There was time in my life when most of my food came from a public pantry. I know it’s not the same as stamps, bit same principle.
Anyway, birthday rolls around; didn’t think anything of it cuz I was in the “it’s just another day…” phase of life, and even if I wanted to do something for it, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Roll up to the pantry for that week’s pickup, and they break out a fucking cake and a hand-written birthday card! Nothing crazy - maybe 6-inch diameter, enough for the wife and I to split. But that shit pulled my ass right out of a depression spell like nothing else came close to before or since.
When I finally got a reliable income coming in and paid off the critical stuff and got a little bit of savings, my first ‘splurge’ was a $1k donation to that pantry with a note saying that their assistance pretty much single-handedly saved me from homelessness and probably from suicide; and enabled me to take the steps I needed to get the job I have now and ultimately become self sufficient.
Food is more than just nutrients; and junk food is more than just food that’s junk.
And pantries are bad ass. If anyone reading this is struggling and not yet using one, GO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE! Many people are resistant to ask for help prior to hitting absolute rock bottom, but a little help now (even if you only-kind-of need it) could save you from needing a LOT of help later. They’re also an awesome source of info on local resources - whatever your unique situation is, they can probably point you in the right direction to start getting shit under control.
…I should make another donation - shit’s extra fucked nowadays.
Thanks for sharing, I feel like people forget we’re all just people at the end of the day.
I bet it would feel very different if you just used food stamps to buy your own cake
Probably, but then that would have enabled me to give my wife that or vice versa. We don’t have kids, but a lot of food stamp recipients do - same spiel.
And even outside of special events, maybe that can of soda with dinner is the carrot-on-a-stick that gets a person through an otherwise miserable day cuz, shocker: poverty fucking sucks.
That’s the cool thing about not having arbitrary restrictions on shit like this: people are free to handle their own unique situation at their own discretion, including whether or not junk food is worth including in that week’s budget.
Yeah, less autonomy is never a solution in situations like those. It’s just a form of petty oppression.
Uhhhhhh… It already does. Snap changed from actual stamps to a digital card that declines any purchase that does not fit in the categories that justify a snap purchase. I worked a couple of years ago with a non-profit org that helped the needy, and I distinctly remember being at walmart with someone was buying groceries, when they used their snap card the payment covered everything but junk food and the person I was with had to pay with their own money for the rest of their things.
In short RFK is working on stopping something that never has ever existed.
Which sort of sums this whole regime’s work up, doesn’t it?
Heaven forbid someone enjoys their life. I’d rather pay for this than billionaire tax cuts and the bloated military budget.
We can do both. A stopped clock is right twice per day. It would be a good idea, except that you already cant buy junk food with food stamps…
It’s like painting over murals at detention centers where kids are housed… with gray paint. It definitely sends a message.
No, it’s like removing soda machines from school cafeterias. It’s a good idea. It’s so good, in fact, that you already can’t buy junk food with food stamps!!
Let them buy what they want you damn Nazi.
Gotta stop those poors from having any joy. Only misery will suffice.
Why is it in our interest to pay for food that causes obesity and health issues?
I want you to consider what you would do if you had $300 per month to buy food. How often would you use any of that money to buy soda and candy? Would you do it on a regular? Or would you do it just for special occasions to lift your spirits when things were bad?
This isn’t about health this is about punishing the poor for being poor.
I would buy it literally never, because I already never buy it, because I know it makes me fat and depressed.
I would spend very little of it on candy and soda, but not every person makes the same choices
I was very poor for two or three years in my early 20s. I was maniacally disciplined in only buying healthy, affordable food, no alcohol, no junk food, no sweets. Brown rice, beans, fish off the boat (a fishing fleet operated from our city’s harbor), tofu, miso, green veg. So I stayed healthy. If I had received any assistance, interference in my choices wouldn’t have helped. But the purpose of the interference isn’t to help, it’s to disempower, infantilize and humiliate.
It wouldn’t interfere in your choices because you didn’t buy those things
That doesn’t give anyone the right to choose for them.
If I’m paying for it, I have the right to vote for this law. It affects me
So you agree that there is some amount of acceptable spending on sweets.
As long as it’s from your own pocket
Why do you consider what someone else eats to be a matter of “your interest”, at all?
Do you think your boss…who pays your salary…should be allowed to dictate what you spend it on? Is it in “their interest” to make sure you’re spending their money on “the right things”?
Do you think your boss…who pays your salary…should be allowed to dictate what you spend it on?
Historically, that was a thing until very recently. Henry Ford used to send inspectors into people’s homes to snoop on them, not only food and alcohol, but what language they spoke in the home. Thank the unions for that bullshit having been stopped.
If I’m paying for it, it’s my interest. If it’s your personal decision, then do what you want
Then start with ag subsidies. But that’s if you’re serious about fixing the problem and don’t just want to punish poor people for being poor.
Fuck ag subsidies and fuck tariffs
But mostly fuck poor people. Since that’s the most immediate priority.
I used to live in a kinda poor area. Lots of people on some sort of program. And that program had really restrictive rules about what you can and cannot buy. For example, you could buy Skippy peanut butter but not Skippy light peanut butter (whatever that is). It caused great confusion for the people who needed food, huge amounts of labor for the poor grocery person, and a long wait for the other shoppers in line - just so the government can save a few cents. Unbelievable.
Problem is a lot of shitty food is cheaper than good food.
Also, if you grew up around shitty food you don’t know how to prep good food from whole, cheaper fresh or bulk foods.
Technically cooking rice with vegetables (cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, a bit of everything) and a few pieces of turkey or chicken meat is good food and is easy to prepare.
But from the interwebs it seems that there in Kennedy land everything is fried and heavily seasoned with a lot of cancer-causing fats of all kinds.
I thought it was already blocked? 🤔
Huh, guess not.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
Households CANNOT use SNAP benefits to buy:
Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
Vitamins, medicines, and supplements. If an item has a Supplement Facts label, it is considered a supplement and is not eligible for SNAP purchase.
Live animals (except shellfish, fish removed from water, and animals slaughtered prior to pick-up from the store).
Foods that are hot at the point of sale
Any nonfood items such as:
Pet foods
Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies.
Hygiene items, cosmetics
What goon-affiliated product will they be able to purchase with food stamps instead? Lee Greenwood Bibles? My Pillows?
Someone has to police that though guess RFK jr won’t be picking up that cost.
Interesting, why not start branding and labeling better that more products that have high content of X
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Where’s those fucking DOGE cunts when there’s real waste?
Look, I don’t want to subsidize people’s beetus diets, but, fuck me, do we not have better shit to do with our time and money?
Every single republican can fuck off and die.
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