Food Stamp Challenge
 

I stumbled across this story on BoingBoing today, and am left wondering if this is being done because the participating politicians really _do_ care about what their constituents are going through, or if it's merely a ploy for gaining votes. (Not sure who's running this fall, and I haven't had time to check yet). (I'm leaning towards the gaining votes angle, but a part of me really wants to hope it's true)

21.00 a week. That's all they have to live on - because they're trying to budget for their meals using the amount of money that the government gives the average food stamp recipient. That's certainly not a lot of money - considering most people spend that on one trip out to dinner with a friend.

Here are stories with additional information, along with links to the blogs of the two Congresscritters that are detailing what they're doing:

BoingBoing Story
Washington Post Story
Food Stamp Challenge Blog
Tim Ryan's Blog

I know that we've had a few Cellarites who have lived on this pittance from the government (Mari is the one that comes to mind) and have told us how difficult it is. However, is doing this while living in expensive houses, and driving expensive cars really going to hammer the point home? Or should we move these 'do gooders' into sub par housing and make them get around with public transportation so they can "REALLY" see what it's like?

rice and beans my friend! get to know the big batch.
pretzels and bananas are your cheap snacks.

What happened? In 1970 I was getting twice that for a single person.

That article quotes one as hoping their cottage cheese lasts. You can't afford cottage cheese on that budget.

The thing is, though, are the food stamps supposed to purchase all the food for that person, or it it supposed to be a supplement?

Food stamps are a supplement...I believe you must work, if you can, to qualify for them.

I found it interesting that the only way the one participant could get anywhere close to under the 21.00, was by using a club card. Otherwise, they were closer to 30.00

It is my opinion that the program is supposed to be a supplement. However, I don't think it's always used that way.

I was out for 5 months due to a strike. I wasn't on strike, I was laid off for the duration, and Westinghouse held up our unemployment for two months. I was also broke, having just paid a divorce lawyer and the expense of moving, security deposit and new doilies.

I was probably considered unemployable because a prospective employer would be leery of me quiting and going back, after the strike. In any case I wasn't required to look for work to qualify for welfare and food stamps.

When I notified them I was getting unemployment, they stopped the welfare but not the food stamps. When I went back to work, they stopped the food stamps and requested I pay back the welfare I'd collected, which I did.

The system worked for me... helped me out when I got in a jam and I paid the system back as soon as I could. What a country!

My parents got foodstamps around the same time you did--I was a toddler, and they were both college students (dad worked) with no help from their parents. I don't know how long we had them, but dad did eventually get a better-paying job so we didn't need them anymore.

The system's gone through a lot of changes since then, though. I think there's time limits in place now, too, amongst other things.

Hmmm, I was divorced and you were a toddler. Is that like a no?

What is a no? Are you making a sleazy implication? :lol:

Uh, that's like a yes.

I don't like food stamps. They're dry and tasteless.

Anyway, I liked your story about the system working for you, xoxoxo. That is what it's supposed to do! Bravo for paying it back when you got on your feet. I bet many never do.

the folks were on foodstamps when we lived in illinois and father was working for the university and mother was working on her book/ keeping an eye on my brother and I... full time job in and of itself (took her damn near 15 years to get it done... and she didn't even get published 'til I was about 30.. perhaps a little before..) anywhoo! I never noticed. we always had food and a garden (for fresh veggies in retrospect) . then again I guess that is why I have always had atleast one job in foodservice... cuts the food cost.

ps. beans and rice.. rice and beans... you can live on 21$ a week.. it's just kinda dull.. although the idea being that if your base ingredients are limited. one ought to be able to get creative with the spices and seasonings :)

A Tory MP (Michael Portillo) did a life swap programme with a single mother here a couple of years ago. He came across surprisingly well - surprising me anyway, to whom one of the many highlights of the 1997 Labour landslide was seeing him lose his seat in Parliament.

He accepted how hard it was to live within the budget, how hard the mother had to work and how the generalised idea of single mums living off the fat of the land by deliberately having babies was not a fair one.

And (the total benefits) were a lot more than $21 a week.

I'm thinking the threshold in this state is around 700 bucks. Income then nothing. I can't get because I get too, ha ha much S.S. N o travel from VA for same reason. What you owe has no bearing on anything. Far as I know, your lights, gas water and other things are not counted. But Since I have a laptop that belongs to someone who's wife works there, I bet I can get the real word Monday. If anyone gives a damn.