it chronicled a older single man who is now receiving food stamps while looking for a job, and is currently getting $175 a month for food. then it went on to describe a single mother of 3 kids who is also on food stamps receiving $489 a month for food. both these examples were happy with the program, but both felt that the amount allotted them was too small. they still had to use their own money to purchase groceries every month, and in the case of the single mother, that meant not paying other bills.
by the time i finished the article i was very frustrated and flabbergasted that the family couldn't live for a month off almost $500 for food! times are tough for everyone, and i don't see anything getting better in the near future. but currently, our family of 4 is only spending about $75-$150 a month on groceries and we are doing just fine! for those of you who actually know me, that's not even an exaggeration on the spending. how then can this family with the same number of people be spending almost 5 times as much and not feeling satisfied? we would have food coming out of the windows if i could spend $500 a month!
i understand the difficulty with living on food stamps, we had to a few years ago, and it was great! again, the amount that i was able to spend on groceries before going on food stamps was about $100. then all of a sudden, we were getting $400 a month for food from the government! it was great! we were able to buy fresh produce, stock up on basic cooking essentials (flour, sugar, canned goods) and have frozen pizza when ever we wanted it. even a year after losing our eligibility, we were still using the food i had set aside and saved.
the bottom line, to me, is that people don't use their allotted money wisely, and therefore, feel like they don't have enough. when i was on food stamps, i still only bought things that were on sale, stocked up on the good deals, bought in bulk, and even used coupons! i had a cashier once comment to me that they had never seen anyone on food stamps use a coupon before! that totally blew me away! these people are being given a gift, a very generous one, and they can't even respect it enough to save a few extra dollars so they don't have to complain!
what could that mother in the article possibly be buying for her 3 kids that would run her total up so high and still allow her to complain that all she can afford is mac and cheese and no fresh produce? she is making some serious spending errors if you ask me. it's not the system, it's the user!
how am i able to spend so little on groceries, you might be wondering? well, i plan ahead. i buy flour, sugar, chocolate chips, block cheese instead of shredded, salsa in bulk, canned goods, and things that we need that are on sale. when we want pizza, i make a no-rise dough with flour, oil and a few other things. top with store brand sauce, add some pepperoni and canned mushrooms and use cheese that i've shredded myself. when we need to have a cookie, i make them from scratch, not the slice and bake variety that a lot of people use and we never buy ready made cookies.
making things from scratch, or as i like to say, pantry cooking, doesn't always equal time consuming. many meals that i end up cooking everyday take less than 30 min. and i guarantee you they are healthier, more balanced, and cost less than anything that mom is putting on the table for her kids. plus my kids have the opportunity to be a part of the cooking process, we spend time together and they learn valuable lessons like math, science and making things for themselves.
i'm not judging, but i'm going to guess that those kids are probably overweight. not to get off the subject of food stamps, but because that mother isn't able to feed her kids healthy food, they are overweight, thereby causing their bodies health concerns, like asthma, high blood pressure (yes, even kids!), and the startings of heart disease, and since she's probably also on the medicaid program, costing our government even more. medications, doctor visits, lab tests, and who knows what else, could in most cases be avoided if kids are at a healthy weight. the cycle is perpetuated, it will never end.
people need to take some responsibility and not make the government do all the work for them. there is absolutely no reason for a family of 4 to need to spend over $500 a month on food, they need to make better choices.
i'm not by any means saying the system is perfect, if it were up to me, i would only allow food stamp money to be used on healthy food choices, not potato chips and processed cheese. but for what it is and the estimated 31 million people that it helps, it's doing a pretty good job!
it's not the system; it's the user! learn how to shop wisely, cook from scratch, and stock up for a rainy day.
