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Deborah Feyerick is a CNN correspondent. Watch part two of this series Friday on American Morning and read producer Sheila Steffen's $30 grocery challenge If you want to know what hunger looks like, look through the eyes of Tianna Gaines. The 31 year old Philadelphia native lives with her husband and three young kids in a simple, sparsely furnished row house. The kitchen is worn but very clean. "Roaches like water," Gaines says matter-of-factly as she wipes the counter. She keeps dry-goods sealed in plastic bins. Cereal is stored on top of the refrigerator, in cereal-size plastic containers. "The mice eat through boxes," she explains as she reaches for a loaf of white bread. "We're out of whole-grain," she says pointing to the bright orange two-for-one price sticker.
For Gaines feeding her family properly is not just a choice, it is arguably a strategic obsession. She knows precisely when items get marked-down for clearance. "The Manager's Specials go first if you're not there by 9:00 in the morning." She cuts coupons religiously, buys in bulk and makes her own dinner from the food left on her children's plates, something she and her husband Marcus call "Kid surfing." Oatmeal, eggs and rice are staples she keeps when the other food runs out. In a country where grocery store shelves are overflowing, Gaines is among some 50 million Americans struggling to put enough food on the table. "A lot of people say, "Oh, she works two jobs, she must have it good." No I don't!" she says shaking her head. The scientific term for hunger is "food insecurity" and since the US Department of Agriculture began keeping track in the mid-1990s, it has now reached an all time high. "When someone is food insecure, it's the anxiety of not being able to afford enough food. You may have enough food for the day, but you're worried about tomorrow or you're worried about next week," explains Mariana Chilton, an expert on public health and nutrition who created the project Witnesses to Hunger and recruited Gaines, one of 40 women, to photograph their struggles with hunger and poverty. "There's an implicit anxiety and depression and worry," says Chilton. Among the most striking photos, a handful of coins, most of them pennies. Jean Culver, a waif-like mom with spiky blond hair who says she gets $400 a month in food stamps, snapped the picture at the end of the month. "That was all I had. I mean and so many things that needed to be done with that change. It's just overbearing. It's hard to handle. " Culver says she first feeds her two sons, then eats what's left-over, "I feel like even if we have food if I eat a snack, for instance, then I'm taking it away from my kids." Even families receiving the maximum amount of food stamps still need about $206 more every month to buy the minimum amount of food as defined by the USDA. Barbara Izquierdo, 23, is another Witness to Hunger "sister," as the women call themselves. Several years ago, she had a newborn and no money to eat. Out of desperation, she says she took a pizza menu & stared at the pictures, reading the descriptions until the hunger pangs went away. "I never thought that hunger could be as serious as it is. I never thought that I would be affected." Izquierdo now works for Coalition Against Hunger helping others in need. She says taking pictures has given her a voice to show lawmakers and policymakers first-hand what hunger and poverty are all about. "For a long time I felt food was a privilege...no one should feel that way," says Izquierdo who hopes one day to go to college and become a criminal psychologist. "If I can change it now, when my daughter gets older she might not have to go through this." Visit Witnesses to Hunger Watch American Morning weekdays 6am to 9am ET. For the latest from American Morning click here.
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Very nice site!
Wow the response to hunger is a little overwhelming. Those of you who responded in anger or frustration really aren't helping at all with your ignorance. Tell me the last time you saw a low income family at your whole foods store? Not going to happen folks because you intimidate the poor with your attitudes and opinions about how they should be able to make a change. We have access to the internet and cable tv but those who are less fortunate have not been given this information. Let's spend a lot less time criticisizing and more time educating those who need help. Offer a cooking class or shopping class and do it for free or volunteer your time and educate those who need help. Shame, shame, shame, on all you who have never went without a meal. Remember you choose to eat health but always have the option to eat out. That makes a huge difference.
I think the general idea is that people are willing to help. For those saying that there are lots of commentators here without compassion. You are all missing the point. Willing to help doesn't mean continually giving handouts. Donating calls for some measure of cost cutting ourselves to be able to help others. So to hear, it's not enough and give me more all the time will certainly at some point exhaust all forms of charity. It's never enough. True children should not starve. Parents need to step up. Get cooking, be creative, and as many others have stated, be grateful for what you have instead of thinking it's not enough.Certainly US$400 A MONTH to feed a family of four is enough, Not luxurious by any means, but enough. Being fortunate enough to have travelled, I have seen what really poor people look like and no, none of them are obese where food is really scarce. Please don't blame it on non organic, white flour or white bread. I eat them all the time. I am 5'4 and weight 120 pounds. Nobody needs to eat that much. Don't buy processed foods as advised by the well meaning, make food stretch. The poor in Japan will cook a whole pot of curry and fill it with a little chicken, plenty of onions and potatoes and carrots and old apples in gravy. Eat them with rice and a family of four could have it for dinner with rice for at least 3 nights. Yes, there are poor people in Japan too and there are no food stamps there. Boil tofu throw in some miso, grill just some fish and stir fry a simple vegetable and thats going to feed a family of four one dinner. That adds up to less than $10-. All homemade . The poor of the moment don't even look at salami or processed hams .. they are at the discount bin where food can certainly be made and cooked at home from scratch. Honest to God, I make good money. But to feed my family, I spend $350 a month. This includes fruits, milk for 2 growing boys and rice and I cook from scratch. No junk. Oatmeal, bread, rice, eggs and fruit, milk are staples in my house. You wont find pop nor juice. It's water or milk. It is doable.
I am amazed at the fact that people on food stamps are complaining about only getting $400 a month! I have a very good job, make good money, can certainly afford to buy a variety of foods for my family and rarely spend over $100 a week on my groceries!! First of all, I make sure I don't buy processed foods, not because I can't afford them, but because they are terrible for our health. I try to teach my 4 year old daughter the importance of eating healthy, nutritious foods, which clearly include legumes. Again, we are NOT eating these foods because we can't afford to eat anything else, but because of it's nutritional value. I buy meats, vegetables and fresh fruits and make an effort to get home (after long days at work) and cook for us, then I freeze the left overs and make a meal out of that on days when I am too tired to cook an entire meal. This is the only country where people will complain of "only" getting $400 a month to spend on food!
Cheap meals, most of these feed entire families for under $5 total, no need to eat ramen unless you want to:
Home-made tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Scrambled eggs with salsa
Baked beans over toast
Baked beans with sliced turkey dogs
Egg salad sandwiches
Pasta with (frozen) chopped broccoli, garlic and oil
Turkey hot dogs wrapped and baked in pillsbury biscuit dough
All stews (learn to make base with water, flour and beef/chicken bouillion)
Egg, cheese and vegetable quiches
Chicken and dumplings
Turkey meatloaves and chili
Spaghetti with turkey meatballs
None of these meals are exceptionally fattening and most are decent servings of protein – I buy bruised tomatoes at my neighborhood fruit stand at half the price. You have to learn more about cooking than microwaving.
The only thing I splurge on is whipped cream for my homemade iced coffee, which I chill from the leftover in the pot every morning, and store brand yogurt for my teenage son. I must have trained him well, because when he shops with me, he chooses the same brand.
Very few of the meals you mentioned would cost under $5.
I beg to differ. Ground turkey is $3.00 a pound, turkey/chicken dogs are no more than $2.00, cans of beans, $1.50-$2.00, box of frozen broccoli, $1.00, pasta always cheap, no more that $1.00 a box, Pillsbury biscuits $1.79 per can, tomatos either fresh (I buy damaged ones 4 for $1.00 and make my own sauce), packages of sliced cheese, no more than $2.50, cartons of eggs, $2.50 – $3.00, generic salsa $1.50, 12 ounce packages of shredded generic chedder $3.00...not only are these dishes made out of primarily 2 ingredients, but assuming you are not going to use all the eggs, all the cheese etc for one meal, it would add up to even less.
Where are you shopping for cans of beans for $1.50-$2.00? I can get cans of black, kidney and pinto beans for 59 cents each. Cheaper when they are on sale. If you are paying $1.50 for a can of beans, you are getting ripped off!
Does anyone know about the Favor of God?
Next time that you are in the line getting ready to pay for your food, if the person in
front of you looks like they could use the Favor of God-pay for their food.
Sometimes the only way they will experience God's Favor will be through you...
When I turn around in the line and see pale, worried faces standing there wondering if they have enough money to pay for their groceries, I doubt very much that any of them is going to whip out their wallets to pay for mine. But its a nice thought. I've heard about people paying for other people's tolls and stuff, but its never happened to me unfortunately.
It’s not the lack of money that is responsible. It’s ignorance. Not the lack of
intelligence, but the lack of knowledge, of education. Walden Food Plan to the
rescue. You need very little money to eat well, if you have a big enough why,
know what, and how to buy.
I saw a food stamp (SNAP) user in Wal Mart at the checkout counter. She had pasta,
frozen pizza, wieners, hamburger, Wheaties, Oreos, hambuger helper, white bread,
potato chips, iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, chicken breasts, soda crackers, lots of
two liter soft drinks, and a gallon of whole milk. From the insecure look on her face, I’ll
guarantee, she felt like she didn’t have enough money to eat. OMG! Let’s talk a bit, and learn from this anxious soul!
1. Pasta is processed Durham wheat. At a dollar or more per pound it is terribly
overpriced.
Fix:
Buy whole wheat and make your own whole wheat food with flour that
cost less than half and has more nutrients and fiber.
2. Frozen pizza. You’re kidding! For the convenience, white wheat flour and
tomato sauce, you are paying out the nostrils.
Fix: Make your own.
3. Wieners. Gods answer to, “Where did those chicken lips and pig snouts go?”
Too much fat, too much money.
Fix: Treat wieners like they’re leprosy sticks.
4. Hamburger. The most likely of all red meat to come from fifty three
different animals and contain some E. Coli bacteria. You know I’m talking
bovine sphincters and fecal (poopal) material here, don’t you?
Fix: Use beans as your main source of protein. Plot a wide path around the meat section even if it takes you past the
breakfast cereal aisle.
5. Speaking of the dev…Wheaties. General Mills pays $7.50 for a bushel of wheat that weighs 60 pounds, that’s twelve and one half cents a pound or .0078 per ounce, considerable less than a penny, puts it in an admittedly, pretty orange box, with, of course, a famous Wheaties-made, rich athlete’s picture on it, and sells that 18 oz. box to us for $ 5.75, or thirty two cents an ounce. Look at the ingredients on the back of the box, it’s wheat and sugar, that’s all! No caviar, truffles or queen bee’s knees. Well, put an orange tutu on a pig and call him Tiger.
Fix: If you must go down the breakfast cereal aisle, at least frown and snarl as you pass by.
6. Oreos. White flour, fat, and sugar in a pretty package. Our wonderful, blue-haired, apple-cheeked Grandmas that doted on and spoiled us, gave us Oreos as a treat, admonished us not to eat the sweet frosting inside and then replace the violated cookie back into the jar, will always be cherished. Now, when we buy Oreos, we’re not really getting Grandma’s love, although that may be how we feel. I’m not suggesting that Granny should be beaten about her noggin with a greasy, ball peen hammer, or water-boarded, but maybe, force fed three packages of Oreos without a drink like they do at Guantanamo.
Fix: Make your own cookies with whole wheat, oatmeal, and vegetable oil (instead of lard or shortening), and use less sugar—a lot less. Use some slightly over-ripe bananas for sweetener.
7. Hamburger helper. Overpriced wheat.
Fix: Make your own meat extender and leave out the meat.
8. White bread. I must admit I’m prejudiced against white stuff, as flour, pasta, and rice have had some of the best parts removed. Whole grains are better.
Fix: Make your own whole grain meals.
9. Chips. Too much salt and fat. Just scarf a can of Crisco and gnaw on a salt lick block. Open up a vein with a rusty cork screw and with a turkey baster inject a tub of soft-spread butter. Google ‘aortic stent’. Jump off a bridge, it’s faster. This crap has 150 calories an ounce and gives potatoes an undeserved, bad name.
Fix: Grill some thin, shoestring-like strips of potato in the top rack of your oven, watch them closely, they’ll brown quickly and need to be turned over once to get them evenly crisp. Leave the peel on the spuds. Take your clothes off. Open your curtains. Experiment. Try sweet potatoes or jicama. Google ‘jicama’. Standing next to the oven do a set of fifty deep-knee bends while they brown, you redden, and your neighbor watches. You’ll use more calories than the shoestrings have in them. So will he.
10. Iceberg lettuce. Not a low-priced choice. Has a very low concentration of the vitamin, minerals and nutrients that we need. It’s expensive, crunchy water. How this particular plant wormed its way so prominently into our culture is unknown. Perhaps the Native Americans, who were forced to convert to Christianity by the Europeans, overheard at a communion, “Let us pray,” and saw the Anglos eat with that ethereal, peyote-look on their faces some stuff that Indians hadn’t seen before.
Fix: Pick nutrient dense and inexpensive fruits and veggies. Better choices would be spinach or romaine. Even these are high-priced and I haven’t seen them at less than a dollar a pound. Use the sprouts you make on your window sill.
11. Cucumber. Sparse nutrients, high price.
Fix: Same as number 10.
12. Chicken breasts. Better economic choice would be legs and thighs. Better still—no meat.
Fix: If you eat eggs it requires less of a commitment on the chicken’s part.
13. Soda crackers. White flour and salt at high price.
Fix: Homemade matzo. Make your own snack food with more nutritious and less expensive ingredients. There are only two ingredients; whole wheat flour and water. Two parts flour to one part water. Mix them in a bowl, knead, cut into chunks, and roll thin with a rolling pin, drinking glass or Mankiewicz wine bottle. To remain kosher (and, why take chances?) you have to do this in eighteen minutes or less, from start to finish ( because the dough will start to rise and it’s supposed to be unleavened), so, preheat oven to 475 and bake 3-4 minutes. If you are successful and want to try a bigger challenge; drink the bottle of wine first.
14. Soft drinks. The Cola-nization of the world continues apace as people’s health declines. There is not a clearer sign of mind control that exists here on planet Corn-Sweetener. Minimalist Menufesto’s anthem…I’d like to teach the world to sneer at Coke and Pepsico….
400$ is a lot of money for a family of five. I live in Chicago and I spend about $50 a week for two adults and a dog. But I do cook most meals at home. Someone needs to show this woman how it can be done..simple home economics and cooking skills. It looks something like this- to start with, with about $100, you can stock your pantry with rice, wheat, lentils, pasta in bulk that will last you a month or more. Divide the $300 for four weeks- with $75, you can buy enough milk, eggs, meat, veggies and fruits. Make wholesome meals- with some combination of meat, rice, veggies and beans. You may even be left with money to save and will eat very very well. But it does require basic cooking skills and cutting out most processed foods. There's no excuse for not putting in the effort, letting kids go hungry and keeping the kitchen that filthy. All that doesn't say poor- it says uninformed and/or lazy.
We(1 adult, 2 preteens) make it easily on $80/week. And we're all overweight. It takes more than just going to the store and grabbing whatever you want off the shelf. My first wife calculated she could get almost THREE TIMES as much by using specials and coupons for the same amount of money.
A very picky detail, but with $400 dollars a month, and $100 designated for staples each month, you have roughly $69 per week, not the $75 you mentioned (there are approximately 52 weeks in a year, not 48... months can't be evenly divided into 4 weeks a month). Again, a picky detail but your math would have left a week with almost no funds for food other than its share of the staples. However, overall, I do agree that lack of knowledge and experience when it comes to choosing and preparing/storing thrifty yet healthy and satisfying food choices is likely a contributing factor to malnutrition in this country in addition to lack of access to reasonably priced food in some areas.
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We need to go to a commodities program with cooking classes offered on-site when they pick up the bulk foods, so they know how to cook from bulk whole food. That way no one goes hungry (despite what some people think that are commenting, no one wants anyone going hungry). Our food stamp budget goes down and then our medicaid budget goes down because there will be less disease. Maybe it will even push people to better themselves and actually get off welfare programs.
You know, I do pay taxes, I have to write the government an actual check for cash and I receive no food stamps, I have to actually pay for my food for myself and children, so it does make me a little angry when I see a video that someone is saying they aren't being given enough, even though it is only because of ignorance that they can't make a meal for under $10. There is only so far the tax paying American's can be squeezed before it becomes better for us to go on the doles and stop paying taxes. I buy my foods in all bulk (I have a wholesale account at a co-op), I cook all from scratch, and I don't buy junk food. My own family eats all the foods I have been talking about (beans, rice, oatmeal, potatoes, home made biscuits and breads, I make my own cold cereal, meat as a side dish). Why should someone receiving welfare eat better then those of us actually providing the food stamps with our tax dollars? It makes no sense to me and yeah, it makes me a little annoyed.
Funny thing is that EVERYTHING that "tiffany kwak" stated....IVE BEEN THRU!!!! just because i dont talk about it doesnt mean that i t didnt happen....i means i have learned how to take my expiriences and turn them into something that will build strength, character & perseverance,. I elt it become my drive & ambition but i dont let it limit me to the victim taht i once was. i tell my story because i know for a fact that theres other women out there lost....lost because they dont know where their next meal is coming from....lost because no matter how hard they work they are still limited to pay check to pay check and even still come up short. Lost because they lack self confidence because of abuse. Lost because they have no family and feel unimportant and or insignificant. Lost because they are classified as a "product of the ghetto & will never be successful". i want to prove that im not just where i come from. I want to prove to know where your going you have to know where you been and grow. I fight for all those people who are too afraid to use their voice becaseu exactly this...THE CRITICISM.... MOST OF ALL I FIGHT FOR LEYLANIE RODRIGUEZ & AIDAN RODRIGUEZ MY INGRIDIENTS FOR CHANGE!
Barbara, I appreciate you. Keep fighting the good fight.
Many of these folks are frightened of what they don't understand. I equate it to a kid hiding under the covers from the monster under the bed...if I'm good and I do everything right the way I've been told...it'll happen to me. But in truth, all it would take is the loss of a job for long term, a long term illness, a natural disaster and for the last two, finding out that the insurance you've been paying for over the years is basically worthless because it does not cover that one thing that happened to you. If they blast the sinners, it may just keep them safe from harm. See, I don't do that. It won't happen to me. And I hope so. I hope it never does happen to them. I'm sorry it happened to you, but you've taken a bad situation and turned the frustration and helplessness and turned it into a passion to help. That says a lot for you. Very best wishes to you, Tianna and Jean.
Here is what upsets me about food stamps. I (along with thousands of other people) are paying for people to eat junk food because it is easy. Then when (gasp) the person eating government subsidized junk food becomes obese and ends up with heart disease and diabetes, I have to foot the emergency room bill because (double gasp) the person doesn't have health insurance. So I am basically paying people to become fat and sick, and then I'm paying for them again because they are fat and sick, because when I go to the emergency room for a broken hand I end up paying $1,500 dollars for an incorrect diagnosis, 3 x-rays and an ace wrap. If you need help fine, but you use your choice of what you get to eat when you no longer use your own money. You want Hi-C and a bag of dorritos, go for it, but it's coming out of your own pocket.
Also, all this whining about the cost of meat and finding quality foods, and not one has mentioned that ground turkey is half the price ($3.00) and half the fat of ground beef and can be substituted for it in everything like meatloaf, which by the way can be reheated and/or sliced for leftover sandwiches for lunches and dinners. Baby carrots at $1.50 a bag were my kids favorite snack in their lunch bags with a little tupperware container of ranch dressing.
Using generalizations to try to make a point is a tool of the ignorant. Roughly 14% of the US budget goes for "Safety Net" programs...with includes EIC, Child Tax Credits ( which I'm sure many of you use) food stamps, housing assistance, child care assistance and a host of smaller social programs. So please stop acting as if ALL of our tax money gets spent on social services.
I'm rereading my post and nowhere do I claim that all of our money goes to w.i.c. or any other program. You must agree the money that does go to these programs do come from tax payer money. I'm not saying that these programs shouldn't exist. In fact, I think they should exist, but should be restricted to healthy, non processed food, I'm not sure how this in any way injure anyone. In fact, it may encourage people to eat healthier and live happier, less diseased lives.
What kind of cooking skills do they lack that they can't feed a family on $400 a month??? I am a single mother with two teenagers and I spend half of that on food, no more than $50 a week total for all of us, two dogs and a cat. Right plunk in the middle of NYC as well. I get chicken legs for 79 cents per pound at Shoprite, cut them up and serve thighs one night and drumsticks another. We live on soups, stews, omelets for dinner and still have enough for dessert. My dogs eat the leftovers. I even make my own ice tea with a few teabags. People should be required to take a home economics and cooking course before they get their benefits.
Thank you Mary! I knew all this crap about "I live so and so and it cost too much" was a load. Much appreciated.
Today, the NY Daily News had a special feature similar to this that profiled who is having to utilize the food kitchens. One of them is an Latino immigrant grandmother (no job history) caring for her 18 year old daughter and 2 year old grandson. The second was a Latino immigrant 22 year old woman (no job history) complaining that her FOUR children are having a struggle to find enough food. Getting a little old.
16 years old and pregnant, no job, no husband, non-English speaking. That is where my tax dollars go to.
Sooooooo you're sympathetic to your sister living on food stamps (see the $30 thread), but someone else who's probably a dirty immigrant and not worthy of help (right Jill?), trying to feed their family is wearing on you? Sounds like a clear case of hypocrisy.
Nope, my point is that we paid into this. It is being abused by others who haven't. There is a culture that encourages generation after generation of teenage, unwed, unworking mothers who stay on the welfare systems for their entire lives. Nobody should have baby after baby after baby when they have never had a job in their lives.
My sister was in WIC as an emergency basis for no more than 10 months in her early 30's. She paid her taxes and worked since she was a teenager – that is no comparison to the current scenerios that are being profiled left and right, and I'm sorry, I don't call people names as you do, unless its "lifelong moocher."
