posted
No, really. This problem is so pervasive that the company Yum! is trying to include fast-food restaurants like Taco Bell and KFC in what one can buy on foodstamps.
Last I knew the average allotment to feed a person via foodstamps alone for a month was less than five dollars a day, so I don't see how this could help anyone who doesn't already have plenty of personal earnings to feed themselves the rest of month after they spend it all on burritos and chicken.
They do have a caveat though, in fact it's their loophole in. This additional allowance of use would only be available for the elderly, the disabled and the homeless. Yup, that will certainly keep this from misuse.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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posted
AH, don't you think the disabled, elderly, and homeless might have a harder time preparing meals than others? It seems entirely logical for the exception to apply to those demographics.
I'm not sure if I think it makes sense, anyway, since convenience foods from grocery stores are probably as easy and safe to prepare as it is easy and safe to retrieve fast food, and could, perhaps, provide better nutrition for the price.
But it doesn't seem ludicrous.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Without barring the account's of people who do not meet the requirements to process a transaction from a restaurant this will immediately enable all foodstamp recipients to buy prepared restaurant food. I work in a convenience store and I can tell from immediate personal experience the foodstamp program is very lax on restrictions, and tending to the misuse of the money.
Fast-food workers are not trained to determine wether a person is homeless/disabled or not and should not be expected to be the only defense against misuse of a government service. I'm disabled and you wouldn't know it unless I took off my boot and sock and showed you my club foot, and there are plenty of Americans who while not covered in dirt and begging for change are homeless. How can a fast-food employee refuse any transaction based on lack of disability or homeless status?
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posted
I have no idea how it works in practice, but I'd imagine they might be issued a different type of stamp. Then it would be the problem of the agency that distributes the stamps, not the retailer.
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posted
One other point: there's a real problem in some urban areas around grocery availability. Large grocery stores can't afford to operate in the area , so they move out and convenience stores become the main place for people to shop for food.
But if you compared a convenience store's typical food sales to a fast food restaurant's menu, the fast food restaurant might well come out better in nutritional profile and cost/calorie.
(I'm of the belief that eating wonder bread and bologna and drinking apple juice is probably no healthier than the burger, fries, and coke.)
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: (I'm of the belief that eating wonder bread and bologna and drinking apple juice is probably no healthier than the burger, fries, and coke.)
posted
Hmmm. Given the normal American (as compared to Canadian) antipathy toward "nanny state" policies, I wonder why food stamps developed in the US first. Perhaps we're just lagged in bringing it over?
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quote: I'm not sure if I think it makes sense, anyway, since convenience foods from grocery stores are probably as easy and safe to prepare as it is easy and safe to retrieve fast food, and could, perhaps, provide better nutrition for the price.
This. I'm a complete advocate for the idea that SNAP shouldn't be able to be used on junk food. It's not punitive- the benefit is being provided so that people can eat where they might not otherwise be able to. I don't think energy drinks, candy, soda, cookies, etc. help that end, and expanding to fast food would be a terrible idea. It doesn't sound like it's being considered widely though- 4 states allow it in rare conditions.
quote:I have no idea how it works in practice, but I'd imagine they might be issued a different type of stamp.
It's not really a stamp anymore- it's a debit card. Since it electronically has the amount stored, it seems reasonable that it could differentiate between types of cards- not sure if it does though.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: One other point: there's a real problem in some urban areas around grocery availability. Large grocery stores can't afford to operate in the area , so they move out and convenience stores become the main place for people to shop for food.
Compensating for that by turning foodstamps into dollar menu dispensary cards for fast food restaurants seems like wildly capitulating to the problem, however.
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posted
I can't help but be saddened when people start criticizing the dietary choices of food stamp recipients. They tend not to be people who have ever been in the sort of life situations that food stamp recipients find themselves in.
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