as much as I feel like screaming I also know Im one of the LUCKY ones over this. love when the toddler in chief takes food from people who need it

I feel this. I'm hoping that you'll get your cash assistance. This whole situation is fucking ridiculous

Yeah, this is so shitty.

GOOD NEWS CASH ASSISTANCE IS IN FULL

thank GOD

at least this first cash assistance is

idk if that means that's all Im getting or what, and I won't know until the 17th

so apparently due to a fed judge going 'pay the people for Nov trump' we are gonna get full benefits? despite this administration going WEH NO WELL APPEAL!!! during a time when trump is literally having a ballroom built and throwing a Gatsby party

of course people are wonderful about this on the internet lol. without realizing that people who already work are getting fucked over due to this

'I DONT WANT TO PAY FOR YOUR JUNK FOOD!!!' brother in christ I just want to be able to have spaghettios when Im pmsing hard and have no desire to actually cook

they have literally told our soldiers to go to their fucking country they're stationed in and ask for food

because they can't be assed to pay??? where the fuck is the military budget going then????

also like. I dont think people understand how CHEAP junk/processed food is in comparison to fresh food

like I keep a lot of rice/ makable stuff on hand, but. I will keep saying this, but pop is cheaper than juice in this country. full stop.

I've had to say 'nope, can't get anything fresh this month' multiple times, because it is a genuine risk to buy food that isnt shelf stable

or frozen

for real. so many people don't understand how any of this works

like at all

they know nothing about recipients that isn't that stupid welfare queen myth that reflect the vast majoirty of people on assistance

*doesn't

even if it WAS true, they're literally saying they want children to starve, because the vast majority of the stereotype includes having a lot of children

I legit saw someone saying THEY TAKE MONEY OUT OF MY CHECK and I just

this is WHY people end up fucking starving in this country, because idiots like you shame people for needing food

or the old THEY SHOULDNT ALLOW JUNK FOOD ON IT

one: no one is going to fucking buy a bunch of junk food with food stamps, BECAUSE THATS ALL YOU GET FOR THE MONTH, IDIOT.
two: i guarantee you this comes from seeing people paying with a bridge card and seeing they have like, a bag of chips and a pop

maybe a box of cookies or something

or, God forbid, they have a pre made birthday cake or something

which, again: the money you get on the card is for the month. it is NOT uncommon for people on EBT to do their shopping for the month in one trip

so that junk food you see may literally be their one treat for the month

also: thr old fucking chestnut of 'the poor dont deserve nice things'

the old MUH ILLEGALS is insane as well, because GUESS WHAT IDIOTS YOU NEED TO BE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE STATE YOURE IN TO GET EBT

when people say that shit I just want to look them dead in the eye and say 'okay, so you dont care if children, the elderly, and the disabled starve, huh'

also I'm just gonna say it: the people who say this shit are OVERWHELMINGLY men

oh yeah, for sure

most people I know on SNAP are either working and not being paid enough, single parents who are trying to raise their kid and keep them fed, disabled in some way, often after having a job that ruined their health, or elderly

it's really wild. and honestly, it's like... who do they think is going to be next

starve the impoverished and who's gonna be at the bottom next? I want to scream at this people that these people aren't going to give them their money back. they want to hoard the wealth for the upperclasses and that doesn't include them

I was talking with my case manager today about just how many people just refuse to listen to them when they try to explain to people in their personal life about how the welfare system actually works. like they call them gullible when it's literally their job to navigate these systems every day.

so many people don't seem to understand that welfare fraud is a crime. one they can report, that they've always had access to report all this time, and this will make it so those individuals will no longer receive wellfare. I know here that you can go to prison and be banned from benefits for life if you defraud

but no, they'd rather fuck over everyone living in poverty than make a phone call to the fraud hotline and actually report these supposed crimes everyone on SNAP are doing

yep. or shame them for buying the cheapest stuff they can to make food stretch which, SURPRISE SURPRISE, in this mess of a country is often unhealthy and overprocessed

'being obese is a privilege' or maybe we just live in a hell country where cheap, good tasting food is loaded with fat. IT IS NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT THE POOREST PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE OFTEN OBESE.

but God it's just. hmm yes punch down instead of get angry at the robber barons hoarding money you fucking idiots

