Living it up on the tax payers dime a weeks worth of food stamps

daryllyn
Some of these comments are out of line, IMO.

So what if OP has a computer? Or internet access? Or buys 2 bucks worth of soda a week?

Since when are the disadvantaged not allowed to have anything extra?

Here is how I look at OP's situation:

They weren't always disabled.

Its not his/her fault they are disabled.

At one time he/she made four times what they make now and probably paid into these systems for years and years.

Given the choice, I am certain that OP would choose not to be disabled... but, unfortunately, that isn't something you get to choose.

Should any of that mean that anyone else gets to dictate their life or what they should or shouldn't have? Should that mean that we get to tell OP that he/she can't have a damn 2 liter bottle of soda? Or a pie? Seriously?

Just keep in mind that anyone of you could have an accident or illness that could render you disabled and it can happen in a flash. YOU could be walking in OP's shoes next week or next month.

Its fine to suggest healthier or more economic meal choices, but telling them that they can't have a computer, or internet access, or soda, or pie..... is rude and insensitive given the situation, especially given that the computer is a decade old and from before any of this happened.

OP, there is a thread somewhere on here that has many inexpensive recipes that you may be interested in trying out. I'll dig and see if I can find it for you.

What I won't do, is insist that you give up every last little thing in life and bash your for buying a 2 dollar pie because you are disabled and stuck in this situation that is beyond your control.

edit on 17amSun, 17 Nov 2013 10:13:45 -060013SundaySunday1311 by daryllyn because: (no reason given)

Thank you D, I had read through five pages and was really getting sad and upset. Your post help restore hope for humanity. I just don't understand what has happened to us as a society. We should be helping our neighbor instead of judging him. We seem to have lost who we are in this modern age.

You are so right, things can change for any one of us in an instant. I would add that karma is a bi#$h. Should be careful judging others. This has become a serious problem for us Americans. I have thought about it and I am unsure how we got to the place where we just think this is America he should be able to help himself. We do it all the time. We go to church and we easily give money to help those in the Philippines or Africa, etc., but often have blinders on that our friends one row back does not know how he is going to fix his septic pump, or wife's car, or pay the insurance bill etc.

Yes he is too embarrassed to ask for help. You see he remembers the hell he went through when he tried to get help once before. First he had to give his life story, he had to show every bill he had, his last year's taxes, pay stubs for he and his wife. He must give social security numbers for everyone in his family. He must say why he needs help and what kind of help he is seeking. He is then asked where his relatives are and if they were able to help.

He then has to meet with the pastor and repeat his sad story. After all that they offer to pay his utility and insurance bills and they will pay the company's directly. This was despite the fact that he told them what he really needed was the wife's car fixed so she could go to work. She ended up losing her job and they ended up in worst shape.

They were also judged like others were judging here. Our grandparents and their parents would be sickened by how we treat each other. In the past if someone needed help the community came to their aid. They built the barn, worked the persons crops for them if they were hurt, fed them when they needed it. It is what made this country great.

Now we just think they should be able to help themselves and when we do help it is still after we have judged them again. We don't just give them the money, we pay bills because we don't trust people to do what we think they need. In my example, true story by the way, the wife lost her job because the people giving help would not give them what they really needed.

I am sorry for the Philippines and other countries but as long as there is one family in need in this country we should not spend tax payer money to help. Oh, and family of four here, disabled, here getting 150 for month worth of food stamps. Very difficult to make that last month.

I am praying for you my friend, that God would heal your struggling mind and your body and meet whatever needs you have. Some here may not believe but I will do it anyway.

Your brother, the Bot

If you bought the raw ingredients to make all those processed items, you'd save much more money, and eat a lot healthier.

The canned gravy? Buy a whole chicken. Cut it up or roast it whole. With the meat, you've got lunchmeat for a week or more, if you freeze some. Take the carcass and roast the bones with some carrot, celery, onion for an hour or so- then toss them into a big pot with a lot of water and simmer it for a couple hours with some spices (bay leaf, thyme, whatever you want). There. Now you've got a lovely stock to start a gravy (butter and flour for a roux to thicken it). You can use it to make a soup or chili which will last you the month if you want to freeze some. You can freeze any remaining stock to use at your hearts content at a later date.

Dried beans, rice, potatoes, Whole cheap cuts of meat.

Buy flour and eggs- you've got all you need to make those noodles- 20 packages or more from 1 bag of flour and a dozen eggs. You can use that stock to make a nice sauce for them. Canned tomato paste is cheap as hell and a spoonful adds a lot of body and taste to many sauces/soups.

Buy some yeast and get some evening meditation down while you knead some fresh bread- flour, butter, yeast and water/milk. You can make 3 or 4 loaves of bread, or more with one bag of flour, and yeast is cheap.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Always like my mac n cheese with real shredded cheddar, milk, chopped jalapeños, pinto beans, and a crumbled cracker sprinkling...but thats just me. Also when I do have money to spare crumbled bacon is awesome.

reply to post by RickyD


that sounds cool! I will give that one a try too! There have been some great new recipe ideas in this thread that I plan on taking good advantage of!

