If you think about it that would take even more of our taxmoney to implement. You can't buy magazines anyway, first of all. I don't see how they can't have a treat once in awhile. Just because they are poor they don't deserve to have ice cream? I understand that some abuse it but there are those that try hard to make it work and I think they deserve a treat once in awhile for buying all generic and following a budget they should be able to get a few treats.

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I love hunting deals

Mom to Kellan 12-16-2000
Brooklyn 12-27-2005
Nolan 10-15-2007
Wife to Russell 10-14-2005

I totally Agree That any Human Deserves a Treat !

I Am not talking about People Buying a Half gallon of Ice Cream or a Candy Bar.

My Big Problem is People who Complain Cause they Don't Get enough Food stamps Then there are the people Who Have to Pay Cash For their Groceries week after Week.

Do you Really Think that They Have Tons of Money Every Week to Blow On Whatever Food They Want and then they Wonder Why They Don't Have enough Food??

I also Think it is Human Nature to Know that Feeding Your Kids healthy Is More important than Having a Treat.

I just Really Really Think that Anyone Recieving Any type of assistance Should be thankful that they get the Help at all.
Again, There is No Assistance for alot of Us who Find ourselves in a sudden Financial Problem.

I guess I have mixed feelings about this. The mom of the four-month old should be able to get WIC to cover the baby's formula and cereal if she qualifies for food stamps. And, one adult should be able to eat for (forgive me I have the wrong number here) $265-ish dollars a month. I also think that the woman with four grown children isn't a realistic example. Her children should be adults and support themselves, or contribute to the family bottom line if they're living at home. As far as $500 a month for a family of 4 or 5 (again, I'm sleep deprived today so I'm foggy on the number) that should be possible. We're feeding our family of four on $130 a week, or $520 month, but that includes caring for two people with special dietary needs. DS has very expensive taste buds LOL!

I guess what bothers me is that I know someone who didn't marry his three babies mama and let her collect food stamps, etc. instead. He told us that they never ate better (meaning steak, shrimp, name-brand cereals, etc.) than they did when they were getting food stamps. I have a real problem with that, because he makes in the $100,000 a year range as a heavy equipment operator. On the other hand, my grandmother, who lives on just over $500 a month in social security, qualifies for $12 a month in food stamps. I don't get it...the people who need the help and would use it appropriately can't seem to get it, while the people who are abusing it seem to get all the help they need.

That is just so sad!

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Mommy to Ellie born January 9, 2008

I don't have much sympathy, I think for the most part the amounts are adequate. I would LOVE to be able to have that much to spend on food a month.

I think that no matter how much people get on government handouts, they are always going to feel like they need more. (Just like when someone gets a raise and they don't even notice because they use it up just like the rest). I think it's a whole entitlement issue.

All I'm saying is that food stamps should be use wisely. Of course you can have a treat once in a while but I see some of these people do buy "brand names" and buy unecessary things that they don't really need.

Getting more and more people into the system is the goal.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.

I agree that the food stamp program needs some overhauling. There are people who need it that cannot get it and of course, there are always those who misuse it. I think that mandatory classes in shopping, budgeting, and cooking low cost foods should be held. Many people have never been taught how to budget. I volunteer at a food bank and yesterday we set a new high in the number of people who came. The majority of them did not have food stamps or were getting perhaps $10 per month. Our church did try to start some classes on budgeting and no one would sign up. Linda

I don't want to sound harsh or cruel, but it's hard for me to feel sorry for those people on food stamps. I've stood in line with those people at the grocery store and it looks like nothing but crap in their cart....(ie:gallons of fruit punch, little debbies, & frozen dinners). It seems to me that they really need to cut out the crap from the cart and maybe they could afford more food.

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Mommy to Hope (10.10.06)
Monkey mommy to Allyson (10.13.02)

I have known people that used food stamps and They said they ate better than any other time in their lives! I think before we just dole out 'the dole', we should make it a requirement that the people receiving attend a
'shopping better/cooking smart' type of class. If it were broached in a professional manner, it would teach people how to shop smarter and make the money they do get stretch further.

I just bought at Aldi's a week's supply of fruits and vegetables and some staples for $23! That will last our family of 3 for a week. Yes I augment with frozen things from my freezer, but even if I doubled that to include meat it would still be only $46 dollars per week.

I do have empathy and I realize much of it is just because people don't know any better, so that's why I think someone should teach them. Unbelievable as this sounds, my brother worked at a coffee chain in between jobs a few years ago. He met a young woman there, out of high school, that didn't realize that you could bake at home? When he said he made muffins at home, she said, "you can't make those at home" She had come from a family that didn't own an oven, because they couldn't save up to buy an oven. So instead, they took what little money they had gotten and went out to buy fast food! She didn't know any other way, and she was in HIGH SCHOOL.