Almost every time I am standing in line behind an obese person who has a cart full of all highly processed junk food they end up paying with some form of government assistance. Up here they have what are called “EBT” cards so it is a little less obvious.
Government nutritional assistance should be limited to only basic ingredients such as rice, flour, sugar, dried milk, eggs, margarine, vegetables, fruits, cheese, meats and fish. Persons and families in need should prepare their meals from scratch. The only “processed” foods should be things like pancake mix or “bisquick” and canned foods that make it a little easier to get a recipe right. I realize that many have grown up almost completely on fast food and pre-processed foods and might need some basic instruction to go along with their government assistance.
Around here there used to be many more “food banks” run churches and charitable organizations where they gave out basic foods to those in need. Much of it came from the Department of Agriculture along with donations. My parents volunteered. The problem then as now was that there is basically no accountability. Many people go from one food bank to the next hoarding and then selling the supplies to others instead of actually making use of them as intended. The food bank volunteers can often tell who is doing this but are often not allowed to do anything about it.
I will add that even seemingly educated people these days have been largely brainwashed by fads and advertising to forget almost all of the nutritional basics. We were taught in school about the “food pyramid”. It has been modified a bit since that time, but the basic principles remain the same. My wife taught nutrition for several years... oh, the stories she would come home and tell. All of these people who obsess over “carbs”, “protein”, and my personal favorite... the vilified wheat protein “gluten” almost always miss the point. “Carbs”, protein and even fats are all parts of a nutritious diet.
To simplify greatly... in your body everything is broken down to sugar for fuel, fat is used for storage, and protein is used for tissue repair. In order for protein to be used Their are also many essential vitamins and minerals that we need to stay healthy. Vilifying one food group, especially “carbs” is just plain silly... basically vegetables, fruits and grains are all “carbs”. All of these are important sources of nutrients.
I do believe many of those on assistance are 2nd/3rd generation and they are basically enslaved to this mindset. I would like to see a complete overhaul of the food stamp system, which would include drug testing and home economics classes being tied to the aid received. It should become more basic in choices.