Florida wellfare trying to take away from children

[Hathor The Mad]

Now I agree that some areas of welfare programs could be reformed but this is not the way to go:

Florida lawmakers are trying to pass a law that would not let families buy snack foods or cakes. Now what this means is the children that need those snacks for school snack time would not have there school snacks anymore and that children would not have birthday cakes. I can't imagine taking birthday's away from children. We already know they will not be able to get many presents so why take away there cake? Its only one birthday a year?  

[emorhconom esor]

Think about it this way, it's their way of trying to cut down obesity. They don't have to have a snack food instead they could have an apple. Also it won't take away the kid's birthday. Cake mix is cheap and so are the ingredients.  

[faithful quenga]

Most times, snack foods are cheaper than healthy foods. People on welfare and other assistance programs are typically more obese because of this reason. Beans are cheap, bread is cheap, chips, snack cakes, all cheaper than healthy veggies and fruits frozen or other wise. I am living on welfare right now and what I get is barely enough to feed my daughter and myself for 3 weeks, let alone a whole month. I do the best I can to shop fruggle and healthy but those 2 words do not go together.

there are things that need to be re thought out in welfare programs, absolutely but cutting out the cheaper foods isn't helpful.  

[Hathor The Mad]

I just feel there are better ways to budget and I don't think its the governments place to tell people what to eat. That crosses a bit of a line. Yes parents always aren't going to make the best food choices but it is still there choice. It just concerns me that if they can pass a law to do this what else can they do?  

[rosadria]

If you're taking government money, it is perfectly reasonable for them to restrict what you can buy with it. It is, after all, government money.  

[Hathor The Mad]

Im sorry thats not the point I am trying to make. Its not about that its about people who are American citizens having the freedom to choose. Thats all I meant.  

[rosadria]

I don't even think it goes that far.

If you were to lend me ten dollars with the condition that I buy say.. a pack of pens, I would have an obligation to buy pens and you would be justified in requiring me to buy pens. (Don't ask why pens, not important)

Just the same, the government (lender) has a right to make welfare recipients (borrower) use their money responsibly. After all, the point of welfare is to insure that you (general non personal "you") better yourself and once again become a productive member of society. It's not a permanent solution. If you abuse it, or use it in a way that can harm children (such as bad foods that can make them obese) then it becomes harder to dig yourself out of the hole. That kids medical bills will eventually wipe out savings if he isn't healthy. Maybe not right away, but down the road, it's highly probable. Let's be honest, welfare recipients don't tend to have the greatest health insurance.

Let's even add this to our soup. I'll argue that being free to choose doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Technically, sure, it does. However, welfare recipients have a moral obligation to the American people who earn that money to make sure it is used as well as it can be. That means doing everything they can to get a job, get off welfare, take care of their families, etc. Sure, they as American citizens have freedom to choose. However, the other vast majority of Americans have a right to make sure that their money is taken care of correctly.

In short, welfare recipients have an obligation to do their best to make responsible decisions with their money. That doesn't mean they hit up an organic wholefoods store, but it does mean that they don't load up their pantries with Hostess cakes.  

[Hathor The Mad]

Im sorry I just dont think we will see eye to eye on this matter. I grew up poor so maybe thats why I see it differently. When I used to volunteer in a soup kitchen I used to see a rise in people at the beginning and end of the month. My states foodstamp days I think are the 10th-15th of the month. I worry about the limit on what people can buy affecting the amount of food people can get. If you look at grocery prices healthier foods and produce are more expensive.
This is the reason I choose charity and welfare work because I want to help with these issues. I want to get involved with food programs and family aid.  

[xxEverBluexx]

I think I want to see what the impact of this is before definitely saying it's good or bad. Right now I think it's more good than not, because when you grow up poor you do get hooked on all the wrong foods. It's really hard to change later. I know because my mom's a single mom, and we were kind of poor though I'm not sure we were ever on welfