Food Stamps and Healthy Food
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hollydubs85 wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »hollydubs85 wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »CleanUpWhatIMessedUp wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »I have seen people using food stamp debit cards to purchase an entire cart full of groceries and non-groceries. I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that although it is supposed to be used for food, food stamps still get used for other things.
I've seen one used in an Indian gas station to buy cigarettes too. I don't know if that's allowed or not either, but I saw it happen.
Wish I had more to offer though, sorry.
Food stamps are restricted and can only be used for certain things, mainly food. You cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. However, there is such a thing as TANF (temporary assistance needy families), and that assistance can probably be used for anything, so that is probably what you saw.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
Cannot and should not are two different things. The food stamp card where I live is very distinguishable, and that's what I saw. So yes, cigarettes can be bought with food stamps.
Are you American?
If you are, then no, you absolutely cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. When I used to work at a grocery store, people put anything and everything into their cart, the cashier totals it up, and the register only applies the food stamps to the portions that qualify for it. If there are cigarettes, charcoal, and candy on the bill, then the individual has to pay for those items a different way.
I saw it happen at a gas station where obviously the cigarettes were rung up as "grocery." Like I said (twice now), I don't know how everything works with food stamps, but I know that food stamps were used to buy cigarettes in a gas station. I worked in a grocery store too and have no experience with food stamps and how the process works and what loopholes are made to use it for items other than groceries. Unless EBT cards can distinguish food stamps from other benefits that are on that card. If that's the case, I will retract everything I said about that person buying cigarettes with food stamps. I just know the card they used is the same card I see people using to buy groceries as well.
Ahhh, that makes a lot more sense. Yeah, at the grocery store, if something wouldn't scan, I could enter it in manually as a grocery item (or pharmacy item, or deli item, etc.). I'm willing to bet the person behind the register was doing that person a favor by ringing up the cigarettes as a grocery item. There are ways to cheat any system, unfortunately.
That was what I originally meant. The gas station is known for selling to minors and is just an overall shady gas station. They also have the best prices for tobacco products (I was there for my Red Man Golden Blend that I don't chew anymore
)
I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sure this place will take money however they can (even if it means cheating a system).0 -
I've used food stamps before, we needed them and we used them.
I've also known people that get hundreds of dollars per month for 4 or 5 kids and they sell their food stamps to get cash to buy drugs or alcohol. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE EVERYONE LOOK BAD. They do need some serious education...0 -
They used to be only for certain items, ( block of cheese) now they are more lenient on the food item. which is good, but as many have said, some do not know nutrition. I don't like seeing them being used for soda, chips, ice cream, etc... should be used for veggies, fruit, meats, pasta,etc..
This may be the "food stamp Healthy program" you mentioned. Which would be good, as said many family generation are on them and do not know "healthy" foods to buy.
and yes, people get around the food item and use them for cigarettes,etc.. they are even sold on the internet to get cash.0 -
yes,it varies by state. so does medicaid. some states will pay for dental work,glasses,etc while others do not. amount you get in foodstamps vary by state(goes by your income,what your deductions are(rent,water,sewer,etc_) and how many live in the home.some states the more people who live in the home the more foodstamps you get.some states have a cap limit on what amount you can get,even though its federal it does vary by state so the snap guidelines are not going to be accurate or the same for every state.(I have a friend who works at the welfare office,shes a case worker)kinkyslinky16 wrote: »kinkyslinky16 wrote: »My grandma is on food stamps and only gets $21 a month. Yeah, there's no healthy food that's gonna last a month, other than frozen foods but even a frozen bag of peas still cost $1 and last 1 meal. I called to scream about the $21 and was told that we are lucky because the uncle of the person we were talking to only gets $15 per month. Yep. Food stamps arent the excessive amount of free money everyone thinks they are and planning several meals around small amounts of money is probably incredibly difficult.
