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Time to Cut Food Stamp Spending

There has been a sudden uptick in "Homeless. Will work for food" people (who wouldn't really work for food) in my area. Not sure why. They seem to have come out of the woodwork all at once. Makes be suspicious as to whether or not they are some traveling gang of panhandlers. I mean when they put a woman with one leg in a wheelchair beside them of a pack of sad looking kids, it seems a little odd in and of itself.

We should raise food stamps and cut other benefits like the earned income tax credit, benefit bonus points for having additional kids, etc. If you are single with no kids, it is almost impossible to get aid. If you have kids, just make sure one of them has "emotional issues" because then they become a two-fer.
 
Those poor poor people, with no shopping options near them! LOL. I work in groceries. I eat, sleep, and breath groceries, forc60-70 hours per week, every week. I watch the EBT folks come in on the first of the month, every month, loading up their carts to over flowing...with ****. Potato chips, sugary cereals, soda and red bull, and pre-made garbage. Meanwhile, eggs are 4.99 for 3 dozen, milk is 2.99 per gallon, boneless skinless chicken breast is 1.69 per pound, ground beef is 2.89 per pound, green beens are 5.99 for a huge bag, broccoli, same, cauliflower, corn, etc. But by far and large those items don't go into the cart. Sure, some EBTers shop plenty healthy. By my experience, though, the majority do not, even when presented with the oportunity to, even when it's clearly the cheaper option.

And for those who bemoan not having stores near them....that's because they won't open one, because it won't be profitable, because they already know the demographics, and the habits of those demographics. Selling crap food, and ready made ****, isn't as profitable as selling ingredients, due to the dramatic price difference. Average margins on pork and chicken are in the high 30-40%, while margin on "ready to eat" foods are in the 20% and bellow range.
 
The amount of people who believe this is simply astounding. So if I was to get fired tomorrow, I would get fat? Poverty makes people fat? What universe am I living in?

There is conflicting data out there, but this study from the Harvard School of Public Health estimates that a healthy diet costs $550 more per person per year. I just skimmed the actual study, and probably appropriately they just looked at overall prices, but that's misleading for a couple of reasons. First of all, poor (urban and rural) areas have fewer food options (i.e. no or far fewer grocery stores) and what is available for fresh fruits etc. is often FAR more expensive than big groceries in middle class and above suburban areas.

So it shouldn't be astounding that we believe what several major studies have found.
 
Those poor poor people, with no shopping options near them! LOL. I work in groceries. I eat, sleep, and breath groceries, forc60-70 hours per week, every week. I watch the EBT folks come in on the first of the month, every month, loading up their carts to over flowing...with ****. Potato chips, sugary cereals, soda and red bull, and pre-made garbage. Meanwhile, eggs are 4.99 for 3 dozen, milk is 2.99 per gallon, boneless skinless chicken breast is 1.69 per pound, ground beef is 2.89 per pound, green beens are 5.99 for a huge bag, broccoli, same, cauliflower, corn, etc. But by far and large those items don't go into the cart. Sure, some EBTers shop plenty healthy. By my experience, though, the majority do not, even when presented with the oportunity to, even when it's clearly the cheaper option.

And for those who bemoan not having stores near them....that's because they won't open one, because it won't be profitable, because they already know the demographics, and the habits of those demographics. Selling crap food, and ready made ****, isn't as profitable as selling ingredients, due to the dramatic price difference. Average margins on pork and chicken are in the high 30-40%, while margin on "ready to eat" foods are in the 20% and bellow range.

You're right about bad habits. The charity I work for takes in homeless people, but most of them were just poor before they went to jail or on the streets. A big part of the program is making them cook meals, from raw ingredients. We give them the food, and the guys have to rotate the dinners and cook every night. Almost none of them have the first clue how to do it when they walk in. Sounds like something everyone should know, but they don't.

It's also true eating OK CAN be cheap. We buy in bulk and store food bought on sale in several freezers and our food costs are pretty minimal really. I'll also add, however, that where most of our houses are located is a LONG way from any grocery and since our guys don't have cars, without the charity van their food options in this neighborhood would be the equivalent of a convenience store, or an hour or more (not counting wait time or walk time to bus stop) bus ride round trip. It's doable, obviously, but very inconvenient and if you pile roadblocks to eating healthy on already stressed poor, you just have to expect they're not going to make great food decisions lots of times.
 
I would say the disease is wealth disparity/poverty. Education, infrastructure, the socioeconomic issues... it is all linked to wealth. Eliminate or at least limit poverty itself and you will see the vast majority of these issues disappear. The question then is, how do we go about that?
Um, by supporting means and methods of reducing economic inequality...increasing top marginal/estate/corporate rates, strengthening unions, increasing voter participation, investing more in education...on and on.

