Personally I think they should tie food stamps directly to farming by way of farmer’s markets and the like.
Farming is going to take a hit this summer and I’d rather force people using grub stubs to buy locally grown veggies, fruit, meat, eggs etc. The farmers are going to be getting all kinds of aid anyway and I’d rather give the food stamp money to them.
Our local farmers market is already offering double deals on veggies bought with food stamps up to $40. Spend $40 and get $80 worth of veggies. They’re saying that the bargain seekers aren’t the typical stamp users. (I think it was a safe way of saying “white”)
I would also forbid buying junk food and fast food with food stamps.
“Personally I think they should tie food stamps directly to farming by way of farmer’s markets and the like.”
At the Silver City NM Farmers Market I have to accept food stamps as well as some sort of wooden nickle worth a dollar. Last market all vendors were told we are required to dispay a provided 17”x11” glossy color laminated food stamp poster at our booths. If I have to advertise for ‘SNAP’ it will be very reluctantly.
To process my beef and lamb I need to transport the stock 4 hours thru the desert each way and across state lines to the nearest USDA certified processor. Why can’t some of the USDA’s funds be transfered from SNAP to either create more or closer USDA processing facilities?
On some market days last year nearly 1/3 of the money I took in was in the form of wooden nickels or SNAP checks. The whole USDA is an out of control fluster cluck! They also were the ultimate entity allowing 300,000 acres of the Gila National Forest to burn this year which is the watershed I irrigate out of.