The amount you get is based on other income. If your grandma is getting Social Security and/or taking payments from a retirement account or pension, that all figures in. The maximum amount for a single person with less than $900 a month in income is $180
Her income is just over 900 a month. I wonder if it varies state by state? When I spoke with someone at the benefits office, the rep said it didn't get much better than 21.0 -
I'm an AmeriCorps service member (basically doing a year of "government sponsored" community service). As such, I get SNAP benefits, as they're called here in California. I have a few points:
*I have a taxable income of zero dollars a month and receive $130.42 a month in SNAP benefits. I usually manage to make that last all month, but there are a lot of things I've had to do to make that work: I only buy meat/fish when it is (deeply) discounted. I buy the bruised produce that's on sale. I don't buy the "nice" fruit like berries and melons, unless it's on that discount table, same with the "nice" produce like kale or, I don't know, beets. I also supplement with my stoop garden, which is lucky for me that I'm in California. I don't buy any kinds of prepared foods and make everything from scratch. I eat a lot of pasta. I eat a lot of frozen food. I eat only store brand. I stock up on what's on sale and eat that a lot for several days/weeks in a row.
*If I had a dependent, I would receive about $30 more a month for that dependent.
*I don't have a car. I have to walk 35 minutes to the nearest Safeway twice a week, because I have to carry the food back 35 minutes myself. There's a Whole Foods much closer, but hahaha. There's also a convenience store on the corner where I could stock up on ramen, frozen pizza, and other "junk" food that's only a two-minute walk.
*My weekly grocery shopping as such takes about three hours of time. If I had small children, I'd have to either find someone to watch them or take them walking with me to the store, doubling the amount of time it would take. This does not include food prep time, which is significant, since I have to prep everything from scratch and garden to stretch the money.
*I am capable of doing this because I have to do it for a limited amount of time. I know that when I'm done with my AmeriCorps service, I can go back to school and then find a nice, well-paying job that will allow me to purchase a vehicle and buy whatever food I desire.
*I cannot imagine doing this for year after year, or with children, or while disabled. I would not. I would become disheartened and go to that corner store to buy frozen pizza.
*At least here in California, you have an Electronic Benefits Transfer card that looks like a debit card. It can contain both food assistance and cash assistance. You just select the appropriate button when you pay, similar to selecting debit or credit when you pay with another card. You can also (as I do), pay with your EBT card for your food, then hand the cashier the balance in cash to pay for your toilet paper, or whatever. So those you think are paying for things that you disapprove of with EBT might well not actually be doing so.0 -
I don't like seeing them being used for soda, chips, ice cream, etc... should be used for veggies, fruit, meats, pasta,etc..
I had to explain this to my SO at the time, he would buy junk food then we'd be hungry the rest of the month.
When we had them I always bought the most expensive items with it. Meat, dairy and fresh produce.
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I think as far as food goes, food stamps can be used for whatever they want. In my parts, food stamps are everywhere and abused.... A LOT. I understand that there are households that are having a rough time, they were laid off, disabled, retired, etc. Then, like in my town, you have the people who have found they can get more things not working than they can working full time, when they are capable. I think the system is a little broke. Instead of giving money for an allotted amount of income, why not give vouchers per a family member for a packaged set of foods designed for that particular persons needs? I know it sounds silly, but so does watching people spend that money on poor choices, whether they have a healthy food knowledge or not.
It physically hurts me at the grocery store to sit at the register, making sure I have all my price matches accounted for, my coupons, and any other discounts I can get my hands on to make sure I am not spending an arm and a leg, and see the person in front of me with 2 carts full of name brand crap food and swipe their EBT card. In all honesty, and I am not trying to piss people off, but I think there should be restrictions on food stamp cards. Why should tax payers pay for their 12 boxes of little Debbie's and 4 cases of soda? If taxes are paying for your food, there should be regulations on what's bought. I can't afford to feed my family steaks and lobster once a week with both me and my husband working full time jobs, but welfare can? It's hard to wrap my head around it.
