Hooray for foodstamps

[kgbsquirrel]

Kill two birds with one stone.  Instead of paying farmers not to produce food, pay farmers to produce food and then give that food to the poor.  That's not an "ideal" solution, but it's certainly better than paying farmers not to grow food and also paying stupid stuck up hipsters to eat overpriced snobby food.

Spot on.

I was thinking of a method more in the vein of having a dietary requirements menu written up for a single person for a single month and then having stamps issued much like the old WW2 Ration stamps for X weight/volume of basic whole foods. For each additional person in the family they would receive another allotment based on actual dietary requirements. X pounds fresh vegetables, X pounds canned vegetables, X pounds fresh/canned fruit, X pounds meat, X gallons of milk, X loaves of bread (I would have suggested X pounds of flour but sadly baking a loaf of bread seems to be far and beyond what most people can handle in the kitchen today), X pounds pasta, etc. And yes, generic/local brands only or as much as possible. One notable addition: a monthly allotment for basic seasonings and a decent cookbook when someone goes on the program.

Can anyone give me any (good) reason why it is people who are accepting what amounts to societal charity are being given money to go spend  with little to no oversight (depending on area) as to the nutritional content of what they are purchasing?

[De Selby]

All my life I've eaten well enough not to be jealous of welfare recipients and food stamp users.  I guess I had it easy.

[mtnbkr]

The Trader Joe's I've been in have been very reasonable, if not downright inexpensive.  Lots of tasty pastries and tamales in the freezer section, too.  Excellent prices on wine if you can find your brand.

Same here.  TJ's prices are pretty good, they just lack the selection of a regular store.  Even Whole Foods isn't much more expensive than a regular store for the same or similar items.  Where both stores stand out is selection.  They carry items you just can't get at Giant, Kroger, or Safeway.

Chris

[Jamisjockey]

Can anyone give me any (good) reason why it is people who are accepting what amounts to societal charity are being given money to go spend  with little to no oversight (depending on area) as to the nutritional content of what they are purchasing?

Because welfare has little to do with welfare.  It is to create an entitled class in the name of social justice.  Said entitled class will then vote for the people who provide them with the most benefits. 

[Monkeyleg]

Said entitled class will then vote for the people who provide them with the most benefits.

And the political class who get the votes live a lifestyle that would require a substantial amount of work and talent to support in the private sector.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/jasper.asp


while its satire check it out  enough of its true to be beyond sad   check the pic  its real

[Hutch]

My own anecdote on this follows:

I am at the local stop-'n-rob, for reasons I don't recall.  When I walk in, there is a ~ 40yo woman, (going on 20), supervising 2 girls, 1 about 10 (going on 20) and one about 12 (going on 20) who look like their on the old "Supermarket Sweep" tv show.  They are piling TONS of pure junk food (chips, candy, sodas, cookies) on the checkout counter.  I expect to see the mom take an active part in putting an end to this, but I realize she's directing this traffic and making suggestions.  Okay, well, whatever.  Near the end of this spree, the mom goes over to the coffee bar and mixes some sort of frou-frou brew, and stands in line as the clerk starts bagging this trash up.  She hands over what appears to be a credit card, and points to her coffee to be added on to the 3-digit bill.  He demurs, indicating that the coffee is not eligible.  It was only at that point that I realize this is a food-stamp horror story, right in front of me.  Anyway, she begins to berate the clerk, stating that she "does this all the time" referring to the coffee, I guess.  He stands his ground, and the kids are hauling the bags out to the car (that I can't see).  She huffs and puffs, and then says "Well, I'll leave the coffee on the counter, and I'll have to go to the car and get some cash".  She storms out, and the next thing I here is the roaring of the engine and squealing tires.  You guesssed right, but it was an older Caddie, not brand new.

My tax dollars at work, I guess.

[thebaldguy]

My own anecdote on this follows:

I am at the local stop-'n-rob, for reasons I don't recall.  When I walk in, there is a ~ 40yo woman, (going on 20), supervising 2 girls, 1 about 10 (going on 20) and one about 12 (going on 20) who look like their on the old "Supermarket Sweep" tv show.  They are piling TONS of pure junk food (chips, candy, sodas, cookies) on the checkout counter.  I expect to see the mom take an active part in putting an end to this, but I realize she's directing this traffic and making suggestions.  Okay, well, whatever.  Near the end of this spree, the mom goes over to the coffee bar and mixes some sort of frou-frou brew, and stands in line as the clerk starts bagging this trash up.  She hands over what appears to be a credit card, and points to her coffee to be added on to the 3-digit bill.  He demurs, indicating that the coffee is not eligible.  It was only at that point that I realize this is a food-stamp horror story, right in front of me.  Anyway, she begins to berate the clerk, stating that she "does this all the time" referring to the coffee, I guess.  He stands his ground, and the kids are hauling the bags out to the car (that I can't see).  She huffs and puffs, and then says "Well, I'll leave the coffee on the counter, and I'll have to go to the car and get some cash".  She storms out, and the next thing I here is the roaring of the engine and squealing tires.  You guesssed right, but it was an older Caddie, not brand new.

My tax dollars at work, I guess.

