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December 2010 Moms
AllSmiles1210
member
Clicky Poll: Using of Food Stamps to Buy Sodas
AllSmiles1210
member
Let's try this on for discussion. I saw this article about the Mayor of New York City wanting to ban the use of food stamps on sodas and other sugary drinks.
Here is the article for anyone who's interested. Link
(Disclaimer: I'm not trying to get on a politcal high horse, just trying to talk about things NBR)
[Poll]
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Clicky Poll: Using of Food Stamps to Buy Sodas
Are you trying to turn this into Welfare Wednesday?
LOL, what's Welfare Wednesday?
I voted yes- but I'd like to add that the food stamp program really doesn't restrict what other foods can be purchased based on nutritional value, so I think if the point is to make the cornerstone of the program "healthy choices"- there needs to be an overall evaluation done on what foods can and cannot be purchased with them. My understanding is that the only real restriction is that it must be food purchased to make at home and not hot, ready-to-eat foods (well, and alcohol of course). What difference will it make if someone can't buy a 2 liter of soda but they can go buy chips?
I'm not really sure if I want to vote yes, or no, but I'm kind of leaning towards yes. I just saw this dicscussion on The View while waiting for my sono, & thought it'd be an interesting convo. for TB. Whoopi was all worked up because she thought it was singling out people who need assistance & labling them as overweight & obese, but I totally disagree. Coming from someone who has had to use the assistance of food stamps before, I do not think it's a terrible idea to put a ban on using food stamps for certain items such as sodas and other sugary drinks. You can't buy alcohol with food stamps, & no one seems to feel like that's labeling people who need food stamps as alcoholics. It's just the government saying, "If you want to buy that on your own dime, fine, but you're not going to use our money to pay for it."
HOWEVER, at the same time it's kind of iffy to put a ban on buying sugary drinks with food stamps because they're are still SOOO many other bad things you can buy with food stamps other than sugary drinks. Are they going to put a ban on buying any foods with high fructose corn syrup in it? What about a ban on Hamburger Helper which is high in sodium & processed foods? It'd be really hard to put a ban on using food stamps to buy unhealthy foods & drinks altogether, so is it really worth it to just ban sugary drinks?
It's definitely something to think about.
Agree!
When I am on a tight budget I pay all of my bills then decide what I can get at the grocery store to make good meals for the week. If you are so hard up for money that you are on assistance from the government it should be for essential needs ONLY and not extras. Shall we mention how many times those women using EBT/food stamps have their hair and nails professionally done....or new clothes....or a nice car...or a Coach purse....UGH!!!!
Agree with your point- but I do think the only participants of the program who are eligible to use them to eat out are elderly, disabled or homeless. Not everyone who receives food stamps can participate in the restaurant meal program, and those restaurants actually are restricted on what meals are available and they are reimbursed at a discounted rate by the state for those sales (the state doesn't give them full price).
You can use EBT cards at restaurants. I don't know if it is different in various parts of the country, but here, you can use an EBT card for whatever the heck you want. It pisses me right off!!!!!!
I agree. I don't think people should be able to buy crap/junk food with food stamps. I think they should only be good on necessary items, but then who's to say what's necessary or not, that's a whole different topic. I think if people want an item like a soda, candy bar or bag of chips then they should use their own money for it, not mine!
Call me clueless, but I didn't know that there were NO guidelines on what kind of food that food stamps should be used for. I guess I thought it worked like WIC. I know WIC has guidelines. It can't be used for just ANY food. My aunt was on WIC back in the day and I think it can only be used for nutritional foods like milk, formula, certain cereals, baby food. I think there should be similar guidelines for food stamps.
Well don't get pissed- an EBT card doesn't necessarily have anything to do with food stamps. EBT cards are also used by the state to give unemployment benefits and there are no restrictions on how those can be used- they are cash benefits. For example when my husband lost his job a few years ago he had one for a few months while he found another job. Did we use it to eat out sometimes? Yes. Because my husband has worked and paid into that program since he was 16 years old and that money should be able to be used however the family wishes to use it. With an EBT card that isn't part of the SNAP program- you can even make cash-back charges and do cash withdrawls at some ATMs.
If the EBT card is part of the Food stamp SNAP program- the issuer will swipe the card, but the card will only pay for covered items and they will have to pay for non-covered items (what is currently restricted by the program) with cash or another form of payment.
No use of getting pissed at "the system" if you don't understand how it works.
WIC is a lot different from Food Stamps. With WIC you just get several cards a month that have very specific items that you can (or actually HAVE TO) purchase. Those items like you mentioned are milk, formula, beans, carrots, cereal, etc. With Food Stamps (or SNAPS as they call it these days), you basically just get a debit card with a certain amount of money put on it each month that allows you to purchase almost any food items you want. You can't use them on things like a hot dog from the gas station, but you can use them on say a bag of chips & a 20oz bottle of soda from the gas station. WIC is way more limited on what items you can get through WIC.
I get pissed about it because people up here take advantage of the system like no other. I have moved a ton in my life and this place is the worst. I know people who remain on the system simply because they are too lazy to work. I understand that some people are on it for legit reasons (they get laid off and are trying to find work and need assistance until they get another job), but I know way too many people that purposely get fired from their jobs just so they can sit at home and collect. My SIL's boyfriend is like this. He has barely worked since I have known him and just sits at home on his butt all day. Even though there are plenty of jobs that he qualifies for. And yet, they go out to dinner and movies, take trips and just bought a 50" TV. My husband works for a pharmacy where people are constantly coming in and buying their beer and cigarrettes with their EBT cards. They can't pay their rent, but they sure as heck can afford their beer. I do know how it works and I don't think it is right. I think I have every right to be pissed off about it.
It's just as annoying to see people with food stamps buy organic foods, or steaks if my budget doesnt allow me to eat that well when I am not on any sort of assistance.
This. The WIC food packages were changed recently to improve overall nutrition quality, and I think it's time to evaluate what's eligible to be purchased using food stamps, as well. These are government-subsidy programs, and I firmly believe the goverment should do what they can to promote good health.
::headdesk::
If you understood it you would stop comparing food stamps to unemployment because they're totally different programs which are funded in completely different ways.
Here you can only use a EBT card at the grocery store and my parents are on welfare and they both have jobs and pay taxes and all. Not everyone that is on welfare are low life's that refuse to get a job, some just honestly need help getting grocery's because there other bills are to high and as much as they try they can't do everything. In all honesty you get a tax refund check so your money doesn't pay for anything in the long run, so I don't think that anyone other than the government should be able to say what is bought as long as it isn't alcohol/or cigarettes. But that is my opinion.
Exactly. It is stupid to think that you should have a say in what people eat.
With food stamps you can only buy food that has to be cooked at home and you can't buy cigarettes or beer or things like energy drinks and dietary stuff. The people you see buying beer and cigarettes are the people who get this thing called TANF, where they get cash put on a EBT card and they are suppose to spend it on things like clothing, shoes, and bills but a lot of people don't. The money for TANF can also be taken out at a ATM and used to but stuff like "crack" lol So I think people should be more worried about that and less worried about sodas and chips.