Limit what foodstamps are able to buy?

[syrenn]

I honestly haven't paid much attention to the people who use food stamp benefits. I see Moms in the food stores with their children buying chips and sodas and candy, but I see them buying milk and bread and meat as well.
I don't feel it's any of my business to wonder how they are using their benefits, I know people abuse the system, but I have other things to worry about.
I will say tho, in my opinion, I really think families who are on the food stamp program should be allowed to purchase some non-food items, because there are some in that category that are a necessity.
Items like toilet tissue, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste- those items are very much needed and if they take away the candy and chips and soda to those on food stamps, they should allow them to purchase the needed non-food items.

yeah but when you stand behind one of them holding up the line its hard not to listen and watch..and pay attention.

coach hand bag..coach wallet....Chanel sun glasses... 5 kids hanging on..


"ill pay for this with wick"
"this with my food card"
"and the rest with cash"...an nice crisp 100 dollar bill..

The booz, and fashion mags....... made me sick.

 

[Dabs]

I honestly haven't paid much attention to the people who use food stamp benefits. I see Moms in the food stores with their children buying chips and sodas and candy, but I see them buying milk and bread and meat as well.
I don't feel it's any of my business to wonder how they are using their benefits, I know people abuse the system, but I have other things to worry about.
I will say tho, in my opinion, I really think families who are on the food stamp program should be allowed to purchase some non-food items, because there are some in that category that are a necessity.
Items like toilet tissue, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste- those items are very much needed and if they take away the candy and chips and soda to those on food stamps, they should allow them to purchase the needed non-food items.

yeah but when you stand behind one of them holding up the line its hard not to listen and watch..and pay attention.

coach hand bag..coach wallet....Chanel sun glasses... 5 kids hanging on..


"ill pay for this with wick"
"this with my food card"
"and the rest with cash"...an nice crisp 100 dollar bill..

The booz, and fashion mags....... made me sick.

Yeah I see what you're saying.
But even tho there are those that evidently do not need the food stamp program, some do, and allowing them to get the non-food items would help.
And not letting them purchase candy and sodas would be great too.
Me, I get pissed off more when somebody waits till the cashier has rang up every single item, and the bitch decides then to take out her checkbook and start writing it out.
She could have had everything filled in and ready for the amount, instead she stood there like a damn zombie.

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

I see fat americans buys 200 $ of ice-cream doughnuts and cake with their "entitlements" and then buying cigarettes and big screens and blue ray disks with their cash. I see it daily.

It is NONE of your business what they chose to spend their money on. Feeling left out? Once again take it up with your State legislator they decide the laws regarding your States food stamp amounts, who can get them and what they can and can not buy.

Im a tax payer 4000 $ this year it is my business.

Guess what my tax dollars are used to pay for roads that you drive on so from now on I'm going to require you submit to a drug screen on a weekly basis to make sure you're not driving high.

 

[syrenn]

I honestly haven't paid much attention to the people who use food stamp benefits. I see Moms in the food stores with their children buying chips and sodas and candy, but I see them buying milk and bread and meat as well.
I don't feel it's any of my business to wonder how they are using their benefits, I know people abuse the system, but I have other things to worry about.
I will say tho, in my opinion, I really think families who are on the food stamp program should be allowed to purchase some non-food items, because there are some in that category that are a necessity.
Items like toilet tissue, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste- those items are very much needed and if they take away the candy and chips and soda to those on food stamps, they should allow them to purchase the needed non-food items.

yeah but when you stand behind one of them holding up the line its hard not to listen and watch..and pay attention.

coach hand bag..coach wallet....Chanel sun glasses... 5 kids hanging on..


"ill pay for this with wick"
"this with my food card"
"and the rest with cash"...an nice crisp 100 dollar bill..

The booz, and fashion mags....... made me sick.

Yeah I see what you're saying.
But even tho there are those that evidently do not need the food stamp program, some do, and allowing them to get the non-food items would help.
And not letting them purchase candy and sodas would be great too.
Me, I get pissed off more when somebody waits till the cashier has rang up every single item, and the bitch decides then to take out her checkbook and start writing it out.
She could have had everything filled in and ready for the amount, instead she stood there like a damn zombie.

The should not be given cart blanch...... it should be like wic.... a very narrow list of things you CAN purchase. I agree..shampoo, soap, and toothpaste should be on that list of things they are allowed to purchase.

Soda, junk food and candy should be off the list of what our tax dollars pay for.

 

[AllieBaba]

You cannot purchase non-food items with food stamps (or rather, SNAP allotment, as food stamps don't exist any more).

You also cannot buy hot food from the deli.

You don't get change back anymore.

