How to turn 87 dollars of food stamps into 24 dollars of cigarettes

[Drew]

Would you be willing to exchange $86.79 for $24?

A pair of men at the Shaw’s supermarket on Main Street did just that on a recent Tuesday morning as they engaged in a food stamp scam funded by U.S. taxpayers.

After purchasing a reported 20 24-packs of bottled water, on sale that week for $2.99 a case before taxes and redemption fees were added, the men went behind the store to the loading dock and poured the contents of each bottle on the ground. Shortly thereafter, a reporter also witnessed the pair wheel their shopping cart into the vestibule of the store, feed the 480 bottles into a redemption machine and claim their cash value at the customer service counter.

In a ploy a number of the store’s employees describe as common, these men had found a way to turn their funds from the federally administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, into cold, hard cash, which can then be used to purchase items that do not meet the program’s guidelines. By doing so, they have poured tax dollars down the drain. And while Congress has outlawed the practice, change has been slow to come as the penalties for those found in violation have yet to be determined.

Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP funds are distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services division to low-income individuals and families to help them acquire the proper nutrition for a healthy lifestyle. Other aid efforts, such as the state-regulated General Assistance and federally controlled Women, Infants and Children programs, have enacted measures to curb this specific kind of fraud.

Effective Oct. 1, 2008, a provision of the Food and Nutrition Act specifically forbids the use of SNAP funds to obtain cash by intentionally discarding products for the container’s redemption value. However, the policy still has not been put into practice nearly two years later because the USDA still needs to set the penalties for violators, according to Adriana Zorrilla, a spokeswoman for Food and Nutrition Services.

“FNS is currently developing rulemaking that codifies this statutory provision and provides the program disqualification periods for these infractions,” Zorrilla said in an e-mail. “When something happens enough times, you have this sort of rulemaking.”

In 2009, the state of Maine was authorized to distribute nearly $316 million in SNAP funds with almost $12 million issued to Bangor residents alone. Ten states, including Maine, currently require a bottle deposit on recyclable containers ranging from 5 to 15 cents, a value that legally may be paid with SNAP funds.

One factor that may be slowing change at the federal level is the unease felt by those reporting the misuse of assistance funds. Barbara Van Burgel, director of the state’s Office of Integrated Access and Support, which oversees SNAP in Maine, said in order to disqualify someone from the SNAP program, her office must receive unambiguous evidence, not just anecdotal hearsay.

“A lot of people will talk in general, but are trepidacious about giving any specific information we can use” to investigate a reported misuse of funds, Van Burgel said.

Despite several anecdotal reports from employees at the Shaw’s store on Main Street citing the bottle-redemption scam as a recurring problem and federal legislation to address the abuse, officials at Shaw’s parent company, SuperValu Inc. in East Bridgewater, Mass., have not been told there is a significant problem.

“I did some checking and have not heard any specific examples of this being a consistent occurrence at our stores,” SuperValu spokesman Steve Sylven said in an e-mail.

Van Burgel was quick to point out that SNAP funds are not intended to entirely fund a recipient’s food budget. She said SNAP participants received an average of only $129 a month last year, a boost financially but far from an adequate nutrition budget.

The federal SNAP program may be slow to implement its own policies, but at the local level here in Maine, change has been swift. At the Office of Health and Community Services in Bangor, the staff at the state-regulated General Assistance program got wind of the bottle deposit loophole and effectively closed it with a simple solution: Those using General Assistance funds must pay cash for all bottle deposits. Without the need for approval from the state government, the Bangor office was able to implement this change at the local level almost immediately.

Admittedly, the General Assistance program is much different from SNAP. Mandated by the state, General Assistance funds are distributed through local offices and are designed to provide not only money for food but also for housing, fuel and other necessities. By requiring those seeking assistance to apply in their local municipality, the office can regulate its funds more strictly than the federal program can.

“It’s conceivable that we pay for food, fuel, housing, diapers. It’s quite a range for General Assistance,” said Shawn Yardley, director of the Bangor office of Health and Community Services.

Yardley said his staff approached him about the bottle deposit scam after hearing from community members and grocery store employees who identified it as a recurring problem. Their outrage — coupled with anecdotal evidence, which would not be strong enough to implement changes to the federal program — spurred rapid change for the city of Bangor.

“This is a very important safety net program,” Yardley said. “I don’t think anyone would think this is reasonable for someone to obtain cash.”

