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Does having SNAP make people not care about food costs?

So much has happened on this thread since the last time I was here!

Going back to TANF, SNAP, and WIC. TANF is Temp assistance for Needy Families, right? SNAP is the food program, and WIC is for pregnant Moms, BFing Moms, and children until age 7 or 8?

The year we had Ava... We made a whopping total of 17k that year. Whoo Hoo! Let me tell you, we were rolling in the money. Seriously, my Hubs was laid off by his boss, I was making $7/an hour, and HELLO Ava! Our unexpected surprise. I was on BC, but had been on the same pill for 7 years, and found out after the BFP that they become ineffective after a while. Whoops. Now, we never applied for assistance. I had insurance through Starbucks, which I paid for through my paychecks and paid all my deductibles, co-pays, etc.

I returned early from maternity leave because I was offered a promotion that took me from hourly to salary. Lucky break. Hubs worked for our landlords to pay the rent, another lucky break. My Mom paid for the first year of Ava's daycare for us, which she was able to do then, and we were so grateful for. After only 8-10 weeks of BFing, I dried up and Ava had to be put on formula, and soy formula at that. We struggled that year, and new every single bit of the good fortune that came our way.

I have no problems with assistance, and have never been on any. That's not to say that there weren't times, even then that we seriously needed them. We still don't have new cars. We have 2 paid off older cars and don't look at a getting new one for at least 3 years.

I am able to work from home. I don't make TONS of money, and we are not rich. Hubs is a manager at Starbucks. We are a middle class family. Middle, not upper middle class. We always look for ways to save, and ways to increase our income. We do not own credit cards. In some ways we are doing better than our parents, and in some ways we aren't. We have had our own share of experiences that have hurt us immensely in the financial spectrum.

I think it is unfair to say that people aren't humble on this thread. I think what has happened is that it is clear so many of us struggle often throughout our lives, and work to find a place where we can simply breathe financially. It is HARD. It is still hard on us, and I realize our family is lucky to live in a city with just about every grocery store you can think of, so I shop at several. I still buy most things at Aldi's because they are cheaper.

What junk food my family does eat, is purchased at Aldi's for the most part. I don't knock the junk food, but you will never see my basket full of junk food. Personally, I think it's commendable that people shop at Aldi's with food assistance programs, because it's cheaper.

As far as heathcare in this country, I think it's extremely broken. I have many examples of that. There are so many people in this country that can't even go see a doctor. They don't have the access to the health care that my family does, and I think it is FLAT OUT WRONG. I think it kills people, leaves families with a burden, and without parents. I hope the Make Healthcare Afforable Act fixes most of it. Small Business families need that help a lot.

All of my post ended up being mumbled, odd stuff, and I debating deleting it, but I'm going to send it through anyways. I hope it wasn't as scattered as I read it to be.
 
This may not be the popular opinion, but I think that many problems would be solved if only whole foods were given out for government assistance... vegetables, fruits, meat, beans, grains, milk, herbs, spices. Period. If I were on assistance, which I would have qualified for good chunks of my life, I would be grateful just to have food given to me. I don't see why anyone would feel entitled to more, when they are being handed free food when they need it. When I was very poor, I worked 2 jobs, and ate whole foods, because it was cheaper. Also by eliminating the ability to buy junk food, people would be healthier, and that would eliminate a lot of the health care costs as well. 1 in 3 American adults is diabetic or pre-diabetic, and that is a direct result of eating processed food.
 
