Food stamps not enough for healthy diet
By Eli Saslow, Washington Post
McALLEN, Texas — They were already running late for a doctor’s appointment, but first the Salas family hurried into their kitchen for another breakfast paid for by the federal government. The 4-year-old grabbed a bag of cheddar-flavored potato chips and a granola bar. The 9-year-old filled a bowl with sugary cereal and then gulped down chocolate milk. Their mother, Blanca, arrived at the refrigerator and reached into the drawer where she stored the insulin needed to treat her diabetes. She filled a needle with fluid and injected it into her stomach with a practiced jab.
“Let’s go,” she told the children, rushing them out of the kitchen and into the car. “We can stop for snacks on our way home.”
The family checkup had been scheduled at the insistence of a school nurse, who wanted the Salas family to address two concerns: They were suffering from both a shortage of nutritious food and a diet of excess — paradoxical problems that have become increasingly interconnected in the United States, and especially in South Texas.
For almost a decade, Blanca had supported her five children by stretching $430 in monthly food stamp benefits, adding lard to thicken her refried beans and buying instant soup by the case at a nearby dollar store. She shopped for “quantity over quality,” she said, aiming to fill a grocery cart for $100 or less.
But the cheap foods she could afford on the standard government allotment of about $1.50 per meal also tended to be among the least nutritious — heavy in preservatives, fats, salt and refined sugar. Now Clarissa, her 13-year-old daughter, had a darkening ring around her neck that suggested early-onset diabetes from too much sugar. Now Antonio, 9, was sharing dosages of his mother’s cholesterol medication. Now Blanca herself was too sick to work, receiving disability payments at age 40 and testing her blood-sugar level twice each day to guard against the stroke doctors warned was forthcoming as a result of her diet.
It’s called “SUPPLEMENTAL” Nutrition assistance program for a reason. You’re not supposed to depend on it for your entire diet. Regular people spend their own money to feed themselves. And maybe do without an unlimited cell phone plan, or a trip to the beauty parlor, or whatever.
Government is not your Daddy. And using anecdotal stories of one individual situation to glean sympathy while ignoring the multitude of abuse of the system is nothing but propaganda.
“If you pay people to be poor, you’ll never run out of poor people.”
Ditto
We aren’t a Christian nation. So f the poor.
Ron Paul 2012
Food stamps aren’t supposed to feed your family. They’re in place to “supplement” your food purchases, hence the name supplemental at the beginning of the acronym.
Five children?
the number given a month in this article seems a bit low. I know some people up here that get food stamps and for 1 person she gets $200 a month. since this is a federal program the amount should be about the same. Unless their income is much higher than the min. it should be closer to $700 a month for a family of 7.
Different states, different pay outs, relo. If you read the story, it’s about Texas. And, if you read the story, you’ll see that the choices people make is to buy convenient, already prepared foods instead of cooking nutritious foods from scratch, for the most part, which would be much more economical.
And WHERE are the dads who are supposed to be supporting all those kids, anyway?
I still don’t understand why the resident atheist poster keeps bringing Christianity into these discussions. And I don’t believe Ron Paul ever said any such thing. But let’s not let facts get in the way.
Other than Alaska, Guam and Hawaii no State pays more than California.
Cutting off food for Americas poor and needy families is a twofold winner for conservatives-it punishes those they see as ‘takers’ during the recession their policies caused-and it sabotages any attempts at recovery by taking the positive economic activity the spending of these funds produces-helping the poor is mentioned in the bible over 300 times-all the CHRinos-Christians in name only should all be very proud of themselves-I am sure they have found some way around this fact for political purposes though-thats what so disgusting about these phony hypocrites
The Republicans are idiots to make Food stamps an issue, it is the able-bodied disability fraud that needs to be addressed, with prison for the fraudsters.
The Food Stamp issue is the tip of the iceberg and that is probably why the old school Republicans like Boehner focus on it. Food stamps is an important program but the liberals have over used it to advance their agenda and build a nanny state. It is an issue that should be addressed from that perspective. As the great Phil Graham of Texas was fond of saying “the safety net in America has turned into a hammock”.
However to focus on cuts instead of fighting disability fraud is idiotic.
To focus on food stamps and allow the economic fraud and duplicity of the Federal Reserve to continue and remain un audited – that is immoral in my opinion.