The changes to General Assistance guidelines are a direct copy of a longstanding policy at Women, Infants and Children, a federally administered program that provides nutrition assistance to mothers with children up to age 5. WIC funds may be used only for a limited number of items, with juice being the only acceptable purchase that could require a deposit.

“The stores have been instructed not to allow WIC customers to use funds for deposits,” said Laura Honeycutt, the WIC program manager for Bangor.

In order to accomplish that aim, Honeycutt said the WIC state office employs a two-person team that visits all eligible vendors. The General Assistance program has taken this idea one step further, printing the policy directly on the vouchers.

For now, the SNAP program remains without the teeth to enforce the changes mandated by Congress. Zorrilla was unable to provide a timeline for when the necessary rules will take effect so that state offices can begin holding assistance fund abusers accountable. While it may take some time to determine the penalties, Van Bur-gel urges anyone who wishes to report the misuse or waste of federal SNAP funds to call the national fraud hot line at 800-424-9121.



http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Statewide/Bangor-incident-reveals-loophole-in-federal-food-aid-program,151744



This isn't surprising at all. Practically anytime I go to a ghetto grocery store some crackhead tries to proposition me to give him cash for him to use food stamp cards to buy my food.

[Warriorbird]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse_accident

[Gnome Rage]

Hey - When you need your fix...

[Bobmuhthol]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse_accident

You're right, not everyone on welfare is using their food budget to buy cigarettes. Some of them don't smoke tobacco and drink instead.

[Androidpk]

What an outrage!

[IorakeWarhammer]

this is nuts

[Drew]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse_accident

So, in your opinion, the food stamp program isn't rife with abuse?

[Deathravin]

So, in your opinion, the food stamp program isn't rife with abuse?

What's the resolution to the problem?

[Methais]

What's the resolution to the problem?

Have TheE talk to them and explain the error of their ways.

[Androidpk]

What's the resolution to the problem?

What's the problem?

[Warriorbird]

In my opinion it's a distraction from other issues. The recent Democratic proposed food stamp cuts are also a distraction.

I actually believe they'd be a better program if they were better funded and better regulated.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Economy of scale.>>

I don't understand what you mean here. Economies of scale would suggest that the food stamp program should encompass a larger scope in order to reduce average operation costs. I don't think this is what you wanted to say.

[Warriorbird]

I think the current 'let's slash it' ideals are actually going to lead to a worse program than improved funding and better control.

Things like a national id card (which the Republicans tanked when they had the votes) could be a simple way to improve the system rather than "It's bad!" "Let's make it better by funding it less!"

Ultimately, it'd be nice for it to end up in a better managed place, like welfare.

With all that said, compared to most of the rest of America's budgetary problems it is tiny.

[Androidpk]

How would a national ID card improve things?

[Warriorbird]

It'd make it a lot easier to deliver or remove benefits on an individual level. It'd also remove the bugabear of 'ZOMGillegalimmigrantstakingourmoney!' With more attention to food stamps, you could then work to reduce costs, rather than 'OMG, we cut food stamps, our budget situation is resolved!' which is bullshit.

[Deathravin]

With all that said, compared to most of the rest of America's budgetary problems it is tiny.

This is one of our major issues. We don't see that fixing a lot of small issues would help the big picture. Everything should be fixed, not just the biggest things.

Honestly, the best way to get the best bang for your buck is the pay as you go system. I seriously think that every budget deficit should have to come out of the tax payers. There should be no such thing as borrowing money or a national debt. We should be square every year.

Then any project you put forth for increased spending you have to figure out where you're going to get the money for it either through cuts or taxes.

[Bobmuhthol]

No such thing as borrowing money => no such thing as an efficient economy.

[Warriorbird]

This is one of our major issues. We don't see that fixing a lot of small issues would help the big picture. Everything should be fixed, not just the biggest things.

Honestly, the best way to get the best bang for your buck is the pay as you go system. I seriously think that every budget deficit should have to come out of the tax payers. There should be no such thing as borrowing money or a national debt. We should be square every year.

Then any project you put forth for increased spending you have to figure out where you're going to get the money for it either through cuts or taxes.

It'd be nice. It'd mean the big stuff that everybody avoids looking at would have to be looked at too. I don't think America or its politicians has the intestinal fortitude.

[Deathravin]

They had pay-go through the Clinton years.

[Drew]

They had pay-go through the Clinton years.


