After rereading I wanted to apologize. I don't mean to toot my own horn and sound like I was the greatest 9-year-old in the history of forever. I just wanted to give my point of view of what it was like to actually be on food stamps.
I could, but wouldnt it be considered eating out? Its only $17.50, though.
If you were on SNAP her school lunches would probably be free though, right?
Yes. In elementary school I remember receiving free lunch and free breakfast and lunch in middle and high school. They do free breakfast at a lot of elementary schools nowadays.
also, as I said above, many people dont even have the option to buy in bulk- they cant get to a regular grocery store or Costco unless they use public transportion- adding an additional cost that they cant use SNAP for- making it difficult to carry bulk foods, etc.
This is very true and I completely agree. The original post was about whether or not we could do this. Some can, some can't. I can. I grew up on food stamps. My mother (single parent with no child support) quit working due to health issues when I was 8 years old. She did not have any income for 5 years and no regular income again until I was 16. We were completely at the mercy of food stamps and we actually ate better on food stamps than when my mother worked and paid for food. My mom is the worst cook in the history of the world so she got fast food more often than not before she got sick. When my mother was at her sickest I would have a family member, neighbor, or friend give me a ride to the store (since I wasn't old enough to drive) and I would get what we needed. I knew we couldn't have hot food so I would buy things that were easy for me to cook as a 9/10/11 year old. Yes, we ate a lot of mac and cheese and spaghetti with jarred sauce. I knew cases of soda were expensive so I never bought them. The generic was usually cheaper so that is what I got. I also tried to go to stores where you bagged your own groceries because they were cheaper. At the end of my shopping trip I would hand over my little booklets of food stamps (this was before the EBT cards and they reminded me of Monopoly money) and wait for my ride home. As I became a teenager it was terribly embarassing to me to have to pull out my food stamp booklets but I did it every week and we always ate. I can only remember running short on food stamps a few times and that was usually around the holidays when we were buying for holiday meals. It was not glamorous and we wouldn't have wanted to be on food stamps if we didn't have to but those are the curveballs life throws, right? Being on food stamps you don't always get to eat what you want but you do get to eat and I think that is the point.
I'm sorry you had that experience growing up. Thanks for sharing.
This is very true and I completely agree. The original post was about whether or not we could do this. Some can, some can't. I can. I grew up on food stamps. My mother (single parent with no child support) quit working due to health issues when I was 8 years old. She did not have any income for 5 years and no regular income again until I was 16. We were completely at the mercy of food stamps and we actually ate better on food stamps than when my mother worked and paid for food. My mom is the worst cook in the history of the world so she got fast food more often than not before she got sick. When my mother was at her sickest I would have a family member, neighbor, or friend give me a ride to the store (since I wasn't old enough to drive) and I would get what we needed. I knew we couldn't have hot food so I would buy things that were easy for me to cook as a 9/10/11 year old. Yes, we ate a lot of mac and cheese and spaghetti with jarred sauce. I knew cases of soda were expensive so I never bought them. The generic was usually cheaper so that is what I got. I also tried to go to stores where you bagged your own groceries because they were cheaper. At the end of my shopping trip I would hand over my little booklets of food stamps (this was before the EBT cards and they reminded me of Monopoly money) and wait for my ride home. As I became a teenager it was terribly embarassing to me to have to pull out my food stamp booklets but I did it every week and we always ate. I can only remember running short on food stamps a few times and that was usually around the holidays when we were buying for holiday meals. It was not glamorous and we wouldn't have wanted to be on food stamps if we didn't have to but those are the curveballs life throws, right? Being on food stamps you don't always get to eat what you want but you do get to eat and I think that is the point.
I'm sorry you had that experience growing up. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I think this probably has a lot to do with why I am so crazy about my grocery budget and, well, a lot of other stuff.
Maybe they only accept it for drinks, sandwiches and salads, if you get it for take out?
"The Act precludes the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption"
Do a lot of places where you can eat out take EBT?
Fast food places in my area do. I see the little EBT sign all the time.
I know for sure you can eat at places like Subway (cold sandwiches) or get a take and bake pizza. However, I believe if you have a hot sandwich it is not covered. Sort of like the rotisserie chicken issue.
Maybe they only accept it for drinks, sandwiches and salads, if you get it for take out?
"The Act precludes the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption"
It sounds like it many be restricted to those who can't easily cook?
California’s Restaurant Meals Program allows eligible EBT cardholders receiving Calfresh benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps and federally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] benefits), to purchase hot prepared foods at participating restaurants using their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
Client Eligibility Only homeless, elderly, and disabled food benefit recipients are eligible to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program. Client eligibility is determined by each county and is automatically verified through the point-of-sale (POS) equipment at the time of the transaction. If a client is ineligible, an error message will appear on the POS device and the transaction will not be approved. Denial codes displayed on POS systems vary by processor.
Maybe they only accept it for drinks, sandwiches and salads, if you get it for take out?
"The Act precludes the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption"
I didn't realize it was a to-go issue as well. What exactly is the genius behind that particular rule? I know in at least parts of CA there is an entertainment tax on food if you eat in vs. getting take out but it is minimal and it is still the same food. I don't think I understand this at all.
Post by phunluvin82 on Dec 5, 2012 14:00:37 GMT -5
Ok...for the challenge: what about food we already have at home? Off limits? Or deduct the cost from your food? Or is it a freebie if you are eating stuff you already had?
I think I'm in. DH is gone next week, so I'll just use the amount for one person. I have to admit, it would be 100x harder to do this if H were home. He is a picky/foodie/carnivore...not happy to eat cheap or meatless meals, which I don't mind at all.
also, as I said above, many people dont even have the option to buy in bulk- they cant get to a regular grocery store or Costco unless they use public transportion- adding an additional cost that they cant use SNAP for- making it difficult to carry bulk foods, etc.
