!0 -
God forbid low-income families occasionally treat themselves to a candy bar. The program is not a waste. Let people make their own decisions.
While I don't disagree with you (at least for the most part).... it isn't just the "occasional" candy bar.... I have seen people buying more expensive things (like high end cheese and steaks) with it... it is a waste of money and resources that is meant to help people buy food, not fake food... I don't think people would have a problem with the occasional candy bar... but when people are continually buying what is considered luxury food items, it does the family absolutely no good to burn through that money only to be hungry a couple of days later.0 -
I have spent my life as an advocate for people with disabilities, and have lots of knowledge in this area. For someone who is disabled, but never able to work, they get SSI. The HIGHEST monthly amount on SSI is $698. They are eligible for food stamps, obviously. Most states give at most $200/ month in food stamps for one person. You try to buy only healthy foods for a month on only $200 and see how far it gets you! Many are forced to buy filler foods, pasta, etc. just to make ends meet. These are not the people who are buying soda with their food stamps, but if you start dictating what they can and cannot buy, you are going to limit their ability to eat towards the end of the month. Oh, and try living on only $698 a month, for even one month! People really should walk in the shoes of other people before they criticize or judge them!
Exactly what my son gets. He only gets 120 in food stamps. He lives on his own renting a room from someone. He has to eat at our house most of the time because 120 in food stamps doesn't go far at all. He usually buys small cheap frozen dinners when they are on sale 10 for $10. I buy all of his other needs like toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry detergent, clothes and any other non food items. He would starve if we didn't help him out.0 -
Exactly. Hard workers usually treat ourselves, so once in a while it is ok for SNAP recipients to want a candy bar and such. But with the hand out being so generous, when other people struggle to get higher costing healthy food onto their table, that is a waste. Take the recreational money that one does have and use THAT for a treat, ice cream, etc. for children instead. At least WIC makes sure you have to get the basic staples which provide an outline for a healthy meal.
It is a waste when large numbers of people buy nothing BUT candy bars and soda and chips and corn dogs and frozen pizzas and they feed their children with this. Children already suffer severely from lack of rights in this country, it's even worse when they can't even be fed proper foods and are molded into people who make bad nutritional choices in adulthood and perpetuate that on their own children whether they get food stamps or not.God forbid low-income families occasionally treat themselves to a candy bar. The program is not a waste. Let people make their own decisions.
Although I hate not being able to chose where my tax money goes to in general.0 -
1 oz of cheddar cheese and 1 oz of a Snickers bar are roughly the same, nutritionally. Same amount of calories, cheese has more fat, double the saturated fat, and more calcium. A Snickers bar has more fiber than the cheese, plus healthier fats due to the peanuts. So the only thing you really get from cheddar cheese is calcium, and there are far better sources than cheese for calcium. Maybe you should actually do the research before you criticize it. Plus the candy bar has antioxidant properties from the chocolate.BTW, I did not label anyone in the program, nor am I saying we should not help people in need. Help should be healthy. If you don't want someone else regulating your food choices, pay for them yourself. That's all. God knows I make some unhealthy choices, but I pay for them out of pocket.
My critique is that for some reason no one in the government has the guts to say soda is bad for humans, and there we will not pay for it. I get the point of the study, which is that it is hard to draw a line between healthy and not healthy for some things. Sure. But gee, are we really going to say that soda is healthy? Their own report suggests that some candy bars are healthier than cheese. That is just plain dumb. Anybody who took 8th grade health class knows better. These are educated people making the call. Yuck.
Nothing is black and white. Besides, if soda is bad and ineligible, then everything that isn't water would have to be disqualified as well, after all, all juices have as much, and in most cases, even more sugar than soda does. Factor in the expenses of having to completely rewrite the entire program (everything is computerized, they would have to completely reprogram millions of separate information systems for millions of separate businesses around the country,) and yes, it is prohibitively expensive, for no real gain. All it would do is waste taxpayer money.0 -
Teach a man to fish...
