Posted on 05/16/2008 1:19:15 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices
By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago
Danielle Brown stands outside a South Side market at midnight, braving the spring chill for her first chance to buy groceries since her food stamps ran out nearly two weeks ago.
For days, Brown said, she has been turning cans of "whatever we got in the cabinet" into breakfast, lunch and dinner for her children, ages 1 and 3.
"Ain't got no food left, the kids are probably hungry," said Brown, a 23-year-old single mother who relies heavily on her $312 monthly allotment of food stamps — a ration adjusted just once a year, in October.
This is what the skyrocketing cost of food looks like at street level: Poor people whose food stamps don't buy as much as they once did rushing into a store in the dead of night, filling shopping carts with cereal, eggs and milk so their kids can wake up on the first day of the month to a decent meal.
"People with incomes below the poverty threshold are in dire straits because not only are food prices increasing but the food stamps they are receiving have not increased," said Dr. John Cook, an associate professor at Boston University's medical school who has studied the food stamp program, particularly how it affects children.
On the South Side of Chicago, people like Brown wait for the stroke of midnight, when one month gives way to another and brings a new allotment of food stamps.
Dennis Kladis began opening his family owned One Stop Food & Liquors once a month at midnight nine months ago to give desperate families a chance to buy food as soon as possible.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Nothing like good chicken soup. Of course you have to buy a chicken. These women DO need a short course on how to shop and how to feed a family. Their carts a full of ready to eat food. They have never cut up a chicken or learned how to make hamburger go a long way. And yes indeed, they get food stamps and WIC. Many schools offer free shoes, glasses, pencils, paper etc. Plus they get free breakfast and free lunch. I am really getting tired of the whining. Many of us older people are living on less than $900.00 a month and doing quite well thank you.
I, myself, am trying to muster the necessary bravery to venture forth in the spring chill. To summon said strength requires more food.
You do feel my pain, don't you? Anyone?
ANYONE?
I used to work in a grocery store when I was high school. I remember seeing one woman buy two cart-loads of food with food stamps and then expect me to fit all of it in her new corvette. Disgusted me then as it still does.
Mom used to say (and still does) "No one pickier than people on welfare." It was fine with us, we were getting by on Mom's $3.78/hr while Dad went back to school.
I miss the cheese occasionally; it was really good. Had the texture of Velveeta and flavor of cheddar.
PS and BTW...This was 20-odd years ago, but at the time Mom was pulling $3.78 an hour, she sat down and figured out that if she quit work and worked the system, she'd close to double her "salary". She didn't, but the lesson was not lost on me. Something's broke when the people picking up the welfare food are better off than the people distributing it.
Aye, there’s the rub.
She’s got plenty of money. $1/person/meal is emminently doable - IF you have a clue about actually how to find a balanced meal for a buck.
ITA. We were in a 10+ year old car with over 100,000 miles on it.
Preach on! I had to venture forth this morning in the driving rain (well, it was really a light drizzle) to get to work, just to maintain my job.
Someone has to pay taxes so that all of the welfare recipients can eat.
I don't know where you shop but where I shop a dozen Large eggs were $1.22 when I bought them last Saturday. And I pay <$2.50 a gallon for milk.
Was that supposed to be 17 maybe? I was trying to imagine what you were driving that a tank holds 50-60 gallons of gas.
Downstate in Paris, Illinois, I was in Wal-mart behind a lady who used her WIC card to buy some ice cream. Then she pulled out a wad of $20’s to buy an X-Box.
I don’t remember what happened after that since my head exploded.
Chicago area? I live in central Illinois. Eggs about $1.59, milk about $2.69.
Yeah, I'll bet!
If we had some ham, we’d have ham and eggs, if we had some eggs.
I am shaking my head for you (since you can't).
I went to EIU for a year and my fake ID girl was from Paris, IL.
EIU. Cool! Hopefully, I’m going there in the spring.
Sorry. Fresh out of sympathy here. The ‘poor’ aren’t the only ones whose food bills are going up.
My family received food stamps for one month in 1972. We were limited as to what we could buy; beans, PB, bread, milk-the basics. We were given cooking classes if we didn’t know how to use those basics. We could use those ‘old fashioned’ terms for assistance now.
And at 1 and 3, she’s probably getting WIC (milk, formula) on TOP of the food stamps.
There are Alabama sheriffs feeding prisoners on 1.75 a day. I think they need to start classes on how the rest of us can do that.
The case deserves our sympathy? The kids involved deserve our sympathy and that's it. Unfortunately it comes as a package deal that includes the mother and absent daddy(s).
I don't know the answer, I don't want kids to go hungry even if it is the fault of the parents.
You are an inspiration to all of "us people".
I spend 50 less than that for a family of 4!
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