It's a common occurance in most places. I see people buying mass quantites of junk food. My favorite is where they buy expensive meat and steaks and resell them for cash.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Ok, I stand corrected on the Trader Joe thing.  I kinda remember it being a bit too yuppie and overpriced for my taste, but I'm probably misremembering.

[GigaBuist]

Can anyone give me any (good) reason why it is people who are accepting what amounts to societal charity are being given money to go spend  with little to no oversight (depending on area) as to the nutritional content of what they are purchasing?

Enforcement would be too difficult.  Who's going to do it?

We can't put the stores in charge.  Why would they care?  They run razor thing margins on the staples, probably gets them more profit if the food stamp user can snag items from the deli counter like deep fried chicken or an uncooked pre-made pizza.

An auditing team would work, I suppose, but that'd be more of a burden on the small shops where their point of sale system consists of a 16 year old kid, credit card machine, and $120 register.  Meijer, WalMart, Kroger, Shop Rite, etc -- they've all got huge systems that log every transaction already.

Shipping them actual food a real serious drawback:  You've got to create a whole new distribution network. 

As long as you're handing out free ANYTHING there will be people gaming the system.

[makattak]

Enforcement would be too difficult.  Who's going to do it?

We can't put the stores in charge.  Why would they care?  They run razor thing margins on the staples, probably gets them more profit if the food stamp user can snag items from the deli counter like deep fried chicken or an uncooked pre-made pizza.

An auditing team would work, I suppose, but that'd be more of a burden on the small shops where their point of sale system consists of a 16 year old kid, credit card machine, and $120 register.  Meijer, WalMart, Kroger, Shop Rite, etc -- they've all got huge systems that log every transaction already.

Shipping them actual food a real serious drawback:  You've got to create a whole new distribution network. 

As long as you're handing out free ANYTHING there will be people gaming the system.

Gee, it sounds almost as if something local and personal would be a better means of administrating charity... if only we had some sort of organization that you can always find locally and would be willing to care for people....

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Gee, it sounds almost as if something local and personal would be a better means of administrating charity... if only we had some sort of organization that you can always find locally and would be willing to care for people....

I know!  I know!

ACORN offices!!!

 

[kgbsquirrel]

Enforcement would be too difficult.  Who's going to do it?

We can't put the stores in charge.  Why would they care?

Call me delusional but I think someone might notice if a fellow was trying to purchase a case of soda and a bag of doritos with a food stamp marked "1/4 lb butter, generic/store brand." If you like you could even slap a bar code on the stamps for the cashier to scan that only negates the price of the appropriate associated food item.

There will always be conscienceless people who will try to work the system but that does not mean we should hand it to them on a silver platter, or in this case, a plastic card.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

there was a lawyer and county councilman in pg county md who along with his daughter ran a lil convienence store  real money maker was racking up those ebt charges. course he was buying em at 50 cents on the dollar. he had a rack of chips and a soda cooler in the store and was the biggest vendor in the system    they both went to prison

[Nitrogen]

Ok, I stand corrected on the Trader Joe thing.  I kinda remember it being a bit too yuppie and overpriced for my taste, but I'm probably misremembering.

It IS very yuppie, but they do have good foodie items.  I miss it, but HEB has what they call Central Market here which puts TJ to shame.  For really good food items, I don't mind paying a bit more.  Their lunchmeats are to DIE for, for instance...

I am hungry just thinking about it, actually.

[BlueStarLizzard]

my dads church has some program. co-op type deal or something.

you pay x amount every month and receive either: foodstuffs for family of four for a week or prepackaged meals for one. its really really really cheap. and its all the basics and some nicer stuff too. veggies, meat, eggs, dairy, bread and fruit.

it started as one churches thing for the poorer members of their fellowship and expanded, and anyone can do it.

i don't see why they can't do this sort of thing instead of food stamps.
hell, i still want to do it. knocks out grocery shopping and its cheap. i could buy all my groceries and have plenty left over in my paycheck for junk food, cigs and soda. and eat better (healthier) too.

[sanglant]

wiki link

[Fly320s]

It IS very yuppie, but they do have good foodie items.  I miss it, but HEB has what they call Central Market here which puts TJ to shame.  For really good food items, I don't mind paying a bit more.  Their lunchmeats are to DIE for, for instance...

I am hungry just thinking about it, actually.

 Central Market rocks!  They make great tortillas, desserts, and prepared food, in addition to having all the normal upscale grocery store items.

Most of the CM stores have live music on the weekends, too.

[SADShooter]

I wish we had regular HEB stores in DFW as well. They would drive Kroger/Tom Thumb et al. out of the market. Closest now is 40 mi. to Waxahachie.

[Fly320s]

You did, years ago. Guess who won?

[SADShooter]

Too bad I missed out. I may find myself back in HEB territory within the next year or so. We'll see.

[Nitrogen]

Too bad I missed out. I may find myself back in HEB territory within the next year or so. We'll see.

Apparently we just got Aldi here in DFW.  Who?  http://www.aldifoods.com/index_ENU_HTML.htm

[makattak]

I grew up on ALDI food.

It's almost totally generic and the prices are better than you will find anywhere.

I like having an ALDI in NoVa. I wish it weren't all the way in Woodbridge, though.

[mtnbkr]

There's one in Manassas, off of Liberia.

Chris

[makattak]

That's marginally better. Thanks!