EDIT (for clarification reason): I don't think anyone begrudges those who actually need assistance (disabled, single mothers in school, et al.). It's those who abuse the system that are causing others to question its efficacy.0 -
The government is making efforts to educate recipients about using their benefits wisely. I few years ago I worked as a nutrition educator for a program to provide nutrition education and smart shopping classes to food stamp recipients (it was funded as a grant through the extension service). The problem was....recipients could not be REQUIRED to take the classes and we had a very hard time getting them to attend classes - although other community members flocked there.0
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Well I feed my kids foo from the garden and I but mostly whole grain breads and lean meats. But on occasion I also need to buy them some sweats, or candy for easter, christmas etc, and do to my current finacial situation if I didnt have SNAP benefits I wouldnt eat. So I believe it is the one who is receiving the SNAP benefits to determine wheather they want to get clean and healthy, not for the goverment or you to regulate it!!! Thanks
I will probably be reported for this, but oh well. Truth hurts sometimes....
It isn't YOUR money to decide what to do with! If the government GIVES you something, then they indeed have the right to regulate how the money is used. IF you would like to be free to purchase what your heart desires, I suggest earning your own money. Simple solution, really.0 -
In my experience stores in poor urban neighborhoods (I don't know much about rural areas) don't really carry a lot of fresh or nutritious food. You're lucky to find a bit of wilted lettuce or a few mealy tomatoes. If you restrict what people can buy too much, they might not be able to find much of anything.
Also, think of all the arguments on here about what constitutes nutritious food. How would you determine what could and couldn't be sold? There are people on this web site who think bread and rice are the most evil foods in the history of the world. Would you cut those off? There are other people who think fat is the enemy. Would you restrict the sale of bacon and eggs?
I also agree with what several people said earlier: if someone is struggling to the point that they need this type of benefit, I'm not going to begrudge them a candy bar or other snack.0 -
And don't forget, when you're calling out poor people for having access to junk food ---- it's the big corporations (you know, the ones that actually make the junk) it's those corporations that are spending millions lobbying to keep their junk food eligible for purchase with SNAP.0
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Although I hate not being able to chose where my tax money goes to in general.
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^^^^Dear God, isn't this the truth!!!!!0 -
I've been on foodstamps, know people who are or have been on them as well and as a struggling lower-income family, I know all about the difficulties of providing decent foof for your family, and then the aggravation of watching a person with foodstamps fill their buggy with steaks, crab legs, soda, chips, cakes and whatever else while you've got a discount package of sandwhich meat and bread to look at for the next week. Even more annoying is the recent rise in foodstamp users buying racks of ribs and then opening up impromtu food stands on the side of roads and selling bbq for a profit (but can you really blame them for capitalism? :-P )
That being said, I firmly believe that good nutrition options should be provided for everyone, regardless of income. Instead of subsidizing food companies and groweres to not grow, instead of burning money on empty calories, create a program similar to WIC that provides the essentials to every man, woman and child in america. Lean meats, dairy, fresh produce, whole grain breads, etc. You want bacon wrapped filet mignon with a side of crab legs? Save up for it like everyone else. But no one should be denied the essentials to good health.0 -
Generous? A family of 4 gets $100 a week at most. That is not particularly generous. People that qualify for SNAP don't have recreational money. That's why they qualify for SNAP.
Exactly. Hard workers usually treat ourselves, so once in a while it is ok for SNAP recipients to want a candy bar and such. But with the hand out being so generous, when other people struggle to get higher costing healthy food onto their table, that is a waste. Take the recreational money that one does have and use THAT for a treat, ice cream, etc. for children instead. At least WIC makes sure you have to get the basic staples which provide an outline for a healthy meal.
