No more tax dollars being used so EBT cards can buy energy drinks and candy bars at mini marts. We need to redefine what is considered food when other people’s hard earned money is being used via taxes for EBT funding. It also creates more medical costs when unhealthy food is consumed creating more tax dollar spending.
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It is rather silly that if Food Stamps and other such programs are really so necessary that there aren’t strict restrictions on what they can actually be used to purchase.
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It may not be realistic in all parts of the country, but it would be wonderful to have the option to buy exclusively from local farmers.
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It used to be this way when I was a child. You had to purchase staples, flour, sugar, yeast, canned vegetables, no processed foods, candy, soda, or anything similar.
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Agreed. There needs to be some accomodation for folks without access to a supply. We know people who are riding their lawnmower down to the Dollar Store to do their grocery shopping - because those are the options they have available. Dollar Store doesn’t stock fresh veggies, and has a very limited number of options for what would be considered “healthy”. There are no grocery stores with delivery services that reach far enough out to service their area.
Subscription grocery services tend to be pricey but could solve that, so perhaps some accomodation for that if there is no local healthy-food infrastructure.
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good point and and to add, food stamps should be locked to the WIC list (I haven’t looked at WIC in a few years, hope it hasn’t drifted to junk food too)
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In New Mexico SNAP benefits double when you purchase from the local farmers markets. I’m not sure how it works because I haven’t received benefits in over a decade, when my kids were babies, but I think you buy a $20 voucher at the register with $10 of your benefits and then use that voucher for $20 worth of fresh, local produce.
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Love it!!
Honestly you can’t dictate what ppl chose to eat with their food stamp money it’s a bit tyrannical. I’d be more in agreement with making sure they pass a random drug test to qualify. I don’t think it’s right that we pay for drug users who don’t want to work or are sick from illegal drug use.
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Perhaps it is a state to state thing, but in PA and OHIO you cannot buy energy drinks on EBT. Who is going to be in charge of defining “healthy foods”?; because I am getting to the point where I don’t think there are any in United States at this time. Some citizens who are working are still needing assistance and receive food stamps, so I guess they are paying for themselves?
There used to be more food banks and church groups who would actually help people in need, but the RED tape has become insane, and the food banks are giving out food that people shouldn’t even be feeding their dogs in some locations.
Are there people on assistance who don’t need it, yes.
Are there tons of unhealthy foods being sold to us, yes.
People need MORE healthy options and choices, people need to be able to grow there own food on their own property without having government involvement. The restrictions that have been put in place for food donations has completely changed from years ago, helping people has been turned into red tape and fear of violating laws, and being fined.
People need to put community and churches back on the frontline where families were being taken care of and not subject to endless paperwork to feed their families. Shaming people who need assistance and making them go through the government process that rejects them and leaves them feeling like trash needs to end.
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Such a great idea! It is proven that unhealthy diet leads to inflammation, obesity, long term chronic disease. The uncontrolled and wasteful misuse of SNAP/food stamps is compounded by the amplified need for Medicaid to treat all the (preventable) disease caused by the free processed food! It would be SO easy to implement! Simply limit the use of EBT/SNAP to specific HEALTHY food - no more decorated birthday cakes, those energy drinks, candy, carbonated soda pop (which are dumped out in the parking lot, then the cans returned to buy cigarettes and alcohol) - or anything else in the middle section of the grocery store! Limit SNAP usage to specific SKUs including a small variety of healthy proteins (but NOT things such as ribeye steaks on the taxpayers’ dime…), fresh fruits and vegetables, foods that allow children to grow strong and thrive! It would be an easy way to teach parents about diet and nutrition. If someone NEEDS help with food, of course, we do not want them to suffer or starve and should TEMPORARILY help them. But if someone is relying on other taxpayers for their livelihood - expect some restrictions. If you want to buy “whatever you want”, get a job and provide for it yourself.
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Food stamps, EBT, WIC, SNAP should be available for use for “generic” products only. Remember the white packaging with black lettering? basics. Staples. Healthy ONLY. The suppliers can easily re-package their products into “generic” labelling. In fact, these products can be delivered directly to the recipients.
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Healthy foods in generic packaging. White with black lettering.
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I wrote one similar to this from the perspective of a small farmer (see below)
WIC was easy to set up in our county, but not the other forms of government assistance.
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So your ok taken away FOOD if they have an addiction to drugs (meaning, these people’s kids won’t eat) but not telling them if they want to spend us taxpayers money then they must buy certain health foods? What I would like to see happen is we change the food Industry altogether! Raise the prices of all said junk food, and lower the price of all health food!
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WIC foods are horrid. Sugary dye filled cereals, junk filled bread/peanut butter, sodium filled beans… no meat at all
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And these highly processed ‘foods’ are not healthy foods, and the consumption of such product results in increased health conditions which often increases the medicare/medicaid needed by these recipients, which means more taxes from those of us who work multiple jobs to barely afford to live.
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what list should food assistance to be limited to?
I think it should be used to buy food ingredients. It doesn’t necessarily have to be “healthy”. Can be sugar, flour, meat, canned goods, etc. What I think should actually change is requiring a photo ID and have a photo on the EBT card or another way to validate. Too many people are “selling” their EBT benefits and that shouldn’t be allowed.
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Idk. I love the idea but I think there should be some leeway for people who might want to get pies or something for the holidays. That’s just a tiny example. But energy drink definitely should not be able to be purchased. They should make it were healthier options are more affordable also so that they can get the same amount of healthy foods that they would get unhealthy foods a the same cost. Hope that makes sense.