Maybe later we can make another thread point out our favorite recipes from this one!

OP i read about your disability and it is disheartening. A few things you may want to do


First ALWAYS get a second opinion because docs do get substantial kickbacks for dosing out the meds. Not to bad mouth your doctor or anything i do like mine as well. Ever wonder why old people have umpteen pills to take and half of them dont seem to have any purpose.


Secondly a conspiracy website is probably the worst place in the world for those with mental ailments although most of us on ATS prolly have numerous issues.


To those talking about the many ways to make rice i married an Asian whom can do things you can only imagine with rice.

reply to post by wantsome


Hey OP. Sorry about your situation, but glad you are getting a bit of assistance. I made a thread a while back that might be of great help to you. In this OP you will find a great link to recipes that the USDA provides, along with all their nutritional values and average costs. As well you will find some statistics and other healthy alternatives and benefits that the SNAP program has to offer you!

I typically do not follow threads of this nature due to the complete ignorance and intolerance that we are seeing on page 1 of this post, but given that you are disabled yet possibly capable, maybe you can involve yourself with a SNAP garden? They are becoming increasingly popular and are a great activity provided by SNAP. Here is a link to the thread and I hope you are able to benefit from it.

Healthy Alternative for Food Stamp Recipients

Good luck OP and if there is anything I may be able to help you with, do not hesitate to ask.

reply to post by wantsome


That food stamp complaining is junk. This is what I buy:

Ramen - 10 cents per package
Hot cereal - $2.00 a box
Powdered Tang or Lemonade - $3.00 a bottle
Canned goods - $1.00 can
Macaroni and Cheese - $1.00 a box
Milk - $3.00 a gallon or so

That kind of stuff. So a cut of $10.00 a week would theoretically drop me a gallon of milk, some hot cereal, powdered Tang, and 2 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese.

Not to mention, this is food we are talking about, that people are eating. And these people would be earning more money if they could. How arrogant do you have to be to think that you are the better person for taking away someone's food??

The people who make this argument are patently uninformed (thus taking away their intelligence and any intelligent value to their argument), patently mean to the poor (thus nullifying and Christian allegiance they may think they have) and so on.

-----

The only thing I can think of is the people who are against food stamps are materialists who are interested in getting free slave labor. Oh my God! Did I just accuse them of wanting something for free?

One of my friends, who is a teacher, goes out routinely and spends $7.00 on a hamburger and $3.00 on extras and $5.00 on beer or more. Throw in a movie for $10.00 and a drink for $5.00 if you want, and that is $30.00 right there in one night.

I always flinched.

-----

Look, if you are going to be rich and use people for slave labor in a first world country, I mean we are talking about a situation where a teacher earning $30,000 a year or less is now considered rich,

You are going to need to make sure that they are at least living comfortably, especially as the percentage of the people earning slave wages increases.

It is just prudent to prevent social unrest, and it is worth the money spent. I can't believe I have to explain this to people this way.

You have other options as a leader, and that would be to increase wages, or to provide equal compensation for work provided.

I think what people who are against food stamps don't understand is that the majority of the nation (and this is increasing) are needing assistance to survive due to things outside of their control, and inside of the leaders' control.

For people under 30, we are expected to earn less than 50% of our parents' net worth over the course of our lifetime, the first time that number has dropped.

A lot of what is happening, I think, is that older people misunderstand how hard it is for the younger generations to make it.

reply to post by Hollie


Love you Hollie! You are amazing and gave me awesome tips on positive things I could do with food stamps in the past.

onequestion

Who do you people think you are telling this person how to shop with their food stamps? Get off your high horse it sickens me. No 225 is not enough for a month when's the last time you bought your own food?

I'm not following you? If that is all he has then he needs to shop the best he can with what he gets, and I would say that most do not shop right...

darkbake

I think what people who are against food stamps don't understand is that the majority of the nation (and this is increasing) are needing assistance to survive due to things outside of their control, and inside of the leaders' control.

I would rather see real food given than food stamps.

reply to post by Xtrozero


That's cute, but it misses two things:

1) The massive subsidy we all receive when extra food money enters the local economy via the local grocery store.

2) The need to re-invent (and manage) a new distribution scheme for food, where one already exists.

Also food is more important than internet access and photo capturing capabilities. Just an observation.

Wow, there are some seriously heartless people here on ATS.

A disabled person is spending WHOPPING $3.50 for soda and a pie for the week and you act like they are some evil creature!!!

Shame, shame on 90% of the people who responded.

Do you really think disabled people should never be allowed to even eat a small treat?

Heck if people just needed shelter and food, we could just cage the disabled and feed them a bowl of rice and water everyday. They really wouldn't need things like cloths or tvs either.

