Back in the early 90's after a series of unfortunate events, I once fed two people for over a month on $20 a week. Yes it took a lot of work, but when you're unemployed time isn't something you're lacking.
There's no excuse for SNAP to be used in this way except government's tacit approval. Beans and rice, pasta, cabbage, cuts of meat that needed to be boiled to death so you could chew it are all part of my past. Can't say it hurt me. If I'd eaten fast food I'd be too fat to bury.
SNAP needs a complete overhaul, including re-registration with aggressive vetting, a work requirement if the recipient is able, a limit to how long you can receive benefits, and a severe limit on what can be purchased. Close the loophole. States that continue to supply "loophole" style benefits should lose the fed's share of SNAP unless they change.
There's no excuse for anyone to go hungry in a nation as rich as ours, but things like SNAP need to be a safety net, not a way of life. We are a land of opportunity, not free lunches. Continued handouts don't help anyone, particularly those receiving them. The solution won't fit on a bumper sticker, but what we've got isn't sustainable.
Most of us in this comment section would rather eat beans and rice than ever take a handout. I don't even like beans. We're going to cut corners and stretch whatever we have. Somehow, we've got to figure out how to teach that to the masses.
You nibble around the edges. You do what ICE started doing, which is deport the violent criminals but then keep grabbing up anyone else you find while getting those. With SNAP, you eliminate fast food, junk food, and anything other than the basics. You eliminate illegal aliens from the program. You require recipients to re-apply with more proof of whatever you are requiring proof of. You eliminate able bodied, working age people with no children. Then you spend six months to a year figuring out the logistics of sending a box of staples to people's houses once a week, along with instruction brochures including different ways to cook the food. Amazon is constantly advertising on Prime and Youtube about how they have sent out 4.5 million boxes of staples to poor people in the Pacific Northwest in the past not-sure-how-long, so it can be done. Once you figure out how to do that, you gradually transition the program over. Start with urban areas where the delivery is easier because there are already a jillion delivery trucks driving around. Recipients are saving money by not having to drive to the store, eating more healthy, learning to cook, etc.
I say if we have to do it, stop giving cash equivalent, give out food. Rice, beans, veggies. Heck, even government cheese. Less chance of it being sold or traded away, and better control over what's actually provided.
It's one of those things we inherited when Lloyd the Elder passed on. I was looking at refills for the seed pods - the ones in the hydroponics set up date to before Mom passed - and saw it on Amazon.
Sigh. There is a problem. The ones who really need it, aren't screaming. The ones who eat at Mickey D's are. Oh and John Van Stry I love at least one of your books, If you are the author.
I am always annoyed when someone suggests that fast food is "cheaper" than fresh nutritious food. Yes, my family was on "food stamps" for a period. I learned to cook because my mother was working. You cannot legitimately compare a $5 "meal" with the food value from $5 worth of home prepared food. There is an order of magnitude difference.
Even tuna fish or peanut butter is healthier and CHEAPER, plus it is "ready to eat".
"Geez, Mister Enneffoh, people gotta eat. They got a constitutional right to get fed. Kinda a birthright like voting, choosing your own gender and throwing rocks at nazis when you're protesting. I know some people will be praying for SNAP benefits once they get sent to the gulag after 2028. Enlightenment can come to even those who resist it most." - Gerta Febberblysta, CPUSA
my husband firmly believes that we should be handing out MREs. If its good enough for our soldiers and sailors....no EBT cards; you go and pick up your box and cook that at home. Don't like it? Get a job.
Yeah, my sympathy wore off the instant I heard a person complaining that her friends on SNAP were actually having to go look for jobs while the government was shut down....
If LBJ was involved in the program's creation, this was a designed in feature and not a bug, IMHO. 🤷♂️ More than likely, this societal safety net was meant to become a hammock to rob citizens of their independence.
Agreed. I would also add mandatory attendance to a weekly cooking class on how to cook basic foods in order to keep benefits. Then, there's no excuse.....
From memory of the time right after I got out of the Navy, when I was drifting around the country on my Harley, with a sleeping bag, a Coleman stove, a Coleman cooler, and my dog (built a small trailer to carry the cooking gear and the dog). Cook two cups of rice in a pot over the stove. Stir frequently til it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and cover. Takes about 20 minutes. Stir in one can of Campbell's vegetable soup, add two tablespoons curry powder. Eat half for dinner, eat the other half for breakfast. Surprisingly good. Could have just as easily gotten more protein by adding a different soup. I made that three times a week, occasionally for variety adding raisins or pineapple to the mix.
Back in the early 90's after a series of unfortunate events, I once fed two people for over a month on $20 a week. Yes it took a lot of work, but when you're unemployed time isn't something you're lacking.
Great article!
There's no excuse for SNAP to be used in this way except government's tacit approval. Beans and rice, pasta, cabbage, cuts of meat that needed to be boiled to death so you could chew it are all part of my past. Can't say it hurt me. If I'd eaten fast food I'd be too fat to bury.
