food stamps and how they make people feel

I've been all over the board on this issue.
Had a tax paying job at 15.
Then went through a divorce at a young age with 2 small children and had to apply for aid, back when they still used actual food stamps. I was lucky enough to find a job, but it didn't pay much, so I was on some type of assistance for about 2 years.
I met my current husband, he made pretty good money. Now the children are grown, hubby was laid off. Luckily, I still have the same job, and make ok money. Can we go out to dinner once a week? Nope. Lots of stuff we can't do right now. But if nothing else, the time I spent on aid taught my how to budget and pay for necessities.

I will admit that there are people that abuse the system and yes, it does make me mad. But I have never been more angry than when a young friend of mine, who was pregnant, went into a store to by wic items and left the store crying, without her items, because the cashier was such a bitch and made her feel like dirt. Let me tell you, I raised so much hell in that store that I was threatened with a call to the police.

There is NO EXCUSE to treat another human being like that!!!!!!!

I am a newly single mother who is looking at being in the welfare system soon and I have no problems with it. I have paid my taxes, worked underpaid jobs for the government, and worked the hellish and highly underpaid job of the welfare office itself, taking abuse for 2 years. I paid my dues.
I will have no qualms taking assistance. I did everything right that I saw fit, I got married, had a child, and put my husband through school. He developed a mental illness, put us in debt, and decided he didnt need me anymore afterwards, leaving me high and dry.
Having worked in the welfare office, there are people who do abuse the sytem. Funny thing is, when we tell people to report them, they hmm and haw.
There are the chronic users, who are in the system permenantly. Yes sometimes they roll up in a nice car. Sometimes they get a free place. But that is ALL they have. Their children most likely won't graduate from high school, much less go to college. They won't have any job training. There will be parents missing. It is a miserable life. They are in the positions they are because of bad decisions and bas society influences. If they buy 6 bags of chips, their kids health now suffers too. They may have a nice car, but that is all they will ever have.These people have never had anyone value them for anything in their lives. So they seek value in material possessions. I can't imagine livign that way.

Many of these people can't read or write, and many of them, society has let fall through the cracks. I live in Baltimore where every child is looked at has having to go through a lot to get too school, and many as 45% don't graduate. It is not a personal problem, it is a societal problem. You think these people have it easy? Go stand in east Baltimore for awhile. Tell me how you do.

There are people who only use the sytem temporarily. Who lost a job or a home and need to get by.
No one should ever be made to feel inferior for needing help. And if people want to judge that, shame on you.
Then every church should close every homeless shelter, soup kitchen, abuse shelter, and food pantry. And see how society fares then.

Years ago, family members and neighbors took care of each other. They had large gardens and canned produce to last the year, raised bees for their sugar, sewed their own clothes and used the scraps for pieced blankets. When mom (if she had a job) and dad worked, grandma and grandpa took care of the kids.

reply to post by mjfromga


i am lucky i live in a poor rural area and my niegborhood is still this way (not lucky it's poor, lucky it's still kinda old fashioned). i also am lucky enough to have enough property to have a very large garden and some chickens. So my neighbors get eggs and extra veggies. My one neighbor babysits her grandkids, and another has grandpa living with them (there is also still a big Menonite and Amish community here which i think kinda rubs off).
But i see some of the young men and women from town with nothing to do, so drinking and drugs takes up they're time (meth is a scourge of rural areas). The public education system is very bad here. i grew up in the wealthy Chicago suburbs as did my own children (who are adults now) and i can see the difference in verbal and communication skills which also doesn't help anyone in dealing with gov. agencies, police or in getting good jobs. i hate to think it, but it seems so planned out, watching from the Reagan years 'til now the goal posts seemed to have been moved. i have ranted on this thread because i see others blaming others who are made out to be lower on the scale. i am not socialist because i was a businessman, but i am not so arrogant as to think i could have done anything alone. Something i really notice from the 80s was greed (and coc aine use). i hope we can work it out, otherwise it will end up totally wrong. We are running out of choices.

reply to post by Mikeyy


I know where you're coming from. I was reading on a few other sites that there are rich a-holes who are not only sporting amultimillion dollar retirement funds, but also drawing a SS check. That lit me up.

