Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get

a reply to: Raxoxane

Sadly, many have become blind to entitlement. My grandparents shared stories about growing up during the Depression in America. Their father's standing long hours in long food lines, praying that the food would not run out. Ecstatic that they could bring home a simple loaf of bread. My grandparents said it was the most helpful thing to fill their stomachs rumbling from hunger.

Now, they may have been exaggerating, perhaps, yet the gratitude was there. Many Americans still recognize with gratitude that they are blessed to live in a 1st world nation. They are grateful for others having the ability to assist them, whether it be family, friends, church, charity, and or government. Unfortunately, they also, tend to be the most humblest folks and do not have a loud voice. They go unnoticed, as the minority entitled ones scream the loudest. Sigh.

I value your opinion in these topics for it expands my own thought processes. I certainly do not wish to learn in a simple echo chamber.

Here we have a bunch of conservatives saying "keep government out of our personal lives"

but it's totally ok if the govt. controls the diet of poor people. See the disconnect?

a reply to: Raxoxane

Why is it "ungrateful" to want to see the system changed a tad bit to see less unhealthy crap bought, and more healthy things bought in its place?

Few of us are advocating it be shut down, as that would be catastrophic for many, too many, people. But more stringent policies on what they can buy with it is just plain sense, so far as I'm concerned.

a reply to: Nyiah

She is pointing out that people who are complaining about the proposed changed placing restrictions on the freedoms they have to fill their carts with a mountain of Hungry Mans or worse junk food every month rather than really buying food or simply scamming the system for cash they can use then to buy non-food items aren't aware of what really bad conditions are like.

And given where she is from, she is right.

Most people here who call themselves poor don't have a clear of what real poverty is like. If you're complaining about whether you're being allowed to buy Coco Puffs over being given puffed rice, then you aren't as bad off as you want to think.

I am not saying you aren't poor or that you don't have serious money troubles and may not wonder at times what will be for dinner tomorrow, but when you are mad because you aren't getting the cereal of choice rather than mad because you're being told you won't get any cereal at all, for example.

a reply to: ketsuko

Ket, I understand the underdog defense you're trying to go with here, but to be blunt, it's such a different ball of wax between the countries' cultures & economic statuses that it's tantamount to a prostitute trying to give meaningful relationship advice to a newlywed.

Edit: I realize that sounds dismissive, and it honestly is to a point. Some of her points are valid in that they do make tangible sense if you're willing to account for the differences. The thing is, she isn't, and is falling back on "But in Africa" to make her points, without accounting for the differences. Much in the same way a seasoned, old sex worker may have seen & done plenty to toss a few wise nuggets out based on, but isn't exactly in a place to give a doe-eyed newlywed worthwhile advice to base life on.

There is still an active commodity food program in the US.

www.fns.usda.gov...

My neighbor buys the almost out of date commodities for penny's on the dollar and feeds it to his pigs.

Most of the perfectly good "out of date" food is taken to the dump.

Your tax dollars at work.

I can get behind this...
Of course I'm bias as I have seen people use their EBT card to buy cannabis. Sooo yeah if you are incapable of making rational decisions then someone needs to step in. Especially when children are involved.

a reply to: Nyiah

Doe eyed newlywed? That sounds like someone who is immature and ignorant to reality. Is that really the comparison you want to use for America? I certainly will take the few golden nuggets from the older prostitute. Why not learn from that advice rather than struggle through mistakes to have ones hopes and dreams dashed by reality! If anything, you will be wiser to not take the path of others before.

a reply to: ketsuko

Agreed.

I once knew a lady who was on EBT who would come into the store where I worked twice a month. I don't know how much she had to spend, but she'd come in with a plan, and a purse full of coupons--and I do mean a purse full. Damn. Most of the checkers hated seeing her come in during the day, because she'd tie up a checkstand for a while...since she liked me, for some odd reason, when she learned I'd gone to the night shift, she changed over to the 3 AM drill. She liked it, she said she could take her time, look at everything as long as it took. ...and by then, the produce guys were in, and were putting out the really fresh veggies. She was one of my fave customers, always happy, even at 3 AM...always had a story about her grandkids to share.

