🌎 The 'arguments' about what should be covered by SNAP benefits intrigues me. And yes, I believe there's some personal bias here.

[TerryP]

I'm not sure on which channel it was broadcast. It was a panel discussion where on one hand we had a guy saying "SNAP shouldn't be used to by $1 bottle of 'soda' (which I'm going to call coke since coke overs ALL soft drinks in the south.) On the other side the argument entailed, "I'm not upset about a $1 coke, I'm upset about the billionaires writing off their jets ..."

"$1 a soda?" Ok, that's just a joke; so detached from reality. In the fiscal year of '24, 41.7 million were on SNAP benefits. That's a bit more than $1 a coke. Hell, if they just bought one...taxpayers paid for 41.7 million cokes in a month? Ya know, those things that normally come in six packs or bigger?

I digress a bit here but I gotta say.

I don't receive SNAP. I never have received any benefits like that. BUT, I'm not buying coke everytime I go to the store. Why? It's not a healthy drink. It doesn't quench thirst. In a nutshell, it's liquid candy with some caffeine in a lot of cases. (See video coming.)

Same goes for pre-packaged cookies. Where is the health benefit? I'm certainly not saying these people shouldn't enjoy a chocolate chip cookie. I am saying, "buy the mix and make the cookies."

Am I alone thinking this?

Here's a prime example of why I say, "cutting those things makes sense." In the video you'll notice the lady saying "the juices aren't covered." Then, a little later, she tells someone to remove the green juices? Uh, guessing that's not juice.

The program has always been confusing to me. I've seen people who need it get $30 a month and well as those who don't get $100's. But, I've never considered, as in given any serious thought, to what all it covered. I'd always assumed somethings (that are edible) weren't included.

 

[Krimson]

Cokes and pre-packaged desserts offer no nutritional value. Like RFKJr said, we're paying for them to eat unhealthy and then paying for their medical bills. See gas stations that accept Snap and they don't sell anything but junk food. It should be like wic and cover only certain essentials.

 

[Rsedge72]

Agree 100%.

 

[TerryP]

See gas stations that accept Snap and they don't sell anything but junk food.

Ironic you say ... just ran across this on X



(Side note: I ran up to the 7-11 a few minutes ago and they've put up signs saying they don't accept debit cards for scratch off's and the lottery any longer. Another thing I really hadn't thought about.)

 

[TerryP]

Cokes and pre-packaged desserts offer no nutritional value. Like RFKJr said, we're paying for them to eat unhealthy and then paying for their medical bills. See gas stations that accept Snap and they don't sell anything but junk food. It should be like wic and cover only certain essentials.

Where do you draw the line?

Betty Crocker cake mix. Okay?

Breakfast cereal is another one. Raisin Bran, okay? Kelloggs. Are Frosted Flakes out, but Corn Flakes in? I've eaten Rice Krispies (as a child) when it was one of the few things I could keep down.

This is where this might be me. I have a strawberry pie in the 'fridge ... made it. I probably could get one at the deli / bakery at Publix, or where ever. SNAP for one, but not the other?

 

[Krimson]

Where do you draw the line?

Betty Crocker cake mix. Okay?

Breakfast cereal is another one. Raisin Bran, okay? Kelloggs. Are Frosted Flakes out, but Corn Flakes in? I've eaten Rice Krispies (as a child) when it was one of the few things I could keep down.

This is where this might be me. I have a strawberry pie in the 'fridge ... made it. I probably could get one at the deli / bakery at Publix, or where ever. SNAP for one, but not the other?

I'm for only basic foods, rice, pasta, vegetables (dry, canned, or fresh), meat, real cheese, milk, bread, fruit, etc. Much healthier and cheaper options for breakfast so no boxes of cereal or pop tarts. If you need to bake a dessert save some of the money you earn for it. Snap can pay for the strawberries but use your money for the crust.
Some people say that my line of thinking is too harsh and maybe it is but if you need Snap you need help feeding your family and I'm all for that. Hungry kids isn't something I want to see but it doesn't mean that they should get filet mignon and lobster or Cokes and gummy bears. The money should be used wisely and only allow certain foods to be purchased.

 

[rick4bama]

I work with a guy that would buy the stamps. I didn't know what he gave on a stamp dollar. But he was making a killing. It hard to do that now with the card. You have to have the card and the pin number to buy your food. @Krimson not all baking good are cover up these stamps.

Same as a food bank. Some that get the food, will go out and sell it.

 

[musso]

Great points made by Krimson IMO. And also a good question by Terry: where is the line?

Something else to consider that hasn’t been mentioned (unless I missed it), is processed foods, while less healthy, is often more affordable at the register, and when it’s not, it is more conducive to the more mobile lifestyles of the poor. Buying produce or pantry staples which require returning to a kitchen first to perform more work to cook and prepare, is becoming a “luxury” these days. Poor people aren’t just lacking in surplus money but also in surplus cooking and prep time, cooking skills, kitchen ware, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, pots and pans, etc. A microwave is a poor person’s best friend, and convenience stores are called “convenient” for a reason. I don’t oppose the government drawing lines, but those lines need to be realistic and informed.