You have to believe government accounting for that to work. Otherwise entitlement programs that always cost more than they were supposed to (like healthcare will) will still run up the debt.

[Sean of the Thread]

these guys are dumb. Places like Publix have a no questions asked refund policy.

without a receipt it's usually $5 but you can get lucky and get whatever.

[Rocktar]

Just one case of abuse. Me, I would start by removing bottled water from something you can buy with food stamps. There is no real reason to let people buy such inflated crap on the public dime. A lot of it comes from a fricking faucet anyway. Yes, there are places where the public water doesn't taste all that great. If you are in that socio-economic bracket then you can learn to deal with it. Just like dealing with not buying name brand peanut butter.

[Krendeli]

Only solution to food stamp fraud: Eliminate food stamps.

[Jaimaltz]

The irony of this is that the $24 dollars of cigarettes is including at least $18 worth of tax. So they really get like $6 dollars of actual product from their $87 in food stamps.

[Deathravin]

Only solution to food stamp fraud: Eliminate food stamps.

I have to say with as much as the government tries to tell us tap water is safe for us, for them to let you purchase bottled with stamps is pretty silly.


Maybe the solution is to really narrow the scope of what you can purchase. Make it ingredients only. If you're poor enough to get food stamps, you should have enough time on your hands to prepare a proper meal. Milk, Eggs, Flour, Meat, Fruits & Vegetables, etc should really be it.

No processed foods, no junk food.

Maybe in learning how to cook properly, you'll hone your skills and be able to get a job as a cook somewhere.

[Bobmuhthol]

Now that you mention it, preparing food doesn't cost anything. Brilliant plan.

[Deathravin]

Now that you mention it, preparing food doesn't cost anything. Brilliant plan.

So 2 full-time minimum wage parents would have to have >3 kids or a single parent >1 kid to qualify for food stamps. So you certainly have a good point. But I'm still not sure... even working 50 hours a week you should have enough time to make a meal for your family.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/FILES/ProgramOperations/FSPFoodRestrictions.pdf


Conclusion
The idea of restricting the food choices of food stamp recipients as a means of promoting dietary improvement among low-income Americans has serious conceptual and practical flaws. There are better alternatives for promoting healthier diets. One could, for example, consider incentives – rather than restrictions – to encourage purchases of selected foods (fruits and vegetables or whole grains, for example) by food stamp participants. Or one could expand and strengthen nutrition education and promotion to make sure that participants have the knowledge, skills, and motivation they need to make healthy choices. These approaches are more practical, and likely to be more effective than restricting choice in achieving the dietary improvements that promote good health.

USDA’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals include a $100 million investment to establish a five-year competitive grants demonstration program targeted at developing and testing solutions to the rising rates of obesity. These efforts would include rigorous independent evaluations to identify effective approaches, such as incentives at point-of-sale for purchases of fruits and vegetables by food stamp participants, grants to connect food stamp shoppers with farmers markets, and integrated communication and education programs to promote healthy diets and physical activity.

[Androidpk]

Only solution to food stamp fraud: Eliminate food stamps.


Can we eliminate the fraud in government by getting rid of the government?

[Krendeli]

What's a little anarchy between friends?

[CrystalTears]

Maybe the solution is to really narrow the scope of what you can purchase. Make it ingredients only. If you're poor enough to get food stamps, you should have enough time on your hands to prepare a proper meal. Milk, Eggs, Flour, Meat, Fruits & Vegetables, etc should really be it.

No processed foods, no junk food.

Maybe in learning how to cook properly, you'll hone your skills and be able to get a job as a cook somewhere.
Unfortunately there are places where unless you have transportation, getting to a supermarket to buy fresh produce is not convenient. And there are situations in which the junk and processed food is less expensive than produce in the first place. It's not as easy as putting limitations when availability is not necessarily there.

[Shattered Dreamer]

I have an easy solution.

Get rid of money. -- All of our problems go away!

[WRoss]

When I lived in Savannah, GA, and there were actual food stamps, I used to see people pull scams all the time. With those stamps, as long as the change was less than a dollar, they'd give the actual coins to the customer. So people would come in, and buy one item at a time, collecting change as they went. After 10-15 items, they'd have enough to dequarter themselves to buy booze or cigarettes.

[Androidpk]

Just change the rules so people can buy cigarettes and alcohol. Simple fix.

[Parkbandit]

Shouldn't it be their right to spend our money however they want?

