Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: yuppa

I see/saw it done all the time.

It can take some doing, yes...but it's very doable. Instead of steaks, you buy roasts and cut them, or have them cut, most stores with a butcher block will happily do so. You make stew, or soup, using stretchers such as rice or barley, along with vegetables.

You think SNAP recipients are the only ones with small incomes/fixed incomes?

I have no issues with the program, it serves a decidedly needed function, and helps many people who might otherwise be in desperate straights. But...it can be run better, and part of that is the misuse that is rampant.

Ever seen kids walk up to a checkstand in a store and buy 40-50 dollars worth of junk food? I have. Or worse, with the EBT cash function, get 50 dollars of cash then plunk it into the lotto ticket machine? I have.

There is a need to tighten the rules. This is what you can buy, nothing else. I'm not in favor of making it harder to qualify, or to lessen the amount of money, but a limit on what can be purchased isn't a bad idea so far as I'm concerned.

My i do buy roast and use them 3-4 times over a week. Some of us just do no tlike vegetables at all. i get sick when i eat them myself so I dont. Sure getting a restriction on Junk food is a good idea,but not on cutting it in half and telling you what you will eat.

originally posted by: khnum
a reply to: abe froman

sh*t floats

Only if there is too much fat in it, what's your diet like?

a reply to: seagull

You have people who make that card scream, they work it so well. Sale meat items, like pork, chicken, stew meat, etc... Bulk rice, beans, and other grains. Fresh veggies that are on sale, or frozen ones, if not. Oh, many will get a 2 liter bottle of soda, or a quart of ice cream for a treat... But those people seem to be in the minority much of the time.

Exactly. If most people on SNAP shopped like this, I don't think anyone would have a real problem with the occasional treat item because it's how a *lot* of families do it. It's how my family does it.

The only thing that has really changed much for us over the years as our means have improved is the quality of a few items. But we still work the sales and bulk. We still use our meat smartly and on sale when possible.

And most folks wouldn't begrudge that if they saw the money being used wisely like the rest of us have to use ours wisely.

There used to be a food co-op type of program called Angel Food ministries (this was across the country)...it was open to the public, had nothing to do with income, you would go online, choose your foods and a pick-up date was scheduled once a month at your local church..the program itself was great, healthy choices, fresh veggies and fruits, meats, meal plans, etc. There is no reason the same type of program couldn't be implemented for anyone on welfare or receiving benefits in food assistance, you order what you want (for egs. choose 5 veggies, choose 7 fruits, etc) and a designated pick up could be scheduled...this type of program is also beneficial to the local farm communities in or around the area to bring fresh wholesome foods straight from the farm to the table....just an idea...

a reply to: rockhndr

A lot of folks shop farmers' markets where they can because it's fresh and it's often more cost effective, and a lot of times you can use SNAP at the markets.

I do not see a problem with this.
When i was a child it was this way if one needed help you could go to the county and get pb potatoes beans cheese.

I also believe that communities could benefit in coming together to buy staples in bulk.

a reply to: Somethingsamiss


That sounds like a proposal to grow the size and scope of the federal government by a margin that dwarf's homeland security. What kind of supply chain would you need to create to send out fifty million or more of these packages every month? How many people would you have to hire? Would they be federal government employees? Would they be eligible for federal pensions and benefits under the current classification system or something else? What would the this re-routing of food resources do to existing supply chains and businesses who rely on the current status quo in their projections for future quarterly profits? How would that effect current stock valuations for impacted firms?

Wouldn't this make the USDA the single largest employer in the country? Will the liberals become the new "small government" party?

I can see where they're going with it. At least they're leaving the rest of the benefits to buy whatever else you need to buy outside of the boxed goods.

I'm not on any sort of assistance myself, but a min wage job where I very rarely get over 29-35 hours a week means money is not just tight, it's non-existant outside bills and food.

Dairy, meat, and produce are extremely expensive here. I have to opt for frozen as much as possible because of it and fresh milk is out. Five to 6 dollars a gallon. Ouch. And that dollar-a-bag shelf where they put the older produce out is my goto for peppers, apples/oranges, potatoes and such. I've even gotten lucky and gotten spinach.