As for myself, I'm on the stamp program. It has been the only saving grace I have, besides relatives covering my bills. I've paid my taxes for 40 years and served in the military. I now have several past surgeries backfiring on me and I had a heart attack at work a few years ago. Physical work is grueling and all of my injuries happened at work, because of work, but they found ways to screw me every time.
Every month I would spend every penny I had on food whether I needed it or not, and last winter I donated over 900 pounds of food to local chrches and senior centers. I have not seen a paycheck in over 3 years and am $9000+ in debt now and still having to fight the fed for my disability entitlement. My state Medical Review Board has already determined that I am disabled, but Uncle Sam is dragging his feet. Nice way to treat a vet eh? I've watched the system decay for 50 years and I'm ashamed of the leadership in this country now. Am I ashamed of using food stamps? Yes and no. I've earned and spent over a million dollars in my lifetime and paid more taxes in 1 paycheck that my fellow employees made in gross. I was one of those 'welfare bashers' when I was paying out all them taxes, but when you get thrown to the wolves, your perspective kinda changes.

I get a little bit of foodstamps and I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to use them. I found a local food pantry that instead of asking for donations from the community, funds itself by selling boxes of steaks, pork, and seafood. They aren't the highest quality cuts of meat, but they're good and they're cheaper than the grocery store, I did the math once and I think it came to about 1.67 per pound. They accept food stamps and I get one every month. I feel good about using foodstamps to feed my family and help others in the community at the same time.

Originally posted by Mikeyy
This thread is a double edged sword.

Im 25 years old, and I have to pay for EVERYTHING myself. I pay rent, pay for all my groceries, Gas, utility bills, ect.

While I watch these other people Get free food and housing. These people living for free have enough money to buy beer and party on the weekends.

It just pisses me off.

I MIGHT be able to accept the free food part, but the fact that Section 8 exist is bull#. Free housing??? Thats is insanly unfair. The Section 8 on the other side of town has apartments that are TWICE the size of mine.

I'm tired of it. all off my tax dollars.

Call me an asshole I don't care what you think. Watching everybody else get everything free and handed to them would anger you also. Don't lie.

I'm with you 100%. If I decided to have another child I would have to quit my job. Less income in our family would mean that I would have to figure out a way to feed us, thus taking us from middle class to poverty in less than a minute. The LAST thing I would do is apply for government help even though I have been paying into these "funds" my entire working life. I can clean houses under the table for extra cash. I can mow yards, run errands, watch children, whatever it takes to make extra cash. As for food stamps, you bet your a$$ I would be figuring out a way to GROW or HUNT my own food. For anyone that is not disabled to sit back and relax while they could be doing something to help themselves makes me mad. Plain and simple. Do the right thing and HELP YOURSELF. That's what I think.

Originally posted by wildoracle13

Originally posted by Mikeyy
This thread is a double edged sword.

Im 25 years old, and I have to pay for EVERYTHING myself. I pay rent, pay for all my groceries, Gas, utility bills, ect.

While I watch these other people Get free food and housing. These people living for free have enough money to buy beer and party on the weekends.

It just pisses me off.

I MIGHT be able to accept the free food part, but the fact that Section 8 exist is bull#. Free housing??? Thats is insanly unfair. The Section 8 on the other side of town has apartments that are TWICE the size of mine.

I'm tired of it. all off my tax dollars.

Call me an asshole I don't care what you think. Watching everybody else get everything free and handed to them would anger you also. Don't lie.

I'm with you 100%. If I decided to have another child I would have to quit my job. Less income in our family would mean that I would have to figure out a way to feed us, thus taking us from middle class to poverty in less than a minute. The LAST thing I would do is apply for government help even though I have been paying into these "funds" my entire working life. I can clean houses under the table for extra cash. I can mow yards, run errands, watch children, whatever it takes to make extra cash. As for food stamps, you bet your a$$ I would be figuring out a way to GROW or HUNT my own food. For anyone that is not disabled to sit back and relax while they could be doing something to help themselves makes me mad. Plain and simple. Do the right thing and HELP YOURSELF. That's what I think.

All I gotta say to you is talk is cheap...... Wait until you find yourself without a job and these side jobs you get don't pay nearly enough money for you to feed your family or pay the bills, you will change your tune very quickly trust me on that!

