Should food stamps cover fast food?

I remember the huge debate about whether or not soda should be allowed.\ \ More states are considering allowing fast food to be covered. \ \ Keep in mind that some on these programs have no facility in which to cook and apples and cheese can''t feed a person forever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-pirello/what-will-fast-food-think_b_890375.html



• No. %0D\ %0D\ Food stamps should not cover fast food. %0D\ %0D\ Thank you. %0D\ %0D\ Healthier options should be made more financially viable for those who are impoverished to the point of needing food stamps. %0D\ %0D

• What is your plan for making healthier options available?

• No, absolutely not.%0D\ %0D\ fast food is not even food%0D\ %0D\ the quality is so low that it does not even meet the definition of food

• No

• Those of you who say NO. \ \ Let me ask. \ \ What do you see as the best option for people living under circumstances where cooking is not possible?

• I''m not sure I think money should cover fast food.

• I agree with R2.%0D\ %0D\ Huges section of America''s largest cities have no super markets, so for many poor people shopping at the kind of super markets that we take for granted means long bus rides, often with at least one change of buses.%0D\ %0D\ There are the occasional corner stores, but I have never been able to put together a healthful meal from the food those stores sell.%0D\ %0D\ Even the most health aware parents have to resort to fast food on occasion, because there''s nothing else for sale in their neighborhoods.

• [quote]What do you see as the best option for people living under circumstances where cooking is not possible?\ \ Soup kitchens and food pantrys. Enough handing out vouchers for people to pay retail prices at for-profit privately-owned businesses. If our tax dollars are going to be used to feed the hungry that let us bring actual food and hot nourishing meals to the hungry rather than giving them scrip of any kind.

• Although I don''t eat fast food, I feel very weary of all these nanny-state laws popping up that try to regulate what other people choose to eat.\ \ Everyone knows what''s healthy and what isn''t. It''s not really about educating people anymore. If someone chooses to use their food stamps on fast food, who are we to say they can''t? Why do you care? I don''t get the people in this thread who stamp their little feet and scream "NO!!!!" What dog do you have in this fight?

• I used to get food stamps and even if could buy fast food with it I wouldnt. Its more expensive then buying food from Wal-Mart, the cheapest place to buy food. Food stamps is about keeping enough funds on your EBT card until the next first of the month so you dont starve. Nutrition is only a secondary matter.

• YES. Unfortunatly, but a clear yes. [R2] and [R7] seem to get it.\ \ Food subsidy systems MUST allow access to fast food until we as a society resolve the issue of ''food deserts" in the areas where program recipients live. Sometimes fast food is their only convenient option. People must be allowed to make their own choices.\ \ Food subsidy programs would also benefit from providing some kind of education about good food choices to award recipients. Until we fix the desert problem, you can''t starve people in the programs--their situation is already hard enough.\ \ I''d love to know the name of and the distance to the nearest grocery for all the respondents above. Mine? I''m lucky. Whole Foods: 5-blocks, Safeway: 8 -blocks.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

  Ex food-stamp recipient

• And most grocery stores have ready to eat food that is more nutritious than fast food. You use EBT to buy that if you want something comparable.

  r10

• In certain neighborhoods, if you''re a regular, the Arab and Korean corner store owners will take your EBT credits in exchange for cigs, beer and anything else that''s not allowed by the gov''t.\ \ They get their money and you get your vices. It''s really a no brainer situation.

• Forget food stamps. Give them cash. Adults can choose for themselves. People in that situation have enough difficulties without condescending jerks breathing down their necks. %0D\ %0D\ Subsidize fresh fruit and vegetables for everyone. It will be cheaper in the long run. People don''t get fat and die. People get fat and need medical care.

• r14, the reason why they don''t just give them cash is because you don''t know if they''re going to spend that on food or other things. At least with EBT, you know they''re spending it on food.

• I am tired of this nanny-state shit. Who cares what they buy with their food stamps? I mean, really, WHY do you care?

• "What do you see as the best option for people living under circumstances where cooking is not possible?" Set up homeless shelters to be safer and have a community kitchen in these shelters. OR hire a staff who will actually cook and care for the residents of shelters. The entire set up is wrong, because the people accused of ripping off the system, the recipients, aren't profiting from it at all. The people being subsidized to help the very poor and homeless, are the ones ripping off the government. The service many of them provide is sub-par and the red tape is absurd. A late aunt was very poor, yet well enough to remain in her low rent apartment in Broolyn. Her rent was only $80! She lived there forever, since she was married in the late 1940s! She had no children to move in with. She would get some weekly 'care package' from some organization which was government subsidized, the crap in that box I wouldn't give to anyone, let alone a stray dog! There were dented cans of vegetables and fruit, dried up stale cookies, it was all garbage. Every product wasn't even a known brand! Unfortunately at the time the rules were different re getting food stamps. Even though my aunt was very poor, she wasn't eligible for food stamps. Now, you can work and still receive food stamps. My father had to start buying my aunt food, because she would have literally starved!

• No. Poor folks find rides to the hair salon and the club- they can hitch a ride to the grocery store and I know about being raised poor on food stamps!\ \ Too many excuses made for the poor. I ought to know- after my parents divorced we were broke as hell on food stamps!

  Pee Wee Poundstone

• In one word NO.