I know: I'm in Canada, but here, the cost of living keeps going up and up, but earnings are staying the same. Eating healthy has become very expensive. It's far cheaper to buy processed packaged stuff when a single steak is 10 bucks, a whole chicken is 20 bucks and even a small package of stew meat is 10 bucks or more.

Something needs to be done with SNAP though. There are far too many abuses in the system.

a reply to: olaru12

You mean as opposed to the many governments that hand out EFF ALL food to needy people?? I swear to the Mother Dog,i can not BeLieve how entitled and spoilt so many Americans seem to be!! You know i shudder to think what the vast majority of the population in my country would think if they had to read this thread! The things you lot complain about,they would LOVE to receive freee from our government..SHAME on all of you will complain about free food from your government..SO SORRY it's not 5 star restaurant food..excuse me while i go vomit..honestly it friggin Beggars belief how UNGRATEFUL,SPOILED and ENTITLED you lot are!! Sickening!!

originally posted by: Raxoxane
a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

You know what Real misery is?? What i see in my country,people who have no safety net like SNAP,having to eke out a living from the corn they can plant in their backyards next to their shacks. People whose kids have it far worse than those of American kids whose parents are on SNAP. You wanna think someone is a selfish prick for pointing out that if you have Nothing,No job and income,you should be bloody grateful for what you get on SNAP?? Then think that. All it says to me is that some people are ungrateful,entitled pricks who have NO idea what REAL misery and suffering and hunger is.

Yeah, no. We're talking about a food program for the poor in the US, not Africa. We have a LOT of fresh food waste in this country that could feed the proverbial army if it was managed properly toward the poor. Better than we can say for the food availability in places like your home base, right? We can do better, much better, than we already do. And you have the audacity to say "be grateful for what you get?" Bite me. Just because we have it better than you does not make the current system acceptable, it should be top-notch. WE can afford to do it.

Maybe instead of applying your country's public assistance ethic (or lack thereof) to the US, South Africa should take stock of their own closet and try to get it together to support her people better. Instead of, oh, I don't know, falling back on racial and tribal tensions to excuse violence, corruption and poor governance. But considering its a country where people still think raping certain demographics will cure AIDS, I don't see your overall welfare improving any time soon without a significant leap in common sense.

Just a thought.

a reply to: Nyiah

Oh well forgive me Please.Maybe American members can just start their threads with:"No opinions or perspectives from Non Americans wanted" Mmkay??

originally posted by: Raxoxane
a reply to: Nyiah

Oh well forgive me Please.Maybe American members can just start their threads with:"No opinions or perspectives from Non Americans wanted" Mmkay??

I did mention common sense. Which should be easy to apply in this context. In more affluent countries, it's no big issue to redistribute funds or the food outright to the poor (see Europe's examples) Food waste is cut down, and the hungry eat better.

Applying FYIGM logic from 2nd and 3rd world countries is a step backward, not forward. You really should be sorry for suggesting it.

a reply to: Nyiah

The point is universal: You have no job,no income,no way to feed your CHILDREN,but luckily you live in a country where the government protects you and your kids from outright starvation - you should be bloody thankful!!! As i just said to member Olaru,i have never seen such despicable disgusting ungratefulness!! Maybe it takes a Non American to point this out to you.Because it seems you are so spoiled and entitled you have NO IDEA how hard life can actually get.Shame on you,for trying to make Me feel bad for injecting a reality check!!

originally posted by: Raxoxane
a reply to: Nyiah

The point is universal: You have no job,no income,no way to feed your CHILDREN,but luckily you live in a country where the government protects you and your kids from outright starvation - you should be bloody thankful!!! As i just said to member Olaru,i have never seen such despicable disgusting ungratefulness!! Maybe it takes a Non American to point this out to you.Because it seems you are so spoiled and entitled you have NO IDEA how hard life can actually get.Shame on you,for trying to make Me feel bad for injecting a reality check!!