How do you know the people in the stories haven't paid in or that they feel horrible for being on the dole or that they feel like your sister did about it being a temporary situation? You sound like you know a great deal about your sister's situation. What do you know about "... a culture that encourages generation after generation of teenage, unwed, unworking mothers who stay on the welfare systems for their entire lives..."? Exactly to what culture are you referring? Where do you get your information from? News media? KUTGW because we all know how thorough and true-to-life those stories are.
Velveeta, two words...baby daddy. Giving public assistance meant for short term emergency situations for WORKING and DISABLED people a very bad name.
People really shouldn't be starving in the US. We need to restrict the choices of people on food stamps more than we do. There needs to be less individual choice. People need to be forced to use their foodstamps on nutritious but inexpensive food. Dried beans, rice, powered milk, generic frozen vegetables, etc. No sodas, bottled water, gatorade, chips, etc. If you want cookies, buy the raw materials and make them yourself. No expensive cuts of meat (that includes boneless skinless chicken) no fresh salmon, etc.
I also have to say that the lacy who shot the photos of the kitchen needs to get some cleaning supplies and CLEAN THAT PLACE UP!!! That photo just makes her look like a lazy slob unable to take care of herself in the most basic way!!
My friend went to a 3rd world country and struck up a conversation with a local vendor who said he wanted to go to America because he was so poor. My friend said that there were poor people in America too. To that he responded:
"I have seen pictures of poor people in America and they are fat. I want to go to a place where the poor people are FAT."
We have it so good in this country it's ridiculous. You ain't seen poor people until you've been to and seen first hand the slums of Manila or some similar place.
I sort of hate to say this but Gaines doesn't look like she has missed that many meals. Her fridge looked as well stocked as mine, and those chicken strips aren't the most frugal of choices. It may not be politically correct to say this, but you can live quite healthily on a diet based on beans and a grain (corn, rice, wheat) with very little meat. if you are going to try to stretch those food stamps, NO boneless, skinless chicken!! Buy store brand whole chickens and boil them. Save the stock and use it to cook your rice or make soup. Family packages of legs and thighs are usually cheap too. Potatoes are cheap, filling, and nutritious. Frozen vegetables are less expensive than fresh and usually just as nutritious (and often just as tasty). Legumes (dried beans, lentils, etc.) and a grain comprise the main components of the diets of many people around the world. It may not give you the variety you would like, but you won't starve either.
Cound not agree more. Exactly what I said (only in nicer terms....
Hear, hear, nimrod!
I don't think variety is the issue. I believe it's more time, exhaustion and lack of education. Two jobs and kids in what little time is left for one of the people presented.
Did you see the little bitty packet of oatmeal? You know how much that is per pound! You could buy a 10 pound bag of oatmeal, a bag of brown sugar, and a pound of butter for under $20 and eat for two weeks of breakfast. Oatmeal cooks fast too! It is hardly more then boiling water.
So, how much would be enough, 500, 600, 700? I mean 400 dollars that you don't have to lift a finger for isn't a bad deal. I spend 400 dollars a month in gas so I can drive to my job in another town. That's the thing about being poor, it should suck, it should make you hate being poor so much that you go out and get an education and ensure that your family will never go hungry again. If you're poor, make sure your children get a solid education, and break the cycle of poverty.
I think it is ignorant that having a college education is going to secure your future and that of your children. The ladies that were discussed did not have a basic education or did not sound employable in corporate America. However, with training they could earn a living. What you do with the money you earn and your time not working is often the determining factor as to how your children and grandchildren will leave.
Ramen noodles 15c per bag. /problem
Notice there are no men/fathers of the kids around???
In many states if the "spousal equivalent" is in the household than the entire family is disqualified for SNAP unless the are submitting minimum 30 resumes a week, having 4 interviews a week. If they do have a job, then the family is usually negatively impacted as there is money being earned. The best way to play the system (and our great politicians in their infinite wisdom designed it so) is for a spouse to "separate" or leave the household.
We should be awarding SNAP, WIC, and every other Welfare program to those people are are making honest efforts to dig themselves out of their plight. One can no codify this into law. This is why the church charities in the early 20th century had such a high success rate is because they were actively involved in helping people out of their plight (day by day) and if they saw the individual not making serious efforts, then the church stopped assisting them.
Maybe we can learn something here?
We've built a system that penalizes the people the moment they take the first steps to better themselves ... thus they either learn to make welfare a lifestyle or they pull themselves up by their bootstraps and dig their way out without govt assistance ... there is no in between due to the intelligent rules governing the programs.
What dimwit came up with the term "food insecurity?" Aren't there enough euphemisms already? Poverty and hunger becomes "food insecurity." Secretary of War becomes Secretary of Defence. Toilet paper becomes "bathroom tissue" Jeez.
Probably the same retard who managed "socioeconomically disadvantaged". Just say poor people if you mean poor people. Damn. These are the folks who tack -person to the end of any word ending in -man.
"The doorperson opened the door for the mailperson who gave a letter to the policeperson, who then dropped it down a personhole."
I hate this super-gay PC nonsense.
amen, brother, sister or person.
I dont mean to be so blunt but "WHO CARES" Im tired of helping people who want to keep breading when they cant aford to have kids. Why should I pay for a persons poor choices. I pay more than 25% of my salary to programs that fund people who make poor choices. Please dont be sheep and see the truth, Hard work, Good choices and clean living will always be the cheapest outcome. :-)
Granted, but there are other factors, aren't there? Like being born into a poor family, not getting a quality education, health problems, mental health issues, etc. If every kid born into this world inherited the same lot in family, health and opportunity, I might concede that you have a point. Yes, there are plenty of people who rise up from absolute poverty and "make it," but there are also people who try equally hard and don't.
The opportunity for a quality education does exist. Public Schools are free. The teachers have college degrees. If you do well you qualify for tons of grants to go to college.
Not hardly. All it takes is one hurricane, one wildfire. A lot of folks concentrate on loosing their homes, but if you work for a small business that's been impacted by a natural disaster, you loose your job too.
As mentioned, I'm blown away by the sense of self righteousness of some of these posts. I hope nothing tragic happens to you or those you care about unlike the lack of compassion you seem to exhibit to those less fortunate than you.
She gets food stamps. $400.00/mo for a family of four is plenty. Especially if she'd couponing it up as hard as she says. It works out to be $25/week per family member. That's how much I spend on food in a week, including eating out once. I could spend more, but: a) I work for my money, I don't have free government money given to me. Knowing how much work goes into each dollar makes them come out of the wallet slower and b) I'm already chubby, putting a cap on my food budget will make me live longer.
YES!! I guess it really does boil down to the workers and the non-workers!!!
Actually, it is for a family of 3. Plus two are children, so they would be getting free breakfast and lunch at school 5 days a week. That leaves 5 dinners and two days a week.
Since I have posted so much, I should say I have three children (two being teenagers) and pay for all our own food with cash that my husband and I earn, so I AM a little more frugal with my money then people that get their food for free.
Right 400 a MONTH? I spend 200 a week on groceries for a family of 4. I suppose I could do with less, but not if I wanted my children toeat healthy and have fruits, vegetables etc. I guess maybe you could live off kraft dinner and other processed crap. The fact that she's working 2 jobs and still having problems shows you the state of things right now. If you're working 2 jobs you should make enough that feeding your children isn't a problem.
Search "Bishop's Storehouse" on W i k i p e d i a . o r g and read how the LDS church handles assistance for members and non-members. It's a well-thought out approach to welfare that requires you to WORK FOR THE ASSISTANCE YOU ARE GIVEN. In my view, The U.S. government would be wise to implement some of principals embraced in this program.
Note: I'm not pushing the LDS church from a religious perspective in any way, only its amazingly efficient welfare program. Check it out.
So Heath, what is your solution to the problem? My solution is only allow non processed foods to be purchased with food stamps. If you can find it in the fruit, veggie, grain, or dairy section of the food pyramid, it's fair game. If you find it in the "others" category, it is considered a luxury. This will force people to make better food decisions. It will cut down on diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in the poor. Is that callous and heartless?
Throw in protein as well.
for a complete protein all you need is dried beans and rice. A legume plus a grain will give you all the essential amino acids that we often think we need animal protein to get.
I agree with this a hundred times. make up a list of 100-200 "social aid program approved choices". Corn flakes, loaf of bread, fruits and vegetables, bag of flour, eggs, etc. I'm tired of seeing welfare leeches load their carts full of alleged juice, candy, expensive cuts of meat, and more while the check multipliers....er, children...run amok.
Not particularly, but how do you monitor it? Does this occur at the grocery store, and if so...who pays for the additional help to assure that the recipients only purchase the items you've indicated? And what happens to our grocery prices to pay for the additional people to oversee that the impoverished only purchase what you are allowing them to?
Or perhaps you'll have them avoid the grocery store all together. Maybe show up at a specially stocked warehouse? If so, do you intend that the tax payers will pay the help, the rent on the warehouse and utilities?
There are all ready approved foods. If they are not on the approved list (their are stickers) they can't purchase the item with the card they are provided. I believe the computer sorts that out. Maybe you should do little research before you start making excuses for why poor people should blow their food stamps on Hi-C and Dorritos.
@DTiger
Right now, you can buy:
Breads and cereals
Fruits and vegetables
Meats, fish and poultry
Dairy products
But you are getting a lot more specific than that. Most cashiers can remember and eyeball those items at the register. But if you are stripping it down to certain meats and vegetables, certain grains...it's going to take a lot more work than a single cashier can handle. Maybe you should read more about SNAP. ;)
Wow...some of the comments on here are ruthless. I was in this same situation a few years ago. I had no job and was in a location (small town) that had no jobs available. The nearest job was 45 minutes away but I had no car and couldn't afford one. I lived on a mountain and on the land. I fed my two kids and myself on blackberries, wild blueberries, potatoes, and bread. We were lucky if we could add meat to the meals. Thankfully, I was raised in a family that hunted and rabbits were abundant. I want no one to feel sorry for me but I can certainly relate to these people. Sometimes life throws a curve ball that is so unexpected, it sends a family reeling. Until you've walked a mile in these peoples shoes, you have no concept of what they are going through.
While in graduate school we had a pretty good sized garden and grew corn, okra, tomatoes, etc. and for meat mostly ate cottontails and venison that I had harvested. I could have rabbit (cost approx $.05/rabbit (that's a nickel for a .22 round)), home grown broccoli, and rice and have a tasty, healthy, and visually appealing meal for less than a dollar a person (way less actually).
You people condemning these women while claiming to be able to feed your family on less than $100 or $200 a month (depending on size) are absolute liars, or anorexics.
Nah, we just buy store brands and know how to cook.
Exactly! The money is there, what is missing is the education part of being how to cook good healthy hearty meals for your family with the money you are already receiving, because there is enough being provided by the government, it just isn't being used well. Can you buy all the processed name brand food stuff? No, but you can eat pretty darn good (better since you would be eating whole unprocessed foods, maybe then our medicaid bills can go down since we will have less diabetes, heart disease, and cancer....but I digress).
Soups, stews, egg-based meals, cheese-based meals, pasta-based meals. Beans over toast like the Brits. Generic brands. Absolutely do-able.
This is a great organization.
http://www.thetreasurebox.org/
Yeah, the Nazis have done it through gas chambers, the GOP and their corporate mafia pets will do it through letting the poor underpaid, exploited, heavily burdened-on-every- side citizens go hungry or they can chose to go without the medicine and health care they need. This is the true present day America, and it didn't happen overnight.
Don't blame present administration, even though it is worthless and spineless. If the greed and corruption didn't have free hand for so long in this country, and did not have chance to take root in our midst as it has been allowed by our corrupted government, it would be a different scenario now..... But it is always the poor and underpaid working class that suffers. Even the welfare freeloaders have had it better in thepast, and still have it better then some working poor, because they get heir medicaid, and food stamps. But the working underpaid poor has no one to go for help.
SHAME ON AMERICA! Let the whole world see her rottenness!
The whole world does see our "rotteness" and is, to a great extent clambering all over itself in an effort to get here.
For Christ sake this is America...if you cant make it in the land of opportunity then you need to be thrown out of this country. I came to this country with 100 dollars only. I worked my azz off and today i have a mortgage free house.
I dont feel sorry one bit for them. But then again this Karma for America. Too many atrocities comitted by Americans in foreign lands especially killing millions in Arab lands....which is why America and its people are weeping today and will continue to do so for decades !!
Sick comment here, "allah"!
See this is the problem with America now, everyone expects to be bailed out and taken care of. The banks to the people, everyone is standing there with their hand out and no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. First stop having kids. It's not like a disease or something genetic that you can't prevent, its simple do not have sex, wow is that so hard? These programs are suppose to be a spring board to help you get back on your feet not mooch off of for the rest of your life.
What do I know about it? I got laid off from my job when my wife was 7 months pregnant. Did I go home and cry and complain, call news stations and mooch off the government? NO! I got off my butt got out there and made it happened, worked jobs until something else came back in line. Go paint, cut grass, do what you can until your situation changes. This first lady goes to work and there was a computer in the video, she can't hop on google and take a few minutes to educate herself? really? not that hard, stop being lazy and step up and it also looks like it is an apple laptop, really?! so you can afford that?
go to youtube and type in 'Ol Dirty Bastard Pickin Up Food Stamps In A Limo' and watch at the 2:00 minue point and on....I will never forget when i saw this, i couldnt believe that a multi platinum recording artist with millions of dollars was allowed to do this?!
Lets step up people, take a little accountability and make it happen
Can't feed 'em – Don't breed 'em
Well, there's always the military. Chicken cordon bleu every week!
I've stolen my fair share of hamburger meat and various other food items from local stores to eat until that next check.
Also, please keep in mind that these children qualify for free lunch at school. There are also a large number of schools that provide free or reduced price breakfast. So really we are talking about 11 meals a week that food has to be prepared.
you horrific, callous and souless individual.
That is a fact. I'm glad programs like these exist. I think they are a good use for our tax dollars and an excellent way to fight hunger, especially in children. How does this make me heartless?
Heath, I'm calling troll on you, my man. That or you've been eating your overpriced tofu soy organic crap for so long you've forgotten real food is not eight bucks a pound.
You are not heartless. I too am very glad there are these programs but the line has to be somewhere. The one Mom pulled out a small little packet of Oatmeal, do you know how much that costs per pound??? You can buy the giant 10 pound bag of Oatmeal for a few dollars. There are endless amounts of recipes and cookbooks (one great one being More with Less), these are good, hearty meals, cooked from scratch with whole foods. This is not about more money needed, it is about education, but if they refuse to be educated, then what else can we do?
I agree with you. Cooking saves you so much money. You can buy a big container of Oats (I have one in my pantry) for under 5 bucks. That covers breakfast for the week. Lunch is covered for the children at school. A healthy dinner containing a protein, starch and vegetable can be prepared for around 5 dollars per plate (I made pasta with pork and tomato sauce) for under five dollars a plate tonight and am full. I also drank two glasses of water, because it's pretty much free.
Ginamero......Jason clearly said "white supremisist"...that in no way applies to all white people....I am white and knew he wasn't talking about me. The fact that you are equating "white supremisist" with the whole white race is rather disturbing.
How can a person that is overweight complain of being hungry.. No wonder her kids are hungry.
you realize white bread, oatmeal all the cheap stuff is actually the worst for u and contributes to obesity and health problems. so if all u eat is processed white stuff thats high in starch and low in everything else u will get fat. so how about next time instead of opening your ignorant mouth about s*** u dont know try doing some research first.
Because the deregulated, satanic corporations that employ immigrants for no money and no benefits, grow cash crops like corn which lead to derivatives like High Fructose Corn Syrup.
These are pumped into everything we consume and they make us fat and stupid without any nutritional advantages.
Just so you can squeeze a few more dollars out of your share portfolio.
Hope your children never look at you with hunger in their eyes you cruel, sadistic godless man.
GFY
I've never had a corporation attack me in the store and force me to consume high fructose corn syrup. Most of these empty calories are consumed in beverages. These are simply empty calories with no nutritional value. I drink tap water. It's free and has 0 calories. I understand that ignorance is a problem, but at what point do you have to stop using it as an excuse?
Ok,, So maybe she should just go to school,, Get an education ,, Save some money ,, and maybe think before she has 5 kids from 5 differant men. Then she wont have to eat all the bad "STUFF" that the "evil empire" puts into the "cheap white stuff" that you say is making her FAT! Education is always the key and most of you are sheep who will believe anything that is placed in front of you. I did do my research and find that most people who are in that situation are most likely without proper education and most likely is the case with you as well. :-)
@ heath
AMEN!
A family of 3 can't eat for $400, what in the world are they buying? Buy BULK foods, beans can go on the side of everything and are cheap & filling and easily cooked all day in a slow cooker if you are busy. Bulk Farina for breakfast. Also buy one big roast and cook it on Sunday then divide it up to make things like stir fry later in the week and maybe philly sandwiches. They don't need more money, they need more education about cooking from scratch and eating well on $400 because they are doing something wrong.
most Food Stamp offices offer meal planning and preparation but no one ever signs up for the classes. They are even allowed to bring their children.
The diet you are listing would give them scurvy in a matter of weeks. nothing but beans and grains? filling yes but no protein, no vitamins... And $400 does not go far in expensive cities where produce is more expensive and lower quality.
Of course the only foods wouldn't be beans and rice, she DOES have $400, honestly I am really surprised by the amount of people that don't understand how to cook from scratch. We need country wide cooking and education classes. Actually the Extension I believe runs classes, folks, sign up!!!
I am so disgusted by these insensitive comments! What is wrong with you people, are you not human, where is your compassion? I'd be willing to bet that these comments are coming from those who have no clue what struggle is! The $200/month that feeds a family of 3 in rural Alabama sure as heck won't feed families of 3 in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia or New York, there is a huge difference in the cost of living. Not everyone is afforded the same opportunities in life, who are we to judge them? We could all become victims of poverty as easily as these women and their families. Nobody is immune to hardship and struggle of some sort! Where's the compassion for the children behind these stories?
I have a hard time believing that a pound of black beans in the bulk isle cost much more above $1 anywhere, I buy organic black beans for $.75 a pound.
Well said Kay! I live in Southern CA and I could easily spend $400 a month on food for my family of 3.
Of course you COULD spend $400 a month, I COULD spend $400 a week! The point is you don't HAVE to spend that much, you only want all the per-packaged, processed, name brand foods. If you shopped the bulk bins and bought actual whole beans, rice, grains you could easily make that $400 stretch all month.
I love how Alice assumes she knows what I buy. You know what they say when you assume.
Alice where do you live? You seem to know the prices of groceries everywhere.
sorry in Hawaii you have trouble even finding black beans organic or not.
From a 'cheap' grocery store sale: Local Tomatoes $1.19 LB, 90% lean hamburger $3.99 LB, green head cabbage .89 cents LB, local corn .89 cent ear. Avocados which grow everywhere here are $2.69 ea. Prices are higher at Farmer Markets.
She's gettin' food stamps, Kay. Turn down the righteous indignation. This lady needs to take a cooking class or something. The only way you'd struggle to feed a family of four on $400 a month is by trying to plug that cash into the restaurant's prices.
I do live in the DC area and I do feed my family for well under $200 a month. I can buy a lb of dry beans for under a dollar, heck even a can of beans (3servings) costs $0.75. The trick: buy in bulk, shop sales, use coupons, and cook! You don't need to buy boneless skinless chicken when this is something that takes 2minutes to do at home. Plus you can then use the bones, along with vegs, to make a chick broth for soup or to give rice an extra pop. You also don't have to buy organic, this is a luxury not a necessity and highlights the biggest problem most people have when grocery shopping: being unable to separate needs from wants.
Try Alaska ... and $400 is still more than enough for a family of five if you buy in bulk and COOK at home.
But then again, people who say it can not be done are either as unintelligent or as lazy as the people taking the food stamps and then still complain.
Why is it that we do not see any comments from people on SNAP who say that $400 is enough ... probably because they are not starving and they are grateful for the assistance they are receiving. Why is it that we allow our beggars to complain for what is given to them free?
The people who go onto SNAP due to unexpected circumstances would never say something negative or complain ... its that people that "LIVE" on SNAP that are complaining that they need a "raise" because it is too difficult (since they do not try)
ALL of you are teabagers who live in small towns and in the vicinity of farms. Keep in mined that most poor people live in a city where food is very expensive. I will give you $20 a day where I live and if you satisfy your hunger with that, you must be ready on a hunger strike. Here is the average price of some grocery
Meat $3.50 – $5.00 per pound
Dozen eggs 2.49 – 3.50
A loaf of bread 5.00
Milk 4.20/gal
Now you need to eat at least 3 times to be a normal human being. So with 5.15 as a federal minimum wages, you probably Spend yesterday's pay with your breakfast. Remember you have to work a full hour just to afford a loaf of bread. Ohh, , public or your own transportation cost will take away a least your 2hours of pay everyday
Wow, what? Milk is 2 gal/5.00 even at a gas station. chuck steak is $2 a pound. Ten pound bag of rice is under five dollars even at the expensive stores. I'm in NorCal. I'm sure local minimum wage is higher to offset the small increases in food prices found in more urban locales.
They have loaves of bread at the dollar store for craps sake. You're either lying, stupid, or living in Hawaii.
This story will be told over and over on many levels as time goes by..We've had a major drought in Texas and many farmers have lost their crops. Which means food prices will go up again! The people who have made the most harsh comments will be the very ones who will suffer the most severe food insecurity because they have been judgmental lacking empathy for the poor. The time is coming when the dollar bill will loose its value and your money will be worthless ! And you'll be fighting over a piece of bread like a dog in the street. For those of you who have feelings for others be proactive and give to your food banks or local churches who have food kitchens. My organization collects food weekly and has a distribution program which gives food boxes to needy families. I also at one time worked for the state agency that handle the food stamp program..most of our clients were Anglo and Russian immigrants.
