EXACTLY!
Posted on 11/28/2009 5:27:37 PM PST by reaganaut1
With food stamp use at record highs and climbing every month, a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.
It has grown so rapidly in places so diverse that it is becoming nearly as ordinary as the groceries it buys. More than 36 million people use inconspicuous plastic cards for staples [...].
Virtually all have incomes near or below the federal poverty line, but their eclectic ranks testify to the range of people struggling with basic needs. [...]
While the numbers have soared during the recession, the path was cleared in better times when the Bush administration led a campaign to erase the program’s stigma, calling food stamps “nutritional aid” instead of welfare, and made it easier to apply. That bipartisan effort capped an extraordinary reversal from the 1990s, when some conservatives tried to abolish the program, Congress enacted large cuts and bureaucratic hurdles chased many needy people away.
...
[T]he program is now expanding at a pace of about 20,000 people a day.
There are 239 counties in the United States where at least a quarter of the population receives food stamps
...
In more than 750 counties, the program helps feed one in three blacks. In more than 800 counties, it helps feed one in three children.
...
Although the program is growing at a record rate, the federal official who oversees it would like it to grow even faster.
“I think the response of the program has been tremendous,” said Kevin Concannon, an under secretary of agriculture, “but we’re mindful that there are another 15, 16 million who could benefit.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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.
No. But should we incentivize poor women to have children by paying them monthly based on the number of kids they have?
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.
It’s a difficult problem as I’m sure you’ll agree. With the limited contact I have had with the aid programs, the assistance no longer increments after a certain number of children. Not sure about food stamps or WIC, but a welfare family I know (I am a legal guardian) found that additional children after I think the second did not increase benefits (this may vary by state and I may be wrong on the limit of “2”). It is hell to look up these things on the state website so I’m not going to try.
I'm taking every deduction I can find and working hard enough to just get by. I'm tired of seeing my overtime and second jobs just being grabbed by the tax man.
I also claim enough exemptions that my tax refund (interest free loan to fedgov) is a modest $300 or so.
It used to be a matter of pride that, in hard times, husbands and fathers would put families on tight budgets and take second jobs before they took charity. But we’re a much softer, weaker, more servile country now.
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!
That would be good news.
And, yes, it is a conundrum of sorts. But we tend to forget that private charity has become practically extinct. If the government stepped back from some of this, I don’t think Americans would forsake the truly needy.
Here's one that I thought was helpful.
STARVE THE BEAST.
They do in Cook County. Some are so appreciative the send absentee ballots from the spirit world.
As someone who lost 2 jobs since obama came into office, Ihad to get food stamps. I’m still only working part-time, and YES I vote! Not for libs. I’m not a deadbeat, nor do I buy steak. I also drive a 2000 car, and have an older computer. So, stop generalizing those who have had to resort to food stamps as welfare minded and lazy slobs.
I’m grateful for the help or else my daughter and I wouldn’t eat at all.
Never judge a man until you walk a mile in his/her shoes.
And, I’m also not a lib!
My mom will not be happy.
Our church just gave out 1,000 turkeys plus a big bag of groceries with each bird last weekend. They ran out in two hours.
“Correction, those on welfare should lose their right to vote for two years, from the date of their benefits inception.”
- No politician, Dem or Repub, would *ever* endorse this idea.
In several places just after the revolution, only property owners could vote. I think productive labor is a better indicator of good citizenship, but that's going down the right path, at least.
Under Obamacare, that just might become a “recommendation” from the health panel.
Not when they're driving Escalades.
Be careful about that. The People’s Republic of Maryland charges a large penalty if you don’t withhold enough, as determined by your final tax bill.
And thus a major cause of childhood and adult obesity. Isn't the government always complaining about this including Obama. They're nothing but enablers.
EXACTLY!
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