# Should people only be allowed to purchase ingredients with food stamps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410 "2010-08-06T16:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/141 "2010-08-08T00:11:07Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > SIt the kids at the kitchen table and chat with them, ask schoollish questions/help answer tougher questions and crack jokes while cooking. Heck, my mom cooked diner ever night while my brother and I did homework on the kitchen table and we weren’t poor … > > Well aren’t you smarter and more industrious than poor people. :rolleyes: maybe my Mom is a worse person than yours, but your setup just wouldn’t have worked when I was growing up. To begin with, mom was dog tired at this point. And we didn’t have a kitchen table, just a tiny galley kitchen in the back of the apartment. So what would have happened is my small bit of home life would have been me watching tv alone while waiting for mom to emerge with a plate for me. She recognized that I needed a mom more than I needed a waitress. Making a meal for your family does not make you a waitress. I worked construction for several years while I raised my daughter and I came home dog tired and stinky every night. We worked on dinner together twice a week to make dinners for the other days except for one where we ate out. You make time for your family’s needs. Nutrition is just as valid a need as helping with homework and it’s possible if you want it to be possible. Our kitchen was a stove, sink and fridge. There wasn’t a bit of space. We had no table; we shared a one bedroom apartment and ate on my mattress on the floor. We managed. And I don’t think I’m smarter or more industrious, I just wanted to do it. It was important to me. I don’t mean to be rude but I am seeing a lot of excuses on this thread. People _for the most part_ do not need to eat that pre-packaged junk food on a daily basis. It wouldn’t hurt if there was a limit, or if most obviously junky foods like cheese doodles and sodas were excluded much like tobacco and beer is excluded. They aren’t food. They have little to no nutritional value. I’m not talking about soups and noodles or canned meats and vegetables even though they aren’t so healthy, they’re better than cupcakes and more filling too. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/142 "2010-08-08T00:19:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Magiver](#): > > > > unemployed or underemployed means they have the same time or more than other people have to prepare meals. Your point is best applied to someone below the poverty level working more than 40 hrs a week. > > Incorrect. > > When I was initially put on foodstamps I was required to look for work “30 hours per week” but the agency decided on what counted as “looking for work”, not me. The upshot was that I was probably spending 45-50 hours a week on job hunting but they only counted 30 hours of my effort, if that much. Another poster who appeared in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=545293&highlight=food+stamp) and I communicated extensively through PM and she was forced to look for work 30 hours per week _in addition to_ working part time, meaning _at least_ 50 hours per week working and looking for work, in some weeks more than that. If you did not comply ALL benefits could be terminated - a pretty harsh penalty if you’re utterly dependent on this aid for survival. > > So yeah, I was under/unemployed but they terms of the aid I received _demanded_ I spend at least 40-50 hours a week outside my home. In other words, I had no more time to cook than anyone who was working a full time job. > > Please absorb this knowledge and consider changing your opinion in this matter. Nobody has told me I have to work. I have to turn in a worksheet if I do find a job day labor is all I’ve found in about a year), but I haven’t been able to find any jobs lately. I’m in Tennessee. I had no idea work would be a requirement. It’s a requirement for the welfare program, whatever they call it now. TANF last time I applied. I didn’t qualify. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/143 "2010-08-08T00:20:25Z")
When a lowly user of food stamps goes into a market, he should be directed to a bench ,where he will sit and wait, Then when a much more knowledgeable and worthwhile human being comes to the store, he can escort him through the market informing him of the proper food choices. The lowly user will of course become a better human being for the experience. We all know food stamp users are not as bright as those in better financial condition. A few may even learn to become members of decent society some day. It is just a win/win. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/144 "2010-08-08T00:24:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@DocCathode](#): > > > > Actually, my benefit review is scheduled for next week. I am this close to having an actual panic attack. Any interaction with the welfare office terrifies me. There’s no logical reason for this. > > You know, my interactions with public aid have been neutral to positive for the most part, but I have that exact same reaction as well. > > I suppose it’s as good a time as any to say that, after three glorious months of making sufficient income to not qualify for food stamps I may be reapplying on Monday. Oddly enough, I also got a lead on a part time job as well. My life is… interesting these days. But between the two my nerves are jangling. I am the same way. I already have an anxiety disorder. Going to the Dept. of Human Services just about kills me every time. I don’t even know why! Usually people are, if not kind, at least not judgmental. They’re usually very brisk and brief, but when I come out of the building I feel like I was slapped around and taunted for crying. My caseworker says next time I’ll only have a phone interview, but that freaks me out just as much. I hope I won’t need them next time. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/145 "2010-08-08T00:30:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > When a lowly user of food stamps goes into a market, he should be directed to a bench ,where he will sit and wait, Then when a much more knowledgeable and worthwhile human being comes to the store, he can escort him through the market informing him of the proper food choices. The lowly user will of course become a better human being for the experience. We all know food stamp users are not as bright as those in better financial condition. A few may even learn to become members of decent society some day. It is just a win/win. I wouldn’t go that far but a good nutrition program wouldn’t hurt. I sat through one at the health department recently and learned a few things. Mainly that I was waaaay off on portion sizes, especially for children. I disagreed with them on the amount of carbs they considered adequate but still, some people have no idea, no clue what they’re feeding their kids. I have seen this too many times and I was just as guilty when I was younger. My mama brought me up on Taco Bell and sandwiches so I didn’t know better. ---
**Author:** ![nuggz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@nuggz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuggz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/146 "2010-08-08T00:38:11Z")
**I’m on foodstamps** And I work around 40 hours a week for an electronic store, which GAVE me a free _smart_ phone, and I pay 20 dollars a month for unlimited everything (talk/text/web). I have one small child. I get no child support because the dad is a dick. I just recently bought a \ wonderful\ mobile home. My mom gave me her old Chrysler Pacifica. Every time I go to the store, part of me feels guilty for having a sweet phone and a nice car. I wonder what people think when they see me buying stuff with my EBT card (which is a wonderul BRIGHT orange, and extremely obvious), and then watch me climb into my car and drive off. My usual weekly grocery list consists of fruits, veggies, chicken, all that good stuff. I DO also buy some cookies and/or ice cream. I have a 3 year old who likes cookies and ice cream. Because I’m in a fucked up situation and position in life, does that mean my son doesn’t deserve cookies and ice cream? - I never learned how to cook. My parents never thought it prudent to teach me, and I never had interest in learning. By the time I got to highschool (where they offered home-economics), it was 1992. They dropped the home-ec and shop classes (iirc because of budget woes). I have spent countless hours with a cook book in front of me or browsing websites about cooking, and I DONT GET IT. I always add the ingredients at the wrong time, or in the wrong amounts, or cook too long or too short. Even if I follow the directions EXACTLY, I fuck it up. It’s like how some people are bad at math. Or spelling. I’m bad at cooking. I can cook “easy” dishes. I can bake chicken in cream of mushroom soup. I can sizzle a steak. I can brown hamburger. Make eggs. Bacon. That’s about it. I fail at everything else. My son does get good/healthy food at home, even though it’s typically the same thing over and over (chicken/steak or pork chops/tacos). I think it’d be horrible if he never got cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/147 "2010-08-08T00:56:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > A doper sport, slamming the poor. It is fun to slam the needy who are struggling. If you didn’t, you might find yourself feeling for those who are hurting. Can’t have that. So we will demonize them. They are evil and stupid . I have so much to teach them about how they should live their lives. Come sit on my knee and I will tell you how to be like me. But remember, the good things in life are not for you. Even a coke or a bag of chips is not allowed for the little people . Nobody said they’d lock away the chips from the poor, it’s suggested that food stamps not cover them, much like they don’t cover toilet paper and soap. ---
**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 8, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/148 "2010-08-08T01:09:36Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Nobody has told me I have to work. I have to turn in a worksheet if I do find a job day labor is all I’ve found in about a year), but I haven’t been able to find any jobs lately. I’m in Tennessee. > > I had no idea work would be a requirement. It’s a requirement for the welfare program, whatever they call it now. TANF last time I applied. I didn’t qualify. Requirements do vary by state. As noted, Illinois residents have to “repay” the state via labor for their foodstamps. People in Indiana do not, but do have to document job search activities. Apparently your state has yet another set of rules. So I will amend my statement: during the time I was on foodstamps the norm was a requirement to look for work a set number of hours per week _in my state_. Whether that rule is still in effect I actually don’t know - these programs do change sometimes. But from December 2009 through May 2010 that was the way it was. