May 16, 2008 | Ginger | Comments Comments

Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices

I wrote about this last week but the continued coverage of those who receive food stamps is starting to piss me off. Forgive me as I am a bit hormonal, but come on! Food stamps were never meant to be the whole food budget, it is supposed to be a supplement! If I read one more story about how they are feeling the pinch from only receiving $300+ for a family of 3 when there are a plethora of FREE or low cost food programs in their city I am going to SCREAM!

Those of us who work for and spend that money are paying taxes on it and they are not. I am also assuming that if you are able bodied enough to go to the supermarket then you can get a part time job to make up for the difference!

Work at the supermarket for a discount
Go to the food banks BEFORE food runs out so that you can plan your meals for the month
Cook smaller meals, most of us are eating 3 times the amount of food we need to live
Save leftovers

I am usually on the side of the folks that are on welfare because there are some who truly need it. However, the ones that try to work the government to the end that ALL their expenses are paid for and then cry foul when prices go up instead of trying to get a job to make up the difference, frankly, well pisses me off.

My advice?

SPARE ME AND GET A JOB!

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Filed Under: Groceries

Tags: Budget • Food Stamps • Groceries

About the Author: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds is for the woman that wants to take charge of her personal finances. We value budgeting, investing, frugality and remain mindful of our spending habits. Move over and make way for women who are in control of their financial destinies and not afraid to say it. We're armed with a positive net worth and not afraid to flaunt it while breaking financial ceilings one stiletto at a time!

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corey (1 comments.) | May 16, 2008 | Reply

When I got out of the Navy I took a part time job at Trader Joe’s. The pay was horrible but the discount on groceries helped out. I also think the laid back atmosphere was just what I needed to decompress during that post deployment transition time. The food stamps helped supplement our budget as did WIC. I haven’t heard anything on food stamp recipients being more or less pinched by rising costs. Then again I do live in one of those alleged recession proof areas of the country.

corey’s last blog post..Waiting to hear back from Veterans Affairs? Expect 3 to 5 years.
Single Ma (4 comments.) | May 17, 2008 | Reply

Playing devil’s advocate…

If they go to work, the benefits will be reduced. And it’s not a $1 for $1 reduction either. The result? A part time job, fewer benefits, transportation expenses, childcare expenses, and still in a pinch - if not more so. Or should the government subsidize their transportation and childcare too? As a taxpayer, I’d rather increase their food stamps by $xx or provide an equivalent of coupons to use.

Single Ma’s last blog post..Payday, But Not Really
Ginger | May 17, 2008 | Reply

I know I sound harsh, I guess that just like everyone else is feeling the pinch and making things stretch or being resourceful, I’d like them to do the same.

The way the system is set up its hard for them to get off and stay off, I just need for the complaining to stop. It just sounds really crazy to me when I know of others who have gotten off welfare successfully.

But honestly? The government should subsidize their childcare but I know that in VA they are trying or recently reduced/eliminated that benefit.
butterfly | May 17, 2008 | Reply

No, can’t agree totally. This post is a bit elitest.

There are people who abuse the system, but there are people who need the money and are feeling the pinch.

How about the people from Katrina? They are STILL struggling.

Life is relative. Humas understanding is relative to their experience.

Just an opposing viewpoint.
Fabulously Broke (20 comments.) | May 17, 2008 | Reply

I do have to partly agree. It’s meant to supplement income but it’s kind of enabling them to continue NOT working in a way….

Single Ma, I’d rather they work than get welfare help - thats the point of welfare help - to help them get back on their feet if they’re in a pinch but the key is to GET OFF IT

Fabulously Broke’s last blog post..ADesign Brushes Giveaway and Blog Link Love
c.a. Marks | May 18, 2008 | Reply

Right after my husband died I immediately applied for foodstamps (suggested by a friend) I was on food stamps for approx. one year. I received 300 a month and it was PLENTY.

However, I am now having to PAY BACK that year of foodstamps because apparently I was ineligible after my children started to receive SSN and I didn’t know this until after a year when I went in for my review.

But I am doing very well now but it still pisses me off I have to pay back that years worth of foodstamps; I had no clue but I suppose ignorance is not an excuse.
Jen | May 18, 2008 | Reply

This seems to be the theme of my day! I just read an article about a woman called Crissy Thompson who spends as little as $10 a week on groceries to feed herself, husband and three kids. Itjust goes to show that if you think smart and spent smart, you can make massive savings!

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/05/16/extreme-personal-finance-crissy-thompson-the-coupon-queen/
Meg (from The World of Wealth) (17 comments.) | May 18, 2008 | Reply

The problem with the food stamps system is that the recipients - like most Americans - have NO IDEA how to grocery shop, cook, and eat on a budget.

If a person who earns his or her money wants to spend hundreds of dollars a month on processed food and syrupy drinks which are expensive and won’t fill you up - then fine. But if a person on food stamps is doing the same, then it’s NOT ok, and we all have a responsibility to speak up about it.