icoupon2 said:
Is that really your impression of what our collective impression of you and your business is Peggy? You keep saying things like this. We don't all think you are sitting on a mountain of money smoking a cigar. No one (to my knowledge) is jealous of you, or begrudges you any success. It's actually kind of insulting that you are implying that there is a whole lotta ill will towards you for what you have. No one thinks you don't work hard or deserve the fruits of that labor.
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No not here,for the most part, but society as a rule. I can remeber the progressive commercial where the fat guy was sitting a truck smoking a cigar and saying "need a tow". We do get almost on a daily basis the whistle or OMG that much?? BS. And the slight comments that say we don't need that business per sai (no offense taken Kathy) and no one sees the imporatance of the service industry as a whole. Service plays just as an important part of this country as any other job. Imagine just for 1 second that all the break downs on cars wrecks ect were not picked up off the roadways. That generators, food, ect were not shipped. Garbage men are looked down upon, truck drivers are looked down upon. And yes I do feel it is because most of us in the industry (the service industry) don't sit in big office buildings wearing nice clothes having a fancy lunch, with degrees behind our names.
I could have went on to school(I am the only one of 7 kids that choose not to) did not like school and don't regret 1 minute of not going on. We work hard. When I worked at kraft , I thought that the office people had it made, wore nice clothes never broke a sweet never was cold never thirsty (they could have thier drinks at the desk), got perks that us loser factory workers did not get like big packs of goodies from the vendors, sat on thier computers surfing the net ect.ect.
Now that it is a big part of my job I see what they did was as important to the success of Kraft as my job scraping the mold off cheese.
I have a sister that has more then a few degrees behind her name and she spent money like there was no tommorow, when she really saw she was in trouble she took on 2 part time jobs and when I hear people say they are over quailfied for any job it bothers me because I know it can be done she did it. I appauld you in 1 post you said you worked a full time job then waited on tables at a bar and then went home and took care of your family. I know it is hard but YOU are living proff it can be done.
I was raised with the ideas that it is me that has to do it no one will come and bail me out. In one post I said how sometimes this fogs our minds to the point of having insurance and never even thinking of making a claim on a 35,000 hit. It is just the way I am wired.
And yes I feel that if an uneducated person such as myself and DH can do it so can anybody else. I am sorry.
 
skincarekathy said:
There may be people who think that way about her business, they may just not be here.

When you run a business, there is always a lot of pent up frustration. I can't tell you how many times a week someone says to me some version of "hey you are so lucky you're rolling in it and don't HAVE to WORK......." and so on. Why do you only pay THIS, I know you are selling it for THIS... that type of thing. How many times I would just love to say hey, if you're the expert and it's your stuff, then YOU sell it! LOL. I would not say that to people here on purpose because I don't have issues with people here, my issues are more IRL people, but if something sparks my **** button, then...

Sometimes that frustration just builds up over time, then gets sparked by a discussion and is simply projected on the available audience. I know I do it!

:giggles:
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I'm a WAHM Mom, so to other parents that SAH, or work outside of the home, that must mean that I have all the time in the world to do EVERYTHING! HA!

When I need marketing support, it's me. When a client needs something done overnight, it's me. Billing? Yep, that's me. Overdue accounts? Me. I have less time in all reality. I AM able to be at home, so that means after this conference, I can change out the laundry. After this set of emails, I can fold that laundry. Feed the baby, crunch the numbers, play with Ava, source for clients, clean the kitchen, return phone calls...

I have to take my shower or bath after I get everything and everyone ready for the next day. If I have an "off" day, it doesn't cost the company money, it costs ME and my clients money, which costs me even more money. There is no leisure in that.

In fact, y'all are my leisure. I am able to talk candidly, have some down time, and a piece of private sanity, while still having my ears open at home, and my email open for work.

ETA: If any of you know the "Happy Workers" song by Tori Amos from the movie TOYS, that's how I feel most days.
 
kouponkris said:
This may not be the popular opinion, but I think that many problems would be solved if only whole foods were given out for government assistance... vegetables, fruits, meat, beans, grains, milk, herbs, spices. Period. If I were on assistance, which I would have qualified for good chunks of my life, I would be grateful just to have food given to me. I don't see why anyone would feel entitled to more, when they are being handed free food when they need it. When I was very poor, I worked 2 jobs, and ate whole foods, because it was cheaper. Also by eliminating the ability to buy junk food, people would be healthier, and that would eliminate a lot of the health care costs as well. 1 in 3 American adults is diabetic or pre-diabetic, and that is a direct result of eating processed food.
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Most, not all, but most receiving food benefits DO WORK. They work a lot. OR they have a medical condition that doesn't allow them to cook all the time from scratch.

What I was suggesting is that foods are coded basically. Still all the freedoms to choose which foods, but that Cheerios, meats, cheeses, hummus, and tortilla chips are coded as a 1, and TRIX, oreos, and soda as classed as a 2. Out of a $1000 food budget, only $200 can be a 2 food. Something along those lines.
 