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/149 "2010-08-08T01:11:25Z")
> [@nuggz](#): > > **I’m on foodstamps** > > And I work around 40 hours a week for an electronic store, which GAVE me a free _smart_ phone, and I pay 20 dollars a month for unlimited everything (talk/text/web). > > I have one small child. > > I get no child support because the dad is a dick. > > I just recently bought a \ wonderful\ mobile home. > > My mom gave me her old Chrysler Pacifica. > > Every time I go to the store, part of me feels guilty for having a sweet phone and a nice car. I wonder what people think when they see me buying stuff with my EBT card (which is a wonderul BRIGHT orange, and extremely obvious), and then watch me climb into my car and drive off. > > My usual weekly grocery list consists of fruits, veggies, chicken, all that good stuff. I DO also buy some cookies and/or ice cream. I have a 3 year old who likes cookies and ice cream. Because I’m in a fucked up situation and position in life, does that mean my son doesn’t deserve cookies and ice cream? > > - > > I never learned how to cook. My parents never thought it prudent to teach me, and I never had interest in learning. By the time I got to highschool (where they offered home-economics), it was 1992. They dropped the home-ec and shop classes (iirc because of budget woes). > > I have spent countless hours with a cook book in front of me or browsing websites about cooking, and I DONT GET IT. I always add the ingredients at the wrong time, or in the wrong amounts, or cook too long or too short. Even if I follow the directions EXACTLY, I fuck it up. > > It’s like how some people are bad at math. Or spelling. I’m bad at cooking. > > I can cook “easy” dishes. I can bake chicken in cream of mushroom soup. I can sizzle a steak. I can brown hamburger. Make eggs. Bacon. > > That’s about it. I fail at everything else. > > My son does get good/healthy food at home, even though it’s typically the same thing over and over (chicken/steak or pork chops/tacos). I think it’d be horrible if he never got cookies. You sound like me when I was younger. Same situation anyway. My mom didn’t cook; I stayed with my grandparents but I wasn’t supposed to bother my grandmother when she was cooking… and she didn’t cook that great anyway. I was a single working mom for 14 years, about half of it in construction. I am decidedly not the home ec. queen type, but I’ve learned a lot. I’m going to sound callous, but no, your child doesn’t deserve cookies and ice cream. Food shouldn’t be given as something “deserved”. It shouldn’t be a reward. It’s fun to give your kids junk food sometimes I know. I love it. Like I said I make cookies sometimes. Often they come out burnt around the edges and misshapen. They don’t always taste like Oreos. I don’t feel like making them very often either because I’m not that great at it. I’m not a good cook, and I rely on the same spices and ingredients most of the time. Nobody is denying your son treats. They (we?) are just saying food stamps should be about nutrition, not treats. While it’s hard to decide what’s really nutritious (Juicy Juice I’m talking about YOU!) it’s obvious pre-packaged cookies and chips are not. Even if they’re fortified. That said, my daughter knows once a month to gather her change because that’s the one time she’s allowed M & Ms. It’s not a reward. She buys them herself with her allowance. It’s only a dollar a week but we find that dollar, even if it’s in change because I really \*realllly \*hope an allowance will help her get a better handle on her money than I had when I was young. I’m also teaching her how to cook and bake, even if it’s burnt-around-the-edges snickerdoodles. I just feel like it’s my responsibility to her. ---
**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 8, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/150 "2010-08-08T01:14:04Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Nobody said they’d lock away the chips from the poor, it’s suggested that food stamps not cover them, much like they don’t cover toilet paper and soap. Actually, it would make more sense to allow toilet paper and soap. Seriously - after you eat you gotta poop eventually, then you gotta clean up. Would it be that horrible to allot, say, $10-20/month/person for personal items like toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, menstrual necessities, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/151 "2010-08-08T01:18:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > > > Nobody has told me I have to work. I have to turn in a worksheet if I do find a job day labor is all I’ve found in about a year), but I haven’t been able to find any jobs lately. I’m in Tennessee. > > > > I had no idea work would be a requirement. It’s a requirement for the welfare program, whatever they call it now. TANF last time I applied. I didn’t qualify. > > Requirements do vary by state. As noted, Illinois residents have to “repay” the state via labor for their foodstamps. People in Indiana do not, but do have to document job search activities. Apparently your state has yet another set of rules. > > So I will amend my statement: during the time I was on foodstamps the norm was a requirement to look for work a set number of hours per week _in my state_. Whether that rule is still in effect I actually don’t know - these programs do change sometimes. But from December 2009 through May 2010 that was the way it was. Oh I understand completely. I realize benefits must vary by state because in all these illegal immigration arguments people talk about how the ee-legals come here to get bennies. I know in my state it’s a hindrance, not a help to be here illegally. My SO’s income is counted but he doesn’t qualify for any assistance at at all. He’s not considered part of my case; his income is considered “house” income I receive from him. Apparently this isn’t so in other states. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to find full-time work. I’ve been trying for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/152 "2010-08-08T01:19:25Z")
> [@nuggz](#): > > I have spent countless hours with a cook book in front of me or browsing websites about cooking, and I DONT GET IT. I always add the ingredients at the wrong time, or in the wrong amounts, or cook too long or too short. Even if I follow the directions EXACTLY, I fuck it up. > > It’s like how some people are bad at math. Or spelling. I’m bad at cooking. [almost irrelevant hijack] **nuggz** - Come hang out in some of the CS cooking threads. We’ll walk you through the basics of just about any recipe. Anybody can learn to cook if they have a patient teacher and a positive attitude. You meet the second, and we try to meet the first. [/arh] ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/153 "2010-08-08T01:23:34Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > > [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > > > For the record, when I was unemployed and living on $140 a week (no food stamps) I did keep my internet connection. Even when I had no gas, no food, and no job prospects, I had that internet connection. I would have lost my mind without it. I never used the library’s computers, and when I go to the library I don’t see homeless or apparently destitute people using the internet. There’s my anecdote. > > Some sort of Net connection is essential to be able to apply for a job. The Burger King two blocks away from my apartment no longer has job applications. No, they have a “Take-A-Check” style dispenser that gives the applicant a small tab of paper - with a web address to fill out an application. > > You literally cannot get a job at Burger King without an Internet connection. That’s the truth! And at my daughter’s new school (it’s a public charter school) they are required to have access to the internet. While yes, they do have it at the library, it’s usually packed, plus the requirement is for parents too, to get notes/ school information (they’re trying to go as paperless as possible) so I’d need access at least several times a week. I was lucky because my oldest paid for our internet access and bought me this computer but now that she’s gone I am not sure what to do. The bill is tied in with the phone so I’m going to have to figure out a way to pay it. Somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/154 "2010-08-08T01:24:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@nuggz](#): > > > > I have spent countless hours with a cook book in front of me or browsing websites about cooking, and I DONT GET IT. I always add the ingredients at the wrong time, or in the wrong amounts, or cook too long or too short. Even if I follow the directions EXACTLY, I fuck it up. > > > > It’s like how some people are bad at math. Or spelling. I’m bad at cooking. > > [almost irrelevant hijack] > > **nuggz** - Come hang out in some of the CS cooking threads. We’ll walk you through the basics of just about any recipe. Anybody can learn to cook if they have a patient teacher and a positive attitude. [/arh] And a pan! 🙂 It’s true. I’ve learned a lot here. Especially the joys of Bacon Salt. ---
**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 8, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/155 "2010-08-08T01:24:54Z")
We can also start you out on simple recipes. Nobody learns to cook by starting with complicated projects. We’ll take you from where you are (browning meat, scrambling eggs, etc.) and build on that. In fact - start a thread something like “Please help me learn to cook better” in Cafe Society and tell us what you CAN do - we’ll work on things from there, one step at a time. There are things you can cook that are relatively goof-proof. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/156 "2010-08-08T01:39:51Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Uh-oh. Another **Broomstick** pile-on. > > Has it already been mentioned that buying ingredients does not always equal “healthy?” Such a rule would not keep someone from eating fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and 4-cheese macaroni and cheese every night (did I just make myself hungry? I think I did). Or, make delicious but ever-so-lethal concoctions like my morbidly obese babysitter used to make. Cheese grits swimming in butter, chock full of Jimmy Dean sausage. > > Someone who is going to spend all their foodstamps on Doritos, soda, and Twinkies isn’t going to suddenly become more health-minded once you ban those things. They will just work around it. As long as cooking oil is on the approved list, people will be frying up a storm and frying things you’d never think to fry. A childhood friend’s favorite snack was fried sandwich bread, covered in sugar. So easy to make a child can do it. As long as flour, butter, eggs, and sugar are allowed, people will be making cakes and cookies. As long as meat is allowed, people will gravitate towards the fattest, least healthiest parts and cuts. > > Soups aren’t necessarily healthy, either. Anyone heard of gumbo? Good stuff, but it’s not going to help your wasteline go down. Anything with cream-of-whatever in it is going to make you fat. That includes a lot of casserole dishes and smothered chicken/pork chops. And don’t even think about meat loaf! Store-bought meat loaf is probably leagues healthier than the wonderful, heavenly gravy-laden creation my mother would make. > > Actually, if a poor person wanted to eat healthily and/or not overeat, it may make more sense for them to get some processed foods–which have detailed nutrition information. With a Lean Cuisine entree, for instance, you know you’re getting 250-300 calories. If you try to imitate the same meal, using purchased ingredients, you’ll have to make a big batch of it because you can’t go to the store and buy just 4 ounces of pasta. So if you aren’t careful, you could easily overeat. > > This discussion reminds me of a documentary I watched a long time ago. A poor town was quickly becoming gentrified, and the folks moving in wanted the only store in the town to become a co-op, serving mostly organic health foods. There was an uproar from the long-time residents, who