All welfare recepients need to be educated as to how best use their assistance. And that’s what it’s supposed to be - ASSISTANCE. Which implies that the help is limited. As in, it should not cover all your needs nor should it last for the duration of your entire natural life.

The food stamps system has incredible flaws which enable recipients to spend wastefully and encourage them to limit or hide their incomes in order to maintain their “assistance.” However the participants in the system are also to blame. Step One: put back the Doritos and buy a bag of beans or two instead. Rather than one unhealthy snack you get 8 nutritious servings of protein for roughly the same price.

I read an article last week about a single woman who was so sad her $135/mo food stamps would no longer cover crab meat or shrimp cocktail. I almost fell out of my chair. And it gets worse: this woman doesn’t feel the need to get a paying job (I guess she doesn’t want crab meat THAT badly), but instead she dedicates her time and energy to being A VOLUNGEER AT THE FOOD BANK. Yet the whole article was quite seriously sympathizing with her “plight.” It’s articles like that which will only turn taxpaying Americans against welfare recipients, despite the fact that there are surely those who need the assistance.

Meg (from The World of Wealth)’s last blog post..Taxes: The Candidates’ Plans
SavingDiva (4 comments.) | May 18, 2008 | Reply

I agree with Meg! I also read the article about the woman not being able to purchase crap and shrimp. Guess what?! My grocery budget doesn’t allow it either!

Right now, I spend $150-$200/month on groceries AND eating out (just me). When I go back to graduate school in the fall, I plan on cutting that down to $100/month. I know it can be done because for a year out of college (when I was totally broke) I spent $50-$60/month on food (no eating out, all groceries).
ToilingAnt (2 comments.) | May 19, 2008 | Reply

Preach it. There are a ton of ways (for all of us, even those who are pretty strapped) to spend less on food. Get a couple tomato plants, for crying out loud!
Mike | May 20, 2008 | Reply

being a bleeding heart liberal my assumptions regarding the poor on food stamps is simple. feed the poor. stop griping. do you really want to trade your hardworking existence for one where you have to rely on foodstamps? Do you really want to live in an area where kids are gunned down by kids. Most people are poor because of a lack of education, i don’t just mean school. welfare takes less than 1% of GDP and does so much for so many. I’d rather we spend more to feed people than to continuously lock them up and pay for jails.
Jen | May 26, 2008 | Reply

I like your posts, Ginger, but this one makes me angry. It is quite clear you have had never had to be on food stamps- which is fine- but that doesn’t give you the right to be judgmental towards people who are. Social Security was never suppose to be the bulk of a senior’s money, but sometimes life gets in the way of planning. If we as a society are not supportive of financial education and we don’t teach people to cook- and here’s a thought- whose to say everyone on foodstamps has kitchens? They might not- we shouldn’t be looking at these PEOPLE as failures when the system has created them and the system does not allow for an end to cyclical poverty. The SYSTEM is a failure, not the people. Why do you keep having to hear about it? Because the media enjoys talking about it, because it keeps people mad at poor people rather than mad at the government that got us into this mess.

Get a tomato plant? Really? If they live in a studio apartment?
Jennifer | May 30, 2008 | Reply

I agree to an extent. I was on Food Stamps off and on for two years. It helped me enormously. Because I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, I was living on very little every month. Like $100. Through budgeting, I could have made it but would have no money for ANYTHING else. Especially as I had no refrigerator to keep food longer than a day or two. Knowing the food would be there was a tremendous help to me during that time.

The trouble is that I got so much every month. Way more than I ever spent for groceries, or needed to spend. It did encourage me to spend more than usual and get used to more conveniences. Then we found out I was not eligible for a few month’s worth and had to pay them back when I wasn’t working at all. So that made things really hard because I was now paying back food I could have budgeted for better. Oh well, live and learn.

I think it is important to have a way to help people in difficult circumstances, such as what I was going through. I also think empowerment is better, such as community gardens, help with low cost refrigeration, etc. I would have been happy, for example, to take advantage of the distribution program for game that are killed by cars. I just didn’t have a way to preserve the meat. I feel better now that I am not on food stamps, though things are really, really tight. I am not sure where the line is between people helping each other and standing on your own.
SassyBelle | May 30, 2008 | Reply

Wow. Well. I had followed a link from The Simple Dollar here, because the title of your blog caught my eye and seemed clever and fun. However, I can tell you that I will not return. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but let’s just run through some numbers.

For instance, my sister, a widowed mother of three, works full-time, minimum wage. At $6.15 an hour, at 40 hours a week, that’s $246 a week, pre-tax. That’s a monthly income of less than $1,000. Factored into that has to be the following: mortgage on her trailer and land, which she owns and receives no assistance in paying for ($500 a month), car payment and fuel, in order to get to work, day care for the one child not in public school yet (4 years old) and after school care for the two in school…

Apparently, your cold, elitist point of view is that she doesn’t work hard enough, because she absolutely has been pinched by the rising food prices. Perhaps if she didn’t have to work 40+ hours a week, raise three children on her own, care for her home by herself, and juggle the responsibilities that come with motherhood, she could spend hours pouring the web for frugal tips and blogging about how she saves so much money at the grocery store.