Heartless bitches!

[Androidpk]

Shouldn't it be their right to spend our money however they want?

Heartless bitches!

I can think of a lot more pressing matters to be worried about concerning tax payers money than someone buying cigarettes and beer.

[IorakeWarhammer]

eliminate ALL of these programs, lower the taxes, let regular people decide whether they want to give charity or not. all of these charity/welfare services should be on the shoulders of local charities/community organizations/mosques/churches. if we had more cash we'd give more away... or spend it on ourselves and say forget the lazy ass welfare recipients

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

<<Economy of scale.>>

I don't understand what you mean here. Economies of scale would suggest that the food stamp program should encompass a larger scope in order to reduce average operation costs. I don't think this is what you wanted to say.

I didn't see anyone say economy of scale?

[Warriorbird]

I clarified. I got fussed at for using economy of scale when applied to the government and not being clear.

[Bobmuhthol]

Last edited by Warriorbird : 08-21-2010 at 05:32 PM.

I did.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

What about instead of food stamps you went to a government location and received a weeks worth of nutritional food at a time? Sure, it could be abused if you sold the food, but you couldn't return it like you can at a grocer. It'd also limit what you could get, like no bottled water FFS. Maybe a gallon of water. I dunno.

Current program sucks ass because there are legitimate folks who utilize it in time of need, and then there are those who abuse it. You shouldn't negatively impact those who legitimately need it, or if you feel that abuse is rampant, shut down the program. The question is how much abuse really occurs?

[Tordane]

The question is how much abuse really occurs?

Sadly, probably more than we would ever think.

[Cephalopod]

I haven't read this, but based soley on the title of the thread, is this a tutorial for Sean2?

[Warriorbird]

I'm sure he's already on it.

[Celephais]

The question is how much abuse really occurs?

My first job was cashier at a grocery store, and it was always a bunch of junk, almost always more than they had food stamps for, and then they'd just decide what not to buy (you know, like the gallon of milk), and then they would pay cash for the cigs and beer.

ETA: That particular case that I saw all the time isn't exactly abusing the system, and obviously I don't know the whole story with every person I saw doing this, but it was clear they weren't bothering to cut out certain non-necessities.

[Carl Spackler]

My first job was cashier at a grocery store, and it was always a bunch of junk, almost always more than they had food stamps for, and then they'd just decide what not to buy (you know, like the gallon of milk), and then they would pay cash for the cigs and beer.

ETA: That particular case that I saw all the time isn't exactly abusing the system, and obviously I don't know the whole story with every person I saw doing this, but it was clear they weren't bothering to cut out certain non-necessities.

If only they had been taught good decision making skills growing up.

[Gan]

I can think of a lot more pressing matters to be worried about concerning tax payers money than someone buying hookers and blow.

This is what I saw when I read that.

[AestheticDeath]

I have never gotten food stamps, so I am wondering how they work.

Is it a coupon for like a free gallon of milk, or like a coupon for 50% off that gallon? I am assuming they give a coupon to get something for free, or, like I had heard at some point basically giving like a pre-paid credit card that could only be used on certain edible items.

I would think that if the whole point of the food stamps is to give help, and not completely free food, then all they have to do is make sure the coupons can only ever be used as a percentage of a purchase, so that there is ALWAYS at least 50%(or more) cash given in exchange for any item being bought with food stamps.

I saw something about $129 a month in help up above I think, and as one person, that would cover possibly a quarter of my monthly food depending on how I was eating. So even a 75% cash requirement on any corresponding purchase should work. Then there is no way you could get away with such a scam.

[Sean of the Thread]

I haven't read this, but based soley on the title of the thread, is this a tutorial for Sean2?

I'm not on food stamps.

And to the others on how it works it's a benefit card that works just like a debit card. Works on most food other than prepared or hot food from say the deli. Cold subs are allowed prepared from say the Publix deli YUM for example but a philly cheese melt from the deli is not.

In NY for example if you're on food stamps or most any other public assistance you eventually have to pay it back and participate in weekly workshops the entire time you're receiving benefits.

Including doing 20-40 hours a week community service while on public assistance.

They also give you $30 a month for a bus pass so transportation won't be an issue.

Seems like a good plan to me.

[Stanley Burrell]

Code 83 is a really shitty arrest.

Pretty nice method-based denial intervention.