Empathy for the poor is one thing ... allowing the poor to complain because they do not know how to stretch a dollar is just stupid abuse of the taxpayers.
America is the land of opportunity ... it is not a right to be fed. Let's eliminate the SNAP program as we know it and simply convert it into a government food basket program of staple ingredients. This way there can be no fraud, we can ensure that everyone is "given" enough to eat and we could probably realize 60% savings for our country.
But then again they would probably complain that they do not have enough money to turn the stove on to actually cook.
Sorry – all money spent to support Libya war and lawyers of Davis.
Holy Crap. This video reminds me of the videos and ads we see made by charities trying to donate money for food in Africa and other third world countries. You know the ones which go like 'just 20 cents a day will give this child food, clothing and schooling ...........'.
Our governement is sending billions out of the country for foreign aid each year and is not providing enough food stamps for people in this country. There has been this problem for years, women run out of food stamps in the third week of the month and are told to go to Food Banks if they exist in their city. I wrote my state Representatives and they both said that they support the food programs but neither said that they will improve the program. People need to Protest.
I had a chance to visit the rural parts of China. The people in rural China are IMPOVERISHED, but happy. They don't go hungry because they know how to grow their own rice. But the impoverished people in China don't look like the impoverished people in America. There seems to be a difference.
McDonald's sells Big Mac's in China. It is considered to be an upscale restaurant to most. Usually only the more affluent can afford to visit McD's. Or perhaps the upscale Pizza Hut or Kentucky Fried Chicken (top of line cuisine .. to them .. very expensive ... they pronounce it ken-duh-jee).
I am reminded again and again as to HOW MUCH we (me included) as American's take for granted what we have, as opposed to what we don't.
It seems almost that we Americans are not happy with what we have because we want more.
And yet those that appear to have more seem to be as miserable, if not more so, than the ones who have less.
But the ones that have more can seek counseling to help appease the fact they aren't happy with what they have ...
And the smiles on those impoverished Chinese children smiling back at me, seems to make me realize perhaps they have something more than even we (as Americans) could ever hope to gain: acceptance and peace of mind.
Coming from a foreign country myself, I understand what you are saying and in ways you are right. But here is the big fundamental difference.
China doesn't have a constitution or a bill of rights for its citizens. Whatever they have, their reasoning is that it could be worse, which is absolutely true, but there is no standard of living or rights laid down on them.
Now in the US, it is totally different. Right from when we're a child, we start knowing what our rights our. We can always tell our teacher or somebody else if we think our parents have mistreated us.
We can rest assured that when we go out we will safely return home. We know that even if we don't have any money, we can still go to the emergency room. etc, etc, etc.
When one grows up and lives in an environment which actually does for its citizens what we do, one starts expecting.
So there lies the difference between somebody in China being happy just to eat vs somebody here not being able to eat a big mac.
A Chinese American that grew up here will pretty much be used to enjoying all the rights which other Americans enjoy and will be different than the Chinese you are talking about in China.
We use every trick we can to lower our food costs. The best thing we do is make meals using 1 serving of meat protein for 3 people. We will use 1 chicken breast in a big pot of noodles. We use 1/2 lb of hamburger for a huge pot of chili. We don't eat lunch-we eat a snack-sized portion of food – half a sandwich and fruit or veg. We don't eat out much. I coupon on everything but food (we shop the outside aisles most) and use the savings on food. We have 4 food chains within 2 miles so we can comparison shop and we don't buy name brands much. So we do ok. If I miss anything it's fruit – too expensive to buy too often.
My wife and I waited until we both had carriers to buy a house, then when we made good enough money we decided to have children, I always thought this is how you achieved the American dream.
no, the american dream is to pop out babies with no job and then complain that you don't have enough money to feed everyone. obviously.
thanks Plato
You were lucky that you could live the plan you wanted to, enjoy it. But do not get all self righteous about other people's lives who have not had the luck you have.
You think you have it rough now? Just wait until the teabaggers and repubs take over. They are going to cut welfare and food stamps.
We're not going to let them take over are we?
Everyone in the US has the opportunity of going to school, even if they are broke they can get a student loan to go to college. Why should people get free shit because they made the wrong decisions?
How will they be motivated to get a job if they are receiving more things free? The way this country is heading its gonna make sense for students to drop out and just live off the diminishing "rich" you wish to tax
no...what will actually happen is that the corporations will finally start hiring people. This is all a scam to get Obama out of office. I hate to say it...but as soon as the repub gets in, the economy will turn around. These corporations are THAT powerful! It's politics as usual
The "actual" reason for poverty increase is obama and poor economic decisions. enough said
"Enough said": the usual glib and pointless closing argument of a person who has no idea what the hell they are talking about.
Perhaps these people could afford these children when they decided to have them, but things changed! It does happen. A few years ago, my family made a six figure salary and I socked away over $100k in savings in addition to retirement accounts and zero debt. My husband got very sick and blew through that money within two years of not being able to work and medical expenses out the wazoo. I am working now and I make about $15 an hour. I don't take government benefits and it's enough to live on but things have changed dramatically for our family. I am not saying this to say "poor me" but just to point out that things change. You can work hard, you can save money, you can have kids when you think it's a good time, but people get sick, people divorce, drugs and alcohol ruin lives, s### happens sometimes. Stop assuming these people set out to have kids they couldn't afford.
I hear you loud and clear. When a medical condition strikes somebody especially the head of the household it's devastating. Further more, the process of getting disability itself is a task and by the time you're approved, you've lost quite a bit.
It is absolutely obscene that so many people have to go hungry in this country. We have food coming out of our ears and we just need a better way to get it to the people who need it.
Thank you for pointing that out. Sometimes all the best planning and preparation still don't guarantee security.
When I read stories like that I am always dumbfounded as to why Americans are so dead set against nationalized healthcare. What could you all possibly have against a safety net for everyone against this kind of tragedy which could hit any of us? Sure, we pay more in taxes here in Canada. But getting sick doesn't mean spending your life savings. The U.S. literally worships hedge fund managers who live like absolute gods. Yet, they won't hedge against sickness and injury. Bizarre.
Well said. I was born in Canada and, sure, I bitch and whine about taxes from time to time...but man, I sure am thankful that I've always had my health taken care of regardless of my financial situation.
My father, also a native Canadian, was asked by an American friend what he thought about the raging debate in America over health care. My dad responded by telling him that he remembered RFK's visit to Toronto and Ottawa in the early sixties, when he came here to study the then-new health system and return to Washington to report on its effectiveness. It's fifty years later, my dad said, and you're still talking about it.
I hope they figure something out. I've got lots of friends and some family south of the border.
I ill tell you one thing this country is #1 in ... Ingrates per Capita. Wow! Food insecurity. Once again proving how little most people on CNN or its board know about real hunger or poverty. Go to Africa or India or China and then come write about this "problem."
a hungry child in the US is still hungry
Food Insecurity? Aren't we an obese nation? I thought the poor were the obese ones too?
The reason poverty is increasing in America is because the poor have more kids than the middle and upper class. It's simple numbers. If you're poor and have 10 kids, those 10 kids will probably be poor too. If you're middle or upper class and have 2 (probably at the most, sometimes none) kids, then the poor-to-rich ratio magically increases.
My husband and I raised 9 kids – yours, mine and ours, without government help. After his untimely death I still managed to provide for the last ones left at home. Since the economy went south, I have suffered what is so euphemistically called "food insecurity". So yeah, stuph happens and just because you could do things one way ten years ago doesn't mean things are still that way. Oh and we were middle class, with all those kids. Judgmental thinking is narrow minded and closes off any possible chance of understanding. But rampant generalities merely show true ignorance..
Here is what really upsets me. I get behind an obese woman with food stamps and she has nothing but processed food, sugary filled drinks, and microwave dinners stacked to the top. I look in my car and I have chicken breasts for around a dollar a pound, green beans that were on sale, collard greens some skim milk, whole wheat bread, a bag of apples and a jar of peanut butter. Her cart is around 80 bucks and my cart is around 30. It's sheer lack of creativity and ambition. If I have a pot, a burner and 10 bucks a week I won't go hungry.
Amen brother.
i watched the video on hunger in America and i have to give props to the first woman who worked two jobs to feed and support her family, hang in there sistah things will get better....the second woman, ahhh i want to ask her, when is the last time you had a job? i work, my husband works and we stopped at 3 kids...thats as many as we wanted and could afford....if you cant feed them, dont breed them....
The first woman looks like she has enough to eat while the second woman is obviously malnourished. Tell me, how does one become fat when they can't afford to eat. I'm sure her hungry children do not leave enough leftovers for her to be that fat.
And you are obviously educated about healthy foods and how to eat properly; not everyone has that luxury. I was raised in the south and we had white bread; fried foods and soda with every meal. It was not until I went to college (the first in my family, by the way) and then moved to the east coast that I learned an entirely new and healthy way of eating. If you don't know better, you can't do better. Try exercising a little kindness and less judgment, not everyone is as fortunate as you and I.
Every school has health and home ec / cooking classes. I took them and learned the basics of cooking. It wasn't hard, they didn't hide the information from people. The rich kids weren't the only kids allowed in those classes. Also, if you don't know that sugary drinks and tv dinners are bad for you, you just aren't trying to be educated.
PS I grew up in South Carolina, is that South enough for you?
since when does every school offer anything like that? I have never known anyone who was able to take classes in that stuff, it was not offered.
Get a job.
In the words of Dr. Phil McGraw " YOUSIR ARE AN IDIOT!!!!!!"
Read the article. She has 2 jobs.
Not everyone is as fortunate as you.
and what are those two jobs??
how many hours at each job per week?
You never get the full facts on sob stories like these.
How can I help?
Teach her to cook?
I would love to challenge you on your $10 a week theory. And i don't know where the hell you shop, but around here chicken is never less than 1.99/pound. And that is on a really good sale. Get some compassion!!!
I shop at H.E.B. in Texas, the boneless skinless chicken breasts are expensive, but the bone in split breasts are often on sale for a dollar a pound. Generally, whole chickens are also less than 2 dollars a pound. As far 10 dollars a week goes. I can get a dozen eggs for under two bucks, a bag of rice around around 3 and a bag of beans around 2.50 a jar a peanut butter for around a 1.50 and loaf of bread for around a dollar. It won't be fancy, but I won't starve.
I'm compassionate, I just think that these people could do better to make ends meet. It's takes some creativity, but it can be done. Instead of worrying about what you don't have, figure out what you do have and try and make it work better. Does it suck, yes, is it "not fair" yes, but those are the breaks. I wish no one was born into poverty, but it's not a reality. However, if you use being born into poverty as and excuse, you will never escape poverty. I am more than happy to help people who want to help themselves.
Gee – not much compassion here! Guess this is why we don't have government health insurance either!
Compassion? For an obese woman complaining she has no food?,...GIVE ME A BREAK
You don't the the story behind her obesity and if all you can do is pick on a lady for the way she looks and assume that she's obese because of the food she eats, maybe you need to look internally at your own issues. Maybe she has an illness that she obviously wouldn't be able to afford to treat. Maybe no one was around to teach them how to cook. Instead of giving an obese woman a hard time about her weight and what she eats, get out there and teach her how to cook and shop efficiently. That would much nicer than what you are doing.
Scientifically speaking, when a body is starved of food, it automatically starts storing fats as a safety device–thus you can be starving and still be overweight. Must be nice to be so perfect. Jeez do a little research on a subject before spewing your self-righteous half-truths. I thought only that one other guy could walk on water, but I guess you can too.
God helps those who helps themselves friend. Don't expect a handout and label it "compassion".
Actually Peter...that quote is not in the Bible. Here are actual quotes from the Bible....you should read it some time.
Prov. 14:31 Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God.
Prov. 21:13 He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need <-- pretty important one
Fair's fair. Now you have to go to the section of CNN about religion and preach about food.
I'm a working single mom with two kids, one of which is a teenager boy who eats everything in sight and I only spend $200 a month on food. $400 is a lot of money, it's obvious that the food stamps are being wasted. There is no way she's couponing properly.
Hi, I am Proud for you. I suspect she could be a newspaper delivery person who may borrow numerous Sunday coupons. Stay Strong,hopefully, it will get better.
I agree, single mom. $400 is a ton of money. My husband and I spend about $200 a month on food and we are not malnourished. We would easily be able to feed two children and two adults on $400 a month. Improper budgeting does not = food insecurity.
There are three of us in our family. We spend around $500/month on food and that could EASILY come down if need be. We buy at least two gallons of organic milk a week ($6/gallon), lots of free-range meats, organic produce, etc. Dinners are all made from scratch. Even our Caesar salad–dressing and croutons included!–is made from scratch! Oh, and we buy about 30% of our food from Whole Foods, too.
Yeah, $400/month for groceries is very doable.
I agree – we don't spend $400 per month on groceries and we get healthy food. I will exercise compassion but not by throwing more money at the situation. Perhaps there should be a slightly reduced foodstamp benefit and a nutrition class component – or – better yet – move entirely to the WIC system.
$200 a month for 3 people? Well this is the internet and we can say whatever we want without proof....
Lets vote in the republicans. Everyone for themselves right?
if you mean take a little responsibility for yourself then yes
God forbid we start taking responsibility for our own actions, let the democrats spend our hard earned money on everyone who wants hand-outs-for-life!!!
Ms. Gaines – I can't help noticing that the kids look relatively thin. We don't see much of them in the video. But you are overweight. It is unfortunately hard to feel empathetic that you don't have enought to eat when you are overweight. Bottom line.
You sir are as stupid as they come. I mean just flat out stupid, go stab yourself in the eye. And then have someone read to you what the causes of obesity are.
I have been obese most of my life so I KNOW what the causes of obesity are: a combination of too much food and too little exercise. If she'd pass on a twinkee or two or six, she may find it possible to afford healthy meals for her children.
I offer you the sir, the opportunity to educate me on this.
One can be considered overweight and still be undernourished . . . for more information, please see . . .http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=can_you_be_both_overweight_and_malnourished.
rdb,
It's a known fact in the medical community that eating processed, low-grade food ( clearly what this lady is affording) produces overweight adults. What do you expect? Should she stay awake for 2 more hours a day exercising, after getting off of her SECOND job? Please THINK before you type. There are plenty of overweight, malnourished people, and certainly there are overweight people who do not have enough to eat. Read up on it. You'd be surprised what you could learn. ( Compassion would be a start. )
Alli, I apologize. It wasn't exactly an oversite as I am aware of high caloric malnutrition. NTL I expect better of a woman who is literate, speaks well, obviously intelligent and dresses well. And all I said was that it was hard to be empathetic.
I noticed she was overweight too. If she has a medical problem, ok, but I find it pretty screwed up when you're that poor and you're overweight.
Ms. Gaines is likely fat because she's always been fat. Multiple studies confirm that the human body will do everything in its power to hold onto any fat stores: once fat, you're pretty much guaranteed to remain fat. Those who've lost a considerable amount of weight AND KEPT IT OFF are the exception, not the norm.
Fortunately for me, I've always been thin and I plan on staying this way.
It's not an issue that some women are over weight. Many women who have had babies, especially more than one...tend to hold extra fat in thigh area. What amazes me are when the uniformed say, "Poor people are fat because cheap food is not healthy...WTF? Calories in/calories out. Just because a burger costs 99 cents does not mean there are not calories. Eat one bun and do not super size. Oatmeal is cheap but all carbs so the pounds will pack on if you eat more than one serving and put down more calories than you expend. People are way uneducated about food and it's impact and it never fails to kill me when some liberal idiot says poor people are fat because they can't afford better food. All people are fat because they take in more calories than they burn off...period.
Get off it. This article takes poverty and turns it into depressive anxiety complex. I guess we should fix this by giving her more of our tax money!! I get that she is poor. I get that she is trying to take care of her children. But why do her and her husband have children they were not prepared to take care of? Great that she works two jobs. Nothing on what the husband does to support the family. IN other words – I don't really care. They created this situation. They can fix it. Or faster the children to someone that can afford to care for them!!
People who think like you don't need anyones' permission to speak freely, but people should educate themselves to identify garbage like this and filter it out.
You sound, as your handle implies, like neither a lib nor a dem. You sound more like a heartless jerko, whatever your political stripe.
Yes, it's quite clear that you don't care about other people. Thanks for spelling it out.
Blacks don't have husbands or wives. They have baby mama and baby daddy
Pete, not all blacks have baby mamas or baby daddies. Whites as well have the same issues as blacks although people like you and others don't want to acknowledge the fact. Also, people on this blog should not pass judgment against people that are less fortunate because you never know when it could happen to you are a family member.
I understand you disagreeing with a persons individual plight however; where is your humanity? These are tough times friend and complaining and bickering over who is owed what by whom doesn't fix the problem. I do not believe that people plan to be poor, these things happen. I pity you friend and I hope that you never have to experience poverty and I hope that you at least allow yourself to think of others before you speak.
God bless.
why dont these people learn to fish you know the old saying catch a man a fish feed him for a night teach a man how to fish feed him for a life im really smart im really smart na na na na na napunks
"Are there no prisons? No workhouses? If the poor would rather die then they'd better do it and decrease the surplus population."
Meanwhile Rep. Duffy (R) requires $200,000 per year just to feed his brood of children which means that his $400,000 per year income doesn't make him "rich" but his own wife can't be bothered to go out and get a job instead of staying home and pumping out more babies than they can otherwise afford, choosing instead to live off of his government salary a.k.a. the tax payer dole. HMMMMM....
Im sick and tired of you people saying its ok to keep having children when these morons cant even take care of and feed themselves.they dont know what the word marriage even means and have never evn dreamed of having a job.from day one they have been taught to get money from the government and im sick of it anyone on welfare should have to take mandatory drug test and be mandated to get a job just like in other states they take the food stamps go to the nearst drug store or bodega and give them $20 worth of food stamps for $10 of real money for drugs im sick of it they get free money and food and housing all free but i cant get a lower rate for my mortgage im sick of it
Perhaps if you bought an affordable home you wouldn't need to modify your mortgage....and I don't care why you need a lower rate...If you can't feel compassion for others, than I have none for you.
There is no reason for the 2 decent looking chicks in the video to go hungry. I am sure something could be worked out that will keep them well fed. If you are a slim chick in need of help, just email me at ben3211@gmail.com. I live in a 4 bedroom house, i only used 1 room.
The great irony is that these unfortunate individuals probably have cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood sugar numbers in the excellent range. My numbers were never better than when I had a medical issue that meant severe pain after ingesting solid food. At one point I lived on nothing but Gatorade for 5 days straight. I have bad genetics for cholesterol and diabetes and my numbers were never better than when I was living on a calorie restricted diet.
It is time to take a look at each other...can I Help you or You Help me? We Must take care of each other.
Some of the radical, fringe element right wingers posting on here must have been at the tea party republican debate last week. You know, the people who cheered when posed with the question "if a man is seriously ill and has no health insurance, so we let him die"? The audience actually cheered. That's OK. Your days are numbered. And, I don't mean politically, I mean literally.
Wrong, One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Oh, Dee says I'm wrong so it must be so. The issues are very closely related...it's called compassion. This country used to have it until the radical, fringe element hijacked the republican party in an attempt to destroy anybody not like them.
Compassion = providing a balance meal consisting of a bowl of rice with broccoli, potatoes and chicken mixed in, with a glass of milk, bread and butter on the side.
Intelligent Welfare = providing them staple ingredients and letting them choose and cook what they would like to eat for each meal.
Liberal Activism = Giving a family of 4 people $578+ dollars a month to buy food, allow them to then complain it is not enough, all while being funded by the 25% of the Americans that pay 86% of the income tax
Some people really need to research the proper use of words like "compassion, empathy, caring" etc
**70$/week on groceries :)
My boyfriend and I live together, we both work 40 hours a week (after fortunately finding jobs after months of unemployment) We spend around 70$ per month on groceries. I think the big problem here is the lack of education on proper spending. Tell your kids no to name brands, buy generic. Its not difficult to spend less than 100$/week on groceries and have a substantial amount of food, whenever I spend 100$, there is enough food for a week and 1/2, buy in bulk and leftovers are key!!!
You got it right there! Left-overs are the key. I make a big batch of food that will make three different meals and anything left over serves as lunches. I made a batch of chili for a few bucks (used half the amount of meat and saved it for another meal) and we had chili one day, chili dogs the next, and chili mac (plus corn) the next. Spot-on on the left-over advice! :)
Lizzle & Loki (great names)-- so yo both manage to live on $70 of groceries per month? Really?
It all depends on where you live. One bag of food for $20.00 in Mississippi may get you 2-3 days worth of meals if done right. However in other states like New York or California $20.00 may barely get you lunch meat. I don't get the feeling anyone of the families here are buying high priced poor quality food. Eggs, oatmeal, dry cereal, rice, I don't know what else they can/should be doing. Good that you and your mate can work it out like that. I take it you don't have kids, which makes it a little easier.
I would like to say thank you to everyone that took the time out to watch our story. Yes it's hard but we are fighters. We are fighting to make changes through advocacy so this wont continue to happen.
Instead of fighting, why don't you educate yourself on how to shop for and cook inexpensive foods that contain good nutrition, instead of wasting money on processed junk. There is something terribly wrong with a person who cannot feed a family of three on $400 a month. That is A LOT of money for one month's food. If she is not managing, it's because she needs to educate herself on proper nutrition. $400 is more than enough to eat well for a month.
I could not agree with you more! $400 is a lot of money for food!!! You might have to not be able to buy chips, pop tarts, or Little Debbies...... get over it!! I would love to have someone give me $400 a month for food! I work very hard to stay between $50-60 a week. We don't each much steak or shrimp, but chicken works for us! TIRED of taking care of everyone else!!! GROW UP AND TAKE CARE OF YOU!!!
