Texas to outlaw the use of SNAP for purchasing junk food/energy drinks.

[Tinykong]

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/…

Your link is broken, but I'll do the research for you:

"How Much Could I Receive?

Allotments for households in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.

The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food.

(October 2012 through September 2013)

People in Household Maximum Monthly Allotment
1 $ 200
2 $ 367
3 $ 526
4 $ 668
5 $ 793
6 $ 952
7 $ 1,052
8 $ 1,202
Each additional person $ 150



$668 is the maximum possible benefit, not the amount everyone gets.

[vaeevictiss]

I have mixed feelings about this.

What about all those families that have children? We seriously dont want them to have even ONE box of little debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies for their kids? Just one box? Thats not cool guys. You cant tell me that consumption of one box over the course of a month is harmful, especially when split between a whole family. . .But at the same time, Id hate to see food stamps wasted on a cart full of chips and dip.

Its crazy, we wont drug test to allow people to get stamps, but we want to restrict the purchase of twinkies?

This whole situation is fd up.

you ever see how many calories are in one of those cream pies (i feel dirty saying those words lol) especially calories from fat alone? there is no good reason a child even needs to eat one of them.

[Tinykong]

you ever see how many calories are in one of those cream pies (i feel dirty saying those words lol) especially calories from fat alone? there is no good reason a child even needs to eat one of them.

Beazy brings up a valid point, people can't treat themselves to "junk" food items, even with moderation, because the government gave them the money? More than likely this is just going to cause obesity to go up, because buyer power is going down which is just going to force people to eat more fast food and even cheaper prepared foods.

[vaeevictiss]

Beazy brings up a valid point, people can't treat themselves to "junk" food items, even with moderation, because the government gave them the money? More than likely this is just going to cause obesity to go up, because buyer power is going down which is just going to force people to eat more fast food and even cheaper prepared foods.

well there is an inherant additional flaw. These people use a government funded (tax payer funded) program to eat unhealthy...now they need more medical care...where do you think that will now come from? You know they cant afford to purchase their own food...they damn sure cannot afford to pay their own medical bills. So now my money is being used not only to make people unhealthy, but to fix them as well.

Also, if you are smart you can eat much healthier food for less than fast food. I rarely even get fast food anymore because the money spent on just a simple combo for one person can easily feed two if you make something yourself.

[Tinykong]

well there is an inherant additional flaw. These people use a government funded (tax payer funded) program to eat unhealthy...now they need more medical care...where do you think that will now come from? You know they cant afford to purchase their own food...they damn sure cannot afford to pay their own medical bills. So now my money is being used not only to make people unhealthy, but to fix them as well.

Also, if you are smart you can eat much healthier food for less than fast food. I rarely even get fast food anymore because the money spent on just a simple combo for one person can easily feed two if you make something yourself.

It's been said over and over in these threads, that generally, fast food is more accessible and less expensive. Sure, you can find ingredients and make food for less, but not everyone can. Not to mention some people live on daily cash wages, meaning they might only have $10 to spend at any given time, if that's all you have for food for 2 days, buying ingredients to make a big pot of soup isn't very realistic.

[Garnier Fructis]

It's been said over and over in these threads, that generally, fast food is more accessible and less expensive. Sure, you can find ingredients and make food for less, but not everyone can. Not to mention some people live on daily cash wages, meaning they might only have $10 to spend at any given time, if that's all you have for food for 2 days, buying ingredients to make a big pot of soup isn't very realistic.

Who says they have to make a big pot of soup? You can buy turkey, lettuce, bread and cheese and make a whole lot of sandwiches for a relatively small amount of cash. I'm certain it's cheaper than buying big macs every day.

[Grizzly Willy]

Who says they have to make a big pot of soup? You can buy turkey, lettuce, bread and cheese and make a whole lot of sandwiches for a relatively small amount of cash. I'm certain it's cheaper than buying big macs every day.

Add in some Sriracha and it probably tastes better.

[Tinykong]

Who says they have to make a big pot of soup? You can buy turkey, lettuce, bread and cheese and make a whole lot of sandwiches for a relatively small amount of cash. I'm certain it's cheaper than buying big macs every day.

A loaf of bread, a pound of turkey is much more than $1, which is what a cheese burger costs at most places, which is why people eat there. I'm not saying it's impossible for everyone, I'm saying that people do it because it's easier/cheaper in their circumstances.

I know I can make burgers cheaper at home, but I have a grill, a fridge, condiments, etc already purchased. If you have none of that, you can't take your $10 and turn that into a meal at a grocery store very easily, but you can at a drive thru.

If the closest grocery store is a 20 minute bus ride away, but you can walk to McDonalds, which one do you think most people will pick?

[vaeevictiss]

It's been said over and over in these threads, that generally, fast food is more accessible and less expensive. Sure, you can find ingredients and make food for less, but not everyone can. Not to mention some people live on daily cash wages, meaning they might only have $10 to spend at any given time, if that's all you have for food for 2 days, buying ingredients to make a big pot of soup isn't very realistic.

$10 wont feed you for 2 days at most fast food places. I know Arby's is a little more costly, and they cost nearly $10 for a combo. McDonalds is a bit cheaper but you can still pay over $5 easily with a simple combo. Using your soup idea, most supermarkets sell some store brand cans of soup for $1 a can and that can easily be a meal, but now you have 10 of them. Sure at fast food you could ditch the fries and a drink and just get a burger for maybe $1-3, but now you are thirsty, they will even charge you for water at a lot of those places.

