On food stamps and still hungry (interviews, federal, laws, Maine)

[nat_at772]

Originally Posted by miu

Stereotypes happen through personal observations. And what I have seen is not a figment of my imagination. And I know that if I ever saw someone using food stamps and with a smart grocery shopping selection, I would certainly do a double take and take notice of this rare event. But no, in my nearly fifty years on this planet, I have yet to see a smart food stamp recipient grocery shopper.

Maybe the problem is where you shop your comment is about the same as saying "I've never seen a college student go into a store and leave without purchasing a case of beer"

When I had my food stamps, if anybody had looked in my cart they would have assumed I was a young woman who couldn't cook. Nothing more, nothing less. I buy the exact same things now that I brought when I was on food stamps. Honey Nut cheerios, milk, bread, sunny delight, Yoplait yogurt, chef boyaredee ravioli, instant mashed potatoes, fish sticks, instant oatmeal, instant grits, bananas, peanut butter, jelly, eggs, every flavor of hamburger, chicken and tuna helper the store sells, cans and cans of tuna, hot dogs, ground turkey and a pack of chicken leg quarters, the 10 minute frozen skillet dinners that I just have to throw in a pot and move on. My son's "snack" food is applesauce, graham crackers, raisins, grapes, apple slices or the del monte fruit cups when I catch them on sale. Probably the only junk food I really buy is my butter pecan blue bunny ice cream.


Yep, my grocery bill is a little higher because I'm buying convenience food instead of making it from raw materials but I would hardly call my shopping irresponsible.

[Nomander]

Originally Posted by natalayjones

Maybe the problem is where you shop your comment is about the same as saying "I've never seen a college student go into a store and leave without purchasing a case of beer"

When I had my food stamps, if anybody had looked in my cart they would have assumed I was a young woman who couldn't cook. Nothing more, nothing less. I buy the exact same things now that I brought when I was on food stamps. Honey Nut cheerios, milk, bread, sunny delight, Yoplait yogurt, chef boyaredee ravioli, instant mashed potatoes, fish sticks, instant oatmeal, instant grits, bananas, peanut butter, jelly, eggs, every flavor of hamburger, chicken and tuna helper the store sells, cans and cans of tuna, hot dogs, ground turkey and a pack of chicken leg quarters, the 10 minute frozen skillet dinners that I just have to throw in a pot and move on. My son's "snack" food is applesauce, graham crackers, raisins, grapes, apple slices or the del monte fruit cups when I catch them on sale. Probably the only junk food I really buy is my butter pecan blue bunny ice cream.


Yep, my grocery bill is a little higher because I'm buying convenience food instead of making it from raw materials but I would hardly call my shopping irresponsible.

I can give you some recipes that would cut your bills down dramatically and honestly would be a lot healthier than what you are buying. How about Vegetable Soup?

Vegetable Beef Soup (for large container)

Ingredients

• Half-stock Celery (leaves and all)
  • Cut into bite size pieces.
• Four whole carrots
  • Cut up into slices
• 1 Yellow Onion
  • Diced (semi-large chunks)
• Potatoes
  • 4 medium size
  • Peel and dice semi-large 10-15 pieces per potato.
• Cabbage half-head
  • Cut like potato (squares)
• Canned Tomatoes
  • Any type (stewed, diced, with other) (3 cans reg size, less if bigger can)
  • I prefer stewed myself (break up the stewed pieces into smaller chunks by hand)
  • Possibly 4 as need.
• Beef Base
  • Superior Touch: Better than bullion.
  • 3 heaping spoonfuls

• Black pepper
  • Season to taste (add at start, season later)
• Salt (use Zesty in place of)
  • Season to taste
• Fresh Minced Garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons (more to taste if need)
• Pappy’s Seasoning Blend
  • For soup, meat, fish, poultry.
  • Season as garlic and pepper
• Kitchen Bouquet
  • Browning and seasoning sauce.
  • About a tablespoon.

Prep

1. Cut all vegetables and put them in the pot.
2. Cut cabbage and set it aside.
3. Put in canned tomatoes (juice and all)
4. At this point can add kidney beans, pinto beans, etc…
5. Fill with water two inches above vegetables
6. Add Beef base
7. Add Pepper
8. Garlic
9. Seasoning salt
10. Pappy’s Seasoning blend
11. Kitchen Bouquet


Cooking

1. Turn on and bring to a boil.

2. Turn down to simmer and put a lid on.
a. Very light simmer (not a boil)
b. Stir occasionally

3. Cook for 30 mins
a. Look if needs more water
b. Taste if needs more beef flavor and add base if need.
c. Taste for more seasoning

4. Continue to cook until vegetables are soft. (test carrot for indication)
a.Roughly 30-40 more minutes (roughly 1 hour total start-finish)

5. When near, turn up heat a bit bringing it near to a boil.

6. Add Cabbage and stir in.

7. Take off heat, cover it and let it sit for 15 mins.


That is a good recipe and you can make a ton of it. Much cheaper than buying all the pre-made garbage and much more healthy.

