Food Stamps and Healthy Food

_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.

The same card has cash and food stamp benefits on it, so they used cash for the cigarettes. Nothing with a non-food code will go on food stamp benefits. I had to use one of these cards for a few months when my husband died and had both benefits on it. You can't even buy toilet paper, soap, diapers, or any other essentials with food stamps. It won't even ring up without a food code before it, that even includes deli items that are warm and are food.

_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.

ETA: Just read the other replies. I've never seen anyone in TX use their EBT cards for anything other than groceries, but that makes sense.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

@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)

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.

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.

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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.

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?