I go to the cheapest supermarkets I can and 90% of the food is processed, unhealthy shit. all the healthy foods are out of my budget. also I have a partner with serious health issues, they cannot eat proccessed foods, foods with sodium, at this point they can't eat anything with moisture in it. and at the discount places, this all they have on offer

they are fucking morons. it's disgusting and infuriating

it's near impossible to eat healthy on SNAP because you have to spend extra or shop at farmer's markets which aren't always available

my fridge is basically bare at this point because frozen food is cheaper and generally lasts longer

its basically frozen food + shelf stable stuff atm

I eat one meal a day lol

granted the zepbound makes it so that one meal goes a long way, but I often dont eat until 5pm so that way I can go to bed feeling somewhat full

I have some fridge stuff but a lot of it is staples for cheap foods. things like margarine, the cheapest healthiest condiments I can find. and at this point, most of it is from food pantries, not SNAP

I usually eat two snacks and dinner, that's about it

I dont even bother with margarine anymore bc my diet is more 'asian' focused (a lot of noodles and rice and tofu, which are all decently cheap and shelf stable)

its what I prefer and also just generally cheaper than a typical 'western' diet would be rn

I look forward nowadays to getting my foodstamps so I can get my favorite walnut apple salad lol

salad is a fucking TREAT for me

which is fine! we have a lot of noodles, rice, and beans. the main issue is my partner can't eat any of it because of renal issues. her doctors have ordered her to cut down on anything with moisture at this point. the foods she can eat are more expensive so I try to reserve SNAP for her diet. like at this point, she can meat and bread. sodium free foods

*Eat

and for real

"Where's the military budget going"
New Jets so we can sell our old ones to our allies, which begs the question where the fuck the money from that is going.

probably in somebody's pocket

also yeah like I've been to stores and looked at what's covered by EBT and SNAP and like...it's unironically SOME non-perishables and mostly "snacks". Which is probably because it's up to the stores and companies that allow it to be used to decide that.

like people would use their benefits for shit that is "healthy" if the only companies that let you use them weren't also the ones that are fucking lobbying politicians who don't support benefits

Which is like...the biggest show of proof of "The machine isn't working" i've ever seen

yeah. and like sometimes these programs insist on specific brands which tend to be brand name shit. I know when I was receiving WIC, I wanted to get the cheapest stuff I could but no, I could only use it for X brand approved by them

as opposed to the pessimistic view of "The machine is working as intended and always hated us"

which is something else that people don't realize. all of this stuff tends to be incredibly restrictive

I remember i used to be on SSI for disability and apparently not only did I have to find a job to keep it but also I couldn't have more than 2000 dollars MAX between both Saving and checking in my bank account.

and then they wonder why fucking people spend their shit frivolously and it looks like the moneys being wasted and creating a fucking culture war.

the evidence is there if you wanna look for it. it's costs MONEY to be not be fat

I realized it costed money to not be fat when i noticed the price difference between fucking no-gluten shit and normal bread

that shit was always a scam cause it's a fucking allergy prevention tool that's used to body shame.

So this is reasonable to say to assholes:

yeaaaaah. all that stuff is so much more expensive. my partner has to get these special, low sodium veggie wraps because of dietary restrictions and they're like twice the price of more ordinary things

Like even by the concept of TECHNICALLY it's more affordable to buy the parts of something to then make it yourself from scratch, fucking between nobody being taught how to do that and the time it consumes it kinda fucks up that argument too.

fucking even pre-modern societies had BAKERS, and it wasn't just cause they were the only ones with ovens

Home Ec should have stayed as a required class in high schools so people could learn to mend clothes, balance checkbooks, and know how to cook

BUT ALAS HERE WE ARE

yeah, it should have

What are people gonna do with this head of lettuce that costs like less than a dollar? Put salt on it? Even that isn't affordable.

one of the food banks I've gone to this month is actually giving out recipes to people so they can come up with meals with the ingredients they're giving out

which is something I wish more places did

even if you know how to cook, budget cooking is a skill itself

but yeah, you can't really do much with just a head of lettuce

skills this would be super helpful in a home ec class tbh. but if people are less dependent on spending money for basic shit, the circling vultures can't line their pockets

I see the like "list of things people appreciate being donated" every year

and somehow also every year...peanut butter is not on the list

even though...it's literally all the things

god, I have so much peanut butter stocked up. I'm grateful for it! It's useful! But man, I've never known what to do with it really besides put it on toast. I may try to pseudorig some peanut sauce for something

I did get a recipe for no flour peanut butter cookies but like... that's not exactly healthy

and I can't help but think that baking mixes and pantry staples would be really helpful with some recipes for folks on how to use them