• Who says this R15? %0D\ %0D\ If people don''t eat they die.%0D\ %0D\ Should low-income people receive part of their paycheck in foodstamps so they don''t mismanage their money? Of course not. %0D\ %0D

  r15

• I have a problem with the markup allowed. It''s why I don''t like the fact that gas stations are allowed to accept EBIT - even though they are the only source for milk and dry goods in some areas.\ \ Grocery stores are allowed to make money on EBIT sales - the program is not forcing them to sell at cost- so fast food restaurants should also be allowed this mark-up.\ \ The mark up on fast food is much greater than the mark up on groceries so that revenue transferred from grocery stores to restaurants would purchase less food for recipients.\ \ Forcing restaurants to sell at a discount would discourage restaurants from low income areas.\ \ I must say, we have the infrastructure built to where we could deliver fresh healthy meals to every one in the country. Unfortunately, nobody serves or buys healthy meals.

• "Every product wasn''t even a known brand!"\ \ WOW, that is horrifying r17. We cannot let this happen in America.

• Interesting how many of you have said soup kitchens or programs of this ilk. \ \ Where are they supposed to get the funds. Most of them are already overtaxed. \ \ St. Anthony''s in San Francisco has a policy of never turning anyone away, but at the end of the days they are handing out hot dogs, bologna, and other food that is just as junky as a taco bell. They are strained to the penny and run out of healthful food most every day.

• Good answer, r10. --Some try to stretch and make meals and eat out for convenience for a treat now and again but others...For people who pay into the system and have fallen on hard times, it''s sad one can''t spend how one pleases but for others a part of the benefit culture (don''t start, this is where I grew up, there are these types) it would be something different. Then again, if they''re anything like some of the people I know they''ll take a friend/relative shopping (used to just sell straight up) in exchange for cash and eat out anyway. lol

• [quote] nobody serves or buys healthy meals.%0D\ %0D\ It is generally best to avoid words like "nobody" (or "none" or "all") when that isn''t the case.

• No! Learn to fucking cook!

• r12, currently you cannot buy ready made food from hot or cold salad bars.%0D\ %0D\ You cannot go into Whole Foods or your supermarket and buy any pre-made food.%0D\ %0D\ OP, I think they should allow for salad bar and hot and cold buffet items before they allow fast food to be bought.

• When I was younger and very poor I used to buy day old bread and buns from the bakery for $1.00/bag. It was fresher, healthier and cheaper than what I could get at the grocery store. They usually had rye and whole grain available. I also used to buy roasted chickens from the ''hot counter'' that went on sale for 1/2 price in the hour before the grocery store closed.%0D\ %0D\ It sounds like if I had been on food stamps, neither of these options would have been available to me.

• "food pantrys"\ \ Seriously?

  Oh, dear.

• [italic]Although I don''t eat fast food, I feel very weary of all these nanny-state laws popping up that try to regulate what other people choose to eat.[/italic]\ \ Then get a fucking job, and get off tax payer''s teet. Then you can have all the fast food you want, WITH YOUR MONEY!

• [italic]I am tired of this nanny-state shit. Who cares what they buy with their food stamps? I mean, really, WHY do you care?[/italic]\ \ Because it contributes to bad health, and taxpayers end up having to pay for that as well.\ \ This ain''t Nanny State, dumb cunt! It''s charity. Get off welfare, and you can eat all the crap you want with your own hard earned money. Many view fast food as junk food, and a treat. \ \ If you''re so addicted to fast food, it''ll be an incentive to find work, so you can buy it yourself.

• There are LOTS of ReThugs now posting on DL.\ \ It''s scary.

• [italic]There are LOTS of ReThugs now posting on DL.\ \ It''s scary.[/italic]\ \ There are LOTS of Morons on DL, such as yourself.\ \ Scary.

• I agree r32. The ignorance is astonishing.

• ''Then get a job''.\ \ Really...how easy is that these days?

• Food stamp EBT cards should be done away with and the recipients just given Visa cards. Trying to tell people what they can eat is stupid - give people the money and let them figure out how to spend it. They know their needs better than some idiot sitting in an office. 25 percent of food stamp benefits go to bureaucracy - paying bureaucrats to do shit like figure out what food stamp recipients are allowed to eat.\ \ If you really want to help the poor, stop spending what could benefit them on idiotic bureaucrats who produce nothing but waste.\ \ I don''t mind paying taxes, but I hate it when it''s wasted on nonsense like bureaucrats sitting around clucking about what people eat.

• I work in a grocery store and the EBT cards absolutely need to be in effect and limit what the recipients can buy. It's just hot foods that cannot be purchased. Ready-made packaged salads and subs from the deli can be purchased on EBT. So can every piece of junk food, soda, energy drinks, and drink mixes (boxes or bottles of Bloody Mary mix, etc). Oh, and also crab legs and lobster from the seafood dept. so long as it's frozen. It still costs a fortune per pound. A couple years ago, New York State, in its certifiable insanity, thought it would be a good idea to give every parent on food stamps a cash benefit on their EBT card of $200 for every child they have of school age so that they could buy school supplies. Holy shit, you would not believe what we would overhear at our office as they withdrew the "school supply" money. Many plans were made to go out to lunch, dinner, out drinking, one girl said she could now get that tattoo she's been wanting. We watched people get $200, 400, 600 off their EBT card and then see them in line 15 minutes later buying beer and cigarettes. I can only imagine how much of the state's money went for the purchase of drugs. The cards need to stay restrictive for foods so at least the children of the recipients are getting SOME food. Oh, and I forgot to mention how much of the above cash benefits that year were put straight into the lottery machines. And no, they shouldn't cover fast food either.

