# The ethics of food stamps (AITA?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457 "2024-12-10T20:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/101 "2024-12-11T15:26:48Z")
The day program was less than a block from a Wawa. We gave them a lot of business. The deli counter in the Wawa had signs reminding us that no hot food was covered by SNAP and that hoagies were only covered if they were not toasted. So- hoagie = covered. Same hoagie stuck in an oven for 5 minutes = not covered. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/102 "2024-12-11T15:43:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > For example, the idea that they restrict people from using food stamps for something like sanitary products … have these people not heard of period poverty? I’m not going to say they haven’t heard of it now - but it certainly wasn’t a thing in the 1930s when the food stamp program started. Also ( and my guess is that most people in the US don’t know this) the food stamp/SNAP program is administered by the Department of Agriculture which also administers other food distribution programs so it kind of makes sense that SNAP is limited to food . It’s a kind of long story - but a lot of the food the USDA distributes was acquired through price support programs where the government purchases surplus production ( for example, butter) to keep the price farmers get at a certain minimum level. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/103 "2024-12-11T15:44:55Z")
“Poor people eating caviar!!!” is class warfare. Rich people hate class warfare when it’s directed at them, but when it’s directed at poor people, they love it. I don’t agree that the friend was an asshole for mentioning the caviar purchase. I often make wry jokes about things in my life, with a bit of self-deprecation involved; and if I were purchasing a small thing of roe as a relatively inexpensive treat (on part with buying some olives), I might describe that as “buying caviar with my food stamps” to make it sound funny. I would tell the anecdote because it amused me, not because I was trying to get a rise out of someone. If someone reacted to it by judging me, I’d be irritated at them. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/104 "2024-12-11T15:51:44Z")
OK, here’s the whole conversation: I have a half gallon of kimchi in the fridge, a few months old. I need to eat some along with steamed sushi rice and ahi tuna sashimi. I just thought yesterday of getting sime caviar with my UHCard. If Walmart has some; the Ingles chain doesn’t take the card. There’s a Harris Teeter near downtown Asheville that carries the good, refrigerated stuff in several versions, not the shelf-stable pasteurized. > I’m sorry, but there is something wrong with this picture. ? > Maybe you should buy a Moet & Chandon Esprit Du Siècle Brut to go along with your caviar. What? Are you like people who think people shouldn’t be able to buy “fancy,” gourmet, pricey, but genuinely nutritious actual food on public benefits they’ve paid into the system for? > Yep. Like, shellfish, steak, artisanal cheeses? > Mac and cheese at 15¢/box, only. Well, now you’re being humorous, but otherwise judgy. How and where would you draw the line? My beef is people able to buy soda on SNAP benefits. Either full of sugar or no nutritional content at all. > I don’t know that I would draw a line. I guess if you want to buy caviar, and have enough money left to feed yourself, it’s ok. > Maybe. (And then, knowing better, I asked here). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/105 "2024-12-11T15:56:49Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > There’s a Harris Teeter near downtown Asheville So, he’s living in a city that’s still reeling from the effects of the biggest natural disaster in its history, in which the unemployment rate has gone from the lowest in the state to the highest in the state, in which I still drive by parks filled with mud and debris, in which many, many businesses have shut down, in which the fall tourist season that normally sustains many businesses through the entire year has been almost entirely canceled–and you think he needs your judgment? Holy crap, dude. Have some grace for folks in terrible situations. Edit: this honestly is getting up my nose way more than it should, but COME ON. I live here, and I’ve got a stable job and a stable income and a mostly undamaged house and a place to stay when the power went out and lead-free water and a social support network–and the past few months have _knocked me on my ass_. I don’t know _anyone_ in Asheville who’s doing great these days. We’re all just doing the best we can to make it through. It has SUCKED. His benefits may be due to FEMA. A lot of folks who’ve never gotten government benefits before are getting them now, because things are so messed up. The last thing he needs is someone judging him. So yeah: that wasn’t a shining moment for you. You should write him a thoughtful apology. And if you’re able, send him that bottle of champagne. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/106 "2024-12-11T16:01:43Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > So- hoagie = covered. Same hoagie stuck in an oven for 5 minutes = not covered. I lived in Philly for 4 years. In western PA we drink pop and eat hoagies. If you heat a hoagie it is a heated hoagie. In eastern PA they drink soda and eat hoagies, but a heated hoagie (at least in Upper Darby) is a grinder, I ordered a hoagie at a shop and the guy asked, “grind it?” I was clueless. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/107 "2024-12-11T16:06:33Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And then don’t be surprised if they start robbing people to stay alive rather than just quietly starving because somebody wanted to punish them for poverty. Or starting a violent revolution. > > If you don’t want violence, then don’t put people in a position where they have to choose between being violent and being dead. I was all set to get angry at how posters here always go to extremes, and then I saw who wrote this. Jesus fucking christ! Get a grip. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because it makes it harder to demonize them, we’re all supposed to pretend anyone poor is an evil parasite who deserves death. You’re the only one here saying this, you know, ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/108 "2024-12-11T16:10:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You’re the only one here saying this, you know, I was talking about society in general, not here. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/109 "2024-12-11T16:10:30Z")