I think what we may be running into is a difference in cost-of-living. If one lives in NY/Long Island, one is more likely to spend SIX hundred a month on groceries, for a family of three. In Austin, one might expect to cut that number in half. Go to Paris , Illinois, and you* may* hit that cute little two hundred dollar mark. It's all relative.
I agree that $400 a month on food for 3 should do you well. I have myself, my husband and my daughter and we spend $175 every two weeks. I will admit that we do buy generic on quite a few things, but if done right, you can buy name brand. I really think it comes down to making sure you hit the sales, coupons and make sure you buy only what you really need.
It depends on where you live! You'd think people like you that post on these forums would be a tad more worldly, but I guess that's asking too much. The cost of living varies from state to state. I live in New York , and it's VERY expensive to live here. However I went to Iowa in August to visit relatives and was shocked at the cost of food in that state compared to New York. Iowa was much cheaper. There's also disparity in wages state by state with southern states generally paying low wages, but lower prices on goods, while the northern and western states have higher wages, but also a higher cost of living. Add in that pesky thing called UNEMPLOYMENT, and it's difficult wherever you live. Sad thing is people like you are on welfare yourself or you have family members getting SSDI, Social Security, Medicaid, WIC, yet you still want to act like these folks in the video are freeloading, taking it right out of your pocket. That lady who works 2 jobs, guess what?, she's paying taxes just like you. The irony is that she's probably working harder than you and every other self righteous nut job that just can't see the forest for the trees!
Barbara, take a look at website...usbig.net
I wish they would have explained in the article or video what that mom meant about all the things she needed to do with the change she had left over. Did she mean buy things you can't with food stamps like soap, shampoo, toilet paper..or pay a bill? Its kind of hard to have clean dishes and clean pots and pans to even cook with when you don't have the money for dish soap. :( I agree though, it shouldn't be a privilege to be able to eat! Good grief...we know from research done in other countries when children don't get the food they need in their early years they end up with much lower IQ because their brains are deprive of the nutrients they need. And the parents who are trying to work shouldn't have to starve themselves in order to feed their children. Doesn't really matter how stocked the stores are with food..if you don't have the money you can't get it. Meanwhile restaurants throw out tons and tons of uneaten food everyday. Even in the schools if you eat with your kids...you see how much doesn't get eaten and dumped in the trash. We really need to work on not being so wasteful so those hungry can eat. I know some restaurants are working to do this. I hope others do also.
Do you know why restaurants throw away leftover food? Fear of litigation. If somebody gets sick on leftover food they can sue. It happened.
Panerra Bread cafes give all of their leftovers to local homeless shelters and food banks at the end of each and every day. They are also trying out a new pay-what-you-can cafe in select cities. In exchange some people who can't pay come in and work for an hour or two or they pay more on another visit. The rest is covered by charitable donations and the restaurant owners who believe that food – good, healthy nutritious food – should be a right available to any and everyone. And they don't give a damn about the liabilities.
She can't buy enough food on $400 a month? Really?? $400 a month is a lot of money for one month's food, even with two children to feed. If she can't manage on $400 a month for food, she must be wasting an awful lot of that money on processed junk, which is expensive and devoid of good nutrition. It is far cheaper, and healthier, to buy rice, beans, oatmeal, fruit, veggies, eggs, pasta, tuna fish, whole grain bread etc. etc. - You can easily feed a family of three on $400 a month and eat very well/
Really? Have you been to the grocery store lately? One gallon of milk now costs over $5. With 2 children in the house that gallon will last about 3 days. so, that's $50 a month on just milk.
Your name suits you. Just how much milk are you drinking, anyway, and why are you paying $5 a gallon? Some people will make any excuse to justify overspending. Shop around and stop buying at the most expensive stores. And by the way, no one needs to drink cow's milk (unless you are a calf). Dairy products cause disease, inflammation and obesity. There are far healthier and less expensive sources of protein.
No, Dee the name is directed at people like yourself. Children need milk not only for protein but calcium. I'm not going to get in an argument with you over nutrition, and I don't shop at expensive stores, just normal grocery stores in my neighborhood. Until you have fed a family of 4 on $400 a month you should shut your fvcking mouth and save your judgement for your mother and father.
@Dee
It depends on where you live. $400 would by no means begin to feed two growing children well in one of the major urban or tourist areas. In mid Iowa, yeah...probably.
Try powdered milk. Lasts longer and is much cheaper. Those who say it doesn't taste as good...you're not hungry enough.
eh, i feed a family of 3 on around 350$ a month and no one goes hungry .. that is also including the occasional splurge on a snack item or two ... it is all in shopping right ... yes in some areas it may be harder to shop around but it still can be done.
The story that humans need protein and calcium needs to be properly checked out!
Did you know bones grow stronger with exercise?
Did you also know that the largest land animals like elephants do not eat any protein, yet they produce plenty!
The biological/zoological research (if you can really call it that) of a hundred years ago came up with many theories. Like the super-contribution by spinach.
Humans do not know cow's milk at all.
In fact, drinking a glassful of cow's milk is a very recent phenomenon.
Humans had very different food habits before the advent of modern farming.
People today would be doing themselves a favor by revisiting the food habits of our forefathers about 200 years ago. 80% of what landed on the plates then was grains and vegetables. Children never drank glassfuls of milk, or had the sugar-rich packaged EXPENSIVE cereals for breakfast.
They did a lot of physical work, or walked great distances.
You can mix regular milk with dried milk, 50 50, and cut that milk bill in half and I guarantee you your kids will never know the difference.
I agree, I am 19 I live with my Mom and my little brother. So its the three of us. House payment. We live in Johnstown, PA and we are lucky if we spend $80 to $100 maybe a few times a year $150, That's weekly. Times are hard. People need to "man up" and not eat the top brand stuff. and have the fastes internet, computer,car TV.. I really think that this country is in for a wake-up call sooner then people think.
Dee, you're a moron. first of all, no, cow's milk does not cause all those problems. ask any nutritionist or medical professional. secondly, i'm a 21 year old male and i buy my own food. i shop at safeway and always look for the deals and specials and buy generic as much as humanly possible. i spend probably $250-280 a month on food for myself. i'm not even growing anymore. can you imagine how much it's going to cost with 2 growing sons in the house, plus yourself to feed, plus other bills? get with reality.
You have a lot to learn about bargain grocery shopping! Safeway is one of the more expensive grocery stores. They sometimes have some great sales, but are way overpriced on everything else. Buy ONLY what is on sale and then head on over to a discount grocery store like Food Maxx, Winco, Super Saver, or Walmart. Unless you are eating lobster every night, $280 is WAY TOO MUCH to be spending to feed one person. I only spend about $400 per month to feed my family of 5. This includes everything from milk, cereals, fruits and veggies, snacks, meats (probably way more steak than is healthy since I LOVE beef), and even includes pet food and household items such as dish soap, shampoo, cleaning products, etc. I do not use coupons, but I do shop at a discount supermarket where I have to bag my own groceries. It's worth it for the savings!
There is just no excuse why a person can't comfortably feed a family of 3 on $400 in food stamps unless they are doing what I typically see food stamp users doing: buying only the most expensive brand names and the most expensive cuts of meats and vegetable selections. It's real easy to waste it when you didn't have to earn it!
Forgot to mention that I live in the S.F. Bay area which has a very high cost-of-living.
No, you're a 21 year old child who has never learned how to shop on a budget. If cannot manage on less than around $300 a month to feed yourself, you clearly need to take some classes in nutrition and economics. Good luck with that. Oh, and calling someone a "moron" because you disagree with them is ignorant. Learn to have some respect for others.
@AreYouKidding: No, you're a 21 year old child who has never learned how to shop on a budget. If cannot manage on less than around $300 a month to feed yourself, you clearly need to take some classes in nutrition and economics. Good luck with that. Oh, and calling someone a "moron" because you disagree with them is ignorant. Learn to have some respect for others.
What grocery do you shop at? I live in South Florida and there is no way you can eat healthy on $400 or less per month. Unless you're buying all canned crap and not fresh produce!
I spend a whole lot more than 400 a month and I don't buy process food nor do we eat meat every night. I live near San Francisco so not to certain where yo get your food.The general rule is 150 per month and add 100 per person but that's budget eating coming from financial experts. A juicing diet alone is about 85 a week made from home made juices. Do you think that family could afford these nutrients.
Anyways can't stand reading blogs from those ruthless idiots(not Dee) talking crap about the poor.
Of course birth control is a factor! but I'm certain many of you out there drove SUV's, spent a fortune on your kids, wine and dined, and defaulted on your loans.
I
think what we may be running into is a difference in cost-of-living. If one lives in NY/Long Island, one is more likely to spend SIX hundred a month on groceries, for a family of three. In Austin, one might expect to cut that number in half. Go to Paris , Illinois, and you* may* hit that cute little two hundred dollar mark. It's all relative.
think what we may be running into is a difference in cost-of-living. If one lives in NY/Long Island, one is more likely to spend SIX hundred a month on groceries, for a family of three. In Austin, one might expect to cut that number in half. Go to Paris , Illinois, and you* may* hit that cute little two hundred dollar mark. It's all relative.
Agreed about the dairy. BTW. It actually is not necessary. ( Medical professional, here. Dairy was pushed mid-20th century to help out the dairy industry. )
I received my $400 food stamps and was able to order six XL lobsters from lobster dot net. I still had $22 left over for butter & lemons. :)
Well that wasn't too smart. That might feed a family of four for 2 days, but what are you and your children going to eat for the rest of the month?
Nothing like comments from right wing tea party types without a shred of empathy for this woman's plight. You people need to be checked out for signs of sociopathic behavior. Maybe there's something you can take for it.
The reason poverty is increasing in America is because the poor have more kids than the well-to-do. It's simple numbers. If you're poor and have 10 kids, those 10 kids will probably be poor too. If you're middle class and have 2 kids, wala, there's now more poor people than middle-class.
Maybe if planned parethood wasn't being phased out by the right, then she would have access to free contraception. Regardless, don't judge people for the situation they are in. You may end up there yourself someday. One massive depression, job loss and 25% unemployment and you'll end up in her situation. It doesn't take much.
What an over-simplification by a simpleton of a complex economic and social problem.
Previous comment directed at vegan.
I think vegan is right. You shouldn't have children until you are able to provide for yourself, and them. It's all about being responsbile
Let me get this straight...so if you are poor your children and their children will also be poor? Same for the middle class? Last I checked that was not quite the case. In today's precarious economic environment job security is almost non existant, so lets not be too confident since disaster can strike unexpectantly and push a previously well off family into trouble. Hurricanes and flooding washing away houses, family sickness, job loss, you name it....there's a fair degree of things we cannot predict and no one has a crystal ball. For people who complain about poor planning...who's to say the father did not die an honorable death defending our freedom and security overseas so that those of us at home can continue to enjoy the quality of life we do today? Lets not assume that all those who need a little help are single mothers with several children and deadbeat boyfriends. It reflects poorly on us as a nation to be unsympathetic and judgemental...
Chuck, then why don't you send her a check so she can buy more food?
Actually Loki123, I do give money to the Philadelphia food bank every year. How do you contribute? All you self righteous intolerant people who think that you don't owe society anything for your success are pitiful . Nobody gets successful on their own. They get help from others and society as a whole. Everyone needs to understand that we all have some moral requirement to give back to society and help those who are less fortunate. The reality is that ANYONE can be in this woman's shoes someday. Lose your job.. have a severe illness that depletes your savings and puts you in massive debt.. disability , etc. It could happen to you someday.. Have some empathy.
This is why I don't have kids yet. My wife and I have been married for 5 years and we have yet to be financially stable. I cannot bring a child into this world without knowing if I can provide for them. Even when I know I can, I still know I will need an emergency fund for hard times and food storage.
I work at WalMart and most of our customers are on food stamps. I watch them spend anywhere from $400 to $600 a month on food...steaks, frozen meals, micro meals, etc. And then they turn around and buy non-food items for another hundred to two hundred dollars. I'm not on foodstamps and I feed myself, my mom, and my step-dad on about $150 to $200 a month , and we eat good. I buy food items that I can get two or three meals out of, fruits and veggies, beans and rice, non-processed foods, etc. You can do alot with sandwich meats, discounted bread, pasta, and frozen bags of vegetables. You just have to change your way of shopping, use coupons, use price-matching, and catch things on sale. I just spent $113 on food and that will feed us for 15 days, with some left over to roll over into my next payday.
Plus, everyone wants to do their shopping at WalMart instead of hitting dollar stores and discount groceries, which accept EBT also.
Sometimes, it's not a matter of not having the money, it's a matter of spending what money you have wisely.
I agree! Its all on not eating the Brand name and also not eating 20 times a day and not wasting food..
Are you saying that poor are not entitled to eat the same foods that self sufficient do? I would never look down on a less fortunate person for wanting to eat something more than spam. They are people just like you and me and should be treated with dignity.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN correspondent doesn't know a damn thing about hunger!!! For starters, that Tianna woman looks pretty fat to me, it is obvious food is her problem, not lack of it. And I'm sorry but that Barbara woman should be ashamed of having her "kitchen" in such horrible conditions, has she ever tried to clean it once???????? There's is a big difference between being poor and being filthy!!!! And it is pretty absurd to whine about having only 400 dlls a month to eat when there are millions of people around the world surviving with 30 dlls a month!!! When my husband and I were students, we spent 40 dlls a week in groceries and cleaning supplies and we were fine!!!!!
I've seen places like that. Fortunately never lived in them. It probably doesn't look too much different than when she moved in. You can't clean them. A can of paint goes a long way, but if it's between feeding your kids and spiffing the place up, you feed your kids.
Then there is the obesity / poverty issue. The woman has two jobs. While you probably have time to go out jogging, she's probably sitting on her tail at a computer terminal. And eating poor, cheap, packaged food to boot. You may have heard her mention that when nothing else is available, she keeps oatmeal on hand. It's cheap. I suggest you google poverty and obesity.
Well, I've never seen really poor fat people, sorry. And dont' justify the other woman filthiness, I've seen families abroad cooking without stoves for gods sake, just a little coal and some crackled pans, and they still manage to have everything clean!!
@Nora
So you haven't seen it, it doesn't exist. I suggest you do some charity or mission work. It's an eye opener.
Does anyone else find it disturbing that this situation is going on all over America, yet the government burns hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds of food every year to keep prices "stable?"
What about the 6,000+ lives and 1+ trillion dollars we've wasted in Irag and Afghanistan?
That would actually be 4 trillion, and you can thank Bush and Dick for that.
People if you do not have a good job or education limit the amount of kids you have
You're an idiot.
You are forgetting about the millions of people who have a good education and had a good job and got laid off. When I was very young my father made over $60,000 a year, which was equivalent to about $100,000 today. More than enough to support a wife and kids. When he became unemployed I recall weeks where all we had to eat was cornflakes with no milk.
Penny ballons don't work!
If you're fat, you're not starving...
If you're broke get a job
If you can't afford to take care of your kids, don't have any.
I have zero sympathy for this woman...
One can absolutely be obese and starving. We have a medically -documented epidemic of this phenomenon in this country, currently. You really ought to read up on it. Children and Adults are eating crap food, because that's what they can afford, but it creates an epidemic of obesity. The nutritional content in the food is nil, so , YES, despite the fact that they have packed on pounds, they are starving for the actual things their body needs. All "starvation" does not look like the African waifs on TV infomercials.
Very easy to say if your a 35 year old single male still living at home where mom and dad pay all the bills. Why don't you slap yourself instead.
Actually, that's fine advice for the rich as well as the poor, and everyone in between . . .the earth in no way can sustain unlimited population growth, and it's already far too high, but that's another topic . . .
At any given time on this planet we have enough food circulating to supply 4 and a half pounds of food, per person, per day; and yet MILLIONS in our own country are starving. such a basic essential and yet, if you can't afford it, you can't have it. Our generation has the ability to overcome this everlasting problem, everything we need to solve world hunger is available and i hope sincerely we can do this. folks we owe it to each other. no one knows when they will get laid off and this can become a reality, very very quickly.
have a great evening everyone
This is a symptom of the disparity in wealth in this country. How much is enough people? We won't raise taxes on the rich because they "earned it". Ok I get that but taxes are never 100% and they should help this country that gives them such wealth and the freedom to spend it.
How come they don't mention what the father does for a living? If the mom works even one job @ minimum wage (7.25) that is over 1200 dollars a month and you don't pay taxes on that, plus food stamps and who knows what other benefits. I don't get it
You might be right of world hunger but I am not work my butt off to support other ppl. You say you might get laid off public aid is there and u can try and work at McD's I would if I ever got fired. I dont care if I work 3 jobs and I will still do it. To easy so many ppl say they have no jobs yet I drive down the street and KFC is hiring. Come on ppl they might only pay low but they pay somethijng. If you want out of being poor save some money.. I came from a poor family my mom worked 2 jobs and has 6 kids.. She is 50 and still workin... Hello if she can so can you..
Three Children?? I never had children, as I thought, WOW, how could I possibly afford them. Having Children is a responsibility. If you live in a row house, you obviously can't afford much, so why three children?? For governement handouts? I am sorry, I don't feel sorry for this person, I do however, hope that her children become educated and grow up to make smart decisions on living a responsible life and not having children you cannot afford to bring up in a warm and cozy home rather on depending on those around you to supply you the means to do so.
You just made yourself sound incredibly cruel. Hence the whole, women and children in our country starving. Good for you for having it so well while little kids go hungry. You should be super proud.
Totally classless and ignorant argument. Yes, let's go back in time and not have children in the first place. If this mother is putting a roof over her kids' heads and watching over them, then she IS a responsible person. Now she is trying to feed them first before eating their leftovers. I don't see the irresponsibility. I just see woman who has zero compassion for humanity. I doubt you ever felt hunger pains much less anything else.
Neither did I. But unlike you, I don't feel that another human should be treated as a subspecies because they do not follow my code of morality. I ask myself: which is worse? Poverty or self-righteous? It's a lot easier to stop being self-righteous than poor, so I'll give them that benefit and the time to dig themselves out of the hole.
To each his own though...
I love people who, in the course of posting comments passing judgement on others' circumstances, admit to things that open them up to plenty of judgement from other people. It's one thing to be temporarily unable to earn enough money to support three kids...but to know that even in normal economic times you are incapable of making that much money, and to know it with so much certainty that you actually make it part of your life plan, and cite it as the reason you yourself did not have that many kids, is just plain sad.
Sandy, you must not be that much better off, financially, than the people in this story, so why the hate for them?
There is a solution to poverty all we have to do is make washington implement it. See...usbig.net ...and take the time to read through it.
As Oprah said after Obama got elected: "America got it right!". Um. Yeah. Sure.
yes, cut to shot of obese black child stuffing himself w/ McD's....
Did you have to add the descriptive "black" child? Why not white, or hispanic, or indian, or even asian for that matter? America's population is diverse so there is no need to single out specific racial groups. All little tolerance please? Thanks!
I can't believe the lack of compassion for women who are scared about having enough food to feed their kids. Their kids are here, what's the point of saying such sick things like she should have thought of that when she opened her legs? These kids are Americans. I do agree people of all economical backgrounds should learn to cook like third world people. It's healthier and cheaper for everyone.
did you see that one kitchen? Im surprised child protection hasnt knocked on her door yet.
amen!
America is a strange place. Here we have the most people living below the poverty line in 20 years and who is out there all day everyday protesting in front of the White House? Not these people barely scraping by in this article but upper-middle class, mostly retired and/or independently wealthy white people. While the poor and unemployed riot in Europe, people that by all means live like royalty compared to the rest of the world spend all day everyday preaching that the sky is falling.
but yet we should pour billions and billions of dollars in food-aid to countries like Ruwanda, Ethiopia, and any other African country you can think of....
while America starves.
Let me tell you something, America is NOT the greatest nation on Earth. NO COUNTRY is "the greatest nation on Earth".
This is fallacious, and always has been. Republicans will have you believe that America is only great because they have been able to get rich. Put it this way, poor people are Democrats, until they hit the lottery – then they become registered Republicans. Screw this country, and screw the rest of the world. I'm giving up on humans.
Every person in this story still eats twice as much as half of the worlds population. I have an idea, stop having kids you cannot afford. It is easy all you have to do is keep your legs closed.
Maybe your life will take a turn for the unthinkable.
I agree. I think about that a lot, but I realized that humans are too selfish and sexually voracious to think about the consequences of what they do. All they have on their minds is that momentary feeling of pleasure and what comes of it the next day is somehow irrelevant to them.
that is so rude, how can you even say that? have you ever thought about this: maybe they had good jobs and decided to have kids but then they lost their jobs AFTER they had there kids. but i bet you didnt think of that and it just goes to show how simple minded americans are these days.
It's a pity that your mother didn't keep her legs covered.
Remember 10 years ago when we had seen 8 consecutive years where poverty decreased, we had a balanced budget and we were paying down the National debt? Republicans squandered our prosperity on tax cuts for iol companies and billionaires. How's that working out for ya?
Sooooooooooooooooo True!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Somehow I think people thought they were going to be in the "CLUB" too if they voted Republican. Ha not so....
Great comment Ron!
Interesting how quickly people forget that when Clinton left office there was a record surplus and within one year the Bush administration had spent our nation into a record deficit. Eight years of the Bush administration brought us to the brink of economic disaster and folks wonder why Obama can't turn our country around in three years? It is wrong that children are going hungry in America while Republicans squander our wealth on special interests and tax cuts for the wealthy.
This is an overwhelming story and hopefully more information will surface very soon.I myself cant figure it all out so Id rather just get informed...Also reading a great book which may help you and your family out in the future as well.It is called "Street Smarts" check it out and let me know what you think
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GI9FA C
Close Space On The " C" Then Copy Paste To Browser
Thank you i will make sure to check it out...
Barbara, thank you for sharing your story with us. Best of luck to you in the future. You're right...food is not a privilege. It's a basic human right.