• I''m surprised R37 hasn''t been replaced by a self-checkout lane.

• Sorry to disappoint you, [R38]. I can''t be replaced as I don''t work at a register, I work in the cash office.\ \ Seeing real-life EBT usage on a daily basis would make most of you shake your head in disgust. \ \ Do a lot of recipients do their best to buy nutritious food and use coupons to get the most for their budget? Of course. But you can''t help but become a bit jaded when you see the opposite happen.

  R37

• Do food stamp recipients fritter away as much tax payer money as companies like Halliburton?

• r40 thinks she''s witty. FAIL.

• Pee Wee Poundstone is an illiterate right-wing pathological liar.

• r37 it is kind of outrageous that i''m paying for someone else''s frozen lobster. Why is that ok but the recipient isn''t allowed to buy a roasted chicken at a grocery store, which could feed a small family? Or feed a couple a few meals?\ \ What do you think the solution is?

• I''m sure everyone is smart enough to prefer starving to death over fast food, OP. It only makes sense.

  Gwyneth

• I would much rather they be allowed to buy soap and shampoo and such with it. A few years ago a friend was receiving under $3.00 for food a day, and she wasn''t allowed to buy anything non-edible.%0D\ %0D\ In addition to money, her friends had to set her up with toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. She was mortified. She''s got MS and cannot work, so the situation hasn''t gotten any better, but a friend was able to help her get some disability money that helps a little.%0D\ %0D\ so, no fast foods in my opinion, but personal care products (if they still cannot be purchased) would be okay in my book.

• Excellent point R36.

• [quote]fast food is not even food\ \ Then why is it sold everywhere?\ \ And advertised relentlessly?\ \ It''s cheap. What the hell do you want people with no money to eat?\ \ If it''s so bad, then why is it legal?

• Actually, r40 has a point.\ \ Halliburton actually KILLS people and the government still gives them money.\ \ I don''t understand why that is acceptable, but a poor person getting a happy meal is OUTRAGEOUS.

• [italic]If it''s so bad, then why is it legal?[/italic] \ \ Because it makes money, you braindead moron!

• Damn, I need my EBT. You best not do away with it.

  No Teeth Naomi

• So you''re all for legalizing heroin, r49?\ \ Just don''t let poor people buy it with their EBT!!!

• Yes, OP. If food stamps are used for food then they should allow fast food.

• [italic]So you''re all for legalizing heroin, [R49]?[/italic]\ \ You are truly too stupid to live. Do yourself a favor, and back out of this thread. You''re making an ass of yourself.

• Douche bags respond exactly like r53 when they''ve gotten nothing else to say.\ \ If it''s not food, then it shouldn''t be sold as food.\ \ If it is food, then it should be purchased with food stamps.

• r54, STILL doesn''t get it. lmao!

• To be honest, I don''t think they should cover sugary treats or birthday cakes. I''m sorry, I know it seems cruel but that''s the way I feel.

• If only the freeper websites had great cock photos like DL.\ \ then r55 would stay away.

• lmao @ r57, who is still going.

• [quote]What do you see as the best option for people living under circumstances where cooking is not possible?\ \ HUH? What the fuck do you think people did before kitchens, electricity and fast food? None of those things are necessary to eating and survival. They are LUXURIES and privileges.

• I don''t think Food stamps should cover food. I actually think they should only cover a pre-determined variety of grocery staples. I know some people can''t cook much, but that is a tiny percentage of people in need, and they do often have other resources. The number of, yes, black and latin women I see in the bodega buying candy, sugary drinks and potato chips for their kids for BREAKFAST would turn your stomach! It''s poor decision making, and laziness that makes people "poor". Go ahead, flame away, but it''s true.

• R59 are you suggesting they forage and cook over open fires?\ \ Would those open fires not be a danger to the cities?

• It''s stunning how few of you actually understand complex social problems and the complex solutions required to fix them. I thought there were some more intelligence in this crowd. Sad. \ \ Oh and yes, one should be able to buy fast food with food stamps.

  Disappointed

• R59 has left the thread.

• i wish they covered liquor

• I worked in the welfare system for 32 yrs. Believe me, the people that you think are getting Food Stamps/EBT/SNAP are exactly the ones that you think are getting them.

• It doesn't matter, food stamps are black market items at best. I worked with the IL Aid Office and almost all food stamps are sold for cash on the black for as little as 20 cents on the dollar. This is why you have an individual with $200 a month in food stamps visiting food banks. Obviously anyone can eat very well on $200/month, so what's up with that? They sell that $200 for $40 cash. You should do some reading on urban black market economy to see who programs like Section 8, WIC and food stamps fund crime by using these black market methods.

• "Food Stamps" should cover whatever the fuck the recipient wants. No one polices [italic]your[/italic] food consumption. What gives you the right to police theirs? As the eldergays like to say, "What the hell! Did I just wake up in communist Russia!"

