Problem is a lot of shitty food is cheaper than good food.
Also, if you grew up around shitty food you don’t know how to prep good food from whole, cheaper fresh or bulk foods.
Technically cooking rice with vegetables (cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, a bit of everything) and a few pieces of turkey or chicken meat is good food and is easy to prepare.
But from the interwebs it seems that there in Kennedy land everything is fried and heavily seasoned with a lot of cancer-causing fats of all kinds.
Sugar industry is gonna Kennedy this dude.
I would raise a rootbeer to that.
The problem is that there is no will of trying to educate the recipients to help them choose healthier snacks. There will be a way for the snap recipients to get what they want through loopholes. Putting a band aid on the problem of poverty obesity won’t solve it.
A chunk of my clients from low socio economic backgrounds live on soda and candy. It’s how they’re raised, a massive packet of crisps, can of coke and chocolate bar is their dinner. Realistically they’ll just sell their stamps to buy the food THEY want.
The result of this is parents will sell stamps, have less to feed kids and kids will go short.
That’s horrifying. That’s not a dinner.
I know. It’s how so many of them live though
RFK jr is a broken clock that became sentient.
Uhhhhhh… It already does. Snap changed from actual stamps to a digital card that declines any purchase that does not fit in the categories that justify a snap purchase. I worked a couple of years ago with a non-profit org that helped the needy, and I distinctly remember being at walmart with someone was buying groceries, when they used their snap card the payment covered everything but junk food and the person I was with had to pay with their own money for the rest of their things.
In short RFK is working on stopping something that never has ever existed.
Because that’s not the goal, i can almost guarantee it. Every time they try to “fix” something they are trying to break it and privatize if possible.
Which sort of sums this whole regime’s work up, doesn’t it?
This is the kind of BS that leads to you being unable to buy warm food with food programs. A box of fried or baked chicken costs $26 for 24 pieces, which can feed me for 2-3 days, saving me money in the long run. A hot pizza is $13. A rotisserie from CostCo is about $6.
People should make the decisions about their food stamps, because they are familiar with how to best feed themselves. Your typical WalMart employee has to rely on food stamps and other benefits, because WalMart doesn’t want to pay a living wage. An initiative like RFK’s is designed to punish the poor for failing to be born with a silver spoon.
This isn’t about helping people to make better decisions, it is about depriving them the good things in life.
These same assholes were the ones freaking out when Michelle Obama was trying to get healthier food for school lunches and making up shit like “Turning Cookie Monster into Veggie Monster” to get mad at.
Many right-wingers don’t care about words or truth or consistency. They just want to hurt their out-group.
Many right-wingers … just want to hurt their out-group.
You are right, it’s just that there’s a weird embedded quality to this statement.
Buying soda and candy. I can get behind a worm for that one. Just ban those things already. But I would step on that worm right after. The guy is clearly crazy. And too old. I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer from whatever self inflicted speech impediment this guy has.
Ever try to water down a fountain drink with carbonated water? You can add 300% soda water and it still tastes sweet. But that overwhelming level of sweetness seems to stimulate appetite. And it’s one of many reasons why manufacturers use high fructose instead of table sugar. It’s slightly sweeter and more stimulating.
The products are designed to trick our bodies into eating and drinking more. Super sweet spikes the insulin but has nothing to digest so you’re hungry and now it’s salty snack time making you thirsty for more soda. Consume.
Heaven forbid someone enjoys their life. I’d rather pay for this than billionaire tax cuts and the bloated military budget.
We can do both. A stopped clock is right twice per day. It would be a good idea, except that you already cant buy junk food with food stamps…
There was time in my life when most of my food came from a public pantry. I know it’s not the same as stamps, bit same principle.
Anyway, birthday rolls around; didn’t think anything of it cuz I was in the “it’s just another day…” phase of life, and even if I wanted to do something for it, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Roll up to the pantry for that week’s pickup, and they break out a fucking cake and a hand-written birthday card! Nothing crazy - maybe 6-inch diameter, enough for the wife and I to split. But that shit pulled my ass right out of a depression spell like nothing else came close to before or since.