I think the concern works something like this: - If someone needs food stamps, that means they don’t have enough money to buy enough food to be healthy. - Food stamps should allow them to be able to get enough food to live and be healthy. - If they’re able to afford caviar and chocolate and still get enough to eat, food stamps is paying them too much. Lots of people _not_ on food stamps can’t afford that stuff. - If they’re buying it anyway, then any shortfall is coming out of _someone else’s pocket_, be it local food pantries or soup kitchens, etc… because the assumption is that they’re not able to cover that themselves. - Which is a problem because they already were given enough to cover their needs, but they spent it irresponsibly on luxury items, and someone else is having to foot the bill for those luxury items. It’s the someone else having to foot the bill that is the issue. That’s money that the government could have used on something else, or ultimately not taken out of taxpayers’ pockets, many of whom probably don’t have the financial flexibility to afford that kind of thing themselves. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/110 "2024-12-11T16:13:14Z")
He was unaffected by the hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/111 "2024-12-11T16:15:07Z")
He lives in Asheville or nearby, and was unaffected? He would be the first person I’ve known in that situation, and it is extraordinarily unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/112 "2024-12-11T16:17:23Z")
I can understand that thinking but it’s wrong. Specifically here > [@bump](#): > > If they’re buying it anyway, then any shortfall is coming out of _someone else’s pocket_, be it local food pantries or soup kitchens, etc… because the assumption is that they’re not able to cover that themselves. I just checked and Walmart has an $11.22 tin of caviar. Now, nobody on SNAP can afford to eat that every day - but they could probably afford a tin a month by skipping lunch once or twice a week. Which means nothing is coming out of anyone’s pocket. Now, I wouldn’t skip meals to buy a tin of caviar but I absolutely would have done it to buy my kid a birthday cake and people complain about that too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/113 "2024-12-11T16:23:39Z")
If they’re not breaking the rules it’s not your business. If you don’t like the rules talk to politicians about making the application of benefits more onerous, as if that makes you less of an AH. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/114 "2024-12-11T16:23:53Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I just checked and Walmart has an $11.22 tin of caviar. Now, nobody on SNAP can afford to eat that every day - but they could probably afford a tin a month by skipping lunch once or twice a week. Which means nothing is coming out of anyone’s pocket. Now, I wouldn’t skip meals to buy a tin of caviar but I absolutely would have done it to buy my kid a birthday cake and people complain about that too. Or by eating cheaply. I’m having leftover lentil soup for lunch right now, and a giant batch of this soup, with a dozen servings or so, cost less than a dozen bucks to make (and maybe less than six bucks). If I’m budgeting my food, a few meals like this one will leave some money for a delicacy or two. Someone else might eat more bacon or chicken or tater tots and spend more money, and have less left over for the delicacy, and that’s fine, too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/115 "2024-12-11T16:24:32Z")
I’m just saying what the logic of the food-stamp haters is. I know it’s not iron-clad. But that’s the thinking I’ve heard about it, and it’s just a variant on the way these folks consider what they perceive as the misuse of any government program’s funds. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/116 "2024-12-11T16:31:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > In eastern PA they drink soda and eat hoagies, but a heated hoagie (at least in Upper Darby) is a grinder, I ordered a hoagie at a shop and the guy asked, “grind it?” I was clueless. Whereas a grinder in New England is any sandwich on a long roll, hot or cold. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/117 "2024-12-11T16:50:27Z")
Why are you arguing with me? He lives on a hill, 15 mi from Asheville, and got some rain, but nothing extraordinary. As he put it- he was lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/118 "2024-12-11T16:54:01Z")
> **off-topic hijack** > > Because I live here, and while a person might be “lucky,” every single place within 15 miles of Asheville lost power for days and, unless they’re on well water, water for nearly two months. The local economy is in a shambles. If your friend is the sort of absolute hermit who could live in a disaster zone and not be affected, he’s not going to grocery stores either. That grocery store on Merrimon Avenue that he went to had lines around it for weeks after the hurricane. > > I’m arguing with you because you’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/119 "2024-12-11T16:55:00Z")
I occasionally buy “caviar”, but usually it is just tobiko for sushi (as a garnish). It isn’t really expensive. I could see telling a friend I bought caviar just to mess with them though. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457/120 "2024-12-11T16:55:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m amazed that such things ever existed. For the curious, this is an example: Similar to early McDonalds gift certificates. [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9t6VO6dECjKbjnOv4H-W6kIYizZIgxiFnRcwJSaE6GYtbBOm4cQ2f2EUUlQiP1odWiJ5NKFl8McIEoRWZs0kxkhJkfOV5_UvVXGMleA-GWUlDKnHY-ry8A_Kol9Gt6vf5fkfQiswVDxo/s400/Vintage-1998-McDonalds-McDollar-One-Dollar-Gift-Coupon.jpg) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9t6VO6dECjKbjnOv4H-W6kIYizZIgxiFnRcwJSaE6GYtbBOm4cQ2f2EUUlQiP1odWiJ5NKFl8McIEoRWZs0kxkhJkfOV5_UvVXGMleA-GWUlDKnHY-ry8A_Kol9Gt6vf5fkfQiswVDxo/s400/Vintage-1998-McDonalds-McDollar-One-Dollar-Gift-Coupon.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-food-stamps-aita/1011457.md?page=7)