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There was a sign on the supermarket door warning people that their February benefit had been issued early, and that this was not extra, that there might be no more until the shutdown is over. Recipients are being warned to shop carefully, to use their good judgement, and to make the benefit last because there is the risk that there will be no benefit issued in March.
The only reason I can see this having been done is if SNAP wouldn't have had the staff in place to issue February benefits, but had the funding for the actual food benefit, and so decided to disburse benefits early.
The problem is that many of the people who benefit from SNAP are in the position of qualifying for benefits for the very reason that the instant that money (or SNAP benefit) comes into their hand, they spend it immediately, as if it were "perishable". Anyone who works at a place where SNAP benefits can be spent can tell you that the first day that the beneficiaries' cards are re-loaded, there is an orgy of spending. So no matter how much it is publicized that the next disbursement will be in March, or later, they will still see it as a windfall and spend it all immediately, and not on cheap staples with long shelf life, but on perishable luxuries. And two weeks from now, their children will be hungry.
There was a sign on the supermarket door warning people that their February benefit had been issued early, and that this was not extra, that there might be no more until the shutdown is over. Recipients are being warned to shop carefully, to use their good judgement, and to make the benefit last because there is the risk that there will be no benefit issued in March.
The only reason I can see this having been done is if SNAP wouldn't have had the staff in place to issue February benefits, but had the funding for the actual food benefit, and so decided to disburse benefits early.
The problem is that many of the people who benefit from SNAP are in the position of qualifying for benefits for the very reason that the instant that money (or SNAP benefit) comes into their hand, they spend it immediately, as if it were "perishable". Anyone who works at a place where SNAP benefits can be spent can tell you that the first day that the beneficiaries' cards are re-loaded, there is an orgy of spending. So no matter how much it is publicized that the next disbursement will be in March, or later, they will still see it as a windfall and spend it all immediately, and not on cheap staples with long shelf life, but on perishable luxuries. And two weeks from now, their children will be hungry.
Sorry but that's a gross characterization. Yes, there is an "orgy" of spending but it's not because they view it as a "windfall" but usually because it doesn't stretch far enough.
exactly what "luxury" perishables? humm my clients are well versed in how to make a 2 dollar meal of beans and rice and yes once in a blue moon they buy ice cream for their kids. Oh yeah god forbid a poor mother wants her kid to have ice cream once in a while.
I love how you perpetuate this myth that all poor people are some spend thrifts living la vida loca. Many of my clients are poor elderly who unfortunately basically grew up in poverty and their limited income is in no way keeping up with the cost of living.
one lady I work with has 3 kids, her "luxury" every once in a while. YOGURT. yes, a 79 cent container of yoplait yogurt is her treat.
Sorry but that's a gross characterization. Yes, there is an "orgy" of spending but it's not because they view it as a "windfall" but usually because it doesn't stretch far enough.
exactly what "luxury" perishables? humm my clients are well versed in how to make a 2 dollar meal of beans and rice and yes once in a blue moon they buy ice cream for their kids. Oh yeah god forbid a poor mother wants her kid to have ice cream once in a while.
I love how you perpetuate this myth that all poor people are some spend thrifts living la vida loca. Many of my clients are poor elderly who unfortunately basically grew up in poverty and their limited income is in no way keeping up with the cost of living.
one lady I work with has 3 kids, her "luxury" every once in a while. YOGURT. yes, a 79 cent container of yoplait yogurt is her treat.
It's good to hear from someone else who actually works with people who use these benefits rather than a bunch of right wing "welfare queen" talking points without actually knowing whether someone is needing the SNAP benefits from irresponsibility or if it's just a series of back luck.
I think people using the SNAP benefits early has to do with insecurity that something could happen later in the month to make them not be able to use them and have adequate food so it's the thought that "a bird in hand is better than two in the bush" as the saying goes.
It also seems like there are two scenarios with people who receive these.
Scenario 1 are people who amazingly make their food budget stretch in a way that middle-upper class people couldn't fathom doing on their Whole Foods lifestyles.
Scenario 2 are the ones who are less responsible with their money but I think much of that comes from a.)the way they were raised; and b.) being depressed about their situation. This causes people to spend money in a way that only thinks of the short term because they weren't taught about budgeting and saving growing up and they also may eat more junk food per calorie it's a lot cheaper than most healthy foods and because it gives a quick "buzz", which can be a temporary mood booster which people are seeking if they're in poverty and have lots of other problems.
All of the posts on this page have truth to them, imo.
I once had a second job as a cashier at Wal-Mart, and I think that it IS true that MOST people with SNAP benefits do not shop wisely. Most of them in my experience usually did buy mostly convenience and junk food -- although that was not true of everyone who had SNAP benefits, as there are many people who have SNAP benefits and do try to economize.
Btw, I also volunteered at a food bank for over a year, and there were those who were not at all particular about what they chose, and there were some you could see were trying to make the most of their 'allotment' and would choose a big box of oatmeal instead of a box of sugary cereal, for example.
My point being that it is, imo, almost always wrong to generalize about any group of people.