When I finally got a reliable income coming in and paid off the critical stuff and got a little bit of savings, my first ‘splurge’ was a $1k donation to that pantry with a note saying that their assistance pretty much single-handedly saved me from homelessness and probably from suicide; and enabled me to take the steps I needed to get the job I have now and ultimately become self sufficient.
Food is more than just nutrients; and junk food is more than just food that’s junk.
And pantries are bad ass. If anyone reading this is struggling and not yet using one, GO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE! Many people are resistant to ask for help prior to hitting absolute rock bottom, but a little help now (even if you only-kind-of need it) could save you from needing a LOT of help later. They’re also an awesome source of info on local resources - whatever your unique situation is, they can probably point you in the right direction to start getting shit under control.
…I should make another donation - shit’s extra fucked nowadays.
Thanks for sharing, I feel like people forget we’re all just people at the end of the day.
I bet it would feel very different if you just used food stamps to buy your own cake
Probably, but then that would have enabled me to give my wife that or vice versa. We don’t have kids, but a lot of food stamp recipients do - same spiel.
And even outside of special events, maybe that can of soda with dinner is the carrot-on-a-stick that gets a person through an otherwise miserable day cuz, shocker: poverty fucking sucks.
That’s the cool thing about not having arbitrary restrictions on shit like this: people are free to handle their own unique situation at their own discretion, including whether or not junk food is worth including in that week’s budget.
Yeah, less autonomy is never a solution in situations like those. It’s just a form of petty oppression.
It’s like painting over murals at detention centers where kids are housed… with gray paint. It definitely sends a message.
No, it’s like removing soda machines from school cafeterias. It’s a good idea. It’s so good, in fact, that you already can’t buy junk food with food stamps!!
Someone has to police that though guess RFK jr won’t be picking up that cost.
Gotta stop those poors from having any joy. Only misery will suffice.
Why is it in our interest to pay for food that causes obesity and health issues?
No food individually “causes” obesity and health issues. Overuse of some foods can. If we want people to be healthier, maybe we should offer free accessible cooking classes, or (gasp) not put people in the position where they have to work so much to pay the bills they don’t have time to prepare healthy food.
All this does is punish people who are already in shit circumstances. Maybe they want a treat for their kid, maybe they want to have a fun movie night, maybe it’s none of your business?
Sugar causes obesity and health issues. There’s no recommended daily intake for sugar because it’s not required by the body.
Yeah its not like our bodies need sugars for so much critical functionality that we evolved a reward system for eating it /s
I want you to consider what you would do if you had $300 per month to buy food. How often would you use any of that money to buy soda and candy? Would you do it on a regular? Or would you do it just for special occasions to lift your spirits when things were bad?
This isn’t about health this is about punishing the poor for being poor.
I would buy it literally never, because I already never buy it, because I know it makes me fat and depressed.
I would spend very little of it on candy and soda, but not every person makes the same choices
I was very poor for two or three years in my early 20s. I was maniacally disciplined in only buying healthy, affordable food, no alcohol, no junk food, no sweets. Brown rice, beans, fish off the boat (a fishing fleet operated from our city’s harbor), tofu, miso, green veg. So I stayed healthy. If I had received any assistance, interference in my choices wouldn’t have helped. But the purpose of the interference isn’t to help, it’s to disempower, infantilize and humiliate.
It wouldn’t interfere in your choices because you didn’t buy those things
That doesn’t give anyone the right to choose for them.
If I’m paying for it, I have the right to vote for this law. It affects me
So you agree that there is some amount of acceptable spending on sweets.
As long as it’s from your own pocket
If the concern was really about health, they’d be regulating maximum sugar % in all sodas and candies, not banning them to the poor.
And if the concern was about people’s health, Trump wouldn’t have put RFK Jr into that job.