Originally posted by nixie_nox
I am a newly single mother who is looking at being in the welfare system soon and I have no problems with it. I have paid my taxes, worked underpaid jobs for the government, and worked the hellish and highly underpaid job of the welfare office itself, taking abuse for 2 years. I paid my dues.
I will have no qualms taking assistance. I did everything right that I saw fit, I got married, had a child, and put my husband through school. He developed a mental illness, put us in debt, and decided he didnt need me anymore afterwards, leaving me high and dry.
Having worked in the welfare office, there are people who do abuse the sytem. Funny thing is, when we tell people to report them, they hmm and haw.
There are the chronic users, who are in the system permenantly. Yes sometimes they roll up in a nice car. Sometimes they get a free place. But that is ALL they have. Their children most likely won't graduate from high school, much less go to college. They won't have any job training. There will be parents missing. It is a miserable life. They are in the positions they are because of bad decisions and bas society influences. If they buy 6 bags of chips, their kids health now suffers too. They may have a nice car, but that is all they will ever have.These people have never had anyone value them for anything in their lives. So they seek value in material possessions. I can't imagine livign that way.

Many of these people can't read or write, and many of them, society has let fall through the cracks. I live in Baltimore where every child is looked at has having to go through a lot to get too school, and many as 45% don't graduate. It is not a personal problem, it is a societal problem. You think these people have it easy? Go stand in east Baltimore for awhile. Tell me how you do.

There are people who only use the sytem temporarily. Who lost a job or a home and need to get by.
No one should ever be made to feel inferior for needing help. And if people want to judge that, shame on you.
Then every church should close every homeless shelter, soup kitchen, abuse shelter, and food pantry. And see how society fares then.

Might be a good change for those who've never been off of pavement to learn how to survive off of themselves. I mean, think about it, there are people who literally don't know that food grows in the ground, or that the meat they are eating came from a living animal. I am a country girl from the West that has very little sympathy for people that live in the ways you just described. What good is going to school when these kids have no "real world" knowlege? All they know is xbox, gangs and apartments. Besides, learning to read or write comes second to knowing how to feed yourself and not with an EBT card. If they are placing this much value on material posessions it means they haven't been hungry enough.

reply to post by obzerver


Well I remember using the old paper money looking kinds from back in the 80s and I remember some people were uncomfortable using them (some kids would make fun of you if they seen you with them) but for the most part people were not ashamed to pull out those money looking kinds and pay for their produce. I see it like this if you feel too high up to use them then there lies a hidden SOCIAL issue.

Be well

Originally posted by Mikeyy This thread is a double edged sword. Im 25 years old, and I have to pay for EVERYTHING myself. I pay rent, pay for all my groceries, Gas, utility bills, ect. While I watch these other people Get free food and housing. These people living for free have enough money to buy beer and party on the weekends. It just pisses me off.

I agree with you too, Mikey. My daughter is a grad student in CN and makes a whopping $26,000 per year. She is able to pay the outrageous college town rents and all her other expenses and still save 25% of her take-home. The only thing we pay are her health and car insurance premiums. Too many people want to spend every cent they make on stuff so that they can appear prosperous and than have nothing left for when bad times hit (they hit us all eventually).

Wow, how spoiled does a person have to be to becoming ashamed of using free food stamps?

I'm assuming that a food stamp is like some kind of voucher by which people can get free food for the survival, is that right?

Reminds me of Edmond Dantes' father in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, who starves because he is too proud to ask for money. Perhaps some people need to read more literature, to be exposed to the notion that shame really can be the death of you.

The way I see it, if anyone is in true need and they still do the rejection of the offer for food, then that is not a problem but their own problem, and only when their foolish pride has led to their downfall will they learn some humility. If someone needs to learn a lesson then it is of course the best that they should learn it.

Anyway, if truly they fear the judgment of idiots, and if truly they have such apparent pride in themselves, then would they not carry themselves with dignity, and dress well, and behave in a well mannered and sociable way? If they have so much pride in themselves they would surely do this anyway, and if they did this, they would not be judged so harshly, so there would be nothing for the concern.

