So single, older white males don’t get hungry like everybody else?! That’s outrageous!
I’ve heard a radio commercial that practically begs people to go on food stamps. It says, “Do you have a job? You can still qualify for food stamps! Do you have a house? You still qualify! Do you have a new car? You still qualify!” etc., etc. I guess you can get food stamps now no matter what your circumstances...unless you’re an older, single white male, apparently!!
(BTW, I’ve also noticed lately, almost all of the panhandlers I see in my area are white males. Maybe they ran into the same problem you did.)
The Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture has developed three public service radio spots to encourage more eligible families to participate in the food stamps program.
The spots were produced as part of a public information campaign called “Food Stamps Make America Stronger.” The radio ads answer some of the most frequently asked questions about program eligibility – concerns and uncertainties that may prevent eligible households from checking to find out if they qualify.
The three radio ads address specific issues identified as barriers to eligible families enrolling in the food stamps Program.
“Eat Smart. Play Hard” runs 30 seconds and features a busy mom describing the challenge of stretching a paycheck to feed her family and pay other necessary household expenses. “That’s where food stamps can lend a hand,” she says. “They help me keep good nutritious food on my family’s table, even when times are tough. Find out today if you qualify.”
“At the Market, “ a one-minute spot, is set in a grocery store and listens in on a conversation between two co-workers, one of whom is on extended medical leave from work. The ad explains that even with a member of the household working, families may still qualify for food stamps. Some of the dialog in the ad includes this passage:
SAM: “Wow, it must be tough. Living on one paycheck can’t be easy.”
ALICE: “It’s not but at least we’re eating healthy. I found out about food stamps from one of my neighbors. I applied and qualified. That’s really helped our family. “
SAM: “Food stamps? You qualified even with Jeffrey working?”
ALICE: “Sure did. You can still get food stamps if there is a worker in the household. It depends on what your family’s income is.”
In “Advice from Mom,” listeners learn that families receiving assistance through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program may also be eligible for food stamps. The one-minute spot features an exchange between a mother and her daughter, a new mother with a new job:
THERESA: “I’m already getting help from WIC. Can I get food stamps too?”
MOTHER: “I called the food stamp office today. And they said you can be on WIC and food stamps. Even with your job you still might qualify. It would certainly help until you’re back on your feet.”
THERESA: “I guess I should find out more because I want healthy foods for me and my baby. I’ll go home and call the food stamp office for an appointment. What was that number again?”
At the conclusion of each announcement, listeners are urged to call to receive an information packet. The toll-free number is 1-800-221-5689.
The Food Stamp (FS) Program is funded by the Food and Nutrition Services of the United States Department of Agriculture. Each state administers its own program but the eligibility rules are Federally mandated. How you apply for FS benefits will vary, some, from state to state but the general guidelines and requirements are the same. Generally speaking, it is fairly painless for an eligible individual or family to apply, qualify and receive FS benefits
•FNS also funds a program called WIC (Women, Infants and Children). This program provides benefits to pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children age 5 and under.
•The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds a program through the states called TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). TANF provides money and other types of assistance to qualifying families.
•It is possible – common, in fact – for families to receive all three types of benefits. Ask to apply for anything you think you may be eligible for.
Food stamps: All that bad?
Analyst: Many kids don’t rely on them for long times
November 28, 2009
BY LINDSEY TANNER
The estimate was startling, and made headlines around the country: Almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood
The eye-opening estimate on children is from an analysis published earlier this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The authors, sociologists from Cornell University and Washington University in St. Louis, based their projection on 30 years of national data. They said their results show U.S. kids face a substantial risk for experiencing poverty, which poses a serious threat to their health and well-being.
Lisa Zilligen of Chicago, a 28-year-old single mother of three young children, has received food stamps on and off for several years. When she was a child, her family also received food stamps periodically when her father was unemployed and struggled to raise four children alone.
Zilligen lives in an apartment in a dicey neighborhood, attends Loyola University full-time and earns about $400 a month from a campus office job. She’s been getting about $600 in food stamps for the past several months; sometimes the allotment runs out before the end of the month and the family ends up visiting a food pantry, she said.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1909049,CST-NWS-stamps29.article
BOO FREAKING WHOO! I guess when I was a child growing up no one was around to tell us that we were ‘poor’!
THANK GOD!