If you want to buy sugar on your own dime, you can hurt your own health. But why should the government pay for it?
It is their own dime. The government is everybody, and it’s here to serve. Somehow they got in your head that they aren’t entitled to that, but they are.
Edit: had/head
No, public and private funds are different things
Why should the government regulate how people eat based on their income?
It’s not based on income. It’s based on whether the government is paying for it or the person is paying out of their own pocket.
Similarly, school meals should be healthy and not include sweets and soda
Just kill that market. They basically make money off creating a health epidemic in the first place, at what point will we say maybe greed shouldn’t be more important than our health? Remember who was lobbying fat is bad?
You do realize that banning candy and soda is not going to ban sugar. Sugar is a staple product and will always be available on food stamps. Soda is just a processed item, same as candy. In exactly the same way as Dinty Moore canned stew and Campbell’s soups. Should those be banned too? How about bread? It’s a carb and it’s processed. Let’s make the poor people make their own bread cause fuck them for being poor.
Where should the line be drawn?
The line should be drawn on the category of candy and soda. I’m not saying ban all sugar
What if it’s not happening that much and this is just a shoe horn to get legislation to destroy benefits? What if most states already remove some purchases from the EBT/food stamp total?
It’s like drug testing for welfare. It’s sounds like a good idea until you realize it costs millions, produces almost no results and the government performing said drug tests can’t be bothered to not do it in s corrupt way?
Unlike means testing, it will cost nothing. You just update the list of what is covered. Then it’s forever banned from food stamps
as someone else pointed out a specific example that comes up regularly (this is apparently already how it works): 1 particular brand of peanut butter was available, but their lite version wasn’t… with a cart full of groceries, figuring out exactly what gets paid for with what or what needs to be put back isn’t a fast process… this takes not only the persons time, but the cashiers time and everyone behind them in the queue
these are things we call negative externalities: costs forced to other places in the system without being accounted for in price
there are many, many, MANY more costs associated with any government program and intervention but this specific example would cost the country as a whole far more than the occasional unhealthy snack
But it’s not lite peanut butter. It’s all items that are marked candy and soda. That’s a clear category
that’s not how any of this works… UPC codes (barcodes) only have the category as broad as “Food, Beverages & Tobacco”, brand names, product names, etc
you have to maintain some database of UPC numbers to categories, which is how things like variants of peanut butter slip through… and good luck if you want to buy some smaller brand that isn’t on the governments radar
Why do you consider what someone else eats to be a matter of “your interest”, at all?
Do you think your boss…who pays your salary…should be allowed to dictate what you spend it on? Is it in “their interest” to make sure you’re spending their money on “the right things”?
Do you think your boss…who pays your salary…should be allowed to dictate what you spend it on?
Historically, that was a thing until very recently. Henry Ford used to send inspectors into people’s homes to snoop on them, not only food and alcohol, but what language they spoke in the home. Thank the unions for that bullshit having been stopped.
If I’m paying for it, it’s my interest. If it’s your personal decision, then do what you want
If that’s your stance you might wanna leave the low hanging fruit where it is and pick something that actually matters. Just my two cents. Like defense spending.
Defense spending is the most important function of government. Without it we can’t help Ukraine
Because giving more people reasons to enjoy life benefits us all. Also, fuck rich people. We should all be clamoring to take as much from them as possible to improve the lives of those who have less.
You can drink soda and eat candy without becoming obese or having health issues as a result.
Then start with ag subsidies. But that’s if you’re serious about fixing the problem and don’t just want to punish poor people for being poor.
Fuck ag subsidies and fuck tariffs
But mostly fuck poor people. Since that’s the most immediate priority.
Let them buy what they want you damn Nazi.
It’s not what every snap user wants. It’s just that garbage products are calorie dense and need little to no preparation, and those things absolutely matter when working several jobs or being homeless and convincing someone to let you use their address because a permanent address is necessary.
More calories per dollar for things like rice beans pasta. It’s a bit more complicated than that.