I guess then, she wouldn’t piss you off.

You’re offensive.

Put this post down on “Things that Piss me off”.
Ginger (31 comments.) | May 30, 2008 | Reply

@ SassyBelle
In life we all make decisions that we have to suffer the consequences. Keep in mind that what I write is my point of view and you do not need to like it. I am well aware that this post make ruffle a few feathers but that is why I pay the hosting fees and I am the captain of this ship that is Girls Just Wanna Have Funds.

This post was directed towards those who make a living off getting assistance from the government, not towards those who are on rough times. And Im sorry, but Ive been there, done that with having a mom who was on FS temporarily while she looked for a new job. I was a Case Manager for women who made it their LIFE’s WORK to be on government assistance, not because they didnt have the tools and resources to make a better life but because they just didnt want to do better for themselves.

Save the preachy I wont return, I am entitled to my own views and opinions which is what makes this blog-mine.

Thanks for stopping by!

@ Jen

Hold your horses Jen, READ everything before you pass your own judgments missy.

1. I have issues with people who rely on this as a TOTAL BUDGET for their food. Spare me the you’re so judgmental bit as my mom was on food stamps briefly when she lost her job and it certainly wasnt expected to be our whole food budget and it still isnt the case for many food stamp recipients.

2. I never mentioned anything about seniors you’re getting the posts mixed up, go back and read them then comment.

3. I look at the people who look at the government perennially for a handout with no desire or intention to get off and make a better life for themselves. I understand we all get on hard times but I do not respect the ideals of those who continually make crappy decisions, game the system, make the same mistakes over and over and do nothing to better themselves with resources all over the place and then you want me to have sympathy? No, I dont.

4. My issue with this articles lies in the fact that no where does it state that she is even TRYING to get off food stamps, just complaining that the SUPPLEMENT isnt enough. FIND A WAY, PLENTY of women have done it, including my own mother so please, again, spare me your I cant believe you’re so judgmental, Ive been there done that and where there is a will there is a way.

Please and thank you.

Ginger’s last blog post..Sallie Mae No Longer Consolidating Student Loans
angela | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply

This article really offends me. I am a 34 year-old woman who has been permanentally disabled for more than 9 years. I have two children and recieve social security. The only thing I recieve from my government is 145.00 in stamps and insurance for my girls only. I also have to spend cash money on food to make it a whole month. You tell me where I can go to spend my cash money, cause when I go to the grocery store I come out with three and if I am lucky four bags of food for my 200.00 cash money. Is that fair?
Cat | Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

Angela, if you google coupon forums and coupon boards I am sure you can find some good ones. I am sorry that you can only get 3 or 4 bags of groceries for $200. I want to brag about a recent trip I had to Walgreens.

2 gallons of milk
2 loaves of bread
2 boxes of cereal (used coupon $1 off 2)
2 bags of chips (on sale buy one, get one free)
4 bags of snack mix ($1 coupons, sale price $1 so FREE)
misc fillers (used a store coupon and would have had a negative balance)

My oop (out of pocket) total???

79 CENTS!

I had a coupon where I saved $10 when I purchased $30. What I did was buy 2 diabetic meters (some people get these just to make a great deal, but I am prediabetic and my husband’s sugar is high so we’re monitoring it) at $14.99 each, then used 2 free coupons (found in the Sunday paper). Then the $10 off part gave me my groceries for almost free. I did this twice. My first total was 70c and 2nd was 9c. The difference was I did not divide my order in half (the chips were BOGO so I had to buy together) and the “filler” I used on the first order cost about 40c more than the one I used for the second order.

I have my mom and my ex husband’s mom (LOL, imagine that) save me their coupons. I also go to a coupon clippers site and get some there. And, my area has a free paper on Saturdays that has coupons in it. I went from $250,000 annually from investments to nothing overnight! I’ve maxed out borrowing against my stocks. If I sell them, I owe capital gains (and that is considered income), if I don’t sell them I am worth too much. Either way, I don’t qualify for FS, but am dead broke. I got my degree in education, opted not to student teach, am not certified, enrolled in an alternative certification program last summer, and have been looking for a teaching position for 11 months. And, for the record, I was diagnosed with CHF 14 years ago at age 25. (CHF is Congestive Heart Failure for those who don’t know.)

To everyone reading…
My 12 YO daughter wanted Taco Bell the other day and my 14 YO son asked, “Do you know how much mac & cheese and peanuts mom could buy with that buck?” I had just gone shopping. Got 4 jars of nuts, 6 boxes of mac & cheese, and 1 bag of Ramen noodles for ONE PENNY!!! Sooooo, your kids DO learn from you! Think about what you want “passed down”.
Lisa P (1 comments.) | Nov 26, 2008 | Reply

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Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices

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