[Stanley Burrell]

Out of morbid curiously, since we have a bunch of folks here with creative imaginations:

What would you do if you were the recipient of a stamp/welfare program. And you're in the mindset where by all means, you feel the strong urge to acquire cigarettes, alcohol or be the proponent of catering to another addiction. You're not going to be driven to violence based on withdrawal alone.

Assume you live close to the area, let's say ... in the nearby woods. You have, for whatever reason, a very keen knowledge of the area: Edit -- As if you had a very decent mental picture of the surrounding neighborhood. Anyway you're in the woods nearby the cash machine living in a tent -- Where several other individuals have the same psychological makeup as you, specifically concerning emptying out these bottles and recycling them now being an invalid method of obtaining liquid money to feed your addiction (that won't make you become particularly violent.) What do you do?

[Androidpk]

What do you do?

Is this like one of those choose your own ending books where the wrong choice gets you eaten by a grue?

[Stanley Burrell]

Is this like one of those choose your own ending books where the wrong choice gets you eaten by a grue?

Just pretend you're the person I described. See if you can imagine being him/her. And your M.O. is to still, somehow, have your addiction fed (taking fully into account that you are the individual, as well as what you best believe is that individual's mindset.)

[WRoss]

What do you do?

1) Buy said bottles of water
2) Find young hoodlum and promise $10
3) Take kid to worksites to sell water for "his XXXX charity"
4) Profit
5) Rinse
6) Repeat

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Just pretend you're the person I described. See if you can imagine being him/her. And your M.O. is to still, somehow, have your addiction fed (taking fully into account that you are the individual, as well as what you best believe is that individual's mindset.)

I can't imagine what it'd be like to pick cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs over food. Hell I can't imagine what it'd be like to pick that stuff over a roof over your head. I try to imagine it, but I really think that I have the kind of personality where I'd go check into rehab before shit ever got that bad, so I dunno.

As far as how often this happens.. I've never been on food stamps but I went to culinary school with a really sweet girl who was on them. They were in their late 20's, her husband had some sort of aggressive thyroid cancer, they lost their business, had 2 kids to support, and the aid really helped them. She worked 2 jobs on top of school but it wasn't enough on its own. I think of how she eeked by just barely and needed every cent and scrap she could to make sure her family was okay. I'm sure that a lot of people abuse the system, but I'm also sure she's not the only one who needed and used the system as it was intended. Obviously I don't think it's remotely perfect, but I can't feel good about the idea of just doing away with it.

[Sean of the Thread]

There's nothing wrong with food stamps when you need the shit. The stigma is bullshit. It's fuck faces that abuse it that piss me off like the family at Albertsons buying $300 of crab legs on it once a month.

We all (most of us anyways) have worked our asses off and paid our taxes our entire life. Big fucking deal if you actually need to use a public assistance program when things get rough for whatever reason.

[Stanley Burrell]

I'm sure that a lot of people abuse the system, but I'm also sure she's not the only one who needed and used the system as it was intended. Obviously I don't think it's remotely perfect, but I can't feel good about the idea of just doing away with it.

I just have a personal issue with someone who is going to engage in fraud using this system. I'm not supposed to say this, but there is almost zero effort in crime analysis/tactical CA involving, say, finding any method to address this without clicking them as BEATs and then barely maybe assigning a car, bike or foot to the area. Which won't do anything. At all. I'm also not supposed to say this, but there is a disgusting and complete lack of preventative measures. Like, if I bombarded the DoD or NSA with susp. persons, emotionally disturbed and welfare frauds, I'm clogging up one of the communication relays.

These are the exact individuals who end up denying themselves enough essentials to the point where it suddenly reaches the Chief's debriefing because of linkage blindness. I'm about to pass out but I bet my next salary's wage I can use the frickin' IZE method, drunk as fuck, using research ax/s from, like, less than two months ago and find a bedazzling pattern between welfare fraud and a sudden spike in a lot of data series where these "repeat offenders" are the same ones you don't hear about because I'm also not supposed to talk about a rampant communicable disease (I'm talking nasty stuff) and serious fire hazard actuality that definitely has and will spawn again from this issue. Mainly due to the fact that there are individuals who will take such unbelievably piss poor care of themselves on a welfare check gone fraudulent, that ... I don't know. It's extremely frustrating.

[Back]

This isn't surprising at all. Practically anytime I go to a ghetto grocery store some crackhead tries to proposition me to give him cash for him to use food stamp cards to buy my food.