  Bengali in Platforms

• [quote] Its more expensive then buying food from Wal-Mart, the cheapest place to buy food. There are no Walmarts in the inner city. Walmarts are built for suburban and rural people who have cars. Many rural and suburban people who lose their jobs can no longer maintain a car. They walk to gas stations and buy food there. Nachos, hot dogs, food that can be microwaved in the gas station quick stop store. I'm sure they'd like to buy a grilled chicken Caesar salad at 711. Oh .... you actually can buy a grilled chicken Caesar salad at McDonald's.

• I don't know how I should feel about this cut I know how I grew up receiving aid for food. My dad was out of work for 4 or 6 weeks. During that time, we received vouchers for food. There was a huge mack truck set up in the parking lot of a grocery store. We lined up for chunks of cheese, jugs of milk, bags of cereal, and eggs, beans, the staples. I dont remember if we got meat. Still, my mother mananged to make healthy, tasty meals. Oh, btw, I was a thin kid. As an adult, affording my own food, I'm a fat adult. Go figure. I just cringe watching some cow (alot of them are overweight along w/their spawn) using her EBT to buy soda, chips, bluegreeenorange cereal stuff, crap! Food stamps should help those not starve not encourage bad eating habits.

  Obesity can lead to high cost health care

• [quote]No. Food stamps should not cover fast food. I totally agree, end of thread.

• NO

  anon

• If people are going to shamefully stand in line for a handout they cannot choose what they get to eat. They should be forced to eat healthy items or starve. It's that simple.

• R9, Many, many don't know what's healthy. Remember that some getting food stamps have limited intelligence or resources. Even getting to the food pantries is extremely expensive, considering transportation costs and time, for someone who is seriously ill. There are cheap and nutritious convenience foods, like bean burritos, for those incapable of cooking. Welfare does not provide the basics necessary for preparing food or cleaning. Soap and toilet paper not included either.

• Also, I don't believe in the concept of taxes but since we're stuck with it, those who use our tax dollars to supplement their poverty and poor choices really shouldn't have any say in how those dollars are used. Their OUR dollars.

• R14, Have you ever seen someone sell their food stamps for alcohol or cigarettes? I wish their kids were taken away from them; I've seen so many scams. Yet the truly sick and elderly, who may not have the physical and mental strength to comply with the governmental forms, go without. Instead of homeless shelters, I'd like to see a duplicate of the Israeli Kibbutz system but only if it were well run.

• Why not? Food is food. If you want to get judgmental about it, where does it end?

• [bold]I love how a bunch of fags[/bold] who smoke, smoke pot, drive while drunk, sleep with 40 different men every weekend, cheat on their partners, cheat on their taxes, use narcotics, use prescriptions recreationally, drive gas guzzlers, throw electronic gadgets into landfills, refuse to vote, vote Republican, do not donate time or money to LGBT nonprofits, refuse to come out of the closet, spend their money on clothing instead of saving for retirement, ignore the homeless, attend homo-hating religious institutions, refuse to get tested for HIV and other STIs (because they sleep with "quality" men), call Obama a nigger, assume that everyone receiving WIC is a Cadillac-driving welfare queen, gossip, ruthlessly stab coworkers in the back, throw away furniture and household goods rather than donate them to a nonprofit thrift store, buy their pets from breeders, and project a manufactured facade based upon black female stereotypes, [bold]feel that they have the slightest fucking moral ground from which to dictate to other human beings what or what not they are entitled to eat, barter, sell or otherwise consume.[/bold] Do you have any idea how ludicrous, how ignorant, how racist, how uncaring you sound? Any idea at all? You sicken me. You make me profoundly ill. Who are you? Who raised you? What happened in your life to turn you into utterly pathetic shrews? Repent. Judge not lest ye be judged. Otherwise, just go to hell and spare us all your duplicitous existence.

  Bengali in Platforms

• Let's open up more glue factories and put some of these poor people out of their misery.

  Lady%20Romney%2C%20stroking%20Rafalca

• Go fuck yourself, Bengali. My sister is one of those welfare queens that you defend. Do she drive a Cadillac? Of course not. But she does go and spent most of her welfare check on cigarettes and liquor, then goes to the food bank and calls my grandmother crying that she has no milk for her babies. It has nothing to do with race, ignorance, or being caring. It is about subsidizing a large number of people who continually make incredibly poor life choices, but see no need to change their ways because somebody will pick up the piece for them. They have children - please, somebody think of their children! I am not saying that everybody on welfare or food stamps abuses the system, but there are a substantial number who do. My sister and her friends know how to completely game the system, and they have no shame about it. I'm liberal on just about every issue you can imagine, but this stuff just burns me to no end.

• [quote]feel that they have the slightest fucking moral ground from which to dictate to other human beings what or what not they are entitled to eat, barter, sell or otherwise consume. Go off yourself. I don't do ANY of those things. and I am totally opposed to people eating fast food EVER. go fucking choke on a big mac, you whining asshole

• [quote]WHY do you care My taxpayer dollars are paying for it. At least once a month someone uses their EBT card for something that infuriates me. Last weeks example, at Walmart (cheapest place to buy astroglide) lady in front of me is buying a half sheet birthday cake. It's decorated like a race car and cost just under 20 bucks. Why didn't the bitch buy a box cake and frosting for 2 bucks? Obviously the EBT card in this case is for luxuries. Must be fucking nice.