It is a waste when large numbers of people buy nothing BUT candy bars and soda and chips and corn dogs and frozen pizzas and they feed their children with this. Children already suffer severely from lack of rights in this country, it's even worse when they can't even be fed proper foods and are molded into people who make bad nutritional choices in adulthood and perpetuate that on their own children whether they get food stamps or not.God forbid low-income families occasionally treat themselves to a candy bar. The program is not a waste. Let people make their own decisions.
Although I hate not being able to chose where my tax money goes to in general.0 -
BTW, I did not label anyone in the program, nor am I saying we should not help people in need. Help should be healthy. If you don't want someone else regulating your food choices, pay for them yourself. That's all. God knows I make some unhealthy choices, but I pay for them out of pocket.
My critique is that for some reason no one in the government has the guts to say soda is bad for humans, and there we will not pay for it. I get the point of the study, which is that it is hard to draw a line between healthy and not healthy for some things. Sure. But gee, are we really going to say that soda is healthy? Their own report suggests that some candy bars are healthier than cheese. That is just plain dumb. Anybody who took 8th grade health class knows better. These are educated people making the call. Yuck.
except that, well, it isn't.0 -
I believe universal health care should be implemented along with a broader range for who qualifies for food stamps. Like single college students paying tuition or a single male or female in there late 40's who can't get a job but has truly exhausted every option. U can argue for days about what we pay for in tax dollars. But if u do ur research correctly we still pay for the same things anyways just in different ways. For example u may not want to fund Medicare but when that person gets extremely ill because they can't afford a doctors visit u still pay for that ER visit. Get over yourself . Necessities shouldn't be restricted to anyone . It's inhumane. If someone decides to live off of tombstone pizzas for the rest of there life that's there choice. You can force them to eat healthier options but it doesn't mean they will actually do it.0
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BTW, I did not label anyone in the program, nor am I saying we should not help people in need. Help should be healthy. If you don't want someone else regulating your food choices, pay for them yourself. That's all. God knows I make some unhealthy choices, but I pay for them out of pocket.
My critique is that for some reason no one in the government has the guts to say soda is bad for humans, and there we will not pay for it. I get the point of the study, which is that it is hard to draw a line between healthy and not healthy for some things. Sure. But gee, are we really going to say that soda is healthy? Their own report suggests that some candy bars are healthier than cheese. That is just plain dumb. Anybody who took 8th grade health class knows better. These are educated people making the call. Yuck.
But you can't determine what some people think is healthy and not others. The money it would take to figure that out and all the changes every time someone came up with a thought that some macro-nutrient is unhealthy would cause headaches. Some people on here believe moderation of all food is okay, some people believe that low carb is healthy, some people believe low fat is healthy. I had a nutritionist recently tell me that the American Heart Association still endorses margarine and that a little trans fat is okay. So who do you believe in what is healthy? If you go with the moderation camp then anything can be worked into a healthy diet. Are whole wheat crackers healthy? Some would say no because of the processing, low protein content, and low fiber content. Do you say that all processed food is unhealthy? Do you say processed (pasteurized) milk is unhealthy? Who gets to say what's healthy? Science is still debating things and depending on your situation one thing may be unhealthy for you but may be fine for someone else. So who makes the determination? And then how do you enforce it? Just because you think cookies are unhealthy - what if they are oatmeal/peanut butter cookies made with honey? How do you determine "unhealthy". And then, how can you say cookies are unhealthy if some breads like cinnamon raisin or cereal isn't? Some cereals are worse than cookies. So again how do you determine "healthy".0 -
It isn't YOUR money to decide what to do with! If the government GIVES you something, then they indeed have the right to regulate how the money is used. IF you would like to be free to purchase what your heart desires, I suggest earning your own money. Simple solution, really.
I understand the point you're making here, but it doesn't really work does it. If someone gives you a money birthday gift, do they also get the right to say how you will spend it? If your employer gives you a Christmas bonus just because it's that time of year, does he come round to your home and criticise what you bought with it? Personally I'm not happy that the State would be allowed that level of interference in a person's life, even if they were receiving financial aid.0
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