I am not grateful for literally throwing unsold food away when it could be put into a system to feed the poor, or when that system could be avoided outright by allowing only that fresh food to be purchased instead of processed foods. The fact that some African droning on about lack of food in their country in the first place is ARGUING ABOUT THIS says everything the rest of the world needs to know about African ethics. You want to whine about ungratefulness, but dance around touching on stupidity here.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I'm not sure I see that.

How does a rule that states, roughly, you must buy a bag of apples, rather than a box of Twinkies, lower SNAP recipients standard of living?

a reply to: Nyiah

You do realize you are talking down to someone who lives in a country where they are about to run out of water in one of the main cities?

You also realize that thanks to short-sighted governance, we live about 3-days away from similar food disaster in this country?

I think you need to ponder what you're talking about.

the idea won't fly...but It is a practical idea to provide 50% of safety-net food stuff to the financially needy
so as to insure that only living & real persons are being tended to & the Feds are not being scammed by Fraudulent claims

but I do wonder if Muslim food packages will have 'halal' or 'permitted' food packages ...where-as the regular Christian citizens are not treated with greater respect or dignity & get Mess Hall pantry items in their monthly food crate
see: www.muslimconsumergroup.com...#&panel1-2


Trump is wandering further & further from his campaign painted picture of what his policies will be like




OTOH

won't it be an awakening when the SNAP food delivery van delivers about 20 crates of pantry foods to a single address... in many different cities and towns all across America....

then We Will See Clearly that 15% of the welfare population are just imaginary people that crafty, Generational Welfare recipients have been able to scam the HHS & SafetyNet Agencies out of needed resources...for Years on End....

i'm sure the illegal immigrants have found this shortcut already, being resourceful is a strategic trait for those in war torn regions now in 'sanctuary' here in the usa

Maybe that is the purpose of the Trump plan to deliver boxes of foods...so that the population gets informed by the news reports of Pallets of Food crates being sent to houses/apts/warehouses in all types of ghettos or slums, barrio sites where welfare people are listed as living in---but are not in fact real people but just fraudulent welfare cheats

edit on th28151855265213102018 by St Udio because: (no reason given)

a reply to: St Udio

Michelle did something similar to school lunches, and everyone loved her! The press thought it was the greatest thing ever!

All they need to do is that they're doing it to curb childhood obesity. Call it healthy food at home or something. Realistically, what they're proposing isn't going to be much healthier than what most of those schools ended up putting in their lunches.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Nyiah

You do realize you are talking down to someone who lives in a country where they are about to run out of water in one of the main cities?

You also realize that thanks to short-sighted governance, we live about 3-days away from similar food disaster in this country?

I think you need to ponder what you're talking about.

To be blunt, it's not my country nor my fault they're in the pickle they're in. I did mention corruption, most, if not all, of the African continent is damn good at it. Kind of makes our greedy politicians look like they're still in diapers.

Also, she should consider your second comment as a valid reason to support us wanting better quality systems here. Half-assed isn't acceptable, right? Then we should not accept half-assed where we can avoid it. Our nation-wide emergency food stores might not give us much in a massive disaster, but we can start small by doing a hell of a lot better with what what we provide the poor.
All I've ever hollered for is not allowing processed foods on EBT. Not only that, the amount of fresh food waste in the US is downright obscene, and it could be whittled substantially just by no longer allowing crap like Oreos on EBT, and implementing programs like Double Up Food Bucks (which I linked in a prior post) to encourage more fresh food purchasing.
Why this is a bad thing she's scoffing at is beyond me, and I'm going to continue to talk down to the person(s) with their head wedged so far up their ass they can see the back of their teeth.

a reply to: wantsome

I worked, as I've said before, the grocery industry for over a decade, and I saw the abuse of the system all over the place. Not everyone, no. Not even most, but many.

As I said earlier in this thread, and in others just like this one, I don't want to see SNAP, or the like, abolished, because it's desperately needed by folks who'd be in serious trouble without it. WIC, as an example, is very stringent on what they'll pay for. Seems to work, I never heard otherwise, though I suspect shenanigans regarding the constant change as regards which baby formulas are allowed...

But only certain types of juices are allowed. The fresh produce aspect, allows for only staple fruits, such as apples etc..., or veggies such as carrots and the like. That may have changed, as it's been a couple of years since I've worked the industry.