She'd shop for two hours, or longer, then come to the checkstand. I always knew to open a second checkstand, because it would take a while to get her order rung up. One particular order will always stick with me...450 dollars and change worth of groceries...w/o coupons...after coupons 185 dollars. Coupons, doubled up coupons, rebate coupons, buy two/three get one free, simply amazing.

I got to know her a bit over time, and she mailed in rebates, printed coupons off the internet, went to 12 hour sales, bought off the discount rack...and still managed to buy her fair share of junk--she loves Fresca (for some odd reason--nasty stuff.), and chocolate ice cream. She was raising her grand kids--two of 'em, I think, and bought the sugary cereal, but it was the off brand, not GM, or Kelloggs--2/3's the price, add a coupon or four, and nearly 1/4 the price.

It took her about an hour or so, so she said, to get all the coupons she'd need for two weeks worth of shopping.

If everyone did this, and apparently it didn't take her long to prepare for her trips, I'd have nothing to say about the program, ever.

But they don't. The program needs change. But... If that change is to cut the program, and add rules? No. I have issues with that. Some changes in what's allowed? Yes. But nothing else.

Setting aside the it's-going-to-stigmatize-people and it-takes-away-choice arguments because they, honestly, are irrelevant, I must agree with the claims that expanding the government's role in--well, in almost anything--is generally not a good answer.

That said, I don't know what's better, giving this a try, or allowing this broken-ish system to continue, where it is relatively easy to defraud the system.

In any event, it was almost laughable when I read this in the story:

Douglas Greenaway, president of the National WIC Association, echoed that sentiment. "Removing choice from SNAP flies in the face of encouraging personal responsibility," he said.

Two things, there, Mr. Greenaway:

1. The WIC program is about as restrictive as it comes for those using it, so you don't have a leg to stand on, and

2. For many people on the SNAP program, personal responsibility isn't a big thing.

Yes, I know that is a generalized statement, but I quantified it as "many people," not all or most, so don't hyperfocus on that part of it.

a reply to: olaru12

Indeed. Yet few people even know about it. I remember the cheese, butter, and milk handouts, later added juices to it. I'd make the pilgrimage twice a month. Loved that cheese. Made the best grill cheese sandwiches. The milk was horrid, but beat nothing at all. The butter was, well, butter, and did the job. The juices were usually very close, or past, date, but still very drinkable. I was usually able to get two or three cases of it, since most people didn't want it for some odd reason.

Saved my parents a lot of money, when there wasn't a lot to go 'round. Six kids need lots of provender.

Add the huge garden. The small grove of fruit trees, apple, pear, peach, and apricot. Canning season, and jamming season, the house usually smelled pretty damned good...and we were never hungry.

originally posted by: olaru12
There is still an active commodity food program in the US.

www.fns.usda.gov...

My neighbor buys the almost out of date commodities for penny's on the dollar and feeds it to his pigs.

Most of the perfectly good "out of date" food is taken to the dump.

Your tax dollars at work.

Maybe you can clear up something for me, because I'm honestly just not sure -- my late grandmother used to get what she called a "monthly commodities" box from the government. Would this have been it? It was given to her, she didn't pay for it. She often ended up with far more than she could eat, and was quite fond of weeding out the goodies and giving them to our kids (like the juices and dried fruits, the dried cherries she was given made EXCELLENT homemade granola bar additions)

And you're correct, most out-of-date stuff is trashed. What a waste, just because something's past date doesn't mean it's spoiled.

Edit: She also always tried to pawn the canned government/USDA meats off on us, too, she hated those. The big cans of chicken were actually ok, but the canned beef and pork were just atrocious. I can see how she refused to eat them, they made you gag.

There should be restrictions on what they can buy, they're using other people's money.

C'mon. We've all known that guy who owes you $100 and keeps saying he doesn't have it but keeps blowing money on a bunch of # he doesn't need for himself. Those type of people are on these programs. Not everybody on these programs is like that, but you have to take that into account. To stop people like that from wasting money, you have to be a little strict. And don't complain, you're still getting assistance. If you want to make your own decisions, I guess this just give you extra incentive to work your way up to getting off the program so you can buy whatever you want.

a reply to: Nyiah

You're right about the chicken, it's edible.