When the government is able to give someone food, housing, cell phone, medical care, dental, and tell them, if you make even $100/month more than you currently do, all that is going to disappear, why would anyone try? I have a staff member that was able to help support her and her son with state aid (food stamps, and Medicaid), not a lot, but some. I gave her a 50 cent an hour raise and they were kicked off food stamps and she lost her Medicaid. She actually needed it too. Anyway!!! Rant over. Sorry, but like I said, in my parts, the system is easily manipulated and abused and broken.
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incognito- I believe you saw it happen.0
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chelsy0587 wrote: »I've used food stamps before, we needed them and we used them.
I've also known people that get hundreds of dollars per month for 4 or 5 kids and they sell their food stamps to get cash to buy drugs or alcohol. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE EVERYONE LOOK BAD. They do need some serious education...
This is an issue we see a lot around here!0 -
_incogNEATo_ wrote: »hollydubs85 wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »CleanUpWhatIMessedUp wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »I have seen people using food stamp debit cards to purchase an entire cart full of groceries and non-groceries. I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that although it is supposed to be used for food, food stamps still get used for other things.
I've seen one used in an Indian gas station to buy cigarettes too. I don't know if that's allowed or not either, but I saw it happen.
Wish I had more to offer though, sorry.
Food stamps are restricted and can only be used for certain things, mainly food. You cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. However, there is such a thing as TANF (temporary assistance needy families), and that assistance can probably be used for anything, so that is probably what you saw.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
Cannot and should not are two different things. The food stamp card where I live is very distinguishable, and that's what I saw. So yes, cigarettes can be bought with food stamps.
Are you American?
If you are, then no, you absolutely cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. When I used to work at a grocery store, people put anything and everything into their cart, the cashier totals it up, and the register only applies the food stamps to the portions that qualify for it. If there are cigarettes, charcoal, and candy on the bill, then the individual has to pay for those items a different way.
I saw it happen at a gas station where obviously the cigarettes were rung up as "grocery." Like I said (twice now), I don't know how everything works with food stamps, but I know that food stamps were used to buy cigarettes in a gas station. I worked in a grocery store too and have no experience with food stamps and how the process works and what loopholes are made to use it for items other than groceries. Unless EBT cards can distinguish food stamps from other benefits that are on that card. If that's the case, I will retract everything I said about that person buying cigarettes with food stamps. I just know the card they used is the same card I see people using to buy groceries as well.
yes,the card does distinguish food stamps from cash benefits on the card, you have to use 2 different transactions(cash or food) food should be a non taxable item and should come up on the register as being allowed by foodstamps,cigarettes since they are taxable should come up on the register as a taxable item and should not go through the foodstamp transaction. if you put non taxable and taxable items(cigs,alcohol,non food items) then it should distinguish the difference between the 2.the food stamp balance would be for the food only and then once someone uses that key by hitting the food button on the screen,then anything taxable would come up as a balance,which could be used with the EBT card IF it has cash on it from cash assistance(TANF).
The EBT card is designed to not be used on cash items when you select the food button(on the register thing where you slide your cards). it should come up on the registers end as non food. It should not go through. If there is no cash on the card hitting the food button selection would say either item not found or non food item and the transaction wouldnt be allowed. Like I said if it is allowed then the store needs reported as thats fraud.
also candy is allowed and so are some energy drinks, if it has nutrition facts on the label its allowed,if it says supplement facts its not. hot food isnt allowed, but I have heard that some states allow you to use foodstamps in fast food restaurants but you can only use like $15 of them on fast food. not sure if they still allow that or not.
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Jackie pointed out a good reason pay can be low... many do not want the raise b.c they lose food stamp money.
We have had employees who would not work 40 hr a week to keep their income low. and one who did not want a raise b.c he would lose food stamp money. We thought we were doing a good thing by giving him a raise? guess not.0 -
same here. Yet, if you report it nothing gets done because there is NO proof.the kids are the ones who are suffering.Jackie9950 wrote: »chelsy0587 wrote: »I've used food stamps before, we needed them and we used them.