Really? I think you are full of shit but for the sake of argument...

Whats the problem then? They either die of lung cancer or heart failure sooner than most WITHOUT healthcare costs weighing us down.

[Kembal]

What about instead of food stamps you went to a government location and received a weeks worth of nutritional food at a time? Sure, it could be abused if you sold the food, but you couldn't return it like you can at a grocer. It'd also limit what you could get, like no bottled water FFS. Maybe a gallon of water. I dunno.

Actually, you don't want that. That's close to the current system in India, and it introduces more potential for corruption. Obviously, we'd have better controls, but this is one place where a more market-based solution (i.e. benefit cards) definitely works.


Current program sucks ass because there are legitimate folks who utilize it in time of need, and then there are those who abuse it. You shouldn't negatively impact those who legitimately need it, or if you feel that abuse is rampant, shut down the program. The question is how much abuse really occurs?

I'd say the problem is that the federal government has taken 2 years to make up a rule for this specific type of abuse. There aren't that many stakeholders, so there's no reason for it to not occur on a fast-track basis.

What would be curious is if there's data collection on purchases made with these cards, and if so, to what level is it done? Could easily root out violators in that manner, if they gathered enough data and mined it for patterns of abuse.

[AnticorRifling]

Out of morbid curiously, since we have a bunch of folks here with creative imaginations:

What would you do if you were the recipient of a stamp/welfare program. And you're in the mindset where by all means, you feel the strong urge to acquire cigarettes, alcohol or be the proponent of catering to another addiction. You're not going to be driven to violence based on withdrawal alone.

Assume you live close to the area, let's say ... in the nearby woods. You have, for whatever reason, a very keen knowledge of the area: Edit -- As if you had a very decent mental picture of the surrounding neighborhood. Anyway you're in the woods nearby the cash machine living in a tent -- Where several other individuals have the same psychological makeup as you, specifically concerning emptying out these bottles and recycling them now being an invalid method of obtaining liquid money to feed your addiction (that won't make you become particularly violent.) What do you do?

I might not understand the question but would;

"Quit being a fucking toolbox and be an adult"

be an appropriate answer?

[AnticorRifling]

Obviously I don't think it's remotely perfect, but I can't feel good about the idea of just doing away with it.

Yup, need to find a way to moderate the abuse while not denying the benefit to those that are actually using it as intended.

[Clove]

What's the resolution to the problem?


What's the problem?I don't really see a problem. Buying cigarettes with food stamps results in the hunger suppressing effect of nicotine and therefore the recipient needs less food. And once you die from heart disease, lung cancer or emphysema no food is required at all.


Unfortunately there are places where unless you have transportation, getting to a supermarket to buy fresh produce is not convenient. And there are situations in which the junk and processed food is less expensive than produce in the first place. It's not as easy as putting limitations when availability is not necessarily there.Shockingly true.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Justice-No-Peas-Getting-A-Veggie-In-The-Hood/102106226501972

Low income neighborhoods are packed with corner stores that offer very little but junk food.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

One more thing re: healthy food and food stamps. You're not going to get super flavorful gourmet food on that budget, and I think a lot of the people on food stamps probably aren't all that educated on nutrition, selecting filling nutritious foods, etc. That being said, stocking up on food like milk, rice, pasta, canned beans and canned fruits and veggies will be cheaper and result in more filling meals than blowing 10 dollars at a time on a microwave lasagna. People go for processed food for convenience, because the way they're marketed make it appear like it's a better deal, and I'm sure because some lack the facility and/or knowledge to turn 'scratch' food into a meal. So while I get WHY a lot of food stamp money is being spent on stuff like Pepsi or frozen entrees, I do think that's a problem.

[peam]

Too bad it's cigarettes they're after, making your own alcohol out of things you've bought with food stamps is much easier.

[Paradii]

Too bad it's cigarettes they're after, making your own alcohol out of things you've bought with food stamps is much easier.


They could always move south and get a job cultivating tobacco.

[Stanley Burrell]

One more thing re: healthy food and food stamps. You're not going to get super flavorful gourmet food on that budget, and I think a lot of the people on food stamps probably aren't all that educated on nutrition, selecting filling nutritious foods, etc. That being said, stocking up on food like milk, rice, pasta, canned beans and canned fruits and veggies will be cheaper and result in more filling meals than blowing 10 dollars at a time on a microwave lasagna. People go for processed food for convenience, because the way they're marketed make it appear like it's a better deal, and I'm sure because some lack the facility and/or knowledge to turn 'scratch' food into a meal. So while I get WHY a lot of food stamp money is being spent on stuff like Pepsi or frozen entrees, I do think that's a problem.