[miu]

Originally Posted by natalayjones

Maybe the problem is where you shop your comment is about the same as saying "I've never seen a college student go into a store and leave without purchasing a case of beer"

If I didn't qualify where I've shopped, then you'd say my observations were limited because I was going to supermarkets in affluent neighborhoods. But I'm talking about the Market Basket chain in New England, supermarkets in the city of Baltimore, Washington DC near the RFK stadium, all areas where there are lots of food stamp recipients.

[rayneinspain]

Originally Posted by DogLover99

Well, I have to apologize for my insensitivity to all of you who have received food stamps or had to work two jobs or had kids and had to manage a budget.

Evidently I've never been in a bind. Your experience is far more difficult than anything I could ever imagine or have lived through. My ignorance in the face of your difficulty is almost unforgivable. Please do not even think about anyone else or what their history could be. Yours is the most important story. You win, I bow down to your 'bigger victim' sob story.

My post was that this is a life style - my point (and the title) "Teach a man to fish."

Teach people how to take care of themselves, raise them up when they need it, so they won't have to do it again.

Evidently I'm an insensitive boob, an obviously wealthy and entitled Republican who could never understand how the little people live.

In deference to your greater victimhood, I'll just shut up and wait until they decide to stop taking JUST 35% of my income and take 50% so I can better 'help' you.

Maybe you should. You never paid for my assistance.

My ex did.

Had he paid his support obligation when he should have (rather than 10 yrs later when DCS finally caught up with him), my time on assistance would have been shorter, as well.

At any rate, my hard times were at a point of my life when I was very ill. It was humiliating and degrading admitting that I needed help. I was shunned by most of my family because they saw me as a failure, as if I could wish myself well overnight. When I recovered enough to reenter the workforce, I saw a few of them briefly. To see their sudden change-of-face was just as hurtful, for it exposed their true, shallow natures. I cut off all contact with them, as I did not wish my children to be around people who judge the worth of a person by their economic status.

It angers me to see so many people pass judgment in the manner they are doing. Your words cannot degrade me or make me wish I'd never gone through my experience, for the simple reason that it showed me a side of life I had been sheltered from while growing up in affluence.

It taught me humility. It taught me compassion. It taught me that I can live through anything and come out stronger and morally centered.

That 'dark' time of my life ended over 10 years ago. Thinking about it is always in the back of my mind--there's an undercurrent of silent terror always present about "what if I lose my job--are my savings enough to tide me over", because I never, ever want to be in that situation again. Yes, there are too many people who think they are entitled to assistance til they die (not referring to disabled and elderly). I pity them. But they need solutions, not damnation.

In the last 10 years, I've kept in contact with many of my old friends who were struggling, too. A few can't seem to make it in the working world. The overwhelming majority have never gone back.

So think what you will.

Stereotypes are very comforting for those who buy into them.

[nat_at772]

Originally Posted by miu

If I didn't qualify where I've shopped, then you'd say my observations were limited because I was going to supermarkets in affluent neighborhoods. But I'm talking about the Market Basket chain in New England, supermarkets in the city of Baltimore, Washington DC near the RFK stadium, all areas where there are lots of food stamp recipients.

You can qualify all day, but I just don't believe you. I'm sorry in my 24 years of life I've never seen a single group of people where every single one of them does the same thing all the time. I don't believe there is a single trait that can be attributed to all food stamp recipients aside from the fact that they are all receiving food stamps. In order for you to be correct, there could be no vegetarians/vegans on food stamps because they certainly wouldn't be buying unhealthy food. There could be no diabetics on food stamps because I doubt they would have carts full of junk food. Well, if they did they'd probably have an attack and die and then I guess they wouldn't be receiving food stamps anymore.

Like I said, maybe it's just where you live. I'm not denying that there are lots of people who come through with carts full of crap and pay with their food stamps but I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that people really believe that every single person who receives food stamps does this.

Originally Posted by rayneinspain

It taught me humility. It taught me compassion. It taught me that I can live through anything and come out stronger and morally centered.

That 'dark' time of my life ended over 10 years ago. Thinking about it is always in the back of my mind--there's an undercurrent of silent terror always present about "what if I lose my job--are my savings enough to tide me over", because I never, ever want to be in that situation again.