Unless of course, their proud arrogance is very unfounded. Which it often is. When I was in the U.S.A., and in Europe, and in Australia, I often saw people walking about in public dressed in "track pants", overweight people with their guts hanging out, not wearing shoes, trudging about shopping centres talking at the top of their voices and interjecting their sentences with a swear word every few seconds. They would so often be complaining of the money, whilst purchasing alcohol and cigarettes while their kids got around in faded clothes and school uniform dress codes only vaguely adhered to. These people have no dignity, show no dignity, so of course they cannot expect to be treated with dignity. Outward appearances matter a lot.

Originally posted by obzerver
i think we as americans need to form up and make it less acward to get food stamps theres people i know are out there who dont take them because they cant stand they way it feels to be on them we need to open our hearts

i have them but and i dont mind but i know that there are peopl to proud to use or take them maybe we could find a less formal way to present the help so it doesnt sound like help

Sorry but I have to say this. I have been homeless. I have literally scraped for change to find a way to eat. I have went from having plenty, to having nothing but the cloths on my back. My life now is far from perfect, but I have a roof over my head, food in my belly. In all my years of living on this planet, I have NEVER met a person who was truly in need and hungry that would be too proud to use food stamps. Sorry but when you are REALLY hungry, your not too proud. When you are truly hungry, you will eat of a trashcan and you wont care who sees you do it because at the end of the day it comes down to eat or die. So if you know people who are too proud to use food stamps cause they dont like how it makes them feel, then I would suggest these people are not truly hungry and not truly in need.

I don't think people realize when you apply for assistance you are required to list all assets. If the department finds a person has too many they will be denied.

A coworker of mine lost her husband in a work accident. Because their marriage was common law workman's comp was dragging their feet. She had one small daughter and a POS truck that her hubby kept running. Since he was gone she bought a better car. Her parents gave her the down payment and her job would cover the payments/insurance, it wasn't a Cadillac BTW.

She lost her hubby's health coverage for their daughter so she applied for medical coverage/medicaid for the baby. That's all she wanted, no food stamps, no check. Based on her income she was eligible for full benefits but she had to sell her car. The department would further compensate her in the event she lost her job due to transportation issues. This makes no sense she didn't want full benefits just medical. She told them to stick it. With this attitude no wonder so many young single mom's give up and stay on the dole. Especially if they have no family support.

If you see a welfare mom pulling up in a Cadillac, I assure you it's not listed on her app and it's not legally registered to her. If it was the department would know, they do have spies/investigators.

reply to post by wildoracle13
you are right and wrong at the same time.How can this be? most people do not have the means er the know how to grow and hunt for city folk think the food stuff is just bout not harvested, or live in an apartment where there is no place to grow or is there get back to that
i have tried to make a veggie garden the soil is just to bad, we have ( my GF and I) chickens and a duck for the eggs, no the chickens nor the duck are doomed for the table too good of egg layers, yard and zoning laws do not allow farm live stock, we where thinking it is time to sell her home and get one more rural for we are being hassled for having the egg layers, and with better soil, that was when we were both working now i am the house keeper, job seeker,[ with a bad back there is not to many places that would consider hiring me] and she brings the bacon home, no more problems with the chickens and duck for we try to be self sufficient for this year to wet and long cold spell for the veggies did take hold this time but to small to be much good about the size of a half dollar so this is where inside gardens come in to play, 1 foot wide 4 foot long 13 in deep 1/2" the wood came from free cycle the soil is in the proses of being made yes made compost heap leaves news paper sales adds lawn clipping's, table scraps, this time next year should have a good harvest, now how to keep the drain age, for an apartment size one 2foot square and gets some cat litter tubs for they do make, (clean them first bleach and rinse for) or one gallon jugs for that matter well do ok for tomatoes greens, and herbs now that i am now longer working and needing to use the batsmen as a work shop it can be used a a year round green house big windows are a plus no need for artificial light , i do hope this helps this city folk, and yes to you that buy beer, think about buy seeds, get there right kind you can make your own beer.

reply to post by Morningglory
only if a complaint is made or if there is suspicion of abuse/ fraud, for i know of many that get away with driving a cad , yes a Cadillac Escalade but then they have 8 kids now this is what i call abuse for they have kids to stay on one works at the store house the other works at DI, or did it has been some time sense i have seen them.

Originally posted by jheated5

Originally posted by wildoracle13

Originally posted by Mikeyy
This thread is a double edged sword.

Im 25 years old, and I have to pay for EVERYTHING myself. I pay rent, pay for all my groceries, Gas, utility bills, ect.

