# MAHA Food Boxes for the Poor - Here We Go Again **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 23, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412 "2025-08-23T14:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/1 "2025-08-23T14:08:52Z")
So… Trump (or his administration or RFK, Jr) want to [replace current food aid to seniors with boxes of food.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-wants-to-replace-grocery-aid-for-seniors-with-maha-food-boxes/ar-AA1Em6Q2) Most prior proposals have suggested shelf-stable food but this one wants to ship _perishable_ food in boxes to seniors. I don’t see how this reduces cost, and if the food arrives spoiled and/or is looted by porch pirates I don’t see how it improves nutrition. That’s aside from the problem of seniors who are disabled and either can not or should not be cooking (such as my former downstairs neighbor who set her apartment on fire _twice_ while cooking). This seems to come up whenever Trump is the President so I guess we’ll be hearing about it for at least the next three years. I think it’s a terrible idea and inefficient. Unless, of course, the goal is to starve homeless people to death because, without a fixed address, they won’t be able to receive these packages. Prior threads on this or related subjects include: [SNAP Budget Proposal - Is Individual Delivery of Food Packages Really Going to Save Money?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snap-budget-proposal-is-individual-delivery-of-food-packages-really-going-to-save-money/808794) [Trump wants to replace food stamps with a box of processed food, everyone gets the same thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-replace-food-stamps-with-a-box-of-processed-food-everyone-gets-the-same-thing/808789) [Food stamps possibly replaced in part by commodities?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-stamps-possibly-replaced-in-part-by-commodities/808752) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/2 "2025-08-23T14:12:42Z")
So instead of letting people choose the food they want to buy and want to eat, they’re going to send boxes of food that may not be to their taste, or compatible with their diet or religion? This administration is far more intrusive than any fantasies Republicans have about Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/3 "2025-08-23T14:15:44Z")
Well yeah - it’s always a matter of the Republicans screaming “government interference!” when Democrats make suggestions like serving healthier food for school lunches but when _they’re_ in power want to micromanage what entire families eat daily. There was a time when the US government handed out commodities instead of money to buy food. We stopped doing that because loading a debit card/EBT was more efficient in so many ways. But this isn’t about efficiency, helping the poor, or even saving money. It’s about pushing an ideology. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/4 "2025-08-23T14:19:29Z")
I sure hope there’s a warning about drinking the unpasterurized milk in the meal boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/5 "2025-08-23T14:44:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Well yeah - it’s always a matter of the Republicans screaming “government interference!” when Democrats make suggestions like serving healthier food for school lunches but when _they’re_ in power want to micromanage what entire families eat daily. Not just what people eat; this administration is interfering in what universities teach, hiring practices of law firms, what business private companies pursue or don’t pursue and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/6 "2025-08-23T16:50:11Z")
Right. We’re moving to an economy that’s controlled and directed by the Federal government. Remind me again - what’s the name for that sort of economy? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/7 "2025-08-23T20:22:55Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I don’t see how this reduces cost, and if the food arrives spoiled and/or is looted by porch pirates I don’t see how it improves nutrition. That’s aside from the problem of seniors who are disabled and either can not or should not be cooking (such as my former downstairs neighbor who set her There’s also the huge problem that not everyone can eat the same foods, for varying reasons medical, religious, textural, dental, or of different tastebuds. And it would be a total waste to send me produce that I’m growing. — The food bank here already provides almost entirely healthy stuff. But the choices include a good bit of variety; and they let you take just what you’ll use — x number of items from this table, y number from that, and so on. Numbers are adjusted per number of people in the household. And they know what people in this area will take more or less of. Just give them more funding! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/8 "2025-08-23T20:34:41Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I sure hope there’s a warning about drinking the unpasterurized milk in the meal boxes. Nah, it’ll be Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow by this time next year. It’ll take until 2028 for production of the Green one to be underway. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/9 "2025-08-23T20:41:03Z")
I have to wonder whether this isn’t – at least in part – just some deal being made by this administration to try to placate the farmers for what they lo$t with the reduction in SNAP benefits (**[6pp PDF](https://democrats-agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/250509_-_memo_-_snap_facts.pdf)**). And, yeah: as somebody who was most recently in charge of the global supply chain for a very perishable product (flowers), it’s a nightmare to manage. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/10 "2025-08-23T21:30:45Z")
Plus, we already have an infrastructure network for distributing food. They’d have to duplicate that for the government boxes, which would be hugely inefficient. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/11 "2025-08-24T18:55:23Z")
I’m sure Amazon/Whole Foods would be delighted to get government contracts for this ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/12 "2025-08-24T18:57:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > But this isn’t about efficiency, helping the poor, or even saving money. It’s about pushing an ideology. I mean, I think this is a stupid idea for all the reasons people have said, but what ideology is sending shitty food to people pushing? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/13 "2025-08-24T19:05:29Z")
“poor people are bad, and make bad choices, so we should choose for them”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/14 "2025-08-24T19:57:55Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > but what ideology is sending shitty food to people pushing? The ideology that government funds should only be directed to large contractors (like AmeriQual, Sopakco, or Wornick) that can reciprocate with political donations and not directly to poor people who can only reciprocate with their unreliable votes. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/15 "2025-08-24T20:04:25Z")
I’d take a box from Amazon/wholefoods inna minute. You can bet it won’t be that. It will be generic surplus foods. Age/edibility of items, unknown. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/16 "2025-08-24T20:08:10Z")
“And also, there are too many of them, so we starve them to death and blame their own limitations for it.” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/17 "2025-08-24T20:08:14Z")
SNAP is the program that gives Walmart 25 BILLION dollars with the unfortunate side effect of keeping the poor from starving. “They only feed a military dog at night, because a hungry dog is an obedient dog. Well, if we are not causing people to be hungry to work, then we’re providing them with all the meals they need sitting at home.” ~ _Bar Rescue_ host Jon Taffer ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/18 "2025-08-24T21:15:24Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Nah, it’ll be Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow by this time next year. It’ll take until 2028 for production of the Green one to be underway. Could be ( quite likely it seems ) maybe something like [Nutraloaf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutraloaf) or some other type of “punishment food”? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/19 "2025-08-29T04:20:39Z")
This makes me think of certain products that just don’t sell, usually for some very good reasons, and are marked down shortly before their sell-by dates, or they simply get sent to salvage stores or the landfill. Hey! Let’s send them to the needy! They’ll love it! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maha-food-boxes-for-the-poor-here-we-go-again/1022412/20 "2025-08-29T14:14:13Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This makes me think of certain products that just don’t sell, usually for some very good reasons Here’e you trump food box: Lima beans, beets, chives, dollar store mac n cheese and a box of chocolate frosted sugar bombs cereal.