I used to think that if we give them to them we should just give them to them, but my supervisor convinced me that there isn't anything wrong with limiting the types of food one can purchase. It is, after all, charity...and when one supplies charity, one can supply it in the form that one chooses. So if we determine that it is more economical, healthy, whatever, to limit the types of foods one can buy with snap benefits, it's okay...recipients are still getting something for nothing.

Processed foods are ruining the health of everybody; I don't think it's a violation of anyone's rights to tell them, "Here's $400 to buy meat, dairy products, veggies, fruit, and staples like flour, beans, rice...."

 

[dblack]

This is not about diet but limiting how the taxpayer is fleeced .

I don't see how. Taxpayers will get fleeced for the same amount regardless of how recipients spend the money.

This is about control. If we can't help people without imposing the nanny state on them, we shouldn't bother.

 

[syrenn]

This is not about diet but limiting how the taxpayer is fleeced .

I don't see how. Taxpayers will get fleeced for the same amount regardless of how recipients spend the money.

This is about control. If we can't help people without imposing the nanny state on them, we shouldn't bother.

Cool, im for not bothering then. One less burden on the taxpayers.

If they want free anything then they should accept it with what ever limitations that are placed on it. Its free and they can pass it by if they don't want it.

 

[AllieBaba]

Exactly.
Let's provide them with free, healthy food, I'm all for that. And they can choose not to take it if they like...

 

[syrenn]

Exactly.
Let's provide them with free, healthy food, I'm all for that. And they can choose not to take it if they like...

Bingo...

this is what is being offered. Take it or leave it. Their choice.

 

[AllieBaba]

One of the arguments that brought me over was that many people who work cannot afford to purchase deli items and bakery cakes for parties and their kids' birthdays. They have to plan out their menus, make things from scratch, etc, because they only have a limited amount of money....

So how is it "fair" that people who either don't work, or who don't earn enough to feed their families, get all the perks that people who DO manage to scrape by without assistance, are denied?

And that's a valid point. Why should we provide fripperies to people who don't have lucrative jobs when the people who aren't on assistance can't afford them, and get by just fine?

Food stamps do not exist to make poor people feel good, or lessen the psychological burden of poverty. Food stamps exist to keep people from starving. Let them be used on healthy foods and fuck Frito Lay, Jeno's, and Lamb-Weston.

 

[syrenn]

One of the arguments that brought me over was that many people who work cannot afford to purchase deli items and bakery cakes for parties and their kids' birthdays. They have to plan out their menus, make things from scratch, etc, because they only have a limited amount of money....

So how is it "fair" that people who either don't work, or who don't earn enough to feed their families, get all the perks that people who DO manage to scrape by without assistance, are denied?

And that's a valid point. Why should we provide fripperies to people who don't have lucrative jobs when the people who aren't on assistance can't afford them, and get by just fine?

Food stamps do not exist to make poor people feel good, or lessen the psychological burden of poverty. Food stamps exist to keep people from starving. Let them be used on healthy foods and fuck Frito Lay, Jeno's, and Lamb-Weston.

 

[AllieBaba]

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night.

Lol..I do support the food stamp program, I really do. And I see how much good it does. But I also see how people have completely forgotten how to cook, and pack lunches and stuff.

My kids are in baseball, and the first few games took place far away and at a time of the month when I just didn't have any disposable income...we scraped for the gas money to go and we packed sandwiches (bologna and peanut butter) and water and bananas. The kids were not happy that we weren't hitting the concession stands..but you know, they ate ALL of the stuff we brought, and we actually felt good about what they ate...

Other kids were guzzling soda, licorice whips, nachos, hot dogs...and no, these aren't my clients that I'm talking about but the concept is the same.

One of the things about non-prepared, non-processed food is it takes time to prepare it, and it almost forces people to sort of eat at the same time. This is a GOOD thing.

 

[AllieBaba]

Sorry, that was kinda disjointed...my daughter has carrot sticks and water in her baseball bag for her game 60 miles away tonight....

 

[syrenn]

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night.

Lol..I do support the food stamp program, I really do. And I see how much good it does. But I also see how people have completely forgotten how to cook, and pack lunches and stuff.

My kids are in baseball, and the first few games took place far away and at a time of the month when I just didn't have any disposable income...we scraped for the gas money to go and we packed sandwiches (bologna and peanut butter) and water and bananas. The kids were not happy that we weren't hitting the concession stands..but you know, they ate ALL of the stuff we brought, and we actually felt good about what they ate...

Other kids were guzzling soda, licorice whips, nachos, hot dogs...and no, these aren't my clients that I'm talking about but the concept is the same.

One of the things about non-prepared, non-processed food is it takes time to prepare it, and it almost forces people to sort of eat at the same time. This is a GOOD thing.

I agree with food stamps too. Though i would rather see it go to seniors then some of these able bodied young adults. When i do catch on to someone who is paying with a food stamp card it truly sickens me what they are purchasing. Snack food makes up the majority of it.