While I watch these other people Get free food and housing. These people living for free have enough money to buy beer and party on the weekends.

It just pisses me off.

I MIGHT be able to accept the free food part, but the fact that Section 8 exist is bull#. Free housing??? Thats is insanly unfair. The Section 8 on the other side of town has apartments that are TWICE the size of mine.

I'm tired of it. all off my tax dollars.

Call me an asshole I don't care what you think. Watching everybody else get everything free and handed to them would anger you also. Don't lie.

I'm with you 100%. If I decided to have another child I would have to quit my job. Less income in our family would mean that I would have to figure out a way to feed us, thus taking us from middle class to poverty in less than a minute. The LAST thing I would do is apply for government help even though I have been paying into these "funds" my entire working life. I can clean houses under the table for extra cash. I can mow yards, run errands, watch children, whatever it takes to make extra cash. As for food stamps, you bet your a$$ I would be figuring out a way to GROW or HUNT my own food. For anyone that is not disabled to sit back and relax while they could be doing something to help themselves makes me mad. Plain and simple. Do the right thing and HELP YOURSELF. That's what I think.

All I gotta say to you is talk is cheap...... Wait until you find yourself without a job and these side jobs you get don't pay nearly enough money for you to feed your family or pay the bills, you will change your tune very quickly trust me on that!

Like I said, getting government help would be a LAST resort. I am not going to intentionally risk my family because of my pride. I am merely pointing out that I will do everything I know how to provide for us before asking for the government to help as everyone else should too. Am I right?

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by wildoracle13

 

you are right and wrong at the same time.How can this be? most people do not have the means er the know how to grow and hunt for city folk think the food stuff is just bout not harvested, or live in an apartment where there is no place to grow or is there get back to that
i have tried to make a veggie garden the soil is just to bad, we have ( my GF and I) chickens and a duck for the eggs, no the chickens nor the duck are doomed for the table too good of egg layers, yard and zoning laws do not allow farm live stock, we where thinking it is time to sell her home and get one more rural for we are being hassled for having the egg layers, and with better soil, that was when we were both working now i am the house keeper, job seeker,[ with a bad back there is not to many places that would consider hiring me] and she brings the bacon home, no more problems with the chickens and duck for we try to be self sufficient for this year to wet and long cold spell for the veggies did take hold this time but to small to be much good about the size of a half dollar so this is where inside gardens come in to play, 1 foot wide 4 foot long 13 in deep 1/2" the wood came from free cycle the soil is in the proses of being made yes made compost heap leaves news paper sales adds lawn clipping's, table scraps, this time next year should have a good harvest, now how to keep the drain age, for an apartment size one 2foot square and gets some cat litter tubs for they do make, (clean them first bleach and rinse for) or one gallon jugs for that matter well do ok for tomatoes greens, and herbs now that i am now longer working and needing to use the batsmen as a work shop it can be used a a year round green house big windows are a plus no need for artificial light , i do hope this helps this city folk, and yes to you that buy beer, think about buy seeds, get there right kind you can make your own beer.

In nature, if you don't have the means or know-how to shelter, feed, and protect yourself, the solution is simple. If you live in an area that has no wild life, soil, clean running water etc. well, the way I see it is that it's your choice to stay there and sign up for an EBT card. Not me. I don't believe living that way is natural. Never eating anything fresh or drinking out of plastic bottles your whole life is not right and it's inhumane to bring children into that existence.

reply to post by brilab45


Don't ever feel ashamed! We all have the same right to live and if help is necessary then help should always be available. That is what makes us more civilized that we take care of eachother through the hard times.

Not your fault, not your mess! Victims of circumstance.

reply to post by wildoracle13


I still don't understand why people feel like they are "accepting help from the government". You pay taxes, right? If not, you certainly used to and you will again. You would have to be on assistance a loooooooooong time before you even begun to get your money back from the government.

To me, it's no different that asking for a loan from somebody I normally cloth and feed. Namely, the government.

reply to post by jheated5


Yea, because the recession strugglers haven't thought of this already. And they all have money hanging around to hire her.

Talk about being in for a rude awakening.

Darn you for not being able to grow and hunt your own food from a...sidewalk.
Someone has been sniffing too much of the mountain spring downey softener again.