I agree with you 100%. While I was grateful for my food stamps, I couldn't wait until the day I no longer needed them. Looking back, I'm glad that I went through it when I was young and still had that drive and determination to improve my life. I'll never forget the day I cut up that damn EBT card - for me it was like winning the lottery. It was my way of saying "I just proved everybody who determined what I was going to be based on circumstances wrong" I love being right.

[LeavingTheSunshine]

Originally Posted by miu

Stereotypes happen through personal observations. And what I have seen is not a figment of my imagination. And I know that if I ever saw someone using food stamps and with a smart grocery shopping selection, I would certainly do a double take and take notice of this rare event. But no, in my nearly fifty years on this planet, I have yet to see a smart food stamp recipient grocery shopper. And I have shopped in many supermarkets that were located in less affluent neighborhoods. Also when I stand in line at the checkout counters, to pass the time, I always look at what else everyone has gathered in their baskets and carts. And I also chat with my fellow shoppers. If someone has a container of ice cream, and I don't, I will jokingly tell them how jealous I am of what they are buying. Or if someone has scored a coup and scored some avocados in the sale rack, I will congratulate them. So yes, I am always very nosy about what's going on in the checkout line.

And yes, I do know that there must be some wise uses for food stamps, but going by my own personal experiences, I can only conclude that the majority of food stamp recipients didn't take and pass Home Ec classes during their grade school years.

Even without food stamps, most American families shop atrociously and have too many sweets and sodas in their shopping carts. And I am sad that the typical American child is subjected to tons of fried chicken nuggets and fingers, and french fries all throughout their childhood. While I had fries as a kid, my parents never fed us fried bits of boneless reshaped chicken pieces. We got adult quality food, but just in smaller portions. We weren't fussy kids and always ate our vegetables. We never dreamed of being difficult with our parents and refusing the meal in front of us. Kids are so spoilt these days.

Either you're flat out lying or you've only been to the grocery store less than 10 times in your whole life. I take my grandmother and three of her friends to Publix once a month to shop and they are all on food stamps. My grandfather has colon cancer and is on a very strict diet. My grandmother never buys a bunch of sweets or sodas.Stereotypes happen through personal observations of people who want to believe certain things about certain people.

I remember being in the toy store with my nieces 4 and 1 at the time and the 4 year old was throwing a tantrum because she wanted something and a lady made a remark about young mother's not knowing how to handle their kids. I was only about 17 and probably looked about 15. Had I been anything other than black, I'm sure she would have assumed that those were my siblings instead of my children. But like I said people who are already prejudiced like to use stereotypes to prove to the rest of the world that they're not really prejudiced. It's sad.

[LML]

Some people tend to see what they want to see to confirm their prejudices. If it doesn't fit into the neat little boxes they have in their neat little minds then they simply ignore it or say "oh that's an exception. The REST are all like that." And that is true whatever your prejudices. It's lazy thinking because it doesn't require anything of you except to remain ignorant.

[larryd7]

You guys DO know that some in the govt are sooo getting paid through the food stamp system? It is not only recipients that are abusing food stamps!

[deerislesmile]

Originally Posted by larryd7

You guys DO know that some in the govt are sooo getting paid through the food stamp system? It is not only recipients that are abusing food stamps!

I was one of them for 7 years! And proud of it! I worked for the USDA, as a Nutrition Associate for a program called FSNE (Food Stamp Nutrition Education) and it's sister program EFNEP (Expanded Family Nutrition Education Program), doing home visits and running community programs for those folks that are recieving food stamps, or income-eligible to recieve food stamps, to teach them about basic nutrition, cooking skills, budgeting, food safety, and shopping skills. It is one of the least known government programs there is, which is sad, because it really does so much to help.

Not sure if that's what you meant, as your post was kind of unclear as to who it was that was making money off the food stamp system or how they were doing it.

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by deerislesmile

I was one of them for 7 years! And proud of it! I worked for the USDA, as a Nutrition Associate for a program called FSNE (Food Stamp Nutrition Education) and it's sister program EFNEP (Expanded Family Nutrition Education Program), doing home visits and running community programs for those folks that are recieving food stamps, or income-eligible to recieve food stamps, to teach them about basic nutrition, cooking skills, budgeting, food safety, and shopping skills. It is one of the least known government programs there is, which is sad, because it really does so much to help.

Not sure if that's what you meant, as your post was kind of unclear as to who it was that was making money off the food stamp system or how they were doing it.

I think he was talking about you. And I have to agree with him...Just another waste of taxpayers money.....not food stamps but to think we need to pay someone to teach someone how to cook the food..Are people really that dumb, I don't think so.