• The real issue is that entitlement programs are not always being fairly given to the truly needy and deserving. Too many take advantage. I don't care how much government waste there is in other areas, all of welfare needs to be drastically restructured.

• Even on "Bridezillas",(I know trash TV).....the bride wanted to pay for her wedding cake with food stamps.

• I don't think any rational person can argue that there aren't myriad problems with EBT systems in general. The question is how to fix them, and it's VASTLY more complicated than many of you seem to think. For starters, there are some vast generalizations on this thread, starting with the fact that bona fide "food deserts" are all that common and Walmart is nonexistent in urban areas. That's true in some places, but not all. I live in Houston, for instance, and for a while lived adjacent to its worst ghetto. While yes, there were only sketchy bodegas located immediately inside the area itself, there was also a full-fledged grocery store (an H-E-B, which as Texans know is the best and cheapest chain in the state) on its southern boundary. Although a marked contrast to the H-E-Bs in nicer areas -- the one in Montrose, the gay ghetto, has a sushi bar and specially prepared diet meals; the ghetto store has a branch of a local fried chicken chain -- they had ample fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods, and at least a dozen bus routes throughout the neighborhood head straight there, for those without access to cars. There are also multiple Walmarts throughout inner Houston, some close to ghetto areas. At the end of the day, I have to agree that fast food shouldn't be included in EBT programs. It may be the *easiest* food option for those less fortunate, but it's never the *best*, and with a little effort, you can find *something* healthy even at the shittiest of bodegas, even if it's a can of whole beans for 99 cents (which is actually very high in protein and vitamins). There are also Dollar Generals all over the place these days, which may not have fresh veggies but do have extremely inexpensive canned goods like the beans I just mentioned.

• r5 In my college days, I was known to eat beans, veggies, and even soup straight out of the can. It beat grabbing a snickers or a bag of chips. And, people always seem to have a TV no matter what so I don't thing it would be that difficult to get a secondhand micro for 20 to 25 bucks. Fast food would gobble up the EBT amount right quick.

• R26 Learn to fucking READ! What part of 'many of these poor people don't have access to cooking facilities' don't you get? Hopefully you get how ignorant your remark was, but something tells me you still don't.

  Anonymous

• If this is allowed, their EBT allowances will be gone in 2 wks. Then they will all complain that they're starving and demand even more from the govt/taxpayers. No big Macs, NO PEACE!

• R85 Good for you to eat cold food out of cans. Do you think you were the first person on food stamps to ever do this though? The appeal of fast food would be a hot meal consisting of more that one item and a time. Yes, you're right that fast food would take up so much of the EBT amount so fast though. I personally wouldn't trust buying a microwave second hand and although it's an investment only to start, even twenty or twenty-five bucks can be a huge sum of money for many poor people on food stamps. In my experience, these types of people have TVs as they were given old ones by people buying new ones. They didn't cost anything.

  Anonymous

• R36 nails it.

• To R36and R89 I ask have you ever seen that TV show about past lottery winners who went through millions of dollars with nothing left to show for it. So, no, not everyone knows how to spend money carefully and wisely.

  Anonymous

• [quote] Food stamps should not cover fast food. [quote] Why didn't the bitch buy a box cake and frosting for 2 bucks? Part of the issue is that some people who are living in poverty live in boarding/rooming houses without cooking facilities and some people living in poverty have had their power turned off and some fast foods are actually cheaper than home-cooked meals.

• It already covers fast food in los angeles. Living on rice, pasta and potatoes will do you more harm than a $1 burger from time to time. Poor people need the protein.

• Those sandwiches and salads in grocery stores that are pre-made are EXPENSIVE. Also - Whole Foods on $200/month??? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

• Racial trolling. How very unexpected. And look, you all decided to join in. And nobody wonders just HOW a thread from last year was mysteriously and suddenly bumped with " I wish they covered liquor". You all should be so proud, especially self-loathing Bengali. Good show.

• I'm just disgustingly sick of society's whole "FUCK THE DISADVANTAGED!" attitude in general. Direct your anger towards the charlatans at the very top of the pyramid who deceive and rob us all and turn us all against one another, not some disadvantaged inner city mom who has been dealt WAY too shitty of a hand in life to even know any better. Seriously, I've fucking had it with people squabbling amongst themselves about whether it's okay if the least lucky among us spend their EBT benefits on chips. Focus on the system that enables the perpetuation of these types of people in general, not the poor victims of it! Fuck.

• I have to wonder, where would cooking not be possible? I've had pots and pans since I was 20 years old and I've become one hell of a cook in my time. I guess we're talking maybe people only have a microwave oven. Believe it or not, you can do a lot with that.

  LuciferTheLightBringer

• Fuck no.

