Hilo
Earn your food stamps
Recent headlines included, “Move will allow $500K from disaster fund to be used to feed hungry” and “State sours on soda tax.”
I have no doubt there are many on our island who don’t have enough money to purchase all their food, but I really have a problem with all the times I’ve been behind someone in the checkout line and seen them use food stamps, then pull out cash to pay for their cigarettes and alcohol.
If they have money available to buy cigarettes and alcohol, are they really so poor they need food stamps? Oftentimes they use those food stamps to buy a lot of junk food and snacks. Meanwhile, there are many working people who can’t afford to waste their income on such non-nutritious treats — me included. That’s just not right! And if a tax is ever initiated on soda, it’s not the people using food stamps who will pay that tax. It’s us taxpayers.
Change it so food stamps aren’t allowed to go towards purchasing soda and chips and candy. Instead, ensure those funds go towards nutritious items like rice and beans, which go a long way toward feeding hungry people, along with fruits, veggies, milk and bread.
I’ve been behind people and seen them buying steaks and lobster with food stamps! And, no, it’s not my practice to closely watch how people pay for their purchases, but when I see they have their purchases divided into two piles — and one pile is alcohol and cigarettes — yes, I glance at the cash register and see they’re paying with food stamps, and it makes me really mad.
If you smoke a pack a day, isn’t that nearly $300 a month? That’s nearly my whole monthly food budget!
Since many of them aren’t working, why can’t our community create huge gardens where they’re required to put in time, then they can go home with a box full of produce? They can help tend to chickens and take home a carton of eggs.
At the same time, they can get their rice and beans. They follow through on this, and they earn some credit toward their food stamp account — essentially working to feed themselves.
Many of us work hard at our jobs and so don’t waste the money we earn. If they had to earn it, I truly believe food stamp recipients would not abuse their allowance like many do at grocery and convenience stores.
A tsunami hitting us hard is a true disaster; people on welfare not being able to get their junk food fix is not. As many food stamp recipients have plenty of spare time, make them get, prepare and eat more nutritious staples and less junk food, thus allowing us to save our disaster funds.
Now that’s a headline I would be absolutely thrilled to read!
Mel Holden
Hilo