You CAN just eat it plain

[which is totally not something i do why would you ask cough]

hahaha, I actually do that

sometimes I just grab a spoon and jar when things are bare

mix peanut butter with sugar and egg in mug and microwave. good cheap dessert

my main issue right now is energy, so I've been buying a lot more 'junk' or 'throw in the oven' meals

when I can get my teeth fixed in December I might get my energy back

I've also been getting 'throw in one pot, done' stuff, like my butternut squash soup with rice cakes and tofu

it makes two tor three meals depending on how hungry I am that day, so

thatt's good stuff, too, and understandable about the energy levels. it's hard to cook when you're dealing with a disability on top of stress

my dinner yesterday was bread and grapes from the food pantry lol

I have a carton of eggs I'm hoping when this ear infection settles I can make some into tea eggs

I think I had a can of spaghettios also from the food pantry lol

I had a can of pork and beans for lunch today

oh I get canned beef stew and spaghettios a lot

that stuff is a lifesaver

sometimes I get chili with beans and get some corn chips and make myself a frito pie

with beef stew all I need is rice and a little cheese. the spaghettios need even less, and they dont taste too terrible cold if I add some gochujang

those tend to be reserved for 'I am literally right before / on my period days' when my energy bottoms the fuck out

I always get the meatball ones tho

bc protein

same. I save stuff like that for when I just have zero energy or a raging headache because I get those really badly when I don't eat

also PRAISE GOCHUJANG AND MSG, SAVIOR OF BLAND ASS FOOD

the moment I found out my store carries msg for a little over a dollar I was like FUCKIN GIMMIE

I really need to pick up some. I've been having to use Mrs Dash for the partner and that stuff is so bland

oh, that's really nice!

gochujang is expensive but I use such small amounts atm a small bottle lasts me a while

makes sense!

again one of the main reasons I switched to Asian mostly is they have SO MANY CONDIMENTS

I've also been thinking about maybe trying to make my own kimchi since cabbage is so decently inexpensive and has so much good stuff in it. even nappa cabbage isnt too much

also I can control thr spice content lol

I definitely should look into that more. I have such a surplus of rice rn. if we weren't in different states, I'd give you some

i hope your energy isn't cause of vitamin deficiencies

oh no do not worry about rice for me

I have a literal gallon bucket of rice thats half full rn

that's good!

yeah like

catgrumps: I take a multivitamin every day

I need a root canal as the infection has reached the root so

p sure that's where my energy is going

mimarin: I am so fussy about rice quality that I get calrose rice, and I can buy a huge bag of it on foodstamps for 25 to 30 dollars

thats what fills up my Rice Bucket

gotcha! understandable

and since it lasts so long I dont mind paying that price bc I only have to buy more every 4 to 5 months, maybe 6

I also have two pounds of black rice Im too intimidated to cook, but it has a STUPID amount of protein and good stuff

since I bought that on Amazon when I still had near 500 when mom was around

I gotta try one of these days haha

I just have like twenty bags of foodbank rice in my pantry. One of my food cabinets is nothing but rice, various types of dry beans and peas, and a few bags of lentils

and understandable!

I'm glad that I was already stocking up before this shitshow

I have enough that if my neighbors (like literally everyone in my small town is on SNAP) needs something, I can share a bit

and of course when our GOP governor was finally persuaded into helping even a little, he only gave state funds to food banks in the urban areas with more resources and not to the rural ones who don't have a lot

I am so sorry

michigan is dem majority so like

we were gonna get partial before the ruling, but after they went NM EVERYONE GETS FULL despite Trump wants to appeal

like I will say one thing about my region of Ohio, the community is trying their best to step up and keep everyone fed. I've never seen anything like it. also so many people have been really pissed at the GOP so it gives me hope that it's going to hemorrhage voters

that is good! I'm glad that you're able to get help!

oh people WILL NOT forget this

no, they won't

I personally know people who voted for him that are on ebt and PISSED

yeaaaaah, it's the same here. I hope the Dems are smart and push this pain point for all it's worth during midterms

theres a lot people can forgive. threatening to take away food is NOT one of them, especially when Trump is having a fucking ballroom installed and throwing parties like he's a French aristocrat before the revolution

it turns out that most people are not cool with being left to starve while you're making a ballroom

exactly

he is literally putting people's kids at risk. that's not something most people will forgive

as much as I hate this, I do adore the gop spent YEARS defending schools, trying to make the masses stupid and pliable, and right on the cusp of their victory...Trump comes along and basically ruins everything by showing the true face of the party: lying, money grubbing assholes who only want theirs and everyone else can get fucked.

like yeah, it's awful. but we could have had a way more insidious awful instead of literal mad king up there

yep, he really showed how fake their concern for family values and children truly are

oh yeah, I agree

and GOP states are proving it TO THEIR FUCKING VOTING BASE by barely helping!