• No. That's ridiculous (and I'm poor myself.) You can eat cold food or go to soup kitchens or buy a little plug in pot-like thing to cook hot food (soup, at least); I know, because I lived in a hotel in NYC where I did this (not supposed to, but didn't get caught.) And DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN: I realize posters don't like "nanny state" mentaility, and I agree, but you know what a lot of people would do if food stamps were cash? Spend it on booze. Much like I, and friends of mine, in SF (where the homelessbegging population is OFF THE CHARTS!), have, being asked for money for food, given people a few books and then seen them stumble into a neighborhood store and buy 1 beer, or 1-2 cigarettes. A friend of mine, sick of this, came out of a McD's and a guy asked him for "spare change to buy food", so my friend gave him a breakfast sandwich. The guy just looked at it and said, "oh." Not evcen grateful (or perhaps, hungry) (See it's okay to give poor people FOOD from McD's, hee-hee!) I once gave a younger woman crackers, a couple of bagels, and dry cat food for her cats; she was quite grateful. And if cash was given out instead of food stamps: what the FUCK migh happen to people's kids? The parents might "drink" the allotment! Don't think this sort of thing doesn't happen; I used to go to AC, and marvel at realy scuzzy-looking people - oldre and young - playing various casino games, and a dealer said, "they spend their welfare checks" (or Social Security checks, as the case might be.) Im on SS Disability now; would describe myself as a foodalcoholic, and if I had control of my money anymore, would spend it on fast food (if I lived in a city where there WAS anyway.) Am rambling; sorry, and I see the point re people not having cooking faciliites (is like when wellmeaning places give poor people a turkey for Xmas, not realizeing theyve got no way to cook it) but I do NOT think $$ for food stamps is the answer.

• [quote]It's stunning how few of you actually understand complex social problems and the complex solutions required to fix them. I thought there were some more intelligence in this crowd. Sad. Then why don't you offer some solutions?

• [quote]"Food Stamps" should cover whatever the fuck the recipient wants. No one polices your food consumption. What gives you the right to police theirs? Seriously? You really can't guess as to why some people are concerned with how tax dollars are being spent?

• [quote]I ask have you ever seen that TV show about past lottery winners who went through millions of dollars with nothing left to show for it. So, no, not everyone knows how to spend money carefully and wisely. Yeah, because getting food stamps is [italic]just like winning the lottery[/italic].

• What do we think about Welfare money being given in exchange for work? It seems like a few states (Mass. for one) have tried this but it failed miserably. Does anyone know why?

• R96, You're assuming the disabled are physically well enough to get out of bed, let alone cook. Also that they're cooking utensils haven't been stolen. Some are required to apply for work, and may be spending all day job hunting. A fast food restaurant at least offers a chance to freshen up and drink a cold glass of water.

• R102, Not all are truly capable of working. If they don't show up for work because their child or elderly parent is sick, will they then be docked? We are generalizing on this thread. Those that get food stamps fall into many different categories. Some are deserving, others take advantage. I still say the entire system needs to be revamped, before an enterprising Repub presidential candidate drastically slashes welfare, hurting the truly needy and disabled.

• Yes, but only for items on the healthy menu. (Even Popeyes has unbreaded chicken).

• [quote] I still say the entire system needs to be revamped What are your ideas for re-vamping? I agree that there are all types of different people who receive aid. I thought about that too, what happens if a person can't show becuase their child is sick. I suppose though that it happens to those with jobs in private industry as well. What do those people do? I just keep wondering how many people would try a bit harder if they had to go to a job in order to receive Welfare? I don't know what the answer to the Welfare system is.

• The poor are easy targets. Nothing more. Food stamps are already restricted to food, but that's not enough. The diets of the poor/young/elderly/disabled must be micromanaged more. More rice. More beans. Most people who receive SNAP benefits live in households with very low income, about $8,800 per year on average. The average monthly SNAP benefit per household is $287. You profit no money from restricting the diets of the poor, so what's the motivation? Care and concern? That's laughable. The poor make easy targets. The motivation is a feeling of superiority over the weakest members members of society. In other words, cowardice. Feel good about yourselves, cowards.

• Actually, r107, some of us really are concerned about the poor. I learn things from threads like these, I think some of the posters have brought forward some really good points. I have been very fortunate in life. I have never been on food stamps or welfare and I really don't know much about the programs.

• R107, My comments have nothing to do with cowardice. I know too many who can't get aid, they don't have the physical and mental ability, while I've met plenty that abuse the system. Ask any nurse who sees recipients in a "charity hospital." Conversely talk to the many homeless vets. The whole process of filling out forms benefits those that know how to get around the system. It's almost impossible to report abusers; I know because I've repeatedly tried. Most of those that run the programs are clueless and uncaring. There are simple ways to change it, if you could wade through the bureaucratic mess of total resistance.

  R104

• [quote] A fast food restaurant at least offers a chance to freshen up and drink a cold glass of water. A very important point, R103. And to get out of the heat/cold.

• I have a friend who is handicapped. He is on ssi, and gets $10. in food stamps. This is because his ssi is $700 per month. Could YOU live this way? If you saw these people buying organic food, which we all know is most expensive, you'd be screaming that they should buy oodles of noodles on your tax dollar, so stop acting like you give a flying fuck if they have "healthy" food. Elderly, and handicapped people can't always get to the bus stop, can't always stand and prep and cook a meal. This is food, not crack, let them eat. Next you'll all declare that ebt should only pay for day old bread, entrails, and nothing to drink, that's what the faucet is for.