I guess it's about morality.

FlyersFan
I know you are looking for sympathy, but what I see is someone wasting the money on lazy crap.

edit on 11/17/2013 by FlyersFan because: (no reason given)

When I first read this post, I thought you were just a regular troll but no you are a long time poster. Even sadder this post got lots of stars.

Cruelty like this makes me want to cry.

Wow, do you really think it's moral to treat people this way?

So, what's keeping you from being employed? A disability? I know a few folks who say they're "disabled" because they cop-out on B.S. schizophrenia diagnosis', when in fact they're just lazy white trash who like to sell their pills to buy other drugs. I also know a few folks who have eaten their way through a pantry or five and ended up being 500lbs and willfully worthless.

I always wonder what keeps everyone unemployed for so long? I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just curious why you're down and what is keeping you down? You can obviously operate a car, or at least ride public transportation. You obviously have the sense of mind to manage your finances and access the internet. Your able to write (albeit with minor grammar issues) and access an online blog quite effectively. So I wonder...in such a digital age, how is anyone truly unemployed? What did you do before you were labeled as 'disabled'?

reply to post by Xterrain


The OP's disability is really none of your business and you should not have asked. You basically did it in a way that was an underhanded insult too. Did you stop to think how cruel your comments were to people with a true mental illness?

Mailman
Also food is more important than internet access and photo capturing capabilities. Just an observation.

In his defense there is a program here where Comcast will give reduced internet for those that qualify but it may be for children or families with children only I'm not really sure. I know someone right now paying 21 dollars for internet and cable (WHY JEEBUS IHAVEN'T A CLUE) but its true I assure you.

Daughter2
reply to post by Xterrain

 

The OP's disability is really none of your business and you should not have asked. You basically did it in a way that was an underhanded insult too. Did you stop to think how cruel your comments were to people with a true mental illness?

edit on November 18th 2013 by Daughter2 because: (no reason given)

edit on November 18th 2013 by Daughter2 because: (no reason given)

He shared his personal finances with 100,000 random people he's never met in his life. What I asked was neither offensive, nor was it meant to come across in any way other than matter-of-fact and inquisitive. How about you stop projecting your empathy in the direction of people who never asked for it in the first place and save us all a breath?

That being said, in spite of your ignorant rhetoric, I'm going to repeat my inquisition so that the OP hears me and I have a higher chance of continuing a potentially useful conversation that I originally directed to him.

OP,

"So, what's keeping you from being employed? A disability? I know a few folks who say they're "disabled" because they cop-out on B.S. schizophrenia diagnosis', when in fact they're just lazy white trash who like to sell their pills to buy other drugs. I also know a few folks who have eaten their way through a pantry or five and ended up being 500lbs and willfully worthless.

I always wonder what keeps everyone unemployed for so long? I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just curious why you're down and what is keeping you down? You can obviously operate a car, or at least ride public transportation. You obviously have the sense of mind to manage your finances and access the internet. Your able to write (albeit with minor grammar issues) and access an online blog quite effectively. So I wonder...in such a digital age, how is anyone truly unemployed? What did you do before you were labeled as 'disabled'? "

reply to post by wantsome


While I've been known to bash those abusing the system, I don't see this in your case, so best wishes to you. One thing I'm asking myself is are you a hunter or have access to go hunting? If you're single, a single deer will put meat in your freezer and on your table for a long time. You mentioned you've thought of popping squirrels in your yard so I'm assuming you have a gun?? If no gun or access to hunting areas call your local conservation agency, many hunters donate their kills to them and to food pantries. Talk to neighbors, friends, and family that may hunt. Many hunters around here are more than willing to part with some of their meat to poor families. Getting a bit chilly out for fishing but a few hours in the cold will get you a few meals. I have several freezer bags of fish in my freezer. If you were close to my location I'd give you half of it just so my wife would quit griping about them taking up space. And churches are also a good place to check as many have their own food pantries.

As member LDragonfire pointed out you can look into Aquaponics. You can produce lots of fish and vegetables this way and most materials you'd need are cheap.

Another thing I noticed is that everything in your picture is name brand..you can buy generic and get almost double what you have there for roughly the same price. And use COUPONS!

Most importantly..do as a few members have said and learn to plan out meals. You give me $5 or $6 and I'll have you eating ham and beans for at least three days. You wouldn't be good company for a few days after, but your belly would be full.

PlatinumShatinum
You can thank all of the people that do abuse the system.
www.fns.usda.gov...

Yep. All the "peeps" I know on FS simply use it to subsidize other vices. More booze, smokes, Direct TV, braids, cars, jewelery....or pre-packaged lazy meals.

If people want free food, and they should have the basics, how about govt "stores" of basic bulk food plus mfg overruns of junk food.

If you don't want to go to the crappy USDA store with the low-bodys...just spend your own money at the nice grocery store. MANY people will want to balance the two sources, no big deal, there is plenty of food to go around.