I've also known people that get hundreds of dollars per month for 4 or 5 kids and they sell their food stamps to get cash to buy drugs or alcohol. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE EVERYONE LOOK BAD. They do need some serious education...
This is an issue we see a lot around here!
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There are some clerks that will go ahead and ring up alcohol and cigarettes as something else to put it on food stamps, but it is illegal. I reported it at a store by us because the store can be fined as well as lose the ability to accept food stamps. So it is a matter of people ringing things up inappropriately to "help" people (sometimes because they know them). Food stamps are determined by income and number of people in the home. The amount varies by state. WIC is a federal program for Women, Infants & Children (up to age 6, I believe) and limits purchases to "essentials" such as cheese, peanut butter, bread, milk and eggs. For both all the money must be spent in a month as it does not "roll over" to the next month. Food stamps do not include non-grocery items including diapers, wipes, cigarettes, alcohol, candy, paper products, etc. There is not a "free flow" of money however and when it is spent it is gone until the card reloads (most are debit style cards now). Using someone else's card is also illegal, but I know when someone was going to be out of town they would give it to a friend to use so that the money "didn't go to waste", they are supposed to show i.d. to use, but that usually doesn't happen. Hope that helps.0
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Back to original question.. what would be considered "healthy" foods? I think it would be easier to list what is Not allowed. But kind of pointless due to all the abuse with food stamps. Education on foods, may be better before they even can qualify for f/s.
idk- it is a mess, glad it helps the people who use it correctly, but disappointed in the people who abuse it.0 -
@krumpli Thanks so much for this - my sister was on SNAP (food stamps) for her Americorps year also. She definitely had to get creative when buying groceries in Brooklyn NY. I used to work at Pathmark so I'm familiar with SNAP, WIC and TANF
There's different kinds of assistance:
SNAP - food stamps. You can only buy food, not prepared food (like the rotisserie chicken at Pathmark). The amount you get depends on how much your taxable income is. For example, if it's $0 taxable income, you get the full amount for your state (around 150-200$ in NYC)
WIC (Women Infants and Children)- This is for women with children. You can only buy items for a child under 5 such as baby food and baby formula ie, Similac. This is to supplement your child's nutrition. If you're getting 20$ in foodstamps, you obv won't be able to use that to buy baby milk that costs $18
TANF- It's basically a cash card - can be used on a lot of different things. But it's for needy families that are going through a rough patch, are under employed.
OP, to answer your question, watching my sister on SNAP was really tough because you can't let ANYTHING go to waste. I challenged myself to spend about $35 on groceries a week and the "cheap" healthy options are:- Alot of pasta and "fillers" - no breads - just pennes spaghetti etc
- Thank goodness her farmers market accepted EBT (foodstamp card) because they would sell fresh vegetables like spinach, kale, apples, squash and bananas The banana single handedly helped her get her 5 fruits/day. Everything else was frozen
- Trader Joe's which was really reliable for healthy, low sodium (canned) soups and "staples" like peanut butter, beans, lentils
- All her meats were purchased on sale and her other protein was greek yogurt
- A splurge would be almonds, avocado, beef and coming to my house
It's really hard to stay healthy bc you have to stay mindful of what's on sale, your habits. Which everyone should do but she did it for a year and I couldn't do it for a month. (I love avos)
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Having worked in marketing, I can shead some light on a dirty secret about food stamps and especially WIC.
Grocery stores have stickers they can place on shelves to designate that a product qualifies for a particular state-funded program. Managers are encouraged NOT to put these stickers on all applicable items, but to only use the stickers on items that are about to go bad or that aren't selling well in order to get it off the shelves. Parents want the best for their children, so when they see that bright yellow WIC sticker they're more likely to buy the product--regardless of whether it's actually of good quality or healthy for their child. That WIC endorsement makes them curious, and that's the first step to a sale.
This type of marketing is really a disadvantage to the people who buy their food with these government programs (also why I don't work in marketing anymore; I want to help people and educate them, not fleece the poor).