^ Definitely. What doesn't help either, is after they've spent the entirety of their money recycling it on booze, stogies and whatnot, the food pyramid starts in the garbage, roadkill, random plants, etc., etc., etc.

[Cephalopod]

Somewhat related, this is a story I linked a while back on what it takes to 'stretch' a SNAP-budget into a healthy week of meals for a family of 4:

Eating well on $68.88 a week (That's the food stamp budget for a family of 4) (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36507576/)



To find out how well you can eat on food stamps, the AP asked two chefs and a magazine food editor to plan out seven days of meals for a family of four using that budget: $68.88.

Food stamp officials note that the program is meant to supplement a household's food budget, not be its only spending. But to best illustrate what's possible — or not — on a very tight budget, we asked the participants to work with the food stamp budget only.

"It was tough. You really have to think outside the box," says Jose Garces, a Food Network Iron Chef and James Beard award-winning chef from Philadelphia. "When you are used to creating food the way we do, it takes you back."

Though not everyone succeeded in staying within budget, the lessons learned were universal. All three said planning and careful shopping were key, as was a willingness to recast leftovers. They also championed chicken as an inexpensive and versatile protein.


Interesting reading, at least, regarding the usage of fresh meat and produce, etc.

[AnticorRifling]

It's doable but not something fun. Hell when I'm on a straight mass gain I'm almost 150 a week by myself at the grocery.

[Clove]

Garces suggests that budget shoppers start in the grocer's ethnic aisle, where the products generally are less expensive.I've always called this the "bilingual discount." I've seen the exact same products for 1/2 the cost in Spanish.

[Warriorbird]

I love the Hispanic aisle.

[Cephalopod]

I love the Hispanic aisle.

That's not a very nice thing to call CT. Shame on you.

[Celephais]

I've always called this the "bilingual discount." I've seen the exact same products for 1/2 the cost in Spanish.

Things white people like:
Overpaying!

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Things white people like:
Overpaying!

That's how stores like Stew Leonards stay in business. "omg they have singing animatronic farm animals inside their store and use wood displays? must be organic, five dollar loaf of bread plz"

[Kainen]

Have TheE talk to them and explain the error of their ways.

:lol:

Also, not everyone who recieves food stamps has a way to actually cook or store food.

[Parkbandit]

PHOENIX - Three people have been arrested in the largest-ever seizure in an undercover food stamp operation, according to Attorney General Tom Horne.
51-year old Kameel Sweiss, 22-year old Ameer Sweis and 33-year old Faday Sweiss, all worked at K & S convenience store in Phoenix. They have been charged with Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, Money Laundering, Unlawful Use of Food Stamps and Computer Tampering.
At 8:30 Wednesday morning, SWAT units of the Phoenix Police Department entered the store and Sweiss' Peoria home. Some of the evidence seized included $32,876 in cash and the key to a private bank vault that held $550,480 in cash. Additional evidence seized included bank records and accounts, extraneous food stamp cards, business ledgers and three vehicles.
"This business was stealing taxpayer money by allowing a person with a food stamp card to purchase something small, such as a bag of chips, and then overcharge that card to make a fraudulent profit," said Attorney General Horne. "This seizure is the largest in our state's history with regard to food stamp fraud and should serve as a strong warning to those who continue to engage in these kinds of illegal actions."
The probable cause arrests come after months of a coordinated undercover operation involving the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Phoenix Police Department (PD), United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, and Arizona Department of Economic Security. The Arizona Department of Revenue took part in the search of the store in an ongoing and separate investigation.
"The Office of Inspector General at USDA remains committed, alongside our law enforcement partners, to investigate individuals and retailers involved in the trafficking of food stamp benefits in exchange for cash," said Paul Feeney, Deputy Counsel for the Office of the Inspector General.
All three defendants had their initial appearance in front of a judge Wednesday night. In addition to $100,000 bonds, all three are required to surrender their passports as a condition of release. They judge added that if any of the defendants post bond they will have to wear an ankle monitor.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52876223/ns/local_news-tucson_az/t/food-stamp-sting-nets-arrests-states-largest-seizure/#.UiClXzbug8A