• r110, the Panera Bread next to Trader Joe's just started offering a pay what you can afford plan. Trader Joe's had to start locking the bathroom doors. According to a TJ employee they started having problems with people having sex in the bathrooms and using it for shooting galleries. People are homeless for different reasons, some of the time it is due to drug and alcohol problems.

• r111, Christ, really $10 a month in food stamps? Why do they even bother. Think of what the over head is to administer that $10 per month.

• We could be a lot more generous to those truly in need if we could find a way to cut the fraud.

• Pollo loco accepts food stamps. but what is crazy is that prepared food is not covered.. like the bbq chicken that sits all day under the heat lamo.. a lot of homeless people dont have a kitchen and prepared food would be better for them.. *not that i care about them or anything

• A few weeks ago at my local market, I was stuck behind a couple with their rugrats at the checkout line. I'm standing their with my peanut butter, hamburger, and ramen noodles, while they have a cart full of sushi, steak, and all kinds of expensive organic foods. Their bill totaled over $200. I thought, wow, they must be really rich. Then, to pay for it, they pulled out their EBT card.

• I bet that's dead on, R116. I bet a LOT of homeless people don't have kitchens.

• r23 I did a documentary on the homeless in SF.. they are professional. first stand in line at Glide for the best meal of the day, then the little french nun place for a great dessert.. then maybe St. Anthony's but as a last resort. they get their breakfast at the shelter,then spend the day in line at about 4 or 5 different places for food *and hook up, get drugs etc while in line.. THEN grab your cup out of the trash with the pertaining fast food logo for the free drinks at del taco because the fountain drink dispenser is not behind the counter, and subway too. And the subway on Market St takes EBT btw. But it is a way to spend the day with your friends... standing in line for 6 meals a day is a great way to pass the time.

• Here are some clips that werent used due to the need of subtitles and lighting.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DnxKkCLfWJx8

• [quote]What do we think about Welfare money being given in exchange for work? It seems like a few states (Mass. for one) have tried this but it failed miserably. Does anyone know why? Clinton tried this back in the 90s. The black community went ballistic, saying that it was another form of slavery. The idea was ultimately dropped. Clinton overhauled the system which angered liberals, and still does to this day.

• I didn't say they were homeless, dumbass R117. How the fuck would I know that?

  R116

• [quote] Walmarts are built for suburban and rural people who have cars. Many rural and suburban people who lose their jobs can no longer maintain a car. They walk to gas stations and buy food there. Nachos, hot dogs, food that can be microwaved in the gas station quick stop store. I'm sure they'd like to buy a grilled chicken Caesar salad at 711. Oh .... you actually can buy a grilled chicken Caesar salad at McDonald's. I currently live in a city, Philly. Walmarts are everywhere! You're a fucking dumbass. The people who shop there are urban minorities. Who do you think makes up the People of Walmart web site?

• The person with the food stamps is only allotted so much money per month, if they want to buy fast food that's fine but they may blow through their monthly fund quicker that way.

• Thanks, r120. I was just reading about that.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Responsibility_and_Work_Opportunity_Act

• r123, irregardless of the fast food, I would imagine it would be really hard for most people to be able to budget the money to last the entire month. I'll bet a lot of people get pretty hungry before their next allot money arrives.

• r125, they had to scatter the dates for different people to get their food card money because stores sales would drop off by the end of the month because people would spend big at the beginning of the month and then be out of the money by the last week of the month. So like I said, if they want to use them for fast food fine but I can see people having problems with running out of their money too quickly.

  r123

• [quote]Then, to pay for it, they pulled out their EBT card. Point?

• r127, I'm going to guess that the point is there a lot of fraud.

• R127, if the point was lost on you, no amount of explanation could make it clearer.

• It's not that cooking may not be available, it's also that there are no places to shop or no affordable transportation. You think that's impossible but it isn't not at all. You'd be surprised at how difficult the most commonplace activities are for someone who is literally at the bottom.

• Exactly, r129!

• [quote]if the point was lost on you, no amount of explanation could make it clearer. I'll try. The point was that the couple in front of the old biddy at R116 during her fantasy shopping trip were eating well on healthy food, and R116 found it outrageous. They're poor! The very nerve of them. These Republican circle jerk stories are all the same.

• I think you are right, r130. Once a person hits bottom it can be hard to dig a way back out. A bus ticket in Portland costs $2.50, so that's $5 just to get to work and back. And if there is a transfer involved that can take several hours just to get to work. If there is a second job involved there wouldn't be enough time. With out a car, grocery shopping for a small family becomes a major problem. And, without an address it would be difficult to apply for jobs. I don't know if they would give Welfare to someone without an address.

• r132, are you serious? The point was they were eating well on really expensive food. If someone is buying sushi, lobster and steak then they don't need public assistance. You should be outraged at food stamp fraud. It is hurting those who truly need help.

• [quote] I did a documentary on the homeless in SF Sounds like a very sensitive doco, R120.

• [quote]These Republican circle jerk stories are all the same. Ha ha, it's true. R134 has updated the story to now include lobster. Is free republic down tonight?

• The actual beneficiary of food stamps is agribusiness. I was on food stamps for a brief time while I was in school and my son was very young. People used to glare at me for using stamps to buy luxury items (butter, sour cream) but they didn't seem to notice there was no meat or processed food in the cart. I worked at the food co-op to get a discount, and I made everything from scratch. I was able to save back some stamps for Christmas so I could make food gifts for family and friends. I timed that shopping expedition when there were few customers in the store because I knew the chocolate, sugar, butter and other luxury items would have freaked people out.

• r136, do you not believe food stamp fraud exists?

• R133, the reason so-called hospitality centers exist is for homeless people to use them as their address. Some job placement centers like Goodwill are happy to use those addresses to help get the homeless off the streets. As for fast food, I know a schizophrenic man who lives in a cardboard refrigerator packing case. He is unable to live in shelters because he's too out of control to follow their rules. I don't know where he would plug in a microwave if he had the money to buy one. Maybe EBT cards should have different options for different living situations. The homeless could be allowed to buy fast food whereas those with homes and kitchens would not have that option.

• R138, do you think there's more fraud (total dollar amount) among food stamp users than there is among banksters?

• [quote] I know a schizophrenic man who lives in a cardboard refrigerator packing case. He is unable to live in shelters because he's too out of control to follow their rules. No change in EBT policy is likely to help someone like this. People like him are best served by hospitals and institutions. Not taxpayer-purchased Whoppers. The problem there is that the severely mentally ill have civil rights and can resist treatment/help even though they need it.

• R136, I did not make up the story. I saw it with my own eyes. No, lobster was not part of it. Regardless, these people were definitely taking advantage of the government's (meaning all of us taxpayers) generosity.

• r140, I think fraud hurts those who are truly in need. As for the bankers, I am hopeful that Obama has them on his radar.

• r139, thanks for the information. I shopped at Goodwill today, it's one of my favorite stores.

• You can buy junk food with food stamps and most people do because it's cheaper than fresh, healthy foods.

• EBT recipients in southern NY counties (and presumably other Sandy-affected areas) can use their benefits on prepared meals this month.

• The poster who talked about the people buying a cart load of expensive food - maybe they blew their whole food card wad in one shopping trip? They are budgeted a certain amount of money so if they are buying expensive food they will run out of money faster. I think it's a good idea that people can't buy booze or cigarettes but I don't think we should start policing what food they buy. I volunteer so hear a lot of stories. One person said they bought a sheet cake for their son's birthday with their food card and got dirty looks. I don't begrudge somebody giving their children something nice, and like I said they only have so much money to spend so if they blow it and end up with no money the rest of the month it is up to them.

• What I find most disturbing about conversations concerning subjects like this is the total lack of compassion exhibited by some people when expressing their views. The fact that this country has so much wealth and yet there is a large portion of it's people who can't afford the necessities needed to live in it is disgusting. Christian nation my ass.

• [quote]Huges section of America's largest cities have no super markets Those would be BLACK parts of town. Why? because blacks stopped cooking years ago and now eat fast food. No go to a hispanic neighborhood and you'll find plenty of markets. Supply and demand. You can't make money selling fruits and vegetables to people who won't buy them.

  Econ%20101

• R149, you have cause and effect wrong.

• Relax, R116, I meant to respond to R115.

  R117

• Prepared sheet cake $20 versus what is needed for a box cake and can of icing version: mixing bowl, large spoon, measuring cup, eggs, oil, drinkable water, cake pan, oven, icing sugar, margarine, vanilla and or other flavoring, frosting bag or cake decorations, cake server. As others have mentioned people in boarding houses/shelters etc. may not have utensils, pans or a stove. To buy all that shit, even second hand where possible, is going to be at lest $20. Don't pick on the poor. The "bitch" obviously had to weigh the choice between going with the ready made cake or having to get all the other stuff. Again, for a boarding or shelter situation, the homemade version wouldn't even be an option. It's so easy to be angered about our tax dollars without having to use our brains and realize there are many other details to consider.

  Anonymous

• Hint: micromanaging the poor doesn't work. Just get off your high horse and let them buy whatever the fuck they want, even alcohol.

• I agree healthier options should be available, but even healthier prepared foods such as from delis in groceries can't be purchased with foodstamps. And as OP says some on foodstamps don't have cooking facilities.

• [quote]Just get off your high horse and let them buy whatever the fuck they want Other people actually earn that money before it's taxed away. So the people who earn it should have some say. I don't think it should buy alcohol or cigarettes. Or fast food. It's supposed to feed the hungry, not give cash to the poor.

• What a bunch of sanctimonious controlling assholes. It's none of your goddamned business what food people choose to buy with food stamps so just shut the fuck up. I don't care how you *feel* about it, or what you think about it, or how your latest purchase at Whole Foods would be so much better, you Mommy-identifying twats. It's not your place to choose what someone else eats. Jesus. Who told you people that crawling up inside someone else's digestive system was an American value? Get out and stay out.

• r156 the people who pay the taxes that fund the programs that feed the hungry are wage earners. When you say "It's not your place to choose what someone else eats" you're right. Except when what they eat is being paid for by a program that is supposed to prevent people from going hungry. Your righteous indignation is really misplaced.

• fast food outlets should not be profiting from social assistance via food stamps but anything available in a supermarket should be allowed.

• They should be banned from covering any non cruelty-free foods (not to mention cilantro).

  Nan%20Michiganwomyn