Grocery store marketing uses this same tactic for the new fad "gluten-free." As someone who actually can't eat gluten because of my health and not by choice, I often find "GF" stickers that have been inappropriately placed by a manager trying to move product or make people think it's healthier than it is.
Bottom line is we need better food education in schools. Teach kids how to read labels and make healthy choices. Then the kids go home and teach mom & dad, implementing healthier practices at home. Demand for healthy food goes up, so stores stock more of it... and stop lying to us with flashy stickers because now that we're educated we can't be tricked.0 -
How about the fact that 47 million people are using food stamps? That's nearly twice as many than the number of people receiving them between 1975 - 2008, which ranged anywhere between 17-26 million per year.
We need a lot more than food education in this country.0 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »kinkyslinky16 wrote: »My grandma is on food stamps and only gets $21 a month. Yeah, there's no healthy food that's gonna last a month, other than frozen foods but even a frozen bag of peas still cost $1 and last 1 meal. I called to scream about the $21 and was told that we are lucky because the uncle of the person we were talking to only gets $15 per month. Yep. Food stamps arent the excessive amount of free money everyone thinks they are and planning several meals around small amounts of money is probably incredibly difficult.
I agree with this! When it comes to single individuals even those with SEVERE disabilities (developmentally disabled, paraplegic, disabled senior citizens, etc), they often get a very tiny monthly sum. I worked with severely disabled adults and it was average for them to get between $10-35 per month in food stamps.
So many misconceptions abound when it comes to this topic. I'm glad to see quite a few people in this thread are acknowledging them.
It is probably due to other income or assets that is how they calculate what a person gets each month. There is a certain allowance and they subtract.0 -
hollydubs85 wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »CleanUpWhatIMessedUp wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »I have seen people using food stamp debit cards to purchase an entire cart full of groceries and non-groceries. I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that although it is supposed to be used for food, food stamps still get used for other things.
I've seen one used in an Indian gas station to buy cigarettes too. I don't know if that's allowed or not either, but I saw it happen.
Wish I had more to offer though, sorry.
Food stamps are restricted and can only be used for certain things, mainly food. You cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. However, there is such a thing as TANF (temporary assistance needy families), and that assistance can probably be used for anything, so that is probably what you saw.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
Cannot and should not are two different things. The food stamp card where I live is very distinguishable, and that's what I saw. So yes, cigarettes can be bought with food stamps.
Are you American?
If you are, then no, you absolutely cannot buy cigarettes with food stamps. When I used to work at a grocery store, people put anything and everything into their cart, the cashier totals it up, and the register only applies the food stamps to the portions that qualify for it. If there are cigarettes, charcoal, and candy on the bill, then the individual has to pay for those items a different way.
The only way cigs and alcohol can be bought is if the merchant is crooked. I knew a guy who would go to downtown LA and he knew a liquor store that would let him buy cigarettes with the food stamps and offered like 80 cents on the dollar. He would buy several cartons and then sell out the packs to people at full price. Food stamps use to be like a paper currency but it was easier for people to misuse them so they switched to the cards. But people still can cheat it.0 -
I am going to be straight up here and probably get some hate mail while I am at it. I am on FS and lived for many years with the mentality that healthy is too expensive. BULL!!! If you are only buying junk with your FS or money then you are fooling yourself into thinking you are saving. A bag of apples cost less than a bag of chips and last longer. A large bag of spinach cost less than $3. A bag of peas cost less than $1.50. Chicken is .99/pound. You cannot seriously justify killing your kids with "its more affordable"! Wake up america you are killing our future! And another thing since educating myself and making better (cheaper) choices I have noticed I get full quicker and stay that way longer. I also do not use all of my fs every month. I am guilty of using them at gas stations to buy water when I am in a hurry. And no I am not proud of being on FS but I have to feed my family and at least I am not killing them slowly.0
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asflatasapancake wrote: »fitmomma99 wrote: »I am going to be straight up here and probably get some hate mail while I am at it. I am on FS and lived for many years with the mentality that healthy is too expensive. BULL!!! If you are only buying junk with your FS or money then you are fooling yourself into thinking you are saving. A bag of apples cost less than a bag of chips and last longer. A large bag of spinach cost less than $3. A bag of peas cost less than $1.50. Chicken is .99/pound. You cannot seriously justify killing your kids with "its more affordable"! Wake up america you are killing our future! And another thing since educating myself and making better (cheaper) choices I have noticed I get full quicker and stay that way longer. I also do not use all of my fs every month. I am guilty of using them at gas stations to buy water when I am in a hurry. And no I am not proud of being on FS but I have to feed my family and at least I am not killing them slowly.