RozeCakes said:
Most, not all, but most receiving food benefits DO WORK. They work a lot. OR they have a medical condition that doesn't allow them to cook all the time from scratch.

What I was suggesting is that foods are coded basically. Still all the freedoms to choose which foods, but that Cheerios, meats, cheeses, hummus, and tortilla chips are coded as a 1, and TRIX, oreos, and soda as classed as a 2. Out of a $1000 food budget, only $200 can be a 2 food. Something along those lines.
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I never implied that people don't work that are on assistance. I have always worked hard, but manage to make healthy, whole food based meals. It's a matter of priorities, not time. I can make a pot of healthy stew that takes a half hour to prepare, and a afternoon to cook while I do other things, that will be divided up into 10 meals and frozen. On the days when I don't have time to cook, I can thaw them out & just heat. I do a lot of short cuts, like this. I do this to save money, save time, and for the health of my family. Water is free. Water is good for you. I don't see why anyone should receive more, unless they choose to pay for it themselves.
 
kouponkris said:
I never implied that people don't work that are on assistance. I have always worked hard, but manage to make healthy, whole food based meals. It's a matter of priorities, not time. I can make a pot of healthy stew that takes a half hour to prepare, and a afternoon to cook while I do other things, that will be divided up into 10 meals and frozen. On the days when I don't have time to cook, I can thaw them out & just heat. I do a lot of short cuts, like this. I do this to save money, save time, and for the health of my family. Water is free. Water is good for you. I don't see why anyone should receive more, unless they choose to pay for it themselves.
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And you just decribed the EXACT reason I am horrified that Home Ec isn't mandatory for everyone in HS anymore! Including myself. I'm 29. It was offered, but always overfilled so I could never get into it. It took me a long time to learn the other areas of Home EC. My parents did teach me basic cooking for the most part.

:-/
 
I was grateful for home ec. My mom tried to teach me cooking but alot of her recipes were 'rachel ray" style "just eye ball it".... that may work when you're "seasoned" but at 10-12+ eyeballing makes no sense at all.

Home ec told ya to read a recipe front back up n down before starting.
 
People started forgetting how to take care of themselves, when the government started taking care of them.

This all stems from social norms. Nobody wants to see kids starving because their parents are "deadbeats." Given food stamps, they may still be starving, but the powers that be can point their finger and say see! we're doing all we can!

Anyway I have always been shocked that there is no variation in the type/amount of food assistance available to people based on their circumstances. Certainly an inner-city family with little access to fresh groceries & ingredients may need more money than a suburban family with plenty of access. That inner-city family might be better served by being allowed prepared foods in their benefits (rotisserie chicken, etc) because they don't have access to many whole raw foods and it might lead to saying that a suburban family with many shopping choices could do with less because their prices are cheaper, and they have transportation, and proper cooking facilities, etc. But setting different standards for different families leads to "oh that's not FAIR!" and what that leads to are families who have $1000 a month in benefits no matter where they live or how they prepare meals and no real guidelines/guidance toward what to spend it on.

Which raises the point of who are we to say what they spend it on? My Grandma would say, My house, My rules. If I'm paying, this is how it will be. But in our society there would be true backlash, but that backlash is all social/political, etc. If people want the benefits, they will follow whatever guidelines there are. It is not the fault of the recipients that there are no standards.

Oy!

:)
 
Yet another reason why whole foods would be best. The future generations would learn to cook and use whole foods from the example of their parents. My mom never taught me to cook. I just learned by watching and being around it. I was horrified as an adult, when I found out that some people make mashed potatoes from flakes in a box :lol:. I didn't even know they existed.
 
skincarekathy said:
People started forgetting how to take care of themselves, when the government started taking care of them.

This all stems from social norms. Nobody wants to see kids starving because their parents are deadbeats. Given food stamps, they may still be starving, but the powers that be can point their finger and say see! we're doing all we can!