It's good to hear from someone else who actually works with people who use these benefits rather than a bunch of right wing "welfare queen" talking points without actually knowing whether someone is needing the SNAP benefits from irresponsibility or if it's just a series of back luck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by parentologist
Anyone who works at a place where SNAP benefits can be spent can tell you that the first day that the beneficiaries' cards are re-loaded, there is an orgy of spending.
It's not just a bunch of 'right wing talk' As parentologist points out people who work in stores that accept snap can tell you there is a definite trend. My daughter worked for a grocery store for a few years in a state that used to load everyone's card on the first of the month. She dreaded the first of the month because the stores would stay open until 2AM to accommodate the extra traffic from snap. When the state switched to a staggered system of loading cards the stores quit staying open late, so there is a direct correlation.
It's like anything else, some people are responsible with their benefits and others are not. Last night I sold fifty dollars worth of Hot Pockets (not on sale) to a young man who paid with EBT. Maybe he had a good reason for that, or maybe he just has no idea how to stretch his snap to make the most of his benefits.
It's not just a bunch of 'right wing talk' As parentologist points out people who work in stores that accept snap can tell you there is a definite trend. My daughter worked for a grocery store for a few years in a state that used to load everyone's card on the first of the month. She dreaded the first of the month because the stores would stay open until 2AM to accommodate the extra traffic from snap. When the state switched to a staggered system of loading cards the stores quit staying open late, so there is a direct correlation.
It's like anything else, some people are responsible with their benefits and others are not. Last night I sold fifty dollars worth of Hot Pockets (not on sale) to a young man who paid with EBT. Maybe he had a good reason for that, or maybe he just has no idea how to stretch his snap to make the most of his benefits.
But there is a reason for that Dubble, if you get your benefits on the 15th of the month, by the time the first comes around you're usually a day or two out of food, so yes you are counting down the seconds until you card gets a deposit.
You see the same phenomena with seniors who are trying to exist on social security. When they get those checks, that's when they do their shopping and bill paying.
Now as usually this is a complex issue and I object to the labeling of these people as some dead beats that are blowing their money on "luxuries". They ain't running around buying rib eye steaks.
So first let me say that my experience is from Camden NJ and North Philadelphia. I am happy to say in Camden there is headways being made in the poverty levels but first some demographics, almost 1/3 live below the poverty level and over 50% is on some type of government assistance (welfare, snap or housing assistance) my organization (faith based) concentrates on single moms and low wage earning household.
You are right in one area and that is many do not have the information on meal preparation. a lot of them, the poverty is generational so they grew up in households with bad habits and those trickle down. lol, do you know in my house and we were fairly middle class, we did not eat beans?? My mom would make a traditional black eyed peas for good luck on NY's day but that's it. So I laugh how people say beans are a great cheap meal. I'm darn near 60 and the only way I know how to prepare beans is if it's a can of Campbels pork and beans.
Next, up until recently the area was a supermarket wasteland.
I'm betting the young man who brought the 50 bucks of hot pocket HAD NO STOVE. real hard to prepare a meal if you rent a room without access to a kitchen. and yes landlords are supposed to provide access to a kitchen but what they are supposed to do and what they do in practice is two different things. We have young women who rent rooms where they cannot use the houses kitchen so they have little microwaves in their rooms or if they put food in the refrigerator it's stolen.
So we need to stop making generalizations and dig deeper.
now I too did not like them getting their benefits as one lump sum, so many struggle with budgeting already it's going to be hard.
I'm betting the young man who brought the 50 bucks of hot pocket HAD NO STOVE. real hard to prepare a meal if you rent a room without access to a kitchen. and yes landlords are supposed to provide access to a kitchen but what they are supposed to do and what they do in practice is two different things. We have young women who rent rooms where they cannot use the houses kitchen so they have little microwaves in their rooms or if they put food in the refrigerator it's stolen.
So we need to stop making generalizations and dig deeper.
IMO we need to educate as a condition of receiving benefits. Even without a stove a there are better buys for someone with a microwave than hot pockets. That fifty dollars would have bought lots of potatoes and eggs for instance, maybe a bag of fresh fruit for the price of two boxes of nuke food. I've been on the receiving end of food stamps when my (ex) husband was out of work due to an injury and I know how tough it can be to get through an entire month, but it's much harder when you don't really know how to shop to stretch that budget.
No crap folks spend the money as soon as it’s loaded. They typcially don’t have much in terms of resources so healthy food purchase or junk aside this should be obvious.
I think applying the term orgy is extremely misguided as I don’t see anything excessive about the SNAP program or the vast majority of its recipients
or·gy
/ˈôrjē/Submit
noun
a wild party, especially one involving excessive drinking and unrestrained sexual activity.
"he had a reputation for drunken orgies"
synonyms: wild party, debauch, carousal, carouse, revel, revelry, bacchanalia, bacchanal, saturnalia, Dionysiacs; More
excessive indulgence in a specified activity.
"an orgy of buying"
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Yes, there is an "orgy" of spending but it's not because they view it as a "windfall" but usually because it doesn't stretch far enough.