Everyone should understand that this argument against SNAP is just another argument for tax cuts for the very top, just as is the arguments against the ACA.
 
You're right about bad habits. The charity I work for takes in homeless people, but most of them were just poor before they went to jail or on the streets. A big part of the program is making them cook meals, from raw ingredients. We give them the food, and the guys have to rotate the dinners and cook every night. Almost none of them have the first clue how to do it when they walk in. Sounds like something everyone should know, but they don't.

It's also true eating OK CAN be cheap. We buy in bulk and store food bought on sale in several freezers and our food costs are pretty minimal really. I'll also add, however, that where most of our houses are located is a LONG way from any grocery and since our guys don't have cars, without the charity van their food options in this neighborhood would be the equivalent of a convenience store, or an hour or more (not counting wait time or walk time to bus stop) bus ride round trip. It's doable, obviously, but very inconvenient and if you pile roadblocks to eating healthy on already stressed poor, you just have to expect they're not going to make great food decisions lots of times.

I believe that teaching people how to make food is a great community service. So good on you.


No grocery store will open up in poorer areas, because poor people don't typically by the profitable stuff, and grocers run on paper thin margins, not unlike restaurants. So, what's being asked of a grocer, is to throw down the money to open a store, for customers that are only going to buy the same thing they were already buying at the convenience store. Further, we're asking them to carry a full line of fresh product month in and month out, for a customer base that only has money for one week out of the month.
 
I believe that teaching people how to make food is a great community service. So good on you.


No grocery store will open up in poorer areas, because poor people don't typically by the profitable stuff, and grocers run on paper thin margins, not unlike restaurants. So, what's being asked of a grocer, is to throw down the money to open a store, for customers that are only going to buy the same thing they were already buying at the convenience store. Further, we're asking them to carry a full line of fresh product month in and month out, for a customer base that only has money for one week out of the month.

Right, I understand and I also agreed with much of your original point. But I think a lot of people are ignoring obstacles faced by some but not all EBT recipients that people who live in middle class and above neighborhoods just don't consider because we've never faced them. I've never lived in my whole life more than 10 minutes from a major grocery store, that I can get to by car and load up 20 bags of groceries if I want. I doubt I'd shop as well if the equivalent by total travel time was 40 miles away, and once I made it there, could only carry home maybe 4 regular grocery bags of food.
 
"40 miles away, and once I made it there, could only carry home maybe 4 regular grocery bags of food." J #182
I'm nearly 40 miles away from the nearest supermarket.
And I drive a small 2 door coupe.

279257748f6a711694873dd617a8bad39602b5f.JPG

BUT !!

While I may not eat all that much fresh food, my diet is pretty good.
There's long term storage food I can use.
Angel hair pasta can last for years on my shelf.
And tomato sauce in glass jars can be stored for many months.

In addition, I've got neighbors that grow and can their own produce.
And we sometimes barter for that. (I eat it, and then return the jar.)

You can have a nice view from the kitchen window,

63115b426b11937766f6fbd8ef1cc90647f83e6.JPG

and still have a sensible, nutritious diet.

I also supplement my diet with what naturally grows around here, cat-tail heads, clover blossoms, violet leaves, etc.
 
Um, by supporting means and methods of reducing economic inequality...increasing top marginal/estate/corporate rates, strengthening unions, increasing voter participation, investing more in education...on and on.

I am all for these things, but it seems extremely difficult to even get 50% of America on board with any of these proposals. :thinking:


Everyone should understand that this argument against SNAP is just another argument for tax cuts for the very top, just as is the arguments against the ACA.

Agreed.
 
I'm nearly 40 miles away from the nearest supermarket.
And I drive a small 2 door coupe.

View attachment 67217817


I think he was referring more to people who don't even have a small car, and have to ride a bus to the grocery store in a large city or suburb. Guaranteed you can haul more bags of groceries even in that tiny thing than a person could haul home by hand on a bus.
 
C7 #185

Thanks C7
My vague point poorly made is that urban dwellers can have horrid nutrition,
while those of us that can't see our nearest neighbor can eat quite well.
My most recent meal included green & black olives, beef & vegetable stew, & eggs. I've got a fantastic hard boiled egg recipe, & even have a nice technique for shelling (peeling) & eating them.

BTW
It is a small car.
BUT !!
I was stocking our cabin for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
I found I can fit 14 thirty-packs of beer into the trunk, without folding the back seats down. I was astounded.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Regarding Trump's budget, prominent in Tuesday's news.
Even before it was distributed in hard copy, the expert opinions I heard on it were that the projections were unrealistically rosy (3% sustained growth?).
But before we even get to that, both Senator McCain, and Speaker Ryan called Trump's budget DOA.
 
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