The idea that government is pinching the food stamp program by $5 billion a year while giving out $85 billion dollars to the banks EVERY MONTH is illustrative of just how much damage progressive liberalism has caused.
Obama and his progressive cronies at the Federal Reserve have created the worst economic structure and workforce utilization rate since Jimmy Carter 35 years ago and it is on track to get even worse than it is now. THAT IS THE ISSUE AMERICA NEEDS TO ADDRESS.
We have sapped the spirit of America by building a nanny state mentality. If we don’t smarten up the table will soon turn and the utopian dreams will become a tyrannical nightmare.
“Compassionate Conservatism”, now there’s an oxymoron for you. For those who dislike the food stamp program or any other govt. safety net program, I have a suggestion.
Go to the kitchen and fill a bag or box with canned food and or pasta. Get in the car and head to Christmas Cheer and drop off a few cans. Next stop St. Theresas, swing back around and some more food for the Womens Center. Just about every church in town will accept food.
When you’re done not only have you made someones day a little brighter, but you’ll feel better too. Lets not be so hard on those that have fallen on hard times. Anything can happen at anytime, job layoff or reduced hours, illness, injury, medical bills, broken car with no money to repair.
In Tahoe we help one another, because you never know when you or someone you know finds themselves in a tough spot. Happy Holidays!!! Old Long Skiis
“Compassionate Conservatism”, now there’s an oxymoron for you …
Old long skis that is not an Oxymoron that is an insult to many fine people that believe in conservative principles, you should be ashamed of your ignorance.
Anyone that wants to know the truth can research it on google , conservatives always rank higher than liberals in charitable studies. CHECK FOR YOURSELVES DON’T LISTEN TO LOUD MOUTH IGNORAMUSES.
Liberals, like in so many cases only talk it up and are charitable when it is someone else’s money they are charitable with.
YOU ARE AN INSULT TO TRUTH
This year the Bidens increased their charitable giving from 1.5% of their income to 1.8% of their income.
Yes, liberals are very charitable people. As long as it’s other people’s money they’re giving.
True Dogula, I think in part that is because they were called out as “selfish” because they charge the Secret Service rent to guard them.
FYI – I am watching the Obama Care meetings live, very scary how incompetent this group leading us are. It is beyond imagination how badly this is going.
CJ, Looks like I stirred up a few hornets with my “compassionate conservatism , now there’s an oxymoron” statement. Next time, so as not to be so offensive to you, I’ll take off the “oxy” and give it to Rush limburger,leaving you with the moron.
Thanks for all the nice compliments…you really have the holiday spirit!!!
Donate some food to one of our local food pantry’s, It’s good for everyone! It’s a win/win all the way around. Happy Thanksgiving, CJ. Old Long Skiis.
Lots of thanks being given by the 1 million California Policy holders that lost their health insurance.
Is anyone watching the live feed of the Obama Care hearings? This is your once proud country being destroyed by the Progressive liberals like old Long Skiis and Tea Total and so many other …
Thank them when you are all sitting around the dinner table wondering when someone will get logged onto Obama care.
It was predictable even to moderately aware children that this will fail. Intuitively children know more than most indoctrinated liberal adults…
From here it gets worse.
So I did as you asked, McCoy, and at the very top of the Google return was this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/21/study-conservatives-and-liberals-are-equally-charitable-but-they-give-to-different-charities/
Conservatives do tend to give more to their churches which, for political reasons not worth going into, are considered charities – even magnificent tax write offs like cathedrals eventually need re-painting.
And please stop shouting – we hear you fine. Almost too well.
Washington Post is your source? Why not look for something from the New York Times?
I would not consider anything the Washington Post produced as unbiased. Wouldn’t even dignify it with a click. Give me a break!
That is why so many people are turning to Fox News, they at least try to be balanced. Did you know the most recent ratings indicate that Fox has nearly double the viewing of MSNBC and CNN combined?
Americans are waking up to the Liberal lies. South Lake Tahoe not so much.
Your banter is again tiresome and unproductive. While it’s great you are spending time on LTN, I’m guessing you all could do something more productive than write repetitive rants that amount to bullying.
Move on.
LTN staff
McCoy did identify an issue for us Kae. As we all know, the Washington Post is owned by well known left wing liberal, Jeff Bezos. Just sayin’.