 

[dblack]

Cool, im for not bothering then. One less burden on the taxpayers.

If they want free anything then they should accept it with what ever limitations that are placed on it. Its free and they can pass it by if they don't want it.

I hear ya. And to a point I agree, but there's this weird 'partnership' forming where Democrats create dependency via welfare state 'charity*' and the Republicans respond with a list of 'demands' seizing the opportunity to lord it over people they consider lessers.

I'm quite worried we're going to see this same effect amplified radically if we nationalize health care. The Democrats will succeed at making all of us dependent on government for our health care and the Republican will charge in, guns a blazing, to use it as an opportunity to tell us all how to live. It's ugly business in my opinion.


* - FWIW, it's not actually charity. Charity is freely given by the benefactors.

 

[syrenn]

Cool, im for not bothering then. One less burden on the taxpayers.

If they want free anything then they should accept it with what ever limitations that are placed on it. Its free and they can pass it by if they don't want it.

I hear ya. And to a point I agree, but there's this weird 'partnership' forming where Democrats create dependency via welfare state 'charity*' and the Republicans respond with a list of 'demands' seizing the opportunity to lord it over people they consider lessers.

I'm quite worried we're going to see this same effect amplified radically if we nationalize health care. The Democrats succeed at making all of us dependent on government for our health care and the Republican will charge in, guns a blazing, to use it as an opportunity to tell us all how to live. It's ugly business in my opinion.


* - FWIW, it's not actually charity. Charity is freely given by the benefactors.

how do you think the dems keep getting elected? No one is going to vote against their hand outs.

 

[AllieBaba]

I'm a Republican and I don't consider foodstamp recipients "lessers". Nobody I know thinks of them as "lessers". The people you are most likely to hear bitching about them are other food stamp recipients who are worried that somebody else is getting more than they are.

I think everybody can succeed if they're properly motivated. And you don't motivate people by handing out all the perks that other people have to WORK for. Yes, it's a drag being poor. It sucks not to be able to buy every thing that catches your eye. I don't like eating the same thing three days running....ham, then beans for two days, for example. But that's the way it is, and the way it's supposed to be. We are limited by our incomes, that's all there is to it. We are limited by our ability to provide for our families. It's universal and it's silly to expect the government to eliminate all sense of want. People always want more, but that doesn't mean they get it, or that it is their right to have it.

I do not want children or adults in this country to starve. I will never vote to eliminate the food stamp program, I think it's an integral part of our system now and I think we need it. But I also believe there's nothing wrong with putting a few more limits on what foods they can be used for, and they will more effectively battle hunger if we do. And that is the point, after all...isn't it?

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

I honestly haven't paid much attention to the people who use food stamp benefits. I see Moms in the food stores with their children buying chips and sodas and candy, but I see them buying milk and bread and meat as well.
I don't feel it's any of my business to wonder how they are using their benefits, I know people abuse the system, but I have other things to worry about.
I will say tho, in my opinion, I really think families who are on the food stamp program should be allowed to purchase some non-food items, because there are some in that category that are a necessity.
Items like toilet tissue, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste- those items are very much needed and if they take away the candy and chips and soda to those on food stamps, they should allow them to purchase the needed non-food items.

I see the receipts most get 500$ and about 400 FBT food per month plus there housing is about 20$ a month down the street where I pay 600 + the value of home has not increased as I would like, because they turned all the condos in section 8 housing .
Nobody asked me or my neighbors if we wanted to turn a neighborhood with 120.000 (17 years ago)homes into a ghetto.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Fine they are buying blueray disks and bigscreens now.

Already limited. Question? Have you received food stamps and can you tell us with authority what you could buy? Or is this more knee jerk whining cause you can?

I used to work for Kroger's Supermarkets. For the record, food stamp benefits can only be used for items classified as "grocery", as opposed to "deli", "alcohol", or "general merchandise". Basically, anything in the supermarket that is edible and not considered "prepared". This can be confusing sometimes. For example, the rotisserie chickens made in the deli section? They cannot be purchased with food stamps when they are hot. They CAN, however, be purchased with food stamps later on, when they are cold and have been moved to the refrigerator. When they originally came out, energy drinks could not be purchased with food stamps, because they were considered not to have enough nutritious content. Now most of them can be, although some still don't qualify.

 

[Cecilie1200]

How to enforce it if the store doesn't take the initiative?

How to determine exactly what qualifies?

I can answer that, as well. The Department of Agriculture, which administers food stamps (don't ask me why), simply will not pay for items not authorized for their use. It's programmed into the computers, and when the recipient swipes his EBT card in the card reader, the computer automatically applies the food stamps ONLY to those items allowed, then presents the cashier with a balance owed for all other items.