About the EBT/ fast food place debate
Now I have seen in a few places people knocking places or people that use EBT or cash benefits to get fast food without knowing why people do it .
Yes there are folks that need to use that option if they want to eat. For those that are homeless that get help they very well can not cart a bunch of food around with them.Being able to get a hot meal can be a huge spirit picker upper. Because not all are homeless because they have chosen to because of drug habits . There are families that are homeless because of out of control things or inability to afford housing. There are those with mental issues that landlords will not rent to, that can go towards families with many landlords not wanting to rent to those with children. There are a few that prefer to live like that but that is in the minority. And if you have no home you can't cook or keep much in food so that is helpful for those in that condition.
There are people that for short term or long term may not have a fridge or way to cook. My family receives SNAP to help with food and when we moved in our newest place there was no fridge and there is still no stove just our microwave and a skillet. If you have no way of cooking or keeping food cold there is only so much one can by and use as it has to be used the day it is cooked or certain things one can not get at all. And buying food every few days in small amounts uses up a ton of money along with giving one fewer choices. I will admit some days it is easier and cheaper to get a dollar burger or chicken than say if you can't cook but have a mini fridge as we had than lunch meat or peanut butter sandwiches. And I will tell you going almost a month without a normal fridge I am tired of peanut butter , lunch meat and ramen noodles. And No my family does not get cash benefits just SNAP which is good only at the grocery store.
So when you see someone using EBT you can not just assume they are wasting tax payer money they may just be hungry. To be honest if you don't have much cash and just buy $2 worth of dollar items a day you won't have a healthy diet but its only $60/mnth to eat.
Yes there are folks that need to use that option if they want to eat. For those that are homeless that get help they very well can not cart a bunch of food around with them.Being able to get a hot meal can be a huge spirit picker upper. Because not all are homeless because they have chosen to because of drug habits . There are families that are homeless because of out of control things or inability to afford housing. There are those with mental issues that landlords will not rent to, that can go towards families with many landlords not wanting to rent to those with children. There are a few that prefer to live like that but that is in the minority. And if you have no home you can't cook or keep much in food so that is helpful for those in that condition.
There are people that for short term or long term may not have a fridge or way to cook. My family receives SNAP to help with food and when we moved in our newest place there was no fridge and there is still no stove just our microwave and a skillet. If you have no way of cooking or keeping food cold there is only so much one can by and use as it has to be used the day it is cooked or certain things one can not get at all. And buying food every few days in small amounts uses up a ton of money along with giving one fewer choices. I will admit some days it is easier and cheaper to get a dollar burger or chicken than say if you can't cook but have a mini fridge as we had than lunch meat or peanut butter sandwiches. And I will tell you going almost a month without a normal fridge I am tired of peanut butter , lunch meat and ramen noodles. And No my family does not get cash benefits just SNAP which is good only at the grocery store.
So when you see someone using EBT you can not just assume they are wasting tax payer money they may just be hungry. To be honest if you don't have much cash and just buy $2 worth of dollar items a day you won't have a healthy diet but its only $60/mnth to eat.
amen to the amen!!!
ReplyDeleteYou make an EXCELLENT point about not having any other way to eat. I do understand that. And not everyone that eats at a fast food place spends $20 on giant burgers, fries, drinks, and desserts.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you didn't mention that was recently brought to my attention is that many people also receive their cash benefits on the EBT card, so they might not be using "food stamps" to buy that fast food.
I guess my biggest/only real problem with using EBT/SNAP at a fast food place is their prices. True, you CAN eat two meals a day for $4.00. But that is not very much food. To get a "decent" meal its more like $7.00 per meal, and I personally think fast food is WAY overpriced anyway. I went to Wendy's and got a single for the first time in a year or two, and almost passed out when I realized it was over 4.00 JUST for a sandwich.
One thing that I would like to see is for the government to step in, since they want to stick their noses into what and how people eat, and offer discounts at the grocery stores for healthier foods. Its computerized now, so I see no reason that they couldn't program say 15% discounts on buying non-processed meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and milk. They already knock off taxes automatically. Don't take away choices, or the freedom to choose. Offer an incentive to buy healthier foods. Right now, at least in Cleveland, its cheaper to buy "junk" than it is to buy healthy.
Anywhere its cheaper for junk.. What gets me is the LIQUOR stores that take the cash EBT.. cause that is not cool. Tried going to farmers market here with our SNAP and the machine was down.Though I did spend some cash and got dollar burgers for my kids so they could get some meat.. not to mention can't grocery shop till the 15th
DeleteI would rather get healthier food rather than fast food in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAnd how would you feel Kelsey if you was homeless or in a situation where you can not prepare or store food? I' ld rather healthy food myself. But with things like cherries being $6/pound oranges which are $4 for only 3 pounds and things like chip individual bags where you can get 20 bags for like $5 one most cases will go for what will last longer for the amount of people they are feeding.
DeleteI wrote the White House (well, emailed them actually) and asked why, since in Ohio at least, they can remove taxes from food/beverages purchased, they couldn't offer an incentive for healthier eating?
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed meats, lower-fat dairy, whole wheat flour and breads, but they are TOO expensive, I can;t afford it. The cheapest I've seen watermelon this year has been $6.00. Black Angus ground beef (which is lower in fat content) is almost $5.00 a pound. A loaf of wheat bread is almost $3.00. However, I can buy pasta and processed cheese and make a big pot of macaroni and cheese that we can eat for at least three days for less than $7.00.
Since our First Lady so so adamant about battling child obesity that she's even talking about banning junk from the SNAP program, why does she not push to institute a healthy choice incentive? Why not give a 10% or 15% discount at the register for healthy foods when purchased with SNAP?
That is very true You can get mac & cheese for like 50 cents a box and fruit like cherries are 6/pound there are not many cheap healthy foods
DeleteI don't understand why they don't raise the monthly allowance for those that really need it to be able to feed their families or who have health conditions that a healthier diet would make a huge difference.
ReplyDelete