My mom had a recipe, or maybe a method is better, that made the beef actually kind of tasty. I wish I could remember what she did. I know it involved stewing it...

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.

I agree with that, although it's really try3to compare apples to oranges, we are talking about America not Africa.

On the advice of my neighbor, I'm going to buy out of date commodities and feed it to my Chickens and dogs.
He even goes to the dumpster and gets all kinds of packaged food. I suspect his family is well fed as well.

Better that, than being taken to the dump.

a reply to: tribal

The problem is...and I've seen this first hand, people get these benefits then eat better than hard working Americans. My friend had food stamps or whatever, and like someone above me said he would buy lobster and premium steaks, on top of that paid 0 for health care and got other assistance. Sounds all well and good, but when you add up all the benefits these people get they are making significantly more than folks who don't qualify...so then they are sitting there struggling to get by PAYING taxes, and watching people live better than they are off the sweat of their backs.

Now things in life happen...and it's nice to have a safety net in place. But if you can't afford kids, you (and by you I don't mean you, just a general you) shouldn't have them. Then alot of these people pop out more kids so that they are entitled to more benefits. So I say good, you get what you get.

Not a simple issue, but I think this is a step in the right direction.

I believe Trumps main goal is to stop the fraud that exists in the present program not to tell people what to eat like M. Obama tried pulling off on the school kids. Purchases should be able to be tracked by issuing a card with a RFID chip in it given to the person who is sucking up the freebies. Not all people using the program are crooks but there many who are. a reply to: Somethingsamiss

originally posted by: uninspired
a reply to: tribal

The problem is...and I've seen this first hand, people get these benefits then eat better than hard working Americans. My friend had food stamps or whatever, and like someone above me said he would buy lobster and premium steaks, on top of that paid 0 for health care and got other assistance. Sounds all well and good, but when you add up all the benefits these people get they are making significantly more than folks who don't qualify...so then they are sitting there struggling to get by PAYING taxes, and watching people live better than they are off the sweat of their backs.

Now things in life happen...and it's nice to have a safety net in place. But if you can't afford kids, you (and by you I don't mean you, just a general you) shouldn't have them. Then alot of these people pop out more kids so that they are entitled to more benefits. So I say good, you get what you get.

Not a simple issue, but I think this is a step in the right direction.

Without even getting into all of that, if the goal here is to help people who are struggling, these kind of changes can actually enable the government to help more people. Right now, just about everything people on SNAP buy, they're paying retail prices for. If it went to a centralized program for at least part of their allocation, say canned goods, then the government can do all kinds of deals to save money.

Say you go to Dole and offer them a 10-year contract to be the sole supplier of canned fruit for the entire SNAP program. Now Dole has guaranteed business for 10 years and a huge contract, so they can offer the government canned fruit at a significant discount price per can as opposed to what SNAP recipients would pay now at a retail store. Say you do the same for vegetables and some other products and the government could be looking at a significantly lower price per person.

So now you've got all these savings, you can use it to shore up other programs that are short money, or you could keep it in the SNAP program and maybe open up the requirements a bit so more people qualify. So you're helping more people with the same amount of money. That's what this is all about isn't it, helping people? Not a free ride or a hand out, just a little help. That help doesn't have to be precisely what you want, but we're not letting you starve to death either. Imagine a homeless person asks you for money for food as you're walking into Burger King. You're short on money so you offer to buy him a hamburger off the Dollar Menu. He complains because he wants a double Whopper. What would you tell him? The government doesn't have any extra money to waste, people need to be happy with what they're getting.

I didn’t see anything about rakes, hoes, shovels, packets of seeds and a note saying good luck, so not sure what the angry voices are all about. Or even bags of beans. Sounds more like a return to the 70’s and 80’s boxes to me. And yep, that was some good grilled cheese sandwiches when visiting friends.

Guess we would really be hearing the wailing and gnashing of teeth if we ever had to buy groceries with ration books in order to keep essentials from being hoarded or sold for a profit.

Good thing people don’t try and do commodity currencies in cities for underground contraband using something like laundry detergent. Stores would have to run cables through the handles and give the key to the manager. So people that buy an unusual amount would be noticed and recorded on security cameras.