This is an overwhelming story and hopefully more information will surface very soon.I myself cant figure it all out so Id rather just get informed...Also reading a great book which may help you and your family out in the future as well.It is called "Street Smarts" check it out and let me know what you think
STREET SMARTS HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE HOOD: Erick Crawford: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
According to Reagan in a speech once – there’s no such thing in America and never could be. But then “how can a man who is well fed ever hope to understand a man who is hungry“ Alexander Solzenitzen...
I suggest that the welfare system pumping most that money into the schools and feeding the kids breakfast, lunch and some thing to eat near the end of the day...
That way we KNOW the kids are being fed...~!
Typo...Sorry..
I would like to see the money given for food stamps instead be turned into a different way of feeding children.. by putting most that money into feeding kids at school.. Feeding them breakfast, lunch and soem thing before they go home in the afternoon...
That way we know the kids are actually eating with the money.. They could do better also.. They could buy in bulk.. and food surplus's could be donated .
I want to see children fed.. It's a national shame that kids go hungry.. NO matter how it happens.. Bad parenting, people not educated in nutrition.. For whatever reason.. NO child should go hungry.. It's solvable..
And too easy to fix... We all should care if a child is hungry.. Blame whoever you want.. But feed the child..
We ARE feeding children breakfasts and lunch at schools.
Why don't these women stop having babies that they can not afford?
Why do I read about mothers trying to feed kids – where are the fathers? where are the child support payments?
Stop having babies!!!!
Pretty soon, zombies will start looking at fat people as giant hamhocks, stalking them to see what they can take from them. This is the American Dream we now find ourselves in. Thank you Republicans.
Watch "Pursuit of Happyness."
People need to get out there and work. Stop spending so much time begging for handouts.
It's so easy when you're well-fed and comfortable in your chair, to sit at your computer and judge people less fortunate than you. It certainly gives you that aura of importance and worth to pick apart their difficult lives and b.itch about their shortcomings as they sweat and toil to stay alive, fed and sheltered. And it's such an enlightening contribution to society in general. Now why don't you go back to your worthless and insignificant lives.
I agree John. What happened to compassion America? .... These people are American's we need to help them, not attack them. There are no jobs/piles of $ in America anymore and with another recession coming on things are going to get worse. I'm very disappointed ...
must not be that hungry you fat fatty. Calories intake is greater than calories used = weight gain. Hard to have sympathy when you're fat. Also, your fridge is full, based on govt assistance, how degraded can you feel?!!! go look at starving kids in africa, india, haiti and all elsewhere, and then you'll see what real hungar is. You're not dying from starvation. Stop complaing. You're still eating, maybe not lavish meals, but you're eating. shut up whiner.
Oh yea, i agree with other posts, if you can't afford to freakin feed yourself, then stop freakin having kids.
Does making statements like this make you feel better? I feel sorry for you.
Christine – Your post says more about you as a person. What a shame.
Christine, I would rather be fat than be as ugly a soul as you are. It is obvious by your statement, as well as your spelling, you are on the lower rung of the IQ ladder. There's a special place for "Americans" like you. I give you nothing but pity.
Lot of assumptions in that post there. Allow me to address. 1.) I am most certainly comfortable with my IQ. It's actually pathetic that statement was even made, and just to satisfy your curiosity, my IQ is absolutely above average, but that's not really a main point here now is it. 2.) I am speaking from experience, plain and simple. I have lived in the 3rd world countries as I've listed (have you?) and know EXACTLY what it is like to really go without. People in america, especially those illustrated in this documentary really have no idea what it's like to have a government that really does nothing in terms of helping its citizens obtain food. If an individual cannot "live" on food stamps (which again, I know what that is like) then again, they need to change something they are doing. The government factors in marriage status as well as the amount of children one has when deciding how much money to allot in food stamps; yes this allocation may not be enough to buy the best items at the store, but it's certainly enough to sustain oneself with basic needs. That woman had a plethora of food in her fridge to feed a family of 4, a luxary that most of the world cannot relate to. Food stamps come monthly, so if that was her stock for the month, then she is doing quite well. Americans (I am american too by the way) are so incredibly spoiled today, even compared to 20 years ago, and expect everything to be handed to them. This sense of entitlement and fantasy dream of living like those on MTV cribs is not reality, yet it becomes "reality" to many in this country, thus creating a skewed perception of what to expect in life and how to get it (ie. work hard, etc). From my own personal experiences, it is people such as the ones on this documentary which exhibit what I am describing- they expect the best, want it all handed to them and not have to work for it. Now I admit, it may be assuming too much to say that these individuals aren't working hard, however they most certainly don't have it as hard as it could be. Thus, they need to appreciate what they have, be thankful, and move on, not dwelling on how they're "degraded" because they have to be cautious on how they spend their government money on food.
FYI to other responses, I'm quite satisfied with my soul and probably do more mission and outreach work that you could ever imagine. Also, I'm a medical student (I'm sure that'll get some eyebrow raises and heated comments, but oh well), and know full well that unless there is some genetic anomaly, those who are overweight only have themselves to blame. Also, it's pure economics, if one cannot support themselves financially, then why increase your financial burden by increasing the size of one's family? Doesn't make sense. It's all about the choices we make, and most individuals who are in situations such as these in america, are a product of their choices (speaking from my own personal experience as well as the experience of the literal thousands I've worked with over my lifetime).
Regards,
The intellectually inept and socially unaware
@christine: You are truly disgusting, the true picture (meaning) of the phrase Ugly American. Any American that has no compassion for their own should be ashamed of themselves. Only hope you never find yourself in the same position that these families are in...it could happen...would not be so smug if I were you.
meanwhile Obama is at Martha's Vineyard
Right, instead of coming to DC, waving his magic wand, and somehow making the legislation required to increase our social safety net pass the Rebublican-dominated house. That is exactly how the government works.
Yea...and they blame the Republicans!! Who's in office doing nothing!! People worried about other countries..GO LIVE THERE AND TAKE CARE OF THEM>>we need real AMERICAN's here helping our own...It is BAD here..Send your money to the American Government WE NEED IT>>>
Wow, some people need some empathy lessons. I was on public assistance for a year and a half due to circumstances beyond my control. I have a wife and 5 kids I was supporting at the time. Never was on aid before, and my sole goal was to get off of the system. We did get by on what we were given. It was just enough, and really taught us an extreme lesson in budgeting and appreciating what you have. I have been off of the system for the last year, and have kept that lesson in my heart. Sometimes people need help. I just hope the day comes that all those people bashing never have to face it. It is a very humbling experience and will shake you to the core the first time you go to the welfare office and have to fill out the forms and go through the process. Could I have stayed on the system for another 8 years and gotten by? Of course, but I fought to get off. Most people I met during my visits to the office were not happy being on the system, but had no choice. Of course you will get some that will take advantage but they are the few, but of course everyone on the system MUST be trying to take advantage of it. I had been paying my taxes for 20 years before I had to use it, and it kept our family alive. If you have not been through it, then shut it, and go get some hay for that high horse you are on.
We can give 3 square meals a day to a bunch of convicts who kill, rape, and commit crimes, give convicts bread and water and give the kids the meals
Have you seen what they're feeding convicts these days? Bread and water would be a step up from Nutriloaf.
I think the moral of the story here is: birth control. If you can't afford to survive already, stop having more children. No 'hating', just common sense.
It is easy to say. How about those parents who had jobs and then had kids then lost their job. Are you criticizing them for having kids. That is rude and selfish don't you think so?
Am I to assume that just because someone cannot afford to feed their children that they should not have had them? What if someone can afford to feed their children and then loses their job? Should they give up their children then? Then everyone would complain about the cost of foster care. Most people who are receiving assistance from the state do not want to be on it and would do anything to change their situation. Most of you who are complaining probably have never felt the fear of not knowing how you are going to feed your children. We have been there. We were middle class and then one day....it was all gone due to the economy. We received some aid which was a blessing, but now are off it and supporting ourselves. And anyone who suggests that the issue is birth control is just plain disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself.
$400 in food stamps is allot. Of course you can't go buy all the expensive junk foods and high price items.
bag beans = $1.00 (7 servings per bag)
brown rice = $3.00 (10 servings per bag)
whole grain loaf bread = $4.00
eggs (36 count) = $5.00
You see my point. Start adding Sodas, chips, cheese, ice cream, frozen pizza etc the price goes up. If she is cutting coupons and buying on specials. I'm a little confused on why $400 is not enough. I understand what it means to be poor and during my struggles with money i was clever with my food choices. It had to be cheap and healthy. For the most part..It was just a pot of black beans with onions, brown rice, eggs, potatoes, greens and water. Leave the frozen pizzas alone.
you are so right -
learn how to buy, how to stretch the dollar.
school age kids are being fed breakfast and lunch at school already, there are food banks across america. and if these women are receiving food stamps they are also probably getting free/reduced rent, free medical care and a cash check each month.
Have you had to buy food for 5 people before? We have 6 in our family and I spend over $600 a month and I don't buy all the junk food. I come home and my cupboards are still bare. And you can only eat so many beans...
John, that was my thought too. I did not know food stamps amounted to that much till I read a couple of articles here in cnn. I consistently shop for my family (given that it is only my husband, dog and me) under $50 a week. The key is to stock up your pantry slowly with non-perishables that are available in bulk (lentils, beans, brown rice, rice, wheat flour, oil etc). You don't have to do this all at once if you don't have a fully stocked pantry to begin with. Then the weekly grocery can include only perishables like fruits, veggies, meat, eggs etc. I think a very healthy, wholesome diet can be accomplished and you can save some money out of that 400 bucks as well. But the prerequisite is to be a reasonably okay cook and be willing to put in that time to make some meals from scratch.
Straight up! We could survive on so much less that we realize...you can eat much healthier for much cheaper on the diet you describe....but then again, you can't get your frozen fried chicken on a diet like that!
The welfare system needs another upgrade. Instead of handing out billions in food stamps, lets set up warehouses in neighborhoods where the poor live and hand out whole grains, oats, rice, beans, and meat and milk vouchers, because a lot of these people are trading the food stamps for money and buying drugs. Everyone knows that is true.
I would opt for the welfare system pumping most that money into the schools and feeding the kids breakfast, lunch and some thing to eat near the end of the day...
That way we KNOW the kids are being fed...~!
They already do that in Milwaukee, and the family still collects full EBT benefits! We are turning the poor into cattle, feeding them and taking over their birth control and warehousing their offspring. We need to let nature take its course. No amount of money poured through the government and into poor hands will make the low cultured appreciate the value of an education, so spending zillions on new schools and teachers will not have any beneficial results. Aside from the middle class people who lost jobs, low poor cannot be educated on how to feed themselves- they couldn't even understand that they had to graduate high school! They couldn't pass remedial math or english class! How the hell doe anyone think that they will magically be able to understand calories and nutrients and the benefits of proper nutrition? They have no understanding of biology or chemistry or mathematics or even basic reading comprehension, and that was by choice! Their parents didn't care, so neither do they, and neither will their ignorant spawn. I went to public high school. My father was an MOS Math teacher. The kids their are animals because of their parent. No, I didn't forget the "s".
I agree about the trading food stamps for money. I have had a few people ask me to trade some of their food stamps for cash. I refused because it cheats the system. I do think the government should do drug testing for known drug users who apply for food stamps.
Florida has just done that. No more food stamps if you fail drug test.
Obama enjoys his 23rd vacation of the year while Americans starve....WHY?
Americans STARVING! What a disgrace
Yeah, because people are starving, the PRESIDENT should stop his life and starve too...that's perfect logic. I saw a homeless woman today pushing all of her belongings in a shopping cart, I think I should give up everything that I have worked hard for and sacrifice my nice home, my clothes, my car, my family friends and everything else that I DESERVE, to prove I have empathy for others that are less fortunate. Get my point???
Maybe this person should find a couple of jobs at Mickie D's and Sonic. Free food afterwards. America has a lot to offer if you are willing to work, be humble and go after it. People want hand outs, 2 million dollars a year jobs and work 11am to 3pm. Anyone in America that's starving should be ashamed.
And who is going to take care of her kids while she does that?
Um, maybe she should have thought about that before she had kids. And feeding 3 people with $100 a week isnt too darn hard.
@Think before you speak
The kids are here now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But seriously, do you want to spend your precious tax dollars to provide child care so she can work? One half a dozen or another. I'm honestly okay with that. I just don't want her in jail from leaving them home alone to work the hours suggested and the kids in foster care. That costs a bunch more of my tax dollars than food stamps.
To thinkbeforeyouspeak:Do you know her life. May be she had an unplanned pregnancy. May be she is now divorced or may be she lost her good job after she had the kid. Think before you speak.
There should be no such thing as an "unplanned" pregnancy in this day and age. That's just silly.
@ThinkBeforeYouSpeak: It's not hard to feed a family of 3 on $100 a week? I guess you have not been in a grocery store lately. Food prices are constantly going higher. With $50 a week the average adult (that's 1 person) could possibly scrape by with the barest of essentials, and that's a very conservative estimate.
There is no such thing as an "unplanned" pregnancy anymore?? Are you delusional??
Accidental pregnancy is actually pretty hard to accomplish with the numerous contraceptive devices and methods available to both men and women. Do some research...it's pretty hard to get pregnant if you have a contraceptive device and your male partner uses a condom. And before you make this about money too...welfare pays for contraceptive devices,and condoms are usually handed out for free at your local clinic, so being poor is not an excuse.
Comments are just brutal. Do people have no heart at all? God forbid that any of you ever be down and out. Shame on you all. Does it make you feel better kicking people when they are down?
I totally agree (although I do believe people shouldn't reproduce the way they do but that's a whole different topic), but the comments on this story as well as the story about border patrol abuses make me ashamed to be an American. What is wrong with people in this country? Where did all of this hate come from?
You are a big dick...I'm sure you have your gun in one hand and a bible in the other...this "get a job" mentality is so elitist...maybe someday one of your kids will need help and maybe someone will write something like "they should get a job at McDonalds so they can eat for free"...you shoud be ashamed sir!
Thanks OBAMA
Keep golfing and make sure the endangered mosquitoes are protected by your offshore oil JOB drilling ban...
Please, people, ANYONE but obama the lazy in 2012...hillary? mitt? ron paul? ANYONE would do better cos they would TRY and would not just golf while we STARVE
Get a JOB if you are starving.
Starving but with access to the internet? I take it you are starving in a public library then?
wow, I wonder how many of these ignorant posters spewing hate are self-proclaimed good 'Christian' folk (amazingly hypocritical if that's the case), stay-at-home women on borrowed time before they end up single moms fighting for chld support (be very careful what stones you throw) or just plain downright nasty, mean-spirited bullies. I'm guessing all of the above. Good luck in the next/current recession. I'm sure YOUR job is safe.
my job is safe I am out of work lol
So don't marry a jerk, and definitely don't have a kid with him, but if you do, get child support declared in the divorce decree. Take some responsibility for your life and the lives you created. My girlfriend found out that her former husband was cheating on her and realized that in addition to hurting her, he was neglecting his family, so she divorced him. She feeds her family of seven very, very well on the EBT program. She literally hasn't got enough room in her pantry for it all. So I sincerely doubt that the people who are poor are actually availing themselves of all the benefits and coupons out there. PS MY girlfriend just got a state job and will be off all benefits. She has six kids all A students, athletes, and involved in theatre and the church, and she works full time, and so do I. So I know it can be done.
Unless you live on a farm in the 18th century, what on earth do you need SIX kids for?
I've never seen so much sanctimonious bs as this. First of all, you can not buy junk food with food stamps..only some items can be paid with them. Also, so what if the parent smokes or has a beer..what's your vice- or are you so holy you can look down on those people- we're all here on earth together doing the best we can. The point is that NO child should ever go hungry, its just wrong.
Well, good for her, that she had the help to get back on her feet after marrying and divorcing the jerk. What is your point exactly? That she shouldn't have had the benefits? That she got too much? It sounds like she was able to maintain her family's well being with the assistance she got. Sometimes women need that and sometimes there are men who need it to. Our money is being wasted on ridiculous things, nonsense. While people go hungry. A little temporary help can make the world of a difference who might have no options in the immediate future. When you have to feed your kid NOW and you have NOTHING, sometimes you need some help RIGHT AWAY. The comments on this article are beyond crazy. People are horrible now. It's completely disheartening.
There are people out there that think everything is based on a person's ability to make "good" or "bad" decisions. I pray that these people never have a CIRCUMSTANCE where they are very sick and unable to work, plus perhaps have no family to fall back on, or have to pay 60-70% of their income for rent, and I'm not even touching the health insurance issue. The fact is, no one can judge a person's life unless they WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES. You can't judge from a story or even pictures...you won't truly know until it happens to you. Not everyone was brought up with parents preparing them for the real world-financially or emotionally. The government shouldn't give hand outs? In this economy, be careful if aid stops, because our streets will look like Africa. And if you think the social security or welfare check is enough to live on as it is now (and to be able to take time away from worrying about every penny to find a job if physically ABLE), then I challenge YOU to living a month on say $1,200.00 a month or less=when you take that challenge, and still feel the same way, I feel you then have the right to judge. Make sense? And, about harping on women who have weight issues or children-I'm sorry, but have you ever heard of diabetes or a thyroid issue? Can you rule these out based on a picture? And where are the FATHERS of the children??? not in the picture on your screen? Nuff said, takes two to tango, and you don't know each situation personally. We all worry about giving too much or giving to the wrong person, that's not for us to judge-giving is giving and should come from the heart-Karma, it will teach you.
ph-uck the rich. then eat them.
I'm thinking kids in cities need to be taught how to grow food . I grew up in the city.. My Dad was a child of the depression.. We were made fun of, but we had chickens, and a garden..
I Moved to a rural area and found that even a small patch of land, people in rural areas grow food... Can grow a lot of food.. Cheaply , easily..Most yards in the city have room for a small plant or two.A fruit tree.. many i/4 acre lots can grow enough fresh produce to take care of any family, plus many family, friends and neighbors.. Kids and many adults who grew up in the city just simply were never shown the way to do it..
Food can be shared.. People in rural areas share produce from their gardens all the time..~!
Instaed of flowers plant vegetables along the fence..Instead of just a shade tree plant a fruit tree..
In no time food will be plentiful..
its the easiest problem to solve..
I do agree with that. I grow a number of veggies in pots on the patio so even in the big city it's not out of the question. It wouldn't feed all the way, but it would be a supplement.
I have to say that the anger and hatred going back and forth in these comments is very sad. Whether you are liberal or tea party, we are all Americans. We must understand this fundamental truth– we are only as strong as our weakest links. If we don't start bringing the high-paying blue collar manufacturing jobs back, the jobs that built the American middle class in the mid-twentieth century, our country will become Third world...where a rich elite holds all the power and the majority is poor and controlled. I think we are better than that! I say let's use our energy and intelligence to take back the country for all it's citizens and be more humble. Remember, there, but for the grace of God, might we all be.
I dont work and I spend one hundred dollars a week on Lottery tickets
You live on a pipe dream. Take your salt shaker and dump it on the table... notice how many tiny salt crystals there are..now pick up just one tiny salt crystal from that pile and there is your chance of winning the lottery.
Welcome to the United FACADE of America !!
That American Dream crap they feed you is just to get you on the treadmill. Then the greedy banker and other corporate conglomerates know exactly how to bleed every possible penny out of you.
.
these are the people crying hunger ,and you see them all in a drunken state and the kids go without .
Exactly!!!
I object to CNN referring to that kitchen as dilapidated when in fact it was just plain filthy and unkempt. If she prepares food in it, then it works, and cleaning it is all it needs. She should not be allowed to collect food stamps, welfare, and then party all week.
or procreate for that matter....
I know what it's like to dig though the seat cushions looking for change. It's always exciting when you find a quarter instead of nickles or pennies. A quarter feels like a jackpot!
But then you to start wondering how things could be so... lopsided... some people have millions of dollars and I'm digging around on my hands and knees looking for a quarter! I've never used government assistance because I' have too much pride to ask, but I can see why people would, especially if they have children (which, I don't). Things are a little better for me personally these days, but trust me, I know what dirt poor is – and it stinks.
That's what I don't think the rich understand. It's really hard to care about bailing out rich people on Wall Street when you're at home digging around trying to find a quarter. The sky-high price of gasoline is enriching oil executives by the billions and you're digging around looking for a quarter. Investors want you to care that the Dow dropped 400 points, but you're a little preoccupied – trying to find a quarter. More insulting is when the rich complain that taxes are too high on the $300,000 dollars they couldn't hide as an expense last year. If only I had that burden. Tell ya what, I'll pay the higher tax on the $300,000 a year and they can go hunt quarters for awhile. How would that be?
maybe you should try hard work anyone in this country can work hard and succeed the problem everyone wants to complain about the people that have money because they are to lazy to make something of themselves.
I do work. Like I said, things are a little better for me these days. I run a small metal fabrication company. I'm not rich by any means, but I can fill the tank up without too much worry. Not like the days when I would put $5 bucks in the tank and wonder how I would make that last the week.
But you're also implying that when I was dirt poor that I didn't work then, but I did. I've always had a job. I've never been more than 6 months without a job. Sometimes part time was all I could get, tough. That meant I was making $12K a year.
My point is, the rich often treat the poor like they are lazy bums who just don't work hard enough or they would have $300,000 a year too. And that's not the case. Most of the rich people didn't pull themselves out of a ghetto. They came form privileged families where food and clothes and good examples and college was a given. I've sat in rooms full of teenagers buying drugs with small children on their hips and wondered, "how in the heck can anyone expect these kids to have a fighting chance?" When your mom and dad happen to be teenage pot smokers who dropped out of high school, what fighting chance do you have? When that foundation isn't even there, when you start from less than zero... it's not enough that you have nothing, you have less than nothing, you have parents who are kids themselves who are setting all the wrong examples, you are actually starting in the negative. You have so many strikes against you that it isn't funny. And when you don't turn out like a Rhodes Scholar and conquer the world, the rich in the world want to call you lazy, all the while owing their entire success to the sweat of their own brow without acknowledging the tremendous head start they got in life. Just like you, they dismiss them as lazy.
