Food Stamp Recipients?

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RyanSixer

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One in seven Americans receive food stamps. I'm writing a paper about it, and I was hoping that for at least one source, I could use testimony from one of you guys, if you're in the program.

These are a few topics I'd like to hear about:

How long have you been accepting food stamps?
Do your age, gender, or physical limitations make finding work difficult?
Are you currently looking for work?
Have you ever used the benefits for non-food related items or services?
Why do you receive them?
What can you tell me about your experience with the process of acquiring your benefits?

Thanks! If you'd like to help out but don't want to talk about it in front of the whole site, please shoot me a PM.
 

tRidiot

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I am not one of seven. But I grew up getting commodities and being on food stamps. Thats 17 years of feeding on the govt teat.

We didn't do it that long when I was growing up... I dunno how long, maybe 5 years or a little more? My mom worked her arse off to support us, and taught me that hard work beats handouts every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I thank her for that, but I don't talk to her now because she's a nutbag. lol
 

Johnny

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Yeah the cheese was the best. But that peanut butter was like set up mortar. Took lots of heat and syrup to make it spreadable. Putting it on a piece of bread was like, hell I don't know what it was like but that piece of bread never survived the ordeal.
 

Lurker66

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I had to learn it on my own because my mom did the best she could, unfortunately her best was not much.

How long have you been accepting food stamps? She accepted food stamps or welfare or commodities from about 1966 thru 2013.

Do your age, gender, or physical limitations make finding work difficult? Yes all 3 played a role. In the 60s she was too young to work, in the 70s as a woman who dropped out of HS, had 4 kids and lived in a rural town had very few job opportunities. Most of late 70s and 80s was spent in and out of hospitals and kids bounced between shelters, freinds and family. By the late 80s n 90s most kids moved on. Also her mental limitations were really not recognized or diagnosed until the late 90s.

Are you currently looking for work? No, she eventually collected disability, about $680 per month. She did work as a waitress a few times, as a dancer in a bar a couple times and cleaned a few houses. All pay was under the table, I think.

Have you ever used the benefits for non-food related items or services? Absolutely, housing, medical, clothing. She was a pro and used every resource available to provide for herself and 4 kids.

Why do you receive them? Mainly because it was available and a means to survive. If it wasnt available i doubt she or her children woulda survived or turned out. Honestly not many people can actually do much more than "be alive" on $680 a month. Shelter, food and clothes. Forget things like maintaining a house, car or medicine.

What can you tell me about your experience with the process of acquiring your benefits? The process was both easy and humiliating. Wait in lines. Fill out a few papers. Divulge very intimate, private and personal information. Then wait and see if your story is accepted as "bad enough or desparate enough" to receive benefits. During the 60s and 70s in small towns there were men who would require favors to receive benefits. These men would put you in touch with other men who might have a cheap house for rent or a car that could be borrowed.

My mom despised the govt intrusion in her life while never fully understanding that the system she hated was the only reason she survived as long as she did. In the end, the govt got a bill for keeping her on life support for 14 days until I was notified and had her taken off.

Too bad you couldnt interveiw her. She knew about poverty and how the poor are exploited.
 

Mechanicalmehem

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Yeah the cheese was the best. But that peanut butter was like set up mortar. Took lots of heat and syrup to make it spreadable. Putting it on a piece of bread was like, hell I don't know what it was like but that piece of bread never survived the ordeal.

It was not very good for sandwiches, but was excellent for making peanut butter cookies. ..
 

reddog1

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90% of all the above comments gets the like button from me.

Me, I ate the cheese, and the peanut butter, ate TONS of hamburger helper and macs n cheeze,

It was always my friends that had the food stamps, I would eat the food gladly, but I would NOT go pay for groceries with the food stamps.

I actually almost fought over it once, no fking way, I was to embarrassed.

I would rather steal from the government, than take their money back then, and well, I feel the same way now.

Lots of good people get into hard times and need them for a spell to get back on their feet, nothing wrong with that.

However, I will not do it.
 

Johnny

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I don't remember if we ever recieved food stamps when I was young. If we did mom didnt let it be known that she used them. When I was a teenager she had a daycare out of her home. I remember there were a couple of people who use to compensate their daycare bill with commodities.
 

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