Food stamps for fast food

[alaric99x]

You're making a lot of sense.  Why am I spending all this money on utilities and electricity?  All I need is my laptop, I'll charge it at the next Starbucks and get my net access there.  I can pack the few belongings I need in a shopping cart and spend 4 to 6 weeks walking down toward Florida when the winter comes.

[nadarama]

I think it is a good idea!

[vp44]

lol..they just approved drug testing in Florida for foodstamp recipients...think its a good idea but alot say it violates peoples rights.

It worries me.  I see what happens with food stamps.  There are many who sell them so they can buy drugs.  But there are also children that will go hungry should their parents lose their food stamps.  Another topic where there are too many grey areas to sit on once side of the fence or another.

Well, if the parents care so little about their kids that they would let them go hungry rather than give up their drugs, the kids obviously don't have a very good life anyway and should be taken away and put in foster homes. I think the drug testing is a great idea. Also, the government could do a lot to curb obesity in this country by making it only possible to buy good basic nourishing food with food stamps, and not junk food of any kind. Most of the obese people are on welfare and food stamps. If they worked for a living, most of them wouldn't be so fat.

Try feeding a family of three on $300 a month and buy good basic nourishing food.  Most of the obese people are on welfare and food stamps?  I find that highly offensive.  My family receives food stamps.

My family of four doesn't receive food stamps, and we spend less than $300 a month on groceries. We might spend $10 a month on fast food, but we choose to eat healthier most of the time. You've been brainwashed by the fast food places that it's cheaper to eat there, but it's much more expensive.

Guess that depends on where you live. Me and my son spend $300 a month and more because the food prices here are expensive. We dont eat beef or pork to much either but milk at $4.00  a gallon and if you shop a certain time of month juices and water is high. We dont drink faucet water so we have our 5 gallon water jug to get water for cooking certain things and then buy bottled water for drinking. A pack of chicken with maybe 6 pieces in it is 7 to $9. Turkey Bacon is 5 to $6 a pack. I cant say how many times I go to the grocery store and just shake my head. Vegetables are not cheap either and the fruit omg 1.29 cents a pound for a watermelon on certain days and thats when its fresh an havent been there for a bit. Oh yeah me and my son are lucky if we do get to eat fast food and if we do It will be him getting a treat cause a happy meal here cost $6 and lets not forget the tax..

[kimberlymgiles]

When I first heard about this I was a little optimistic. I couldn't understand why people would need to be able to purchase already cooked food with foodstamps. Many have begun to argue the fact that food is food, whether it is cooked food or fresh produce, it is still considered food.

[debidoo]

  Wow that is a tough one.  I know that you can make food stamps last a lot longer and go farther if you cook reasonable meals at home but like you said for the homeless that is a dilemma.  I went into a convenience store that sells pizza yesterday and saw a sign on the window that said the pizza could be purchased with food stamps - sign said "ask me how" so I don't know other than that hadn't heard about it prior to your post.

[jstein2]

I think food stamps should only be used in grocery stores. One of the reasons this country has such a high budget deficit is because  the government's money is wasted by not only the higher ups, but by the citizens as well. I have a cousin that doesn't want to get a job because he doesn't want to lose his girlfriend's food stamps.

[ktheodos]

"Should" they, as in, legally, probably yes, but "should" they in terms of whether it's smart policy, no.....fast food is so expensive - smart shoppers know how to spend less on food ..... I keep my meals simple, rarely eat out ($100/month at a maximum), and it pays off because I'm able to treat myself occasionally and also start paying off my tons of loans..I'm not trying to compare myself to a person who's on food stamps, but thing is, we can't keep raising the amount ppl get (not including changes to inflation) just b/c ppl can't use it wisely and want more $....people are just naturally spenders

[HuffmanFamilyof4]

I read an article today that said in some states, food stamps can be used at places like KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and they are lobbying to allow this in more states.  They idea behind it is to allow those who are homeless or not able to cook a meal a place to get hot food instead of buying chips and candy bars. 

What do you all think about this?

that is ridiculous, the Federal food program (Food Stamps) is only used for food that has to be made by the person using the program. if any food that has to  include sales tax will not be paid by the program,which means you can't even buy anything from a deli. So if anyone is telling you they are going to fast food restaurants and using their food stamps is either dreaming or they are lying. there is no state in this country that would pay for such nonsense.