You're making the assumption he or she doesn't. I know what that feels like too. Anyone can have a bad spell. That's reality versus the trumped up fable of the American Dream. Now, I do have a job that pays extremely well. But when I went to college and my husband died in an accident unexpectedly, I totally got what was mentioned about where finding a quarter being a big thrill. Life got better. I hope that never happens to you or somebody you care about. Genuinely.
To Aaron,
I have so many times wanted to say what you just said. That is amazing insight.
Well, I see what you're saying but, I have little sympathy for those who choose to breed while being poor and living on gov't assistance...Would rather see that money go towards the public education system or something that's more deserving...
I pay for my food and cr@ck using my worn out h0les
Tiana has obviously not missed a meal and neither have her children. They are quite young...If she can't afford them then why is she breeding? Seems she should of invested in some birth control...I hear you can get that for free if your income is low enough... And $400 a month in food stamps? What a luxury....Glad my tax money is being put to good use there...Least that lady could do is be thankful...
my mom should have ab0rted me. I am worthless
It'll happen to you someday. Someone will die, or you'll lose your job, or there will be a fire or an illness or a tragedy. No one is immune. Some day you'll need to depend on someone for something. I hope for your sake they don't mock or scorn you.
I will always have my h00ka h0les to get m by .. give me a cr@ck dealer or rich man to work ..
There is NO room for the weak in this country.
Less we want to end up in ruin like everyone else.
Don't forget what made this nation strong...
Hard work, ingenuity, development....
Something the pigs and insects that live off welfare should learn
If you have nothing to offer or give to this nation, then DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FROM IT
Hahaha, the wealthy elite are sucking up all the capital and they have you blaming America's situation on the poor. Just amazing!
I speak from my true tea baggin trailer trash meth lab when I posted this.
I beat my h00ker wife and my little gurl is my fun time.. I am sick
maybe if you cant feed your kids you should stop having them
GET A JOB!!!!!!!!
sha na na na lol
another thing, the comments here that keep suggesting that "if your poor, quit having children" what about people like my husband and I we have three children and one of us get laid off? you're ignorant dumba$$
Do what me and my wife did, keep trying and stop whinin'.
Works for us. Nobody feels sorry for us, but we are cool with that. Lack of patheticness you know.
I don't think they were refering to you , there is so many people that have kids to collect from the system. you would be surprised
Yeah, and there's many more that don't have kids just to collect from the system. Yes, there are people in this world for which the stereotypes have been based, but there are MANY more who are truly in need and they suffer because they are judged during a time of extreme vulnerability.
You still shouldn't have had three children, shut your legs. There are seven billion of us already and what if your three kids have three kids and their three kids have three kids? The word isn't going to be a good place for your children and grandchildren if people continue to value quantity over quality.
Maybe the prevailing sentiment is that couples should plan better before they have children, for the possibility there might be only one income, or even sometimes a total loss of income. By saving before having children, and maybe considering not having children if there is no economic security at all. Of course, that would put the the whole social security ponzi scheme in worse shape, as the only ones having children would be illegal immigrants. Oh wait, that's already happening ;)
Amen! Two incomes is a luxury. I have several friends who offer pre-marriage counseling and the first thing they tell engaged couples is to build thier budget around all neccessities being paid from ONE income!
Beth you obviously don't understand that your situation is actually quite rare. This woman obviously knew her situation was grave when she had her legs open...So seems you're the dumb one here...
That's what savings are for. If you can't afford to save, you shoudl not have had 3 kids. If you plan things out properly, the chances of ending in this situation are extreamly low.
I WITNESS ENOUGH FOOD BEING THROWN AWAY AT ONE SCHOOL TO FEED 20 FAMILIES A DAY X 'S THAT
That's why my friends go dumpster diving.
Thankfully I make just enough where I don't need to do that :/
Why are you yelling?
It's hard to take this story seriously. FOUR HUNDRED BUCKS in food stamps – that is a fantastic amount of money for someone to spend on food! There is hunger in Africa and Asia and Haiti. I am scratching my head over what I'm reading here.
She is feeding A WHOLE FAMILY YOU IDIOT not one person!
Scratching your head hard enough? Yes, there is hunger in america. The rich make sure that it does not show up in the morning news, or the evening programs. Instead they keep you busy watching dancing with the stars and other culturally life altering shows.
yea... I spend about 150 a month in groceries. Granted I'm a single guy, but I do eat a lot of food and I buy brand name stuff. 400 a month spead over generic brands is enough to feed a small army.
I don't know where you guys live but I spend $200 on groceries a month and I buy only the cheapest stuff available and do all my own cooking. I'm single. Feeding a family of 3-4 on $400 would not be easy.
no wonder our country is in such a mess, too many free loaders. the system should not be able to be milked like this.
$400 for food for doing nothing, these bumbs should be required to work for the city for this kind of cash!
What you fail to understand is that if the government did not assist its citizens who are less fortunate, these less fortunate people will over throw the government and it would be total chaos and destruction. The government gives them just enough to keep them still but not enough to move, gives them just enough to live but not enough to be independent. But its ok because soon your wish will come true and then you will learn the hard way when people like this come and kill you and rob you for all your possessions and food just to survive and the government will abandon tax paying scum like you who actually believed all this time that you were special and superior to hectic living.
The chick is too overweight to be hungry...
its astonishing how many people on here are so bitter an angry towards people who live impoverished... you have CEO's running companies into the ground and being paid millions of dollars anyways...and who are paying a lower percentage in taxes then the poor... and you guys are getting on here and going on the attack? there are either some pretty ignorant or disgusting people here in america. i'm not a Christian, but still... let he that is without sin cast the first stone.... this is where all you hypocritical opportunists are supposed to drop your stones (verbal abuse) and walk away.... asinine! just sheer insanity!
Why is Tianna overweight if she is starving? Also,that kitchen is just a product of lazyness.
If you mean nothing but "convenience foods" frozen pre-cooked, chicken, oatmeal – ready to eat samples.. most likely it is a by product of uneducated in the area of home economics. How many people can cook from scratch? Meal planning and budgeting. For example how many meals can you cook from a fresh whole chicken? Who still knows how to ? PLUS she works two jobs so when does she have the time??
There is a whole lot of people on this board suffering from the "Just World" fallacy.
Apparently there is a BIG difference between being "hunger" and starvation.
This is the most bogus story on here today. How much did the first starving woman pay to have her hair braided? What about all the useless junk seen lying around the house? That stuff cost money that could be better spent on wholesome food, and frankly she is far from starving, a week of food abstinence would be a good thing for her.
yes look at her ,she could get on the biggest loser with her weight
I am probobly the only 16 year old on here. and even I have enough common sense to know that society isnot responsible for indivisuals. But how would you like to be that person food less and not knowing when you are going to get fod. I myself could never imagine such horrors.
Its called responsibility. Its irresponsible at best to waste your money on dumb stuff and then expect to get free hand outs from the rest of the economically downtrodden society.
At least you have sympathy, most people here don't.
There are lots of situations in life where people can end up poor, especially when your parents were already poor. Don't believe the hype, lower-class Americans CANNOT pull themselves to a higher class with hard work. That is a myth.
Your turn is coming abbie dear. ENJOY!
The very last thing that should happen in this country is that children go hungry..
Food is the most easy and the most plentiful thing we can grow in this country.. In any yard, people can grow vegetables.. Fruit trees grow and produce.
There should be an effort to give out plants to everyone.. And those with bigger yards grow more food..
People could share their produce..
We do that in rural areas all the time.. Dont' just plant a tree. Plant a fruit tree.. Dont' plant flowers plant vegetables...
We can all help ourself a whole lot more than we do.
Farmers grow surplus.. Can grow more.. So food shortage should never happen in this country.
I'ts fixable..so easily fixable..
You are so right in your vision. We give eggs to our immediate neighbors and in the Fall we provide apples to most families on our street.
Your scenario only works for those who understand the concept of self-sufficiency, and then practice it. Growing food in backyards and on empty lots and then giving it to those who choose to spend their money foolishly and on foolish things does not fix the root problem: Teaching and convincing people to live a self-sufficient lifestyle.
Simply donating food will not change this fact. The only way to bring about this kind of change on a wholesale, lifelong scale is by educating and inspiring people in basics of how to assess everyday situations problems and then making correct decisions and taking action. We should grow and give food to needy neighbors while they aspire to become more than they are. Once they reach a level of self-sufficiency, then they can do the same for others in need.
Free food is only a bridge to help those in need get themselves to a better place. After that, they need to carry themselves...
Food shortage is NOT the problem, it's food access and cost.
There are known food deserts all over america, especially in urban areas.
And do to all the people complaining about her weight, she's probably eating off the 99 cent meal so she can give her kids fruits and vegetables.
Food insecurity is NOT only about calories, it's about malnutrition, not getting the right nutrients.
Exactly. She could have a thyroid disorder for all anyone knows.
It has been my observation that some of the poorest people are the most overweight however. It's cheaper to eat rice, beans and potatoes than fresh fruit, lean meats and veggies.
I've been in their shoes.
I grew up middle-income. Never worried about food. Then I got married to a hard worker who just couldn't make enough. Then one disaster after another struck. We had 4 kids, one right after the other. I often skipped meals so my family could eat.
Now I'm married to a Doctor. I still suffer from "food insecurity" though from too many years of going without. My hubby has me on a tight budget so I'm always worried about putting enough food away for a rainy day.
People shouldn't judge- especially if they've not been there.
Yes.. I am thinking of the children.. The schools should always be able to feed children..
There is enough surplus.. no child should go hungry because their parents don't provide food..
there is nothing cheaper or easier to grow than vegetables and potatoes.. Fruit..
AS far as adults go..I think educating them to the fact they can grow food in their yards. empty lots....Window sills even.. and share .. The work, share the produce.. would go a long way to helping solve nutritional hunger..
I realize it is about being lazy for many..I understand that..
But food easy..And maybe a course in school on how to plant and care for a garden in city schools might go a long way to helping kids understand how easy it is to aquire your own food..
(She) makes her own dinner from the food left on her children's plates, something she and her husband Marcus call "Kid surfing."
My children never take more than what they can finish. If there's isn't enough food, why would her children have enough leftovers for her to make meals? Am I missing something here?
Seriously? Some people will bytch about anything. You can't comprehend someone putting their children first? She first feeds her children then eats whatever's left. The article doesn't say that it's much either.
No, I'm not bitching. My apology. She should be applauded for not putting her kids' leftovers in the garbage.
Your children are the exception. Most younger kids are picky, sometimes will finish all, sometimes not. I admire her strategy of surfing her kids' plates, rather than giving them food problems for a lifetime by policing their intake.
Nope, don't feel sorry for her. She could not eat for quite awhile and survive. Take that woman to africa and drop her off and see how other people live who are really hungry.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Ah, America, the only first world country where we want our poor to be just like 3rd world country poors. I'm so proud of all of you.
What a joke!!!
We need to sterilize George.
Its appalling that someone would DARE have a different opinion than you, right you self-righteous cvnt?
Go tongue punch your boyfriends fart box.
Does using the word c|_|nt make you more of a man? you self righteous twit.
CUT FOOD STAMPS TO $100 A MONTH
FORCE HEALTH ON THE OBESE IF THEY OBLIGE TO LIVE LIKE VERMIN
Word.
Wish we could put you in their position just to watch you cry that life's not fair and it's everyone else's fault. But instead you will live out your life alone and unwanted because you can't comprehend anything besides your own impulses.
Listen MOFO, if you got your shit together then good for you, but dont you ever beat down and talk shit about someone who is all ready down in the dumps.... You obviously get a kick out of degrading those who are less fortunate and in need of assistance. If you were a human being you would want to help people like this, but your not even a human being, your a ugly soul in need of a real wake up call because you dont even know what tomorrow will bring you despite the obvious fact that you feel super entitled and arrogant..................
Do you realize how ignorant you sound? Cut food stamps to $100 to "force health"? Do you even know how much healthy food costs when compared to processed unhealthy food? Please, for the love of God, people do your damn research and at least try to utilize some common sense and compassion. I pray you never have to worry about putting food on the table.
Hunger in America is different than hunger in a 3rd world country.
In America you can get the calories, but you can't afford the nutrients. That's still malnutrition.
She's probably eating of the 99 cent meal to give her children fruits and vegetables.
"Barbara Izquierdo, 23, is another Witness to Hunger "sister," as the women call themselves. Several years ago, she had a newborn and no money to eat."
-Why are you "breeding" at such a young age? Single mother I'm assuming too. What the is wrong with people....
There is NO room for the weak in this country.
Less we want to end up in ruin like everyone else.
Don't forget what made this nation strong...
Hard work, ingenuity, development....
Something the pigs and insects that live off welfare should learn
If you have nothing to offer or give to this nation, then DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FROM IT
How can you be starving when you are this fat?
The most unhealthy foods are usually the cheapest.
How do you figure? You dont need to eat like a health nut. I can spend $15 for a pizza, the same for a meal, drink, and dessert at a fast food restaurant, roughly the same for a normal meal at a sit down restaurant, or I can buy a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk, eggs, and a few other things with that $15 and eat for a week.
Quit making excuses for the people who simply don't want to step up to the plate and put in some real effort to survive.
White bread and peanut butter aren't exactly healthy for an every-meal type thing you know. But yes, nutritional education is pretty poor – we should educate them. If only we had community centers to help poor people plan things. OH WAIT, ACORN got shut down thanks to crazy right-wing conspiracies! So much for that!
Motherfvckers have GOT to start using condoms.
Amen to that!
Is that the same thing you told your parents the day you moved into their basement?
Real clever, Marcus you fvcking dbag. thankfully, my taxes pay for her and your food stamps.
And her taxes pay for your unemployment and disability.
LOL! Markus you are LAME...
Actually Markus is right. We all pay into the same system and receive govt benefits at some point. And who's to say that you have some authority to think your life is superior than others who are having trouble with getting necessities?
We need to sterilize the women who collect food stamps and welfare money, otherwise they will just keep having children that they can't feed and the rest of us have to pay. Her saturday night wine party turns into a human conception party and next year more whining.
You are a monster. You want the government to tell people who has the right to have kids? What next, mandatory abortion for women who miss a rent payment? Sicko.
Then YOU pay for their welfare, Dante....or were you expecting someone else to foot the bill while you hand out life lessons from your cloud of judgement?
I am 100% OK with welfare. It is within societies best interest to keep people from starving on the streets and I will gladly pay my contribution. I'm glad that you have no choice but to pay your contribution too :)
Wouldn't it be cheaper for the government to just sterilize all the men these women consort with? Like, any woman who wants food stamps should have to bring with her at least one man who consents to sterilization before she will be able to get them. You see George, sterilizing just ONE man will eliminate the need for many, many more women needing food stamps, as the men tend to get around much more.
That is an excellent point about the men. Can we do both because I can assure you those women aren't monogamous.
Maybe it would be best to sterilize everyone under a certain dollar amount of income. Maybe we should just start sending people to the camps under forced labor, if they don't meet our criteria as desireable. Maybe euthanasia is in order? Wait, didn't they try that somewhere else in the 1940s. Seems that didn't turn out so well!
I think we should sterilize people like George and LarryDavidSandwich. The world is already full of hateful, ignorant people and we don't need them breeding.
I see you got it all figured out there MR. But what exactly is the point you were trying to make, because all I get from it is hate and prejudice undertones instead of intelligent rationalization and tender hearted sincerity for a fellow human being who shares the same air as you, who breathes the same air as you, who was born the same way as you, and who's imminent end of life will occur just as yours. Funny thing is this, what do you think all the billionaires of this world say about people like you......LOL........
Ok, the first woman they interviewed looked to me like she eats more than enough. The one with the filthy kitchen, which was referred to as dilapidated, she had money for those earrings, didn't she? But she has no time to clean up that filth in the kitchen. The only one that appeared truly in need was the skinny white woman.
Maybe they were a gift? Second hand? She spent a dollar to feel better about herself? Earrings are hardly a luxury so shut it.
Does the fact that she looked at a loaf of bread and a pair of earrings, with starving children at home and chose the earrings mean the rest of us have to pay for the bread for her? Why doesn't she clean that filthy kitchen? The Health Department should condemn her house. There is absolutely no excuse for living like that. Do you think that she rented the place with the kitchen looking like that? NO.
Nor are they a necessity, so I suggest you take a good look at the things in your life that are a necessity and the things that arent. When the going gets tough, you trade in the things that are meaningless for the things that are meaningful, in this sense, the necessities.
She'll look real good in those earrings as a corpse, dead from starvation...
Most likely she shoplifted those earrings.
You idiots, you have no idea how much they are worth. don't make up stupid false choice scenarios. Maybe she picked them up for free from a dumpster or they were a gift from a deceased relative that she wants to hold onto. Obviously she will dress up better when on camera, wouldn't you? Are you going to criticize her for wearing clothes? Why doesn't she just go naked if she is so hungry. A woman should be allowed a pair of earrings.
that is kinda sad
That's rayciss!
I agree, the large black woman looked far from hungry. Did you notice she held up a pre packaged, sugar loaded pack of instant oatmeal as a "backup" for tough times. One large bag of oats would be much more nutritious and economical...who DOESN'T know that...seriously!!! Poor impulse control, mismanagement of funds and a freeloading mentality is what is wrong with most (not all) of these so called hungry Americans. Lets move on to REAL news please.
George,
The woman who had the earrings had a past of being hungry and in poverty. If you read the story above, she is now working to educate others on hunger and it appears that she has been able to pull her self out of poor conditions.
Poverty does not mean thin. Got to your grocery store and compare the price of healthier foods to those that are empty caloreis. You will find that the more unhealthy foods are the most affordable.
Be peaceful.
What is your excuse for her filthy kitchen? Do you think she rented the place with it looking like that? Those earrings came from a dumpster huh? You are so naive.
A lot of times when you don't get enough to eat, your body goes into starvation mode and stores a lot of the food you eat into fat. That and unhealthy foods are much cheaper- eating healthy takes a backseat to just eating enough.
aww come on.....how many starving people in Africa do you see who are morbidly obese!!! Get real.
Hard for me to have a lot of sympathy for these people, especially this particular family.
America is a place of opportunity. A place where its citizens are born with the promise of the American dream – the dream of having the freedom and liberty to pull up your bootstraps and work hard to have what you want. This person (like many panhandlers I often see) is not taking advantage of those opportunities nor her very own promised American dream.
Philly isn't a cheap place to live. No one is forcing this family to live there. No one is forcing them to live in a row house. They ought to take advantage of their freedoms, pack up their things and move to a cheaper place. Move to Alaska. They'll GIVE you money just to live there! Move to North Dakota or South Dakota. You'll be able to afford all the food you'll ever need there.
Two words will get a lot of people off the government dole: "You're Hired". There are fewer and fewer jobs. Las Vegas has an unemployment of 16%. Many companies are explicitly saying in their job postings that they will not consider unemployed candidates at all. WTF? If you are an employer who refuses to hire the unemployed, you don't get to be heard on the subject of food stamps.
People on here are MEAN. Just because she is fat doesn't mean the children deserve to starve.
It is really sad that people in this country go hungry. The stamp system should just be done away with. There should be certain staple foods that 'registered' families should be eligible for. It should be based off of your SSN or some other tracking system.
It is sad that poor people probably also don't have the education level a lot of middle and upper middle class people do. They might not necessarily know what is a good value. I mean, yes, it seems like common sense to shop at Cost Co to save money. But you'd have to a) live in a nice enough area to have a Cost co, 2) be able to pay for membership into the club, 3) have transportation to and from Cost co, which costs gas money and vehicle maintenance costs.
When you get there, you're suppose to be able to buy non-perishable food items. You can't necessarily buy fruit or veggies in bulk because those don't have a very good shelf life. You have to get meals. A lot of the poor people probably buy stuff that is really bad and full of perservatives, such as ramen, because they are complete meals.
Then, you have to make that $400 last for the rest of the month. If you were a family of 4, that ate 3 meals a day, that is $100 dollars per person, $33 per meal per month, $1.11 per meal per day . How are you suppose to afford that???
If not for the foodstamp program there are some people that couldn't get Anything. Not everyone has the same luxuries.
Oh man I remember the struggles growing up HUNGRY and living off foodstamps as a child. I was the youngest of 7! I hated it! that I hated my parents for putting us through the struggle. My mother suffered from manic depression,agoraphobia. My father was just a deadbeat who refused to work. he would collect bottles,cans,anything to recycle to make a few bucks only to spend it on the race tracks! Man I cannot tell you how many times we begged for food went to food banks. Now in my 30's the scars of starving have stayed with me.. I have obsessed about food and not going hungry I have extreme coupon habits. I have a decent job that pays my bills, but I can tell you without extreme coupon shopping I would go day to day barely eating. It's no joke GOING HUNGRY IS NOT FUN
This is terrible. I myself have noticed food prices are higher in the last year. What's really sad is a lot of times its a choice between healthy or low cost. I believe the maximum should be raised on food stamps but I believe it should also be investigated better. A lot of people do not use them properly and that is very sad for the people who do need them. My heart goes out.
There are cheap healthy items. I go to smart and final and buy a 3 pound bag of salad for 1.99 and it last my family at least 5 meals. Cucumbers are cheap, bulk rice in 40 pound bags is about 20 bucks, it last us months. Pasta can be on sale for 80 cents a box. There are healthy items for cheap but they TAKE WORK TO MAKE. I make my own bread and pizza. 40 pound bag of flour costs 8 bucks. You can make rolls, bread, pizza. Come on America, we are better then this. We fend for ourselves that is the american way.