Convenience is king when you are constantly burned out and sleep deprived and “just need something good enough and easy”
Fucking hell, have you ever tried to live on rice and beans? You need half a dozen spices and salt just to make it taste like not sadness, plus prep time, prep space, prep bowls and pots, and then you need to wash everything. Compared with a frozen meal that cooks in the microwave and a disposable tray for serving, there’s really no contest. A “rice and beans” lifestyle requires a stay-at-home partner who soaks beans and washes dishes.
It’s a great frugal tip to stretch your grocery dollars, but if you’re poor, it’s not a moral failing to go with a cheap frozen meal.
1 can beans. 1 can tomatos. pour in bowl. microwave. add garlic powder, chili powder, pepper, cayenne. Eat.
I have eaten this for months before. It is cheap, convenient, healthy, and tasty.
I wish more people understood this. Beans are so good, but only if you can devote hours to them.
It’s just one of the myriad of recommendations people make because they don’t understand the problem. People think that the simple trick that worked for them would solve similar problems for everyone. Worse, they get angry when their advice is met with resistance. It’s like Napoleon feeding the alpacas.
It’s like Napoleon feeding the alpacas.
There’s good eatin’ on them alpacas.
I know this outside of the scope of the discussion, but you can cook dried beans in a instant pot in about an hour.
Obviously that’s still going to be a struggle for anyone where time/space/equipment are a huge factor. But it’s a big difference from letting them soak overnight.
Insta pot can help, but I don’t feel it add much value in the overall cook. Sautéing, caramelizing, deglazing, etc. takes time that no home-use kitchen gadget is going to help with. Soaking beans overnight is not the problem, as much as actual time it takes to make a meal. Planning, purchasing ingredients, prepping, cooking, cleaning…insta-pot is not worth the hype iykyk
You might need to soak them (though there are some recipes that don’t require it), but during that time, you are not required to stand over them watchfully to make sure no bean escapes. When you cook them, that takes about an hour. And after the first 10 minutes of prep and cooking, you only have to keep an infrequent eye on them.
You can make a relatively tasty rice with beans with canned beans and bit of salt in 10 minutes - if you are feeling fancy adding parsley will even move it to tasting good. I’m starting to suspect all the corn syrup is damaging american’s taste buds beyond repair.
Two things, canned beans and instant rice cost more than dry bulk rice and beans. And your recipe for “salt and parsley instant rice and canned beans” sounds like it’s going to taste like sadness.
This guy frugals.
but if you’re poor, it’s not a moral failing to go with a cheap frozen meal.
Agreed. HOWEVER, we should be educating people and coming up with new ways to eat cheap, quick, and healthy.
Use your ovens, folks. Food like bacon and bratwurst turn out great in the oven and you don’t have to babysit them, either.
I mean, the solution is to cook in a group. It’s just that nobody does it.
Man, that would make things so much easier and save a lot of time.
Yeah. Go do it!
Fucking hell, have you ever tried to live on rice and beans?
Tried and succeeded.
You need half a dozen spices and salt
Cumin, onions, garlic, salt, maybe some chili powder or a chili pepper. None of those cost much. The occasional fresh tomato can also be useful and is not expensive.
prep time
Elapsed time: can be a few hours if you soak the beans (you don’t have to for refrieds). Actual time engaged in the cooking: a few minutes.
prep bowls and pots
A pot or skillet to cook the rice in (I’d usually make Mexican rice), and another for the beans. Or you can tag-team them. You need a semi-decent knife. A steamer is very useful; otherwise you can stir-fry things.
and then you need to wash everything
Ten minutes effort, maybe less. I can do all the dishes for our current household of four adults in 15 minutes.
Compared with a frozen meal that cooks in the microwave and a disposable tray for serving, there’s really no contest.
That requires a microwave. And you can also cook from scratch using a microwave. But you can also do subsistence cooking from scratch on nothing but a shitty two-burner stove.
A “rice and beans” lifestyle requires a stay-at-home partner who soaks beans and washes dishes.
That’s not true. It requires some minimal forethought and half an hour of actual effort. And if you make bigger batches (and have enough room in the fridge to store the leftovers), you don’t need to do it every day.
it’s not a moral failing to go with a cheap frozen meal
Not at all, but ready-made frozen meals are seldom cheap. The more the processing, generally the higher the cost. Frozen ingredients, on the other hand, can be cheap-- that is, if you have a freezer. Lots of people don’t. I didn’t when I was poor, I just had access to a shared fridge. Luckily I lived near a food co-operative that had cheap fresh fruit and veg (many of which don’t actually need to be refrigerated).
I’m sure all dollar stores sell those.
I lived on easy hamburger helper. Everything is in the package, just cook some ground beef in a pan and mix the rest of the stuff in.
It’s not that hard, guys. You don’t need to eat candy to survive
you really shouldnt be giving advice when your comments include, not paying for peoples food because you think they are only buying sugary foods. yet your here eating junk food.
I’m saying don’t pay for the sugary food, pay for the slightly more healthy food
That shit is full of sodium and really bad for you. Once they target sugar, what do you suppose is next?
sodium isn’t bad for you unless you are eating ungodly amounts. Typically if you get too much of an electrolyte, you just piss it out.
Sodium is at least required for you to live. You can have 0 grams of sugar and be perfectly healthy
Sure, but if you eat a balanced diet of fresh food, you’ll get all the sodium you need. Nobody needs the sodium in an instant meal.
Yeah, I’d say the bigger issue is low income people not having time to cook, and/or not having the ability to get to a decent grocery store.
You might also be living on the street or in a car and not have the means to actually cook.
I’d also like to see how he addresses food deserts. I already saw an article suggesting 18-65 are going to lose benefits.
You’re assuming that people have the time and space to prep rice, beans and pasta. Not everyone does.
I think if we remove the cooked food restriction it would make sense
It takes minimal time and almost no space.
Pasta needs no prep at all, just chuck it into boiling water and drain it once it’s cooked. Rice should be rinsed, but that’s dead easy. Beans I’ve already discussed.
Having been in that situation, the time savings from eating crap is not that significant. It’s more about having a non-chaotic home life.
Eh, can you get a bag of equivalent volume of apples for the same as a bottle of coca cola?
Same amount of sugar, one is considerably healthier.
IDC about soda, although it’s probably less harmful than water in certain areas.
Apples. Food deserts. I’ve never seen an apple at any of the dollar stores.
And consuming how expensive cars are I don’t want to hear people say “food deserts doesn’t exist because you can drive 10 Miles”
Soda is made from municipal water. If the tap water has an issue, so will the soda
Afaik you can’t buy tap soda on benefits, only sealed containers.
The sealed containers are made from tap water too
Not necessarily from the same regions.
Next it will no sugary cereal, just oats and gruel for the peasantry.
I haven’t had sugar cereal in a decade. I don’t know how you could ever prefer them over oat flakes
I had steel cut oats for lunch. It was great, and I didn’t carb crash!
That’s another win for the oat flakes, they don’t drive your blood sugar too high, but will keep it up for very long (no carb crash), plus they contain a load of micronutrients. Even their protein percentage is quite high - higher than chickpeas for example.
Long story short, I don’t understand why people here are mad that the US government will no longer subsidize unhealthy and overpriced garbage. I know this probably isn’t where it’s going to stop, but at least this particular instance makes sense I guess.
I’m not against did stamps being able to buy sweets. The issue I have is with a lot of breakfast cereals is that they too are in fact sweets, but people see them as a proper meal. They’re not. Occasional sweets are fine. Regularly eating a full meal consisting only of sweets is not.
“Ingredients only, no finished products. You want to eat? Work for it!”
Why spoil them? Weevil-infested hardtack, that’s all they deserve.
Obligatory /s
