I deeply hate this stunted mindset ~ yes, demographics matter ~ but even in the best of circumstances, it can be VERY difficult [and often impossible] to buy a week's groceries that includes fresh fruit/veggies and dairy on $31.50 per week ~ I virtually always spend more than that unless I'm using the stocked up foods in my freezer ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

Congressman Claims People Struggling To Survive On Food Stamps Are ‘Intentionally Buying Overpriced Food’
By Igor Volsky on Jun 19, 2013 at 9:09 am

Conservative firebrand Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) argued in a press release on Tuesday that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides cushy benefits to recipients and accused Democrats protesting proposed cuts of engaging in a “left-wing publicity stunt intended to make it appear proposed cuts to food stamps would leave families unable to feed themselves.”

On Friday, the Senate advanced a farm bill that would take $4 billion out of SNAP and the House is considering cutting the program by 2.5 percent and leaving some two million families without food assistance. In response, more than 26 members of Congress are taking the “SNAP Challenge,” living off a food stamp budget for a week to draw attention to the inadequacy of the average benefit of $4.50 per day. Forty-seven million Americans are currently enrolled in the program.

But an aide in Stockman’s office claims to have “debunked” their effort and is accusing Democrats of “intentionally buying overpriced food and shopping at high-priced chains to make it appear the cuts go too far”:


Stockman’s office appears to misunderstand the challenge. Rather than impulsively buying food, participants plan for nutritious meals, akin to actual families enrolled in the program. And with the average cost of food at home far exceeding the SNAP Challenge allotment, families often struggle to afford meals.

A study published earlier this year by the Institute of Medicine found that “low-income and minority populations are more likely than other groups to experience limited access to supermarkets and other large retail outlets” These families also lack the transportation to access quality food and don’t have “sufficient time to produce healthy meals from scratch.” Since food prices vary across the nation, “SNAP participants who live in locales with higher food prices find it difficult to meet their needs with the current benefit,” the IOM concluded.

Indeed, as Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) — one of the members participating in the challenge — pointed out, “When I was a young, single mother, I was on public assistance. It was a bridge over troubled water, and without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” “I spent hours debating what to buy and what to skip, all the while keeping my sons in my mind,” she wrote.

The latest poverty data show that SNAP lifted 4.7 million households out of poverty in 2011.

Update: Ferguson confirmed to ThinkProgress that he is only eating the food he bought and is “feeling great” and has even gained two pounds. “As for criticism, liberals issued a challenge and I took them up on it,” he said. “It’s not my fault it backfired on them. Reality has a way of mocking liberalism.”

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/06/19/2178951/conservative-congressman-says-people-struggling-to-survive-on-food-stamps-are-intentionally-buying-overpriced-food/

To quote mac in another thread:

Go fuck yourself!

I'd like to see his receipts, and would have wanted to check his pantry, fridge and freezer BEFORE he did this.

Just wait a while. After half a year of eating nothing but beans and rice his hair and teeth will fall out, and he'll weigh in at 479 pounds.
Medicaid will jump in then to the tune of way more than the savings in food stamps.

I'm on a fixed income and spend an average of $225.00 per month. The majority of my purchases are from the perimeter of the store: meat and fish, fresh produce and dairy. I buy very little processed foods and try to stick to store brands. I don't use coupons because they don't offer coupons for fresh meats and vegetables. I don't bother with rice and beans because I eat low carb (I'm a diabetic and avoiding most carby foods helps me control the disease better).

I think I'm going to try ordering my groceries next month using only the SNAP allowance and see what happens.

I'd like to see his receipts, and would have wanted to check his pantry, fridge and freezer BEFORE he did this.

I second that.

Oh quit it, girls. He's not counting work breakfasts, work lunches, work dinners, all paid by various lobbyists, the pantry, fridge and freezer is handled by the maid, the receipts are at his accountant.
What he actually bought is chocolate covered rice crispies and jelly beans for snacks in between. Yep, 27 bucks a week sounds about right.

right- because that just makes all kinds of sense......

not.

Where did you see that?

For $21.55 Ferguson purchased at Dollar Tree:
Two boxes of Honeycomb cereal
Three cans of red beans and rice
Jar of peanut butter
Bottle of grape jelly
Loaf of whole wheat bread
Two cans of refried beans
Box of spaghetti
Large can of pasta sauce
Two liters of root beer
Large box of popsicles
24 servings of Wyler’s fruit drink mix
Eight cups of applesauce
Bag of pinto beans
Bag of rice
Bag of cookies

For $6.03 at the Shoppers Food Warehouse next door Ferguson bought a gallon of milk and a box of maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

http://stockman.house.gov/media-center/ ... -challenge

No eggs, no meat, not even hotdogs, no real fruit, no veggies. Healthy it is not.
Does he want to kill snap users with this junk?

No eggs, no meat, not even hotdogs, no real fruit, no veggies. Healthy it is not.
Does he want to kill snap users with this junk?

Of course not! He wants them to kill themselves. One less person to "suck on the teat of government" because you can pretty much guess that they are collecting welfare, SSD or unemployment too.

Two birds, one crappy diet.

Based on that list, I don't think this idiot even knows what food is.

Have a nutritious popsicle!