That's why I usually drop something in foodbank's bin every month. Not a lot, but enough to satiate couple of people hunger.
How many can't afford adequate food for their family yet have cable, an XBox, and a flatscreen TV? This is a completely valid question because I have seen it firsthand over and over again. Priorities for far too many U.S. adults are as upside down as the mortgages they carry.
I guarantee you that once you are "food insecure" you don't have nice things anymore unless they were gifts.
I don't have much in the way of modern things, although I have no problem paying for food and a car (I have nothing left over though!) I'm in the lower 20%, working hard full time (no overtime allowed) and only getting paid enough to just get by. I've never been on assistance, but is this really fair?
So many adults in their 20's and early 30's completely believe they they MUST have cable TV, treating this luxury item in they same way they treat air: "I can't live without it," some have told me. How on God's green earth did they convince themselves of this falsehood, especially the unfortunate poor ones who can't afford true essentials such as food, water, a roof, power, sanitation, you know, important stuff like that.
I've looked into their eyes and listened to them say, "Uh-uh, I'm not doin' without my cable!" These are they who will never escape poverty because they refuse to adopt behaviors that will enable them to eventually rise above.
Bad decisions lead to bad situations. Thats life. Making it more comfortable to live off the taxpayers only encourages more people to do so.
After investing years of my life going into debt in academia and sacrificing to build a secure future, I have little sympathy for people who have done nothing to help themselves.
This woman works TWO jobs. Exactly how is she not doing anything to better herself? It is too bad that your fancy degree didn't prevent you from being an elitist twit.
Perhaps what Sarah is saying is that many people are where they are because of choices they've made throughout their lives. Some choose to not avail themselves of public education and instead, choose to fritter away their opportunities until there are none left. Others forego "chillin" and "hanging out" in their free time with an eye to the future and put forth the effort to succeed. Many do not grasp the concept that what they do now impacts what they can do later.
That is not to say that we should not have compassion and generosity...we should. We should give to charitable organizations. But poverty is more than about money, it is about poor choices. Warren Buffett could give 100,000 dollars to 100,000 "poor" people and most will have squandered it within a short time. And government programs that just give money to people and destined to change few lives because they address only money....not education, not decision-making. THAT is why giving to charitable organizations that TEACH life skills is superior. Some of you will understand, some will not. For those that don't, let's just agree to disagree.
I'm going to go ahead and guess that if you were able to go into debt that you had parents who had good credit and could support you if things didn't work out. Stuff happens. What if you went into debt and couldn't finish school because of illness and you had no parents to help you? What then smart guy?
There is something seriously wrong with you if that is how you think lady.
I feel sorry for you, Sarah. It must be lonely being so self-centered and unfeeling. Not everyone can go into debt so they can get a fancy degree that's worth the paper it was printed on. Don't worry, there will always be poor people for you to look down on to make you feel better about yourself.
Sarah has every right to be mad. However, it's not the fault of those who are starving. They are doing as best as they can to survive. Just read my posts below and tell me what u think.
Are you certain that she had three kids AFTER they began experiencing hard times? I am not a welfare fan....not at all, but I will withhold making a judgment call based on the information presented in this story. I am living proof that (back in the late 70's) when my step father was laid off as a carpenter who made a good living, we were forced to have to eat butter noodles or bread for our dinner meal. My mother reluctantly had to get food stamps for a couple of months just so our stomachs would be full. We were doing ok before that, but the savings ran out quickly and jobs, like today, were scarce. Fortunately, this was a temporary fix and it was back to work and meat/potatoes. Be thankful that you are doing very well. My husband and children and doing great, and for that, I am very blessed.
A lot of people here clearly suffer from Empathy Insecurity.
lol, agreed.
There's no excuse for that nasty kitchen, that's just laziness. All it takes is a wet rag/sock, soap, and elbow grease to keep your family from living in filth.
To quote from the article "The kitchen is worn, but very clean." Dial back the self-righteousness and dial up basic reading comprehension.
Learn To Fish needs a new screen name...Learn To Read would better suit you.
While I have no problem with anyone using food stamps...I am a little perplexed. My husband and I spend $150.00 per week at the grocery store which gets us a lot of stuff, so I am not sure how $400.00 a month leaves you with pennies and little to no food.
$150 a week is $600 a month. She's getting $400 a month for her family, and you wonder why she has so little left? Could you cut your budget by 1/3 and eat well?
Could you feed a family of 5 on $100 a week? That's what some people face.
I was thinking the same thing, we spend on average $500 a month, and that usually includes a bunch of snacks and crap, i'm sure if we shopped just for meals, we could walk away spending $300 or less. $400 is more than enough, i'm confused as to why its not?
I also grew up in poverty and my dad spent $50 a week on food to feed 3 kids and him and mom, and we had dinner and breakfast everyday.
if not for giving billions of dollars every year to israel we would be able to feed our hungry people instead we are funding the iilegal jewish occupation in israel
Excuse me, but this is one of the reasons I'm against unnecessary warfare, aside from it being immoral. We spent a trillion dollars to kill brave young Americans and Iraqis unnecessarily in Iraq, and now there's no money for safety nets for the poor in this country and so indirectly many here will die as well, of hunger, unaffordable medical care, etc. We'll never know if what we achieved in Iraq (if anything) could have been achieved peacefully.
For all those bashing these people, I have a proposal. We will gladly pickup your share of the tab for supporting these programs, if would be willing to forfeit any future rights to any safety net program, and promise to eliminate yourselves should the need ever arise.
Noone's bashing the people it's the system. Didn't your mom ever tell you not to feed stray animals, once you start you own them for life, it's the same with our government. By the way, a ten pound bag of rice (healthy) is cheaper than a box of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls (Unhealthy)
Depends on the rice. White rice has been linked to diabetes, but I guess then you'll have an extra dollar to deal with it since you didn't buy the sweets.
America is the fattest nation on planet earth. Most of the obesity problem lies with the segment of the population that is unemployed so how are they getting so obese? There is so much opportunity in this country for free handouts, food stamps, WIC, salvation army, united way, etc, if you can't find food in this country maybe you should drop two or three of your cellular phone subscriptions and sell the XBox 360.
Cheap food is unhealthy food. Next.
Better unhealthy food than starving to death.
so eat less of it. It's called will power.
Ahnuld, it's not a matter of will power. Cheap carbs fill you up, but contribute to insulin resistance, and predispose you to obesity. Read up on it and don't judge.
your not going to get fat from unhealthy food unless you eat too much of it....too much food doesn't sound like hunger to me. Maybe they need to eat less and be educated as to what proper nutrition is.
the hell it is – stop with the lies
cheap food is generic pasta, potatoes, and making your own damn food instead of going to eat the fast food crap that plugs arteries and causes us to pay for bypasses for the poor
At least there is food. Next.
And P.S. if you were to show any individual in Africa this women and then tell them that she "goes hungry" they would crap themselves. She is over 200 lbs!
Yes, sounds harsh but true. There really are people barely making ends meet and hungry in this nation, but I have a hard time believing she is one of them. If her kids are going hungry then I know who's getting all the food.
"Yes, but the cheapest food is the most unhealthy food, that's why she's overweight." hmm, I lived in 3rd world countries where people lived off rice and whatever they could afford to put on it, none of them were as large as this lady (and rice is cheap).
If everyone who posted on here went straight to the Regional Food Bank website for your state and gave even a few bucks it would help.
No but that is a good point. Lets say that eventually every person in this world alive has an IQ of just enough to be able to feed themselves, how would They be able to move forward technologically. Too me that could be a way backwards. Currently we halt evolution by keeping people alive who should have past on. This way they would not have past on their genetics to their offspring. Obviously you can say that people who are disabled still can help society prosper such as Stephen Hawking. But there is plenty of shades of grey when it comes to the genetic formation of a brain. How does a weak genetic pool bring you a strong civilization?
A certain German dictator felt exactly the same way.
Like I said. It isn't pretty and I would not support it one bit. But you can't deny that it may impact our world greatly in the future or if not, has already.
Frederick the Great???? huh?
How about an "IQ of just enough" to know the difference between "passed on" and "past on". Past is not even a verb. DUH1
See that? If I was told to save the entire race through writing a paragraph and spelling everything correctly with perfect grammar, I would have accidentally killed us all!
Sorry Boymann, didn't meen to bait u.
This is such a load of crap. Everyone wants everyone else to help them with their shortcomings. Here's a thought....go out and make your life better! Or....don't have another kid when you can't afford the ones you have?! Everyone wants to point fingers at the government, from BOTH sides. One side is mad the government helps people (Even though they've had SOMEONE attached to them who's received some level of assistance because EVERYONE has).....and the other side is mad because its "not enough" help. What do you want them to do? Furnish you with a chef to prepare 3 round meals a day for your lazy, can't find a job ass? Its bad enough they fill your cupboards.....but you have to complain about WHAT they're filled with.
My mother taught me never to look a gift horse in the mouth. So if you get it for free....take it and shut the hell up. Or....go out and get a job like the rest of us "poor saps" and actually BUY the things you want, instead of waiting for someone to give it to you.
Let me just say....CNN....that if you want to strum the feeling strings of every American with a story about impoverished, hungry people......interviewing a 250lb woman with 3 kids and a chalk-full refrigerator isn't the best place to start. She's obviously eating SOMETHING! Whether its sugar infested, carb-filled, or Mc-fu*^kin-Donalds......she's eating. She's definitely not HUNGRY.
YEAH! What YUP said.
Couldn't have said it any better.
marry me 8 )
400 sounds like alot to me. Sometimes I'm lucky if I get to spend 150$ a month. I have a 4 year old and a husband I have been trying to support while waiting for his veterans disability to go through and it is tough being hungry! And especially hard to admit. I do the "food surfing" as she calls it. I have sometimes either just eaten a few leftover bites or gone without. Potato's go far and are cheap. I like to stock up on dry beans... And buy meat and stuff when it's on sale. I will go to multiple grocery stores for the sales and do whatever I can to try to make the ends meet and the money buy the most it can. But it is rough. It is stressful doing that and spending hours sometimes in the grocery store hunting down enough food for the money I have. I didn't realize it was so much until recently. My health has declined rapidly. A few years ago I never got sick. I'm always sick now. I worked 3 jobs for a while and still had this problem. And by doing that I didn't even qualify for food stamps, but yet still couldn't afford enough food for my family. Something seems wrong with that equasion. But God is good. And he has always supplied. I have never gone without being able to supply my son something to eat. And He has shown His love to me even more thought these times I have had to depend upon Him. My suggestion to those hungry. Pray, read God's word, Follow His direction. And He WILL take care of you! God took care of my husbands disability... it is starting to come through next month thank GOD! HE got us though this time period!!!
Thank Bush and the GOP for stealing a few billions during their term.
I'm sick of hearing people whine about what they don't have. This is America, I could think of about a thousand different ways to make enough money in her situation. I was born in poverty, spent my whole life there, but I'm now 23 with a Bachelor's Degree and half way through my Masters Degree. If you have the will to believe in yourself this is still the land of the free. Too many people think that they should be given things, work for it!
I am interested in how you paid for your education. At 23 you sure sound like you have all of the answers. I hope your luck continues.
Calling people "fatties" is not going to be the solution and these obese people are not the reason our country is in the crapper. We seem to be self centered and no longer care for our neighbors, and that's truley sad....and remember "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"
It makes me sad to see people like this knowing there are companies out there that throw away food instead of giving it to people needing help. For example CVS Pharmacy throws away food that's getting ready to expire they say there not "allowed" to give it away! I dont believe it!!!!!
It makes sense. If they gave away food that is about to spoil and someone gets sick, they could sue CVS and win. You should thank pathetic law suits for making companies not wanting to do the right thing.
A "best if used by" or expiration date does not mean the food is going to spoil at that date. There's a buffer of a few days to a week depending on the food.
Yes, you can thank the lawyers and the litigious society they've created. That is exactly why more places don't donate food, it opens them to lawsuits.
Moral of the story is definitely don't have kids if you can't truly afford it and definitely not in your early 20s. Most people I know who are doing okay have kids well into their early 30s when they have a career and have a support system (parents or relatives) that they can depend on. I am employed and I can't even imagine being a parent in my early 20s when I barely started working.
I disagree with your theory. You can't predict what the future will bring, and even if someone can "afford" a child today doesn't mean that down the road their lives will be turned upside down and all of that stability will be gone. My mom and dad had me when they were in their late 20's, both had good jobs and plenty to support me. They then had my brother in their early 30's, again good job, nice home, and financial security. My dad left my mom, and with no family support she had to quit her job and move us cross country to be closer to her family. Time were tough for awhile and I remember many nights where she didn't eat dinner so that my brother and I could. She wasn't eligible for food stamps because our only vehicle was worth too much money, even though my father was the one paying for it. Did she know when she had me that this would happen? Not in a million years could she foresee these events. She worked hard, and eventually found another good job that pulled us out of the slump we were in. If it weren't for her education and experience as a chemist we might never have recovered.
You can wait until your 40 to have kids, and you can think you are the most financially secure person in your neighborhood, but the reality is you never know what the future brings. So before you judge people on their choices you may want to stop and think through the possibilities.
So do you support Planned Parenthood? Or are you one of those who pickets women's clinics and then berates them for having children they can't afford?
Yeah, the "War on Poverty" worked so well...
"Socialism" seems to be a dirty word here in America but the fact remains that in the UK/Europe no one goes hungry like this and everyone gets a place to live. Don't like socialism? Fine – how would you – are we – going to take care of one another in America?
What part of the UK/Europe are you refering too? There are lots of people in the UK/Europe that go with out food daily! Get a clue Europe is not perefect.
I lived in various parts of Europe for 10 years and my spouse is english. I am very familiar with how the poor live there and there are social programs to feed and house people which would eliminate the kind of situations that this article speaks of. No, europe is not perfect, but perhaps we can learn from them on some levels how to address poverty and care for one another on a greater scale. The American attitude of "poor people just need to work harder – get it together folks!" doesn't seem to be addressing the issue. If you have some creative ideas on how to address poverty then please suggest them.
get a job. if you can't, move to europe
wow you are arrogant, you mean the 12% of unemployed people should move to the UK?
Right. And without a job, how do you afford to move to Europe?
She probably shops at publix that place is so expensive there website they tell you to go to for coupons is terrible.
I really hope I'm not feeling sorry for another "completely broke" individual who still manages to smoke a pack or two a day.
Come on sister there is NO REASON for that kitchen to be SO NASTY ! How do you compare being poor to letting your children live in FILTH !! I am the tenth of ten children and my father died when I was three months old and we were VERY POOR, I remember being so hungry as a little kid and having ONLY coffee-mate in the house and eating that but we were NEVER NASTY.
Glad to see other people posting here that lived through difficult times with dignity.
Yeah, I don't really get what a dirty kitchen has to do with not having enough food.
Sad, but there are way more people who abuse the foodstamp system. I hope the reporter is not suggesting that the government throw more money at this problem. Maybe if young people see that life is difficult when they have children they can't afford they will wait until they are in a stable relationship with a family worthy income. This country needs to stop depending on the government. There are charities out there for people who find themselves in the occasional bind, but most recipients I've seen are on foodstamps for long periods of time if not generationally.
how about we stop throwing money at FOREIGN nations too?
And money doesn't appear in charity groups magically. How much have you given to your local food bank, and how recently?
A sad story that raises a lot of questions. Where are the grandparents here, and why aren't they able to help out? Where are the dads of some of these hungry children? And why, in an era where upwardly mobile people are delaying childbearing, are people with few evident job skills having so many children at a young age? And most of all, why, decade after decade, does media coverage of hunger and poverty almost never address these issues?
It seems to be a generational mindset from what I see. Some of these people beleive that if they just have children the government will take care of them because we all have a soft spot in our hearts for children. The people who go through my register treat their children like meal tickets. I know it sounds cruel but we need to stop giving them handouts. It is the only way to stop the cycle. I'm not saying starve the kids, let's require the parents to perform some sort of community service. They need to earn what they receive. When the next generation realizes that there are no "free lunches" maybe they will think twice about quitting highschool to start a family.
Where are the Fathers? I will tell you... my father went to jail after trying to kill my mother. From what I heard at the divorce hearing they only required him to pay $20/wk in child support. My Mom was a high school drop out but got her degree in 5 years. He stopped paying after 10 months and that was the last time he saw me. I got married had a child and was abused as well. The court 20 years later only required hmy huband to pay $40/week to help me with our son. He left after he thought that was too much to pay for a 2 year olds care. He disappeared after they garnished his wages. I got a job as a cashier and worked my way through college as well. That was 20 years ago and my son has not seen his father. I dont know who to blame more the men in and out our lives or the faulty criminal and family court system.
The first question that pops into my mind when I hear these kinds of stories is why are you having so many kids you can't feed? I know this may seem common sense, but it truly intrigues me how one can't have the self control and sense to know that more kids perpetuates the problem. And second, buying and feeding your kids garbage food, like frozen chicken strips, is also disastrous for their health AND your limited budget. Buy fresh produce and meats, and COOK healthy simple meals for your family using basic staples like rice or beans- produce and staples don't cost alot and there is LOADS you can do with them if you take the time to figure it out. I just don't relate to those that don't TRY.
And I don't relate to people that judge. How dare you. You don't know their situations. Most families I know with little kids were upper middle class, had savings and didn't go buy all the expensive toys. They COULD afford to feed their kids. But because the economy tanked so did their jobs and their kids are going hungry. Not everyone is popping out kids with no money or way to feed them. Not everyone is out buy junk food to feed their kids. But the media and Hollywood perpetuate that stereotype so that judgmental people like YOU keep repeating it so everyone will believe it. Do some fact checking before you judge people. Better yet, quit being so arrogant to think you have the right to judge people.
I don't live in Hollywood. I live in rural Pennsylvania. I watch these people go through my line at the grocery store. I wait on them month after month as they choose junk food and pay for it with our tax dollars. A lot of these moms have multiple tatoos, piercings, designer clothes and hand bags, and the latest cell phone. They smell like cigarettes and sometimes alcohol. Meanwhile they drag along their poor little skinny, dirty,vacant eyed children. (Like the couple who bought 24 cases of soda and almost no actual food, or the lady who couldn't come up with enough cash to buy her toilet paper beause she had just been to the State (liquor) Store.) I know there are honest people out there who need help, but they are in the minority. Don't tell me I am stereotyping when I see it month after month.
Your dribbling blood all over your sleeves. Might wanna clean that up.
Oh hi Mom- hows that bleeding heart treatin yah? OPEN YOUR EYES. I grew up in a town where half the population (that's being modest) supported themsevles with food stamps and government assitance- you know why? CAUSE THEY COULD. No regulations, no oversite to make sure they were getting the proper building blocks to eventually succeed and get OFF assistance- and they abused it. 'STEREOTYPES' come from FACTS. Don't tell me not to judge when this woman is opening her fridge and has loads of unhealthy preprocessed GARBAGE in her fridge- and she's over 200 lbs! Is the government agency paying her also giving her classes on cooking healthy and cheap meals? NO. This is what happens when we throw money at problems, they don't get solved, they get WORSE. I'll go ahead and stop judging when my hard earned tax dollars stop perpetuating problems & start creating solutions.
Well Lara, you apparently did not read this article. She is managing the best she can, and she is TRYING. She clips coupons and purchases the food that has the lowest price. I don't know where you shop, but here in the Southeast, processed foods are the cheapest to manage. Your seem to be very familiar with this person's life and know how she came to the circumstances she is facing......otherwise you wouldn't have made such a harsh comment. Times are tough for most of us. I agree that healthy foods are the way to go, but when a head of lettuce is 2.50 and a box of mac n cheese is 79 cents, a lot of folks opt for the macaroni. You must be very blessed that you can afford to eat well and your financial status is satisfactory. Be thankful, I know I am.
$2.50 for a head of lettuce?! Is your laced with gold?
Welcome to the real world, you work and still struggle. At least you are working. A lot of times I realize I'm not going to have enough to eat. So you know what I do? Work more. This country was founded on hard work, struggle, and suffering. Get over it and make it happen.
You, are an idiot. We have extreme poverty and hunger in this country. It is fueled by Global Resourcing, Greed, And apathy, much like you exhibit here. For those that have never been hungry, it seems like a myth. We are living in the US of A, right? This doesn't happen here. Well, you are very wrong. Especially now that many have lost their homes, jobs, and everything else they owned to Wall Street greed. Apathy is a killer. And I think our country is terminal from this dreaded disease.
Three kids!!!!!!!!!! Why do they have three kids when they don't have enough to feed themselves????
I know you're not the only person who has asked this, but I have to say, it's a really, really stupid question. As if hindsight was something useful!
A little late to question that, don't you think? Or perhaps, are you advocating that their kids should be taken from them? Serious question.
Right. And what happens if you have a nice tidy family and three kids and a good job and then your job is outsourced to India? Have you seen the unemployment rate recently? The three kids you had when you had a good job don't just go away when you're unemployed.
YAHOOOO FRED! I COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER
Yeah, you're cheering for a guy who doesn't know the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Not sure I'd throw my endorsement behind that...
C'mon, $400 a month can't feed a "waif-like" woman with 2 sons? She must be in need of some serious classroom instruction in shopping and nutrition. Surely this woman is not feeding sons who are 6 ft tall, and if they are, they need to get part-time jobs! Honestly, if she can't make $400 go further, she does need to educate herself.
I really wish we were all as smart as you are. Congratulations on having it all together. Have you considered running for Congress? The presidency?
Was thinking the same thing, the government gives away $$$ with no help, no conditions. How can some in need of help get it, becaue they may not know they could do better? They should make classes mandatory before you get the $$$.
