Why Are people who use ``food stamps´´ allowed to buy any old junk food and soda pop with them?

Question

Coragryph:

So what is it that dietitians do?

I'm thinking that The Gov. could have an approved list - or this might be hard on megacorps like pepsico - you could ban certain noxious items. Or better yet, just give out ``healthy´´ food bought in bulk.

Alcohol is food too as it has calories, we don't allow that, why?

``Free´´ markets with food stamps, now that is truly f* funny!

Lyle:
two things:
for raw caloric content / dollar I'm thinking dry goods has potato chips by a length.

I seriously doubt that people without an address can even get food stamps.

Anybody:
No reasonable person can say Coca-Cola is good for you.

I wouldn't buy Ho-Hos with my money or anyone elses!

Give me a break: Potatos, carrots, and onions are not at all expensive.

Answer 1

because some people don't have money to buy anything so they have to use food stamps

Answer 2

The true fact is, it's a mess they can't get a necessity like toilet paper with food stamps, but can get potato chips. However, the other sad fact is the given any choice, it costs alot more to eat healthfully, than it does to eat junk, so unfortunately, many people on food stamps must look at the cost to make their funds stretch far enough, which means buying the crappy regular pasta for .25/pound while the whole wheat variety is $3/pound or buying Ramen Noodles, which are both cheap and very unhealthy instead of buying some fresh vegetables.

Answer 3

Junk food is "ALL" they can afford. Nutricious stuff such as fresh asparagus, spinach, artichokes, eggplants, etc are very expensive. Fresh fruits such as strawberries, cherries, blueberries, oranges, grapefruits, grapes are expensive. Lean cuts of beef are expensive chicken breasts are expensive, orange juice, wheat bread is all very expensive. They can only afford "Cheap" food such as potatoes, rice , pasta, white starchy foods, etc. Even the "good" cereals are expensive almost $5.oo a box!!! Have you been to the grocery store lately? I am not on food stamps, Thank God and I can't always afford to buy healthy nutricious food. Plus most women on food stamps have children that want donuts, twinkies, etc. they are children!!! they don't know thier parents are on food stamps and they cannot have snacks. Put Children first, then think about the rest. How old are you? Do you have a family with children???

Answer 4

Asked like a person who's had a stove their whole life. Kinda hard to cook in the back seat of the '73 Duster, or on a steam grate, or in a park. Another point, some times food stamps won't buy enough food to live on, especially when issued to a person without a family. At that point, nutritional value kinda take a back seat to raw caloric content.

Answer 5

There is a list of disallowed foods. Unfortunately, too many merchants don't refuse to allow these products to be purchased with stamps. When a store is caught, there are fines levied. The gov't doesn't have the resources to police this.

Answer 6

It is truly irresponsible for our government to allow this to continue. WIC has specific foods that are approved for purchase under that program and I feel food stamps should work the same way.

Answer 7

Why do the Chinese and Japanese people eat rice; why do Polish people eat kielbasa; why do Italians eat pasta; why do French people eat snails, etc.etc?

Everyone has a particular food that they enjoy eating, and has been eaten by his/her ethnic group for hundreds of years.

Junk food and soda pop have become the American foods for the last century, why shouldn't people on food stamps be allowed to eat some of the "American foods"?

Answer 8

Because it is food, and they are food stamps. Have you ever even been in a situation when you needed some help? Well one day you might and when you take your food stamps to the store and buy some ho hos then you can answer your own quesion. dont judge or ask stupid question until you've been in that persons shoes. I'll pray for you. God Bless

Answer 9

Because as a matter of law it is very difficult to draw useful lines about what is healthy food and what is not.

Administrative agencies would have to come up with complex regulations defining calories to minerals to proteins and sugars.

And it would be even harder to enforce, unless you either labeled every piece of food or had calculators at every check-out stand. Half the check-out stands can't calculate return change without help from electronics. And you want them to do complex nutritional analysis for every purchase?

Answer 10

Because this is a free country with free (as will be allowed) markets.

I am answering this question because I really want you to evaluate what freedom means. To put such blind faith in the government as to be able to dictate peoples' food is quite scary.

Answer 11

I think that people that get food stamps should have to buy real food, nutritious food. That is a need, junk food is a luxury, and people on food stamps have no room for luxuries... FEED YOUR KIDS PROPERLY!