Starting with cutting welfare for the rich and for big business is where I’d prefer government to focus its attention since corporate welfare dwarfs social welfare, but then I digress…

 

[TerryP]

Poor people aren’t just lacking in surplus money but also in surplus cooking and prep time, cooking skills, kitchen ware, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, pots and pans, etc

If you buy or rent, things like stoves/ovens and a fridge are required, are they not? I get the general point but—again, may be a bit of bias here—prep time rings hollow.

Now...cooking skills.

In the back of my mind I'm hearing, "I know it tastes like shit, but your mom can't cook for shit." And then I'm left thinking..."no wonder so many single mothers."

 

[TerryP]

"Let them eat cake."

...

 

[Krimson]

Great points made by Krimson IMO. And also a good question by Terry: where is the line?

Something else to consider that hasn’t been mentioned (unless I missed it), is processed foods, while less healthy, is often more affordable at the register, and when it’s not, it is more conducive to the more mobile lifestyles of the poor. Buying produce or pantry staples which require returning to a kitchen first to perform more work to cook and prepare, is becoming a “luxury” these days. Poor people aren’t just lacking in surplus money but also in surplus cooking and prep time, cooking skills, kitchen ware, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, pots and pans, etc. A microwave is a poor person’s best friend, and convenience stores are called “convenient” for a reason. I don’t oppose the government drawing lines, but those lines need to be realistic and informed.

Starting with cutting welfare for the rich and for big business is where I’d prefer government to focus its attention since corporate welfare dwarfs social welfare, but then I digress…

I understand your points but the same can be said of most households now as two working parents is very common. There were days we'd order a pizza or something because we both worked late or something but most of the time we cooked a decent meal. I would think most people on snap have access to a stove but they could get a hot plate for less than $15 if they don't and there are a lot of healthy meals that can be prepared in under 30 min.
The hard line to determine imo would be the processed food one. Can't say no processed food so how do you limit it? We don't eat much from a box but that's not a reasonable limit. Who decides ultra processed from processed? I'm not sure how or if you try to limit that. I don't have an issue with spaghetti sauce being on the snap list, processed for sure so someone might.

I'm all for cutting welfare of all types. Again, no issue helping someone but enabling is different.

 

[TerryP]

The hard line to determine imo would be the processed food one. Can't say no processed food so how do you limit it? We don't eat much from a box but that's not a reasonable limit. Who decides ultra processed from processed? I'm not sure how or if you try to limit that. I don't have an issue with spaghetti sauce being on the snap list, processed for sure so someone might.

Great example with the spaghetti sauce though that's not a prep time thing in my view. (Give me two cans of tomato sauce, some spices, a few things like onions and peppers, and people will throw their Ragu to the dogs.)

Just looking at one meal alone ... imagine how much this would piss off the cereal people? Personal example. Nature Valley makes a breakfast bar I'll keep on hand, on occasion. I don't eat them for breakfast; it's a "boost." It's a "mid-morning snack" when I need a quick shot of energy/protein.

Now, compare that to say ... a pop tart. This one? I look at it about like a candy bar.

Reminds me ... do you remember those six or eight ounce, clear plastic packaged with foil tops, drinks that were called "juice?" It Koolaid under a different name: no juice at all. As a kid I remember seeing people call them juice. (High chances all those folks are obese today.)

 

[TerryP]

Reminds me ... do you remember those six or eight ounce, clear plastic packaged with foil tops, drinks that were called "juice?" It Koolaid under a different name: no juice at all. As a kid I remember seeing people call them juice. (High chances all those folks are obese today.)

A melted popsicle packaged in ...

 

[Rsedge72]

That’s them I was looking for them!! Little hugs aka “juice” barrels!!!

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[musso]

Societies that systematically redistribute wealth to mothers who choose to procreate without a committed male protector and provider in the home all share the same fate: destruction. We should have regarded long ago any policy as a threat to national security which undermined the nuclear biological family. Because that’s what it is. Long ago we sacrificed the Holy Trinity of father, mother, and child at the alters of the false gods of “women’s liberation,” “modernity,” and “poverty reduction.” It is fool’s errand to believe in a “freedom” that denies the biological imperatives of sex and gender or to believe in “raising living standards” by separating responsibility from decision-making.

 

[sean]

And then she'll wonder who's going to take care of her kids, now.

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[24and7]

SNAP needs to quit covering high-end steaks.. because the pawn shop is full of them... but they are cheap cheaper than the grocery store..

 

[TerryP]

SNAP needs to quit covering high-end steaks.. because the pawn shop is full of them... but they are cheap cheaper than the grocery store..

I have never seen a cooler, much less a meat cooler, in a pawn shop. I can't remember seeing drink machines.