This was my first response. Choices and education. Thanks for the perspective. No hate here. Just trying to figure this all out. It seems like there are a lot of facets to this issue I haven't considered. To me it still seems to come down to making better food choices and of course, portions. Many good points in this thread.
Absolutely agree. Educating ourselves is the key to success in any aspect of our lives.
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I have friends on SNAP. Lack of car or public transportation is a big issue. They can walk to the Sheetz in 10 minutes. To the grocery store it would be an hour walking where there's no sidewalk by heavy traffic. I load them all in the Gothmobile to go to the Food Lion when I'm in town. Buses in many locations are a joke if that.0
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I that up for one of my classes
I found they couldn't be used for anything other than good unless you had a baby then it covered diapers
And it didn't cover fresh fruit/vegetables/meat for the most part
Just stuff like KD and canned food
Though the info I found was pretty old0 -
have you seen the Gwyneth Paltrow article where she tried to live of a food stamp budget and be healthy, and she failed. Then again who on food stamps buys a cart load full of limes (ah, Gwyneth!). She admitted it was near impossible to keep up, mind you, I think she was a good $10 under the weekly budget, because well, math must not be a strength she possesses either (still love her acting though, in most movies).
I think the main thing people mean is not necessarily healthy eating versus fresh cooking. For example PB&J sandwiches will be cheaper than a deli meat and salad sandwich, although mind you, PB&J prices have skyrocketed too!
And for example mac n cheese from a box is quicker and cheaper than making it fresh from scratch.
I admit, healthier and fresh food in my area (NE) can be a bit more expensive. We don't have as many healthfood store options as I'm sure the East and West Coast have. I spend on average $200/every two weeks on groceries with me and two kids when we mainly buy ready made and junk options, I spend $250-275 if I buy fresher stuff like fruits and vegetables rather than cookies and snack bars/candy.
So there is a definite difference felt. BUT at the end of the day, do I feel better with the fruits & veg or the junk?
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Our local Farmers Market has 2 for 1 SNAP Dollars. Every SNAP dollar spent is worth 2 dollars.
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it all depends on where you live though too what the price of things are. a bag of apples here(WV) cost more than a bag of chips,a huge bag of spinach is also more than $3 here.and chicken is more than .99 a lb(dont get me started on beef prices here).our farmers markets are far and few between I would have to travel 40 miles to get to one and thats one way. we are also limited when it comes to stores. But you can still find other healthy foods to buy.It can be done on a budget/foodstamps. I agree that we need to have classes on nutrition.fitmomma99 wrote: »I am going to be straight up here and probably get some hate mail while I am at it. I am on FS and lived for many years with the mentality that healthy is too expensive. BULL!!! If you are only buying junk with your FS or money then you are fooling yourself into thinking you are saving. A bag of apples cost less than a bag of chips and last longer. A large bag of spinach cost less than $3. A bag of peas cost less than $1.50. Chicken is .99/pound. You cannot seriously justify killing your kids with "its more affordable"! Wake up america you are killing our future! And another thing since educating myself and making better (cheaper) choices I have noticed I get full quicker and stay that way longer. I also do not use all of my fs every month. I am guilty of using them at gas stations to buy water when I am in a hurry. And no I am not proud of being on FS but I have to feed my family and at least I am not killing them slowly.
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