This is very true and I completely agree. The original post was about whether or not we could do this. Some can, some can't. I can. I grew up on food stamps. My mother (single parent with no child support) quit working due to health issues when I was 8 years old. She did not have any income for 5 years and no regular income again until I was 16. We were completely at the mercy of food stamps and we actually ate better on food stamps than when my mother worked and paid for food. My mom is the worst cook in the history of the world so she got fast food more often than not before she got sick. When my mother was at her sickest I would have a family member, neighbor, or friend give me a ride to the store (since I wasn't old enough to drive) and I would get what we needed. I knew we couldn't have hot food so I would buy things that were easy for me to cook as a 9/10/11 year old. Yes, we ate a lot of mac and cheese and spaghetti with jarred sauce. I knew cases of soda were expensive so I never bought them. The generic was usually cheaper so that is what I got. I also tried to go to stores where you bagged your own groceries because they were cheaper. At the end of my shopping trip I would hand over my little booklets of food stamps (this was before the EBT cards and they reminded me of Monopoly money) and wait for my ride home. As I became a teenager it was terribly embarassing to me to have to pull out my food stamp booklets but I did it every week and we always ate. I can only remember running short on food stamps a few times and that was usually around the holidays when we were buying for holiday meals. It was not glamorous and we wouldn't have wanted to be on food stamps if we didn't have to but those are the curveballs life throws, right? Being on food stamps you don't always get to eat what you want but you do get to eat and I think that is the point.
I had a similar experience growing up after my parents go divorced. I think it is why 15+ years later I'm able to keep my grocery budget low. I grew up on mac & cheese, spaghetti and cereal. Like you said, it's not glamorous but I we always had a meal on the table. Now, I've just learned how to meal plan and make what I can as healthy as possible ie homemade mac & cheese.
Ok...for the challenge: what about food we already have at home? Off limits? Or deduct the cost from your food? Or is it a freebie if you are eating stuff you already had?
I think I'm in. DH is gone next week, so I'll just use the amount for one person. I have to admit, it would be 100x harder to do this if H were home. He is a picky/foodie/carnivore...not happy to eat cheap or meatless meals, which I don't mind at all.
I'm going to buy food specifically for this challenge. I'll use up anything perishable this week anyway.
For my family of 5 it's almost $800/mo. Our budget was $150/wk including pet food, cleaning supplies, diapers & formula a couple years back. The difference was shopping at Wal-mart which I no longer do. Now minus those things & shopping my "inner city" grocery store 1 block away I could fairly easily do $800/mo w/out even using things in my pantry/freezer. In 4 months with family of 6 it's $950/mo...which is about what I spend now buying some organic, lots of easy ready made meals with no coupns whatsoever, not watching it at all at my neighborhood store (including pull-ups/cleaning/pet food/etc.). I wonder if the benefits are less here because the cost of food may be lower? I agree carrying the groceries can be a pain but I walk/carry mine 75% of the time. The rolling grocery cart thing & stroller are put to good use.
Can you deduct the cost of her lunches from your total weekly amount?
I could, but wouldnt it be considered eating out? Its only $17.50, though.
I don't know. It's a grey area, because I think if you qualified for a maximum food stamp benefit, she would qualify for free or reduced lunches. Right?
For my family of 5 it's almost $800/mo. Our budget was $150/wk including pet food, cleaning supplies, diapers & formula a couple years back. The difference was shopping at Wal-mart which I no longer do. Now minus those things & shopping my "inner city" grocery store 1 block away I could fairly easily do $800/mo w/out even using things in my pantry/freezer. In 4 months with family of 6 it's $950/mo...which is about what I spend now buying some organic, lots of easy ready made meals with no coupns whatsoever, not watching it at all at my neighborhood store (including pull-ups/cleaning/pet food/etc.). I wonder if the benefits are less here because the cost of food may be lower? I agree carrying the groceries can be a pain but I walk/carry mine 75% of the time. The rolling grocery cart thing & stroller are put to good use.
I don't know for sure, but I really think it is not easy to receive the maximum benefit. As I mentioned yesterday, my mom is on food stamps. She is single, her only income is a very small pension payment (around $140/month) and she still does not receive the maximum food stamp allocation.
I think the hot food thing is crap. Our store does a cooked chicken special on Sundays for $4. That could feed a family dinner and have some leftovers for other meals. For $4.
I'm sure it will come as a surprise to no one that I have no idea what we spend on food. I don't do large shopping trips, so it's hard to keep a running tally of where we are for the month. I'm excited to give this a try.
This really isn't a challenge for me. But I'm excited to see what some of you experience.
Be sure to check out PoorGirlEatsWell for awesome cheap recipes. She has $25 shopping carts posts that give a week worth of food.
She has a grocery store with good sales, in an area with reasonable grocery store prices. She also has access to coupons. If she was a poor person in an area with the grocery issues that Cosmos described above, she'd have it much harder than she does.
If she was shopping in a cost of living like mine, the eggs that she got for free would be $3.95 and the butter that she bought for $3.38 would be $5.95. And there are a LOT of people on food stamps living in my town.
Everyone is commenting on how high the benefit is, but that would be if you have NO job.
If you are making some money, you would have to reduce the max benefit by your net income x 30%. (this is what it says below the chart on the link PP provided).
example: if you make $1,000/mo x .30 = $300. Then for a family of 4, let's say, your benefit would be $668-$300 = $368 for the month.
For the sake of the experiment, shouldn't you factor in that you are making something and then reduce the SNAP amount you "would" receive to an amount you would actually have to struggle. Isn't that the whole point?