Anyway I have always been shocked that there is no variation in the type/amount of food assistance available to people based on their circumstances. Certainly an inner-city family with little access to fresh groceries & ingredients may need more money than a suburban family with plenty of access. That inner-city family might be better served by being allowed prepared foods in their benefits (rotisserie chicken, etc) because they don't have access to many whole raw foods and it might lead to saying that a suburban family with many shopping choices could do with less because their prices are cheaper, and they have transportation, and proper cooking facilities, etc. But setting different standards for different families leads to "oh that's not FAIR!" and what that leads to are families who have $1000 a month in benefits no matter where they live or how they prepare meals and no real guidelines/guidance toward what to spend it on.

Which raises the point of who are we to say what they spend it on? My Grandma would say, My house, My rules. If I'm paying, this is how it will be. But in our society there would be true backlash, but that backlash is all social/political, etc. If people want the benefits, they will follow whatever guidelines there are. It is not the fault of the recipients that there are no standards.

Oy!

:)
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But that's my point... if assistance was ONLY whole foods, whole foods would be more available in the inner city, or anywhere else people would be on assitance.
 
Why is the limit so high when the kids are fed breakfast and lunch at school? Should the amount be less seeing as 9 months a year 2 meals a day, 5 days a week are provided?
 
In our foster care class last night, the instructors were telling us that when we have the bio-parents to our homes, it should be viewed as a mentoring opportunity. Lots of the bio-moms don't know where to begin with cooking & meal planning & following a recipe. It goes beyond taking care of their kids for awhile- when it works well, you're helping the bio-parents in many areas, not just because you're "watching" their kids for a few months. Helping them get it together goes beyond sending them a copy of their kid's report card. So, there is a huge percentage of our population that wouldn't know what to do with a bag of flour if it hit them in the face. We can't just offer them "healthy" foods & expect that they will all know how to cook. It's a bigger problem than it seems like.
 
dragonfly said:
In our foster care class last night, the instructors were telling us that when we have the bio-parents to our homes, it should be viewed as a mentoring opportunity. Lots of the bio-moms don't know where to begin with cooking & meal planning & following a recipe. It goes beyond taking care of their kids for awhile- when it works well, you're helping the bio-parents in many areas, not just because you're "watching" their kids for a few months. Helping them get it together goes beyond sending them a copy of their kid's report card. So, there is a huge percentage of our population that wouldn't know what to do with a bag of flour if it hit them in the face. We can't just offer them "healthy" foods & expect that they will all know how to cook. It's a bigger problem than it seems like.
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They would have to learn, and there would be programs to teach, guides, cookbooks. That's like saying people shouldn't have to work if they have no job skill. They have to learn.
 
icoupon2 said:
So you "say it" and everyone else "whines and complains" come on....

No one is begrudging what you have built. But you seem quick to say that others don't deserve what they've built (i.e. successful farms) and that still others should abandon what they've built (farmers going through hard times).
QUOTE]


No I think Fusts (my neighbors) deserve to be succesful in farming they took a failing business and turned it around. Do I think that they should be able to take advantage of subsidies, no taxes (exspecially on the toys as farm use) hell no. Do I think it is right for them to have 5 homes on argicultral land huge homes and still have that land called farm use land instead of residental ? hell no. When what they have going on is farmming or is it? They no longer have any employees, 3 people Brian his son and 1 son in law do the sperm thing the others that live there in the houses don't even have anything to do with the farm.


"and that still others should abandon what they've built (farmers going through hard times).
QUOTE]

No never said that they should abandon what they have built. But they need to figure out something.
When this economy crashed 4 years ago we had just bought 2 brand new trailers for hauling construction equipment and 1 new industrial rollback for construction equipment. DH and I had returned on a sunday from Illinois getting a new 53 landoll trailer and the week before that had taken in a new drop deck trailer , along with 2 semis to pull these trailers. we got home Sunday, and Monday morning Fabco rents (who had for years were our biggest customer for equipment hauling, over 500 K a year told us that they would still use us when needed but they were buying thier own truck. Now we had dedicated 6 trucks to them on a daily basis and in a blink of an eye things changed. You don't know how many sleepless nights wondering where in the hell we were going to get the money to pay for these semis and trailers. And if this was a fatal mistake it would take our company under. By Monday afternoon I had already started a letter to send out to every impliment, construction, rental place I could find in this state. It took a while for these places to start calling but we found a way out of it and still own them today. That is what I was getting at not to abandon anything but find a way to make it work.
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