were worried about the hippies taking away their Wonder bread. The film discussed how everything in our society, including the very foods we eat, are marked by class. Wonder bread = poor people food. White wheat bread = middle class people food. Whole, seven-grain, make-you-poop-twigs-for-a-month bread = rich people food. > > Of course, the rich people felt like the poor people were just stupid mouth-breathers who should immediately appreciate the benefits of whole wheat over white bread–despite the big difference in price. But they didn’t seem to understand or care that even though they were right about the health aspect, you still can’t make people change their eating habits by stigmitizing them or limiting their choices. > > After a bunch of town halls, they decided the new store would sell both types of bread. The whole situation was both crazy and enlightening. I don’t know if I agree with this, because being on food stamps IS making me change my food choices. Like I said, I have around 200 a month for breakfast, lunch and dinner (my child will take her food, whether she qualifies for free lunch or not). I can’t afford to buy junk food. I’m planning meals to make 50 dollars a week last. I’m not going to blow anything. I think if food choices were limited people would get by, but they wouldn’t have junk food as often. Making a cake from scratch is more trouble than buying a 12 pack of Twinkies. Have you looked at all the chemicals in those Twinkies, by the way? You don’t get all that when you make a cake at home. It wouldn’t even be that hard to make the change. In the store the foods are divided up into what is covered and not. In the deli you can get delicious shaved turkey breast but you can’t buy hot fried chicken. You can’t get hot food at all. Is this unfair? After all, we poor people must not have stoves or hot plates or microwaves. Or pans. We should be entitled to eat too, right? I feel like people are thinking when you’re poor you’re stupid. That you can’t figure out how to eat if someone doesn’t let you have every food available in the store. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/157 "2010-08-08T01:43:55Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > When a lowly user of food stamps goes into a market, he should be directed to a bench ,where he will sit and wait, Then when a much more knowledgeable and worthwhile human being comes to the store, he can escort him through the market informing him of the proper food choices. The lowly user will of course become a better human being for the experience. We all know food stamp users are not as bright as those in better financial condition. A few may even learn to become members of decent society some day. It is just a win/win. > > I wouldn’t go that far but a good nutrition program wouldn’t hurt. I sat through one at the health department recently and learned a few things. Mainly that I was waaaay off on portion sizes, especially for children. I disagreed with them on the amount of carbs they considered adequate but still, some people have no idea, no clue what they’re feeding their kids. I have seen this too many times and I was just as guilty when I was younger. My mama brought me up on Taco Bell and sandwiches so I didn’t know better. Are you suggesting that group only includes food stamp users? Obesity is a national problem. Eating badly is a national problem. It is not just the poor who eat badly. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/158 "2010-08-08T01:47:10Z")
I have just returned from Wal-Mart, where I bought some pre-packaged guacamole. It cost $2. Avocados were 1 apiece, but I'd have needed 3 to make as much guacamole as is in this package. Yeah, that's anecdotal. Don't care. They also have .99 pizzas, ramen for $.14 per pack, and a variety of other cheap prepared foods. But a bag of frozen vegetables is $3 or $4. A bag of mixed fruit was $5.99. Sack of potatoes $4.98. Two boxes of frozen potatoes was $3.89. From where I stand, the math is pretty clear. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/159 "2010-08-08T02:23:11Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Magiver](#): > > > > unemployed or underemployed means they have the same time or more than other people have to prepare meals. Your point is best applied to someone below the poverty level working more than 40 hrs a week. > > Incorrect. > > When I was initially put on foodstamps I was required to look for work “30 hours per week” but the agency decided on what counted as “looking for work”, not me. The upshot was that I was probably spending 45-50 hours a week on job hunting but they only counted 30 hours of my effort, if that much. Another poster who appeared in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=545293&highlight=food+stamp) and I communicated extensively through PM and she was forced to look for work 30 hours per week _in addition to_ working part time, meaning _at least_ 50 hours per week working and looking for work, in some weeks more than that. If you did not comply ALL benefits could be terminated - a pretty harsh penalty if you’re utterly dependent on this aid for survival. > > So yeah, I was under/unemployed but they terms of the aid I received _demanded_ I spend at least 40-50 hours a week outside my home. In other words, I had no more time to cook than anyone who was working a full time job. > > Please absorb this knowledge and consider changing your opinion in this matter. My statement was “the same time or more” so your response did not address what I actually said. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410/160 "2010-08-08T04:00:48Z")
I keep seeing it mentioned, but what the hell IS bacon salt? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-only-be-allowed-to-purchase-ingredients-with-food-stamps/549410.md?page=9)