[Vyxn]

Your link is broken, but I'll do the research for you:

"How Much Could I Receive?

Allotments for households in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.

The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food.

(October 2012 through September 2013)

People in Household Maximum Monthly Allotment
1 $ 200
2 $ 367
3 $ 526
4 $ 668
5 $ 793
6 $ 952
7 $ 1,052
8 $ 1,202
Each additional person $ 150



$668 is the maximum possible benefit, not the amount everyone gets.

668 is what you get if your adjusted income is below the poverty level and if you work full time at min wage and you adjust it for rent and utilities you are way below the poverty level

[Nathiest]

First thing I thought was Ya'll are going to need to up the budget! . Seriously "Healthy Food" is expensive! People buy junk food because it's cheap.

[Kujako]

First thing I thought was Ya'll are going to need to up the budget! . Seriously "Healthy Food" is expensive! People buy junk food because it's cheap.

We could stop subsidizing corn and start subsidizing broccoli. Frankly, the reason junk food is cheap is because we pay for it with our taxes even if we dont eat it. Kind of silly when you think about it. But then again, Breakfast Mountain Dew! So we're doomed.

[Vyxn]

A loaf of bread, a pound of turkey is much more than $1, which is what a cheese burger costs at most places, which is why people eat there. I'm not saying it's impossible for everyone, I'm saying that people do it because it's easier/cheaper in their circumstances.

you can make 4 to 6 sandwiches out of a pound of turkey and a loaf of bread enough to feed 4 try to feed four from 1 cheese burger

[bayushisan]

Some of the rules of the SNAP card make no sense though. Here in Michigan you can't buy a rotisserie chicken, already cooked, but you can buy an approved package of cold fried chicken, or a package of fried chicken drumsticks and thighs.

Why can I buy one but not the other? Deli type meals should be able to be purchased, if for no other reason than it actually gets you a meal or two out of the purchase.

[Garnier Fructis]

Some of the rules of the SNAP card make no sense though. Here in Michigan you can't buy a rotisserie chicken, already cooked, but you can buy an approved package of cold fried chicken, or a package of fried chicken drumsticks and thighs.

Why can I buy one but not the other? Deli type meals should be able to be purchased, if for no other reason than it actually gets you a meal or two out of the purchase.

Because the idiotic masses elect idiotic people to positions of power who then create idiotic laws.

[shimerra]

$10 wont feed you for 2 days at most fast food places. I know Arby's is a little more costly, and they cost nearly $10 for a combo. McDonalds is a bit cheaper but you can still pay over $5 easily with a simple combo. Using your soup idea, most supermarkets sell some store brand cans of soup for $1 a can and that can easily be a meal, but now you have 10 of them. Sure at fast food you could ditch the fries and a drink and just get a burger for maybe $1-3, but now you are thirsty, they will even charge you for water at a lot of those places.

While I'm not exactly a man of the world I honestly can't remember the last time anywhere charged me for water in any of the few cities I frequent. And by last time I mean ever. Must be a city specific thing.

[Vyxn]

First thing I thought was Ya'll are going to need to up the budget! . Seriously "Healthy Food" is expensive! People buy junk food because it's cheap.

no it is not not if you break it down by price per meal
when you shop healthy what you buy usually is enough to make 4 or more meals from it
lets take a bag of chips compared to a box of mashed potatoes they are about the same price but you get 12 servings from the box of mashed potatoes and you only have two servings in that bag of chips

---------- Post added 2013-02-11 at 07:33 PM ----------

Some of the rules of the SNAP card make no sense though. Here in Michigan you can't buy a rotisserie chicken, already cooked, but you can buy an approved package of cold fried chicken, or a package of fried chicken drumsticks and thighs.

Why can I buy one but not the other? Deli type meals should be able to be purchased, if for no other reason than it actually gets you a meal or two out of the purchase.

because if they didn't implement the rule you described people would be able to use the snap card at a red lobster

[Garnier Fructis]

While I'm not exactly a man of the world I honestly can't remember the last time anywhere charged me for water in any of the few cities I frequent. And by last time I mean ever. Must be a city specific thing.

Ya, this has been my experience. I've always gotten free water at fast food places, usually in the middle of a run.

[Gothicshark]

I challenge any of you to make a monthly grocery list that will feed 1 person 3 squares a day with only 70 dollers limit for 30 days. No canned food no junk no preservatives at all.

(I would be remissed if they refuse to let you buy Canned food, since most canned food is designed for low income.)


I agree with your points, however....

(taken from http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/default.asp?page=a using prices points based on 91605 area code. )

Long Grain Thai Jasmine Rice - 20 Lb $24.19
Safeway Pinto Beans - 4 Lb $4.29
Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna In Water 10 Pack - 10-5 Oz $13.19 *3 = $39.57
Del Monte Mixed Vegetables - 14.5 Oz - $1.79 *30 = $53.70

The Cheapest grocery bill for a Month for one person in North Hollywood California = $121.75 I should point out that the Rice and beans would last about two months, so if you do this right it would be $107.51 a month.

---Edit: you can cut out the Vegetables or buy them for .99 at a $1 store I used the non sale price on Safeway shop at home for a standard price, I can cut this down by at least $40 by using sales and coupons.

[Skarsguard]

Okay so let me get this straight you can't buy junk food but you can buy grapes and yeast to make Wine. I personally know somebody that has done this with there EBT card.