SNAP needs a complete overhaul, including re-registration with aggressive vetting, a work requirement if the recipient is able, a limit to how long you can receive benefits, and a severe limit on what can be purchased. Close the loophole. States that continue to supply "loophole" style benefits should lose the fed's share of SNAP unless they change.
I wrote about this in my substack (https://jacksotallaro.substack.com/p/from-hand-up-to-handout).
There's no excuse for anyone to go hungry in a nation as rich as ours, but things like SNAP need to be a safety net, not a way of life. We are a land of opportunity, not free lunches. Continued handouts don't help anyone, particularly those receiving them. The solution won't fit on a bumper sticker, but what we've got isn't sustainable.
Most of us in this comment section would rather eat beans and rice than ever take a handout. I don't even like beans. We're going to cut corners and stretch whatever we have. Somehow, we've got to figure out how to teach that to the masses.
You nibble around the edges. You do what ICE started doing, which is deport the violent criminals but then keep grabbing up anyone else you find while getting those. With SNAP, you eliminate fast food, junk food, and anything other than the basics. You eliminate illegal aliens from the program. You require recipients to re-apply with more proof of whatever you are requiring proof of. You eliminate able bodied, working age people with no children. Then you spend six months to a year figuring out the logistics of sending a box of staples to people's houses once a week, along with instruction brochures including different ways to cook the food. Amazon is constantly advertising on Prime and Youtube about how they have sent out 4.5 million boxes of staples to poor people in the Pacific Northwest in the past not-sure-how-long, so it can be done. Once you figure out how to do that, you gradually transition the program over. Start with urban areas where the delivery is easier because there are already a jillion delivery trucks driving around. Recipients are saving money by not having to drive to the store, eating more healthy, learning to cook, etc.
Sadly, I don’t have a clue how to do that, especially with the generational welfare/SNAP families…
I say if we have to do it, stop giving cash equivalent, give out food. Rice, beans, veggies. Heck, even government cheese. Less chance of it being sold or traded away, and better control over what's actually provided.
It will always be sold or traded away, but true that it's easier to trade away lobster than it is to trade away a block of government cheese.
On the other hand, I found that pods/seed kits for my hydroponics set up are EBT/SNAP items as well.
Wow, THAT I didn’t know.
It's one of those things we inherited when Lloyd the Elder passed on. I was looking at refills for the seed pods - the ones in the hydroponics set up date to before Mom passed - and saw it on Amazon.
Sigh. There is a problem. The ones who really need it, aren't screaming. The ones who eat at Mickey D's are. Oh and John Van Stry I love at least one of your books, If you are the author.
Just forwarded the PJ Media article to my State Delegate, of course he is a minority R in Blue State Maryland.
I am always annoyed when someone suggests that fast food is "cheaper" than fresh nutritious food. Yes, my family was on "food stamps" for a period. I learned to cook because my mother was working. You cannot legitimately compare a $5 "meal" with the food value from $5 worth of home prepared food. There is an order of magnitude difference.
Even tuna fish or peanut butter is healthier and CHEAPER, plus it is "ready to eat".
To be fair, you do have to stir the tuna fish and peanut butter together, otherwise it sticks to the roof of your mouth.
"Geez, Mister Enneffoh, people gotta eat. They got a constitutional right to get fed. Kinda a birthright like voting, choosing your own gender and throwing rocks at nazis when you're protesting. I know some people will be praying for SNAP benefits once they get sent to the gulag after 2028. Enlightenment can come to even those who resist it most." - Gerta Febberblysta, CPUSA
my husband firmly believes that we should be handing out MREs. If its good enough for our soldiers and sailors....no EBT cards; you go and pick up your box and cook that at home. Don't like it? Get a job.
Yeah, my sympathy wore off the instant I heard a person complaining that her friends on SNAP were actually having to go look for jobs while the government was shut down....
MREs would be helpful for homeless people, too, as they don't take may facilities to use.
If LBJ was involved in the program's creation, this was a designed in feature and not a bug, IMHO. 🤷♂️ More than likely, this societal safety net was meant to become a hammock to rob citizens of their independence.
Agreed. I would also add mandatory attendance to a weekly cooking class on how to cook basic foods in order to keep benefits. Then, there's no excuse.....
Or just watch the Recession Chef on their cell phones. They all have them.
This is nuts!
From memory of the time right after I got out of the Navy, when I was drifting around the country on my Harley, with a sleeping bag, a Coleman stove, a Coleman cooler, and my dog (built a small trailer to carry the cooking gear and the dog). Cook two cups of rice in a pot over the stove. Stir frequently til it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and cover. Takes about 20 minutes. Stir in one can of Campbell's vegetable soup, add two tablespoons curry powder. Eat half for dinner, eat the other half for breakfast. Surprisingly good. Could have just as easily gotten more protein by adding a different soup. I made that three times a week, occasionally for variety adding raisins or pineapple to the mix.