How can you NOT have a job? Every day the newspapaer ahve dozens of jobs listed. The job websites have thousands of low-, middle-, and high-paying jobs in EVERY location in the USA in EVERY field of work at all training/experience levels. ANYBODY WHO says they CANNOT FIND A JOB IS FULL OF BS !! You're not looking or don't care and want sympathy and govt money. WELL F-U. I am NOT giving you lazy pukes my tax money.. Articles like this make me insane. !! I am mad as Hell and I am NOT going to take it anymore.! Stop govt handouts.
Exactly. I have changed jobs 3 times in last 3 years. All moving up in payscale, because there was the opening for it. Admit it some of these people are really really dumb or lazy. My uncle sits on his fat ass cause he says he get's paid enough to not work. What a joke. Get a f*ck*n job.
Have you ever been un- or underemployed, Fred? Have you ever applied for HUNDREDS of jobs and been rejected from all of them? Have you ever felt an iota of human emotion? Perhaps one day you will suffer and I hope, for your sake, that people are kinder to you than you are to others.
I have been the druggie loser type and I have been the industrious worker type.
News flash: Just because Fred doesn't understand how stupid people can stay stupid does not mean he has no compassion or human emotion.
Also, your bleeding heart is showing. People starve, people die. Nothing will ever stop that. I have starved. I know what it is like. I learned an important lesson from it. Do NOT depend on others and maybe as well, try not to whine because desperation and whininess do not elicit sympathy from most people. Human nature libtard.
I'm hungry, think I will go home from work (which I hate) and get something to eat with the money I earned.
So by that rational, there are roughly 15.5 million people in this country who are full of BS. If that's actually the case Fred, we have much bigger problems.
Sadly, it's not ~ you're just completely out of touch with reality. I mean seriously, you still say "WINNING!!!!"?
Did you not read? The first woman has 2 jobs. NOT ONE, BUT TWO!!! So obviously these jobs pay so low that her family still can't eat. Crap happens! Not everyone is looking for a handout, you Tea Party low life!! May you never know the fear these women feel.
Man, reading libs on blogs makes me so ashamed. I used to be one of you, pathetic, whiney, thinking we allneed to hold hands and save the world.
You people are so out of touch with how the world works, has worked, and will keep working for all eternity. Even after this planet is supernova vapor, the universe will continue forward on its relentless path.
Why do you libtards think you can do anything about it? Why do you want to change things so much? Do you really think that you can control even 98 percent of what is going on around you?
I have lived on the street, I was only about 2 percent more in danger than I am in my house.
So sick of you people thinking you can alter human nature and mother nature to suit your sad lil' wooo is me hearts.
Life sucks most of the time, deal with it, take care of your own and eat everyone else.
sheeeesh. I am out of here, feeling vomity with all the pathetic libs being so libby.
David, you are the one who is sick. Go be 'vomity 'somewhere else.
Liutgard, I am well aware of my sick mind. After all, I grew up in America, the land of oxymorons.
Funny thing is, I was raised upper middle class and was a very sweet lil' boy, skinny, considerate.
The bad people in life taught me to toughen up and I did. Thank you bullies and thugs for showing me that weakness is weakness and gets what it has coming. Now I am the predator and although I have to use drugs to soothe my guilty conscience I eat well and no one takes anything from me anymore.
life is a btch homes, best to join her than take itup the keester.
Just because jobs are posted does not guarantee you're going to get it. My best friend applied every day for a year just to finally get a job that pays slightly above minimum wage. My mother is very highly qualified, but she's been trying for 6 months. Some say she's over-qualified, for others, she's too old. I know there are lazy people who just don't try, but there are plenty of others trying very hard to make ends meet. When there are dozens of people applying for every job, that's bound to happen.
When there are more people looking for work than there are jobs available, there will be some people without work irrespective of how hard they try to find a job. I know some talented people who have applied for many, many jobs and have not even gotten a single reply. Small businesses require money to start and they fail most of the time. It's easy to sit at home and criticize people in these situations...sometimes people are fools and bring misfortune onto themselves but most people really do want to participate in society and work to earn money. Irrespective of what you may have heard, we are not all created equal...some people are born into bad situations for no fault of their own. When the private sector fails to meet the needs of our society, we have to use government to make life better for all of us.
@Fred: Can you tell where those jobs are. I have been helping a few folks to find jobs and have bought many news papers. When I called several employers who put adds on paper or on their displays, they said they are not hiring. May be those employers are in a game to steal money from government by advertising jobs they don't have.
Yeah, and for every "help wanted" ad, how many applicants are there? A few months ago, McDonalds hired 50,000 people.
They received millions of applications.
It's so nice to know that there are still a few perfect people out there. I was starting to get worried.
Wow. This is probably one of the most ridiculous comments I have ever read. I work in HR and I can say when we advertise a job, I get resumes from more than 200 people in 2 days. More than 80% of those are unemployed or underemployed. I guess we should all be as lucky as you and the folks that live in your world.
YES, stop government handouts to FOREIGN nations too while you are at it.
...and that explains the 9% unemployment right. People just don't want to work..Right.
It's not that people aren't trying to find work WTEFF, it's that employers cannot find qualified workers. There are plenty of jobs out there.
they could be holding out for a management position like cousin eddie in the vacation movies....
I hate hearing :this country needs to change. The government needs to help!" The government is the problem. Relying on them is what cause poverty in the first place. Open you liberal eyes people, Try thinking for yourself and working for what you get and life will get better. Oh and since when is life suppose to be easy? Life sucks, you are the only one who can help yourself.
The right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.. That's it! That's all that is guaranteed. Nobody ever said it comes from laying on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign begging. Get a job you lazy slob. STOP ALL GOVT handouts NOW. No money, no more people sitting around watching Oprah waiting for my tax money in their mailbox.
Let me guess–you're receiving social security and/or medicare, right?
Fred, you DO realize our nation was founded upon a lot more than just a 7 word phrase contained in the Declaration of Independence, right? Ridiculous.
Also, fred, one measure of a civilized society is how it treats its less fortunate. If you don't like living in a civilized society, nobody is blocking the door...
Sorry...I just can't stop. I cannot believe fred actually thinks that our rights as citizens were set forth in the Declaration of Independence. WRONG DOCUMENT, FRED. If anything this is proof that we need to increase the taxes put towards education.
"Get a job?" Sure! Will you hire me, please?
12 jobs in the newspaper . . . 12,000 applicants.
Then you have people on food stamps driving Escalades...
then you have morons making up stories..
No he's not. I've seen it in some of the best guberment housing.
So not true, come to corpus christi texas. Watch the women buy all their food for their rather large families with the loan star card (welfare) and then load it all up in a brand new Tahoe, or Humvee, or whatever.
I especially like the 5000 dollar spinner rims.
I would explain further, but libtards dont really want answers, they want nature to adapt to them instead of the other way around. When the coming civil war arrives in America, me and my kind will steal everything you have and either eat you or sell you to a rival gang (that we cant subdue and might was well trade with) as a s e x slave.
Actually, who cares what they do with you as long as we get whatever we wanted for you.
Wow David in Corpus, you are a poster boy for everything that's wrong with this country/world. The US used to be great, but now is filled with selfish, greedy compassionless people like you who only care about what they can get from a situation. Is Somalia really your idea of paradise? It's dog-eat-dog in the extreme...that seems to be what you and 'people' (I use that term loosely) like you seem to want America to become...
Alissa, I tried the do gooder route for a long time girl.
I am a product. i don't like what is happening to the country. I don't want any of us to live in somalia or suffer.
It is just the way it is girl. I dont control it, I just adapt and I have adapted well. You wouldn't know it by looking but in real life me and my buddies look like all the other respectable people. Real gangers dont spray paint walls and wear their pants low. They work day jobs and help lil' ole' ladies change flat tires. When we are in the mood that is.
I suggest you do some adapting too.
I recommend a 40 calibre Taurus, cheap and reliable. Make sure you ahve at least 2000 rounds of ammo. A pump 12 gauge shotgun is a nice accessory as well. Become familiar with these weapons, play with them (unloaded), get used to how they feel, make them an extension of your body and you will kill instead of being killed. dont register them either.
BTW, being ra ped in prison sucks. Try makin me feel better about that, it will never happen. I have had more evil pumped up me than can be imagined and you wonder why I am the way I am.
Well David, I'm surely not interested in getting in an argument with you...you seem to have issues. Anyway I am a gun owner and believe in the right to bear arms. On the other hand I'm 'liberal' in my philosophy about life because liberal ideology resonates with me as a woman and a mother. And I'm not trying to pigeonhole anyone by saying this but I've heard the same 'life is hard and its about to get a lot harder' type stuff being said primarily by males who seem to be wishing for society to crash and burn so they can finally do what they've always wanted to do...which seems to be raping, pillaging and generally dominating anyone who is weaker. Apparently law in order is the only thing standing in their way. Whereas a woman/mother sees that if her neighborhood isn't a safe place for your child then its not a safe place for her child either, and works to expand values such as love, compassion, caring and trust so that all children can thrive.
Interesting you should mention prison rape...to me that is the ultimate endgame...where you throw a bunch of hardened criminals together and they can only hurt and humiliate each other. That's why I don't believe in your dog eat dog philosophy. It doesn't have to be that way. People can and do perform acts of kindness for no reason except that they care about others and that's the world I want to live in.
On the other hand I'm not stupid so I also have a gun. But I worry more about my son playing with it than the fact that I may someday need to use it. Fortunately here in liberal northern CA there is little crime and people tend to help each other out a lot.
Billy, please provide a referenced statistic for how many people on food stamps drive recent-model luxury vehicles. If you cannot, you concede that you are wrong. And even if you can, if that percentage is not a majority, you're still wrong.
Who is going to publish a stat on that? If they did the working people would really be po'ed. So Billy wins. Now go out and earn your keep!
My gangster buddies (I have a reputable job now, but still hang wtih them) love it when I tell them about these blogs. They tease me and call me school boy and such but they really love hearing this stuff. They make jokes about how uneducated they are yet they are still smarter (street smarts) than the average do gooder american. They laugh at people like you and steal from you and sell you overpriced drugs and fk your daughters when you are asleep at nite.
Y'all really have no idea what it is like out there. You have no idea how they use you and detest you. Sorry bro can give you any real statistics. There are none, and of course that makes him soooooooo wrong and you sooooooo right.
Actually mike, I haven't seen it, but my wife has told me of times she's been at the store and a family is buying all their food on food stamps and she feels bad for them only to walk out and see them putting their food stamp groceries into a brand new Cadillac.
I see what billy is saying. This system is one of the most abused in America. It sucks because people like this could be able to get the food stamps that is sufficient for their families ifmoney wasn't being abused. Medicaide should be looked at intensely and filtered through so that people don't go hungry in the U.S. I still hate socialism.
hey i have an idea what do you say we take half the money going into the prison system out of the prison system and give it to the poor and down troden instead of letting criminals live better then the woman working 4 jobs to feed her kids. At least she's working and not going to get out of jail just to turn around and go back to jail!
i couldn't agree more! i work in a prison, and trust me they live VERY well. 3 big meals a day, commissary every day (a store with NICE, name brand food), flat screen TV's. i don't even have a flat screen TV. it's horrific how well they live.
I agree. Prisoners who have done the most horrendous murders have it better in terms of food, medical care and sometimes even safety, than the working poor people on the treadmill. No wonder so many young 'uns are choosing crime. If you don't get shot, there really is not a losing side to it. Losing their freedom isn't a big deal when there wasn't much to lose, is the way they think, and if there's not much hope of getting ahead as a low level worker bee, they may be right.
$400.00 a month in FOOD STAMPS AND THEY CANT MAKE THAT DO
SERIOUSLY
I love to eat and I love to cook EXPENSIVE FOOD and even I could survive on $400 a month with a few cut backs
WHATEVER
STOP SMOKING – STOP DRINKING – STOP EATING SO MUCH
Read the article, dummy: "Even families receiving the maximum amount of food stamps still need about $206 more every month to buy the minimum amount of food as defined by the USDA." I'm pretty sure the USDA knows more about this than you do. But whatever, blame the poor! Keep beating the drum of class warfare, GOPers, even as you accuse everyone else of the same.
WRONG. The USDA doesn't clip coupons and shop at Fairway and Costco. $400 feeds my family of 4 including paper goods and tioletries.
fred, feeding your family only costs $3.33 per person per day? You're either a freaking liar, or you're feeding them garbage, or you're not counting school lunches. Seriously, you're full of it.
Dude, many poor neighborhoods are in 'food deserts'- areas where there's no grocery stores, just fast food and convenience stores. There aren't Costcos in every town, and a Costco card costs money. I have also noticed that most coupons available are for processed foods- expensive stuff with low nutritional value. If you want the latest cookies and chips or boxed meals, there's coupons. But there's no coupons for good potatoes, lettuce, and quality meat. Macaroni and cheese and soda is not a healthy diet.
They are talking about a family of four living on $400.00 a month for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you think you can do that come auditon with your family to a new reality show coming up soon where you will be given $450.00 a month to live with your family of four for six months.
It really depends on where you live. $400 may go a long way in Missouri, but in California or New York it barely covers the basics. Also, when a mother is working long hours she doesn't have time to cook and has to rely on more expensive packaged foods.
I have a family of 4 and live off of 70 bucks a week in groceries. We buy bulk rice, pasta when it is on sale for 80 cents a box. We buy frozen veggies when they are on sale for 1.99. So yes you can live with 400 a month. Man there are a bunch of people on here with no common sense. We only buy chicken when it is 69 cents a pound for a whole chicken. Here is a meal: whole chicken 3 dollars, bag of corn, 1.99, and french bread $1. Dinner: 5.99 for 4 people. Kids have PB and J for lunch with crackers, and water. Oh yeah that probably costs about 1 dollar. There must be spoiled a$$ people on these forums.
Wow, they do a report about hunger and yet they show a 250+lb lady with multiple kids. Another example why people shouldn't have kids they can't afford.
I was thinking the same thing!! Quit eating your kids portion of food too! Damn!
Here's a crazy thought: maybe she could have afforded them at the time, and then hit a rough patch? I know, I know...these revelations just come to me...I must have some kind of uber-mind...
Honestly the fact that so few people realize this is quite disturbing. I guess these people would rather no one have kids on the chance that you might not be able to afford one someday.
Oh stop the fat bashing, part of the reason poor people are overweight is because fatty food is cheaper than healthy food.
So, if she would just shut her piehole and live off the stored fat she can go months without eating her kids food! She'll get healthy and her kids will be fed. It's a WIN-WIN ! WINNING !!
Charlie Sheen reference? Really? Move on.
Another misconception... the CHEAP food is the MOST CALORIE DENSE food. She can't afford to go shopping at the local Whole Foods or some other organic foods place for yuppies and pay $4 for a bag of organic soy chips. Poverty and obesity go hand in hand. she probably hits the dollar menu items and McD's. Man, you people are really judgemental. you must be rich republicans.
First lady is DEFINITELY eating enough, and the third one bad.
It seems like a contridiction that 1/3 of America is obese, 1/3 is overweight, and they say the other 1/3 is starving? Where's the healthy people. I see them out there. Seems like that fatties should fork over some of their gravy.
yeah this story should be told to young people who don't bother with birth control. but these young people don't read
the news or consider this important information, thereby creating the cycle of poverty. and yes, most stories I hear
regarding poverty and hunger involve people who have too many children. just a cycle of ignorance.
Her body habitus suggests she has had more than enough to eat.
maybe shes just pregnant again.
Or maybe she only eats high sugar, high carb foods (cheaper food is high in carbs, fat, sugar, etc). Just because a person doesn't look thin, doesn't mean they are not undernourished. What happened to the compassion in this country?
I ask that every time I look at comments on this website. Blame the victim, ignore their circumstances, and attack programs meant to make things better. It's a sad state of affairs.
Umm.....actually, if you've ever seen people in third world countries that are truly starving you will notice that NONE of them have body fat...none of them look like they've been eating well and you can see the persons ribs and other bones in detail....looks are not deceiving here....that woman in the video must be eating just fine or her family just recently had to start eating less because she is FAT....which means she is eating just fine
There's a difference between starving and malnourished. If you had a bowl of rice for every single meal you would not be starving but you would be malnourished. Furthermore when you become malnourished your body starts storing fat instead of losing it. I don't understand why people don't get this. I learned this in high school.
How's about thinking about what her diet consists of? HFCS is in almost every low-grade food or drink in America. Unlike regular sugar, HFCS is almost completely converted to fat by your liver immediately. That's without noting the fact that its a liquid-base which isnt as easily metabolized as solid HFCS, it doesnt stimulate insulin secretion and raises your triglyceride levels dramatically. There's a reason why we're a fat nation and it hardly has to do with how much we eat.
Excuse me, Jen, but it is widely known that inexpensive, processed, boxed foods contain lower levels of nutrition, higher levels of fat, salt, sugar, and refined, unhealthy carbohydrates than fresh produce, lean protein, and whole grains. Perhaps instead of hating this woman for what you perceive are her shortcomings, you ought to excavate yourself and find out why you feel the need to malign her for trying to do the best she can. Shame on you.
Wrong – processed foods are not "inexpensive" as you claim, but actually very expensive. It is far cheaper to buy bulk brown rice, beans, green veggies, oatmeal, etc. but some people are just too lazy to cook healthy food. It is actually much more affordable, it just takes some effort. It is a lazy myth that fast food or processed food are "cheaper." Actually, it is much cheaper to eat a healthy diet, if you can make the effort to cook.
Dee......were you not hugged enough as a child .....you are one hateful bi*ch.
We are broadening the tax base so we are going to have to take 20% of that can of beans son.
Oh please. Take your Rush/Beck crackpot economic theories elsewhere whackjob.
Guess someone isn't good at detecting a joke.
You are missing the point. No one said that there aren't more difficult situations out there, but these stories still deserve to be told. Changes need to be made in our country; this shouldnt be happening in America. & unless you have been through this daily struggle, you have no reason to judge someone that is stepping up & trying to make a difference.
Make a difference and, put your tme and money into society. I grew up in household with domestic violence. and hunger. I have every right to judge.
Nobody has a "right" to judge anyone else. It is terrible that you suffered hunger and abuse in your life, and I honestly wish that you had never been put through those terrible things. I just don't think that permits you to say that someone else who is struggling has not suffered "enough" to be worthy of sympathy .
Really AllThatGlitters21? You are telling me you don't ever judge people? I say you are a lier. It's human nature to judge, it's civility to restrain yourself from expressing your judgment, and it's called hate when you don't. Wanna be hippy.
Tiffany, growing up in one is not the same as managing one.
I worked with with a secretary from the phillipines. She is an arrogrant selfish woman. Her parents are doctors in the phillipines and she lets evyone know how important she is. She lives like someone who earned a six figure salary. Her daughter was married in Belize at alavish resort and her mom paid for her wedding and her friends.
True poverty in america is not the mother with the roach infested kitchen that she keeps clean. The mother who lives in the shelter with no apartment. Her face has been torn apart by a man who keeps beating her til she has no skin that is not bruised. Her kidz only meals are when they are in school. She works four jobs wiping floor and eats in a soup kitchen. Put her in your headlines.
what has this article anything to do with your narration of Filipino story
She's showing everyone how judgemental she can be.
Maybe she should no longer stay with the man who "keeps beating her".
OK, Tiffany. Do you also whine when they report the local storm, even though there was a tornado somewhere else?
This is an utter travesty. Is there any suggestions on which charities are the best about seeing that the food goes straight to those who need it the most? Please advise if so.
Give the Salvation Army a call I'm sure they take food year round and distribute it locally to the needy
There is something we can do, and free food and charity is not the answer. What is the answer is far too dark for humans to even consider. However if we dont consider it, we will never be able to move forward as a human race.
Otherwise, we could start with improving our school systems and properly motivate and educate our kids. If that cant help, at least its a start. Without a good education and environmental guidance, it must be very hard for a person to live in a society such as our current one.
Hey, yup, if you're "dark" proposal was either to let them die or enact eugenics, you're proposing the opposite of "moving forward" as a civilized society. You're proposing the embracing of returning to the dark ages.
No, but that is a good point. Lets say that eventually every person in this world alive has an IQ of just enough to be able to feed themselves, how would They be able to move forward technologically. Too me that could be a way backwards. Currently we halt evolution by keeping people alive who should have past on. This way they would not have past on their genetics to their offspring. Obviously you can say that people who are disabled still can help society prosper such as Stephen Hawking. But there is plenty of shades of grey when it comes to the genetic formation of a brain. How does a weak genetic pool bring you a strong civilization?
To make a comment like this on a story about hunger.... wow. Let me enlighten you to a little psychology. In the same way that your typical white supremisist is usually of below-average intelligence, feels frustrated most of the time, and forms an entire personality around constant feelings of inferiority, you too share that sad attempt to elevate yourself by degrading others. In your case it's the entire human species–to even hint at the notion that YOU know what needs to be done to advance the specied..... it is so freakin pathetic I seriously don't think you will ever understand. And the fact that you have no sympathy or compassion for millions of people who live with food insecurity just makes you a complete, total, worthless d-bag who is so underdeveloped that I really hope people keep you away from the impressionable young minds of children.
Jason, you are a horrid little man. Why must you be so racist? I'm about sick of hearing BS about white people. You don't know me, you don't know how I live or what I think...why must you disparage my race? Nasty, nasty little man...so typical of people named Jason who are usually of below-average intelligence, feels frustrated most of the time, and forms an entire personality around constant feelings of inferiority, you too share that sad attempt to elevate yourself by degrading others...Jason!
Truth hurts Jason. Sorry you can't understand it. The way that you might think 'hand outs' are the way to go in society, is what's going to destroy us all. Sorry you can't see that far ahead. As for the compassion for people. Just because I am pointing out what will happen if we continue on this path, does not mean I do not have compassion. In fact it's quite the opposite. I would love to find a good solution wouldn't you? Seems like you just want to spit pointless hate from your mind. I'm sure all of us would love to hear a possible solution that you might have if you could just relax and leave your emotions aside.