Yep

because they either tow the party line and agree with trump and let people go hungry, or show they dont give a fuck about that and actually care

and so many of them are willingly choosing the pants on head option

when I have more energy, I'm ripping into our representatives over this and encouraging everyone else to do the same. our wellfare office is ALSO telling people to contact the representatives, too

yep

michigan is 100% going near full blue over this, I can tell you that

the north does not play around and we REMEBER the crash our state had when factories got shipped overseas

I'm hoping our candidates will play it smart and focus on this debacle because I think more than anything, that's going to push people over the edge

God I want them to be mean about this. go apeshit

same

like they handed you total party victory TAKE IT

for real!

like I have my disagreements with the dem party but right now I just want status quo back THEN we can do some progressive shit

people here just do not care about race or social justice issues. it pisses me off that so many people in Ohio just don't give a shit but it is what it is. but what people do care about are things like not starving

that's where I'm at, too

but like. it's so disheartening to see so many people going GOOD FUCK THE LAZY when the news broke

I don't like the Democratic party but they didn't leave us to starve

legit the majority of ebt people either work or cannot work

yeah. they don't let you on ebt if you can. they're trying to push you off of it asap

like the second you raise your income, they're cutting benefits. there's a lot of working families here that are struggling with that

and I can say that in my case, they told me that if I wanted to get a higher education, they were slapping me with a work assignment despite my disability that already had me exempt. it was mandatory and I had a toddler

so basically, I was give a choice of keep my kid fed or not being able to keep him fed and maybe gain job skills and a reference

yeah like

I went to college and lost my food stamps

it's ridiculous

they make it near impossible to get off of it without risking the health of dependents in your household and then they get a bug up their ass over people not getting off of it

like. it is stupidly hard to get any kind of higher education if you're poor

it is

and yeah like. I want a full time min wage job and I will basically all but lose food stamps lol

because it's still outdated due to going by gross + rent

yep. they never update that shit to current times

since it WAS NOT MADE for the amount of inflation we are currently undergoing

its made for slow inflation increases not this bullshit

no, it wasn't. some of this shit hasn't been updated since the 70s

it desperately needs to be, too

it does. it's been half a damn century

also: stores have been reporting more food loss via theft and Im just like YEAH, NO SHIT

saw that one coming well before this

A reminder... if you see someone stealing food... THAT IS N O N E of your business.

I predicted months ago that crime was going to increase as people grew desperate because people who are hungry and have kids to feed don't give a shit about anything but solving the problem any way they can

it's why crime pops up in poor rural areas without many resources. there's desperate people trying to get basic needs met, even through illegal means

and yeah, if I see someone stealing food, I'm looking the other way. I've been there. I get it

one other thing that isnt food related Is i seriously saw someone complain that fat and obese people dont want to 'control themselves and exercise' about shots like zepbound not being as expensive

this isn't related per say but like

FUCKER I DONT HAVE TO FEEL CONSTANLY HUNGRY ALL THE TIME BECAUSE MY BRAIN NOW GETS THE SIGNAL IM FULL

and I can eat like a NORMAL PERSON

it is absolutely NOT about controlling yourself if your body chemistry is out of whack

'lose weight fatty!' ok. /has assistance with weight loss drugs 'not that way!'

In VA, our R gov youngkin set up a program to give the same money as snap. He and his AG didn't get in on the USDA lawsuit so that sucks, but yeah combined with the blue wave in our state. I really hope people wake up

its not even a weight loss drug is the thing! it combats insulin resistance!

its also meant for people like me who are morbidly obese and have difficulty moving around

'exercise fatty' let me lose enough to do so without wrecking my joints

they want fat people to lose weight without assistance or even to be seen.

PRETTY MUCH

I know some gyms now have a strict 'do not take pictures of people working out to mock them' rule

because that shit happens and guess what people stop trying

Insulin is like a biological phenomenon, there should be no shame in a drug managing it