[falcon9]

... the Federal food program (Food Stamps) is only used for food that has to be made by the person using the program. if any food that has to  include sales tax will not be paid by the program,which means you can't even buy anything from a deli. So if anyone is telling you they are going to fast food restaurants and using their food stamps is either dreaming or they are lying. there is no state in this country that would pay for such nonsense.

"States with sales tax exempt food assistance benefits from that tax, (Florida, California, Arizona and Michigan),and no grocery store should charge sales tax on items purchased with food stamps." 

--http://www.ehow.com/about_7488284_tax-food-stamps.html#ixzz24gdzb4a3

[sak4kat]

Maybe if food stamps are allotted to be used in fast food it should only be for select items.  That way combating overpriced greasy or sugary foods can be avoided and healthy nutritious options can be available.  The food stamp program is great of parents struggling to make ends meat.  Without the program I know first hand there was a time my kids and I would have sunk.

[tinajacksonville]

I believe that Food Stamps should only be used for food that is purchased from the store. Fast Food should not be purchased with Food Stamps. The purpose of Food Stamps is to give people a way to purchase food and not to treat themselves out at a fast food restaurant.

[mrsbluesmith]

I grew up in a family of 8.  My dad barely made over minimum wage and my mother didn't work.  She stayed home and took care of the family.  She balanced the budget and the meals.  If we didn't like what she was cooking for dinner, we went without.  When we got hungry, believe me, we ate.  Simple.

Now I realize times are different today, but the good example my parents set can be applied today.  Even if you're a single parent, which I have been before.

Here is an article from a woman who has a family of 5.  She feeds them on $300 a month, and she does it without using coupons.

http://www.debtsmart.com/pages/article_feed_family_080430792.html


As far as using food stamps to buy fast food, the last time I checked, this was a free country.  Do you want the government to take away all your rights and control all of your choices?

Let's lobby to take away freedom of speech and freedom of religion.  How about taking away our right to bear arms?

Yeah, I'm all for a communist country.  Anyone else?

[elandry]

hen I was a military wife, family of four,  I fed us all on 363.00 a month-- and NO, the commissary isn't always cheaper. We ate well, because I did a lot of home cooking-- filling nutritious foods, crock pot meals, casseroles. My other half and I now eat on about 250 a month, and it would be less if he weren't addicted to steak. It does take some planning-- and when my kids were little it also took some coupons and saying no to tv dinners and sugared cereals.

[countrygirl12]

Food stamps should never be allowed for fast food.  I didn't think you could get food stamps if you were homeless.  You have to have an address to give them.  I also don't think food stamps should be used for chips and candy bars.

[alaric99x]

hen I was a military wife, family of four,  I fed us all on 363.00 a month-- and NO, the commissary isn't always cheaper. We ate well, because I did a lot of home cooking-- filling nutritious foods, crock pot meals, casseroles. My other half and I now eat on about 250 a month, and it would be less if he weren't addicted to steak. It does take some planning-- and when my kids were little it also took some coupons and saying no to tv dinners and sugared cereals.

You're absolutely right, however, the commissary, where I do most of my shopping, is less costly for almost all items in my area.

Most people in the US simply don't understand what "cooking" means anymore.  They open a box of "Hamburger Helper," or they heat up a TV dinner and they call that cooking.  That's not cooking and with those kind of women, going out and getting fast food is the cheapest and easiest way to feed your family.  It will also make your family fat, but nobody seems to worry about that either.  Give your kids Coca Cola, Ice Cream and lots of other sugary "treats."  The fattest kids I've seen anywhere on the planet, and the women here are absolutely repulsive, even the younger ones.

My mother, my ex-wife, and my present wife all cooked from basic ingredients.  Peeling potatoes, boiling rice, nothing deep fried.  It takes more time, but it costs a lot less and it doesn't make you fat.  My wife is 40 years old, has a good appetite, eats whenever she wants, is just over 5 feet tall and weighs about 98 pounds.  No problem eating all you want if you eat the right foods, you'll never have to go on a diet.