S/O: do you have to LOOK poor to receive aid?

I don't know where you shop but at my grocery store I can get 15 packs of ramen or 3 boxes of Mac n cheese for the cost of 4 apples. I know because I noticed this week when I got 4 nice ruby frost apples and it cost nearly 5$ I can buy 4 boxes of Kellogg's pops for the price of 1 dozen eggs since eggs have gone thru the roof. I get that the eggs for breakfast are healthier, so dies the mom with no money. But I assure you her kids would rather have breakfast all week and eat pops than have breakfast for 2 days and eat eggs.

If you want to fill your children up you buy as much volume as you can with the money you have. Otherwise they will go hungry later in the week.

Like when my SIL made judgements about the balogna and American cheese on white bread sandwich while her kids were getting Rosemary ham with imported Swiss and sliced avocado on artisan whole grain bread with fresh bean sprouts. Ummm yea you $5 on ham, $4 on cheese, $6 on bread, $4 on bean sprouts and $2 on avocado for a total of $21 and that woman has to make $35 feed them for the week.

If you MUST complain about it then go complain to the food companies that grossly overprice anythung with nutrition and Mark down to nothing all the 'junk' food.

Snap is not about providing treats. It is about supplementing nutritional needs in a family.

And it isn't about the one bakery cake, it is about the multi packages of frozen foods( pizzas), hamburger helper, piles of package cookies/crackers/chips and all those treat things like twinkies.

I betting she never had to base what she bought at the store on the weight of what she had carry walking home, either. 

That's a great point.   There are plenty of sick, disabled, and/or elderly people who simply are not able to shop on their own.  My grandfather lost his sight in his 80s, and at that point my aunt started shopping for him every week.  If my grandfather had food benefits I'm sure my aunt would have received some looks since she wouldn't have "looked the part" of someone using SNAP.

I admit I do a little judging and then realize what I am doing and give myself a mental lecture. But, one thing I can't seem to stop judging on is the ones who smoke a pack a day and drink a six pack every night then say they can't afford school supplies.

The free lunch program at the schools is something that makes me practice my no judging rule as well. When I was teaching, I would see so much food being thrown away and so many free lunches going out to kids who I know don't need it because as their teacher I knew what their lives were like. But, Ialso knew that there were students who did not eat except at school and I would never want to do away with the free lunch program. When it comes to feeding kids, I say lets err on the cautious side.

Yes, because we come right back to the transportation issue again.  I can drive 20 minutes one way, 3 times a week to go shop for fresh produce if I really want to. 

But if you aren't sure when you're going to next be able to find a ride to buy groceries, you're going to want non-perishables.
 


I also think you need to look at situations in which generations of family have been struggling to put food on the table, too.  In those cases, the adults shopping for their kids today may not know what the hell to do with fresh ingredients.   If they saw their mother buy nothing but canned this and boxed that, then that's what they know how to make.

DH & I love to try new recipes now and again, often with new foods, and there's always the chance that you're going to invest $10-$20 bucks in a new recipe only to totally mess it up.  (Like the time I burned the fondue, for instance.)  If the 20 bucks in your wallet is all you have for the rest of the month, you're not going to want to risk it on anything that you might mess up or that people will hate.  Because it would be crazy to do so.  You have to be sure to buy food that will be consumed and that will last.

yes that too. 

Can someone educate me on something. I know WIC is just for food and drinks, and certain ones at that. But the SNAP type benefits---are they only for food, or do they cover toilet paper, tampons, diapers, etc. as well? Because let's face it, those items may not feed you, but they're pretty darn important.

ETA:  Thanks, everyone for the quick replies.  

It's only for food. 

Thank you.

ETA:  And thanks to anxiousmom as well. 

Now that you mention it, so many times we have organizations asking for those types of donations, so that makes a lot of sense to me, now.  thanks!

Yes,I used wic.

No to food stamps because we owned 2 cars.

Yes I have walk about six miles or so round trip to the grocery store during the summer. Amazingly when I bought cold things, the meat/deli would give me a bag of ice to keep the stuff cold. (I did have a wagon to pull or a stroller)

Even if you look poor the judgy people will judge. You should have done better in school, gone to college, got a better job so you wouldn't be poor. In some way it IS your fault you are poor (according to the judgers)

What you buy doesn't meet their standards of good nutrition because you should only buy fresh organic produce, fresh meats, eggs and dairy. Never mind whether or not all this fresh stuff will need storage (that you might not have) or be cooked and you might not have that access either.

I spent roughly 3 years living in a homeless shelter that was part of a church. The kitchen was shared. I had trouble with church members eating things they "found" in the kitchen. They assumed it was bought with "their" money they gave to the church. I learned quickly I could not keep anything in the fridge because it would get eaten by someone else. I couldn't afford to feed them and me! If it wasn't shelf stable for longer than 24 hours I didn't buy it. Some fruit because apples will keep longer but that was about all.

Hamburger helper without the hamburger still has a nice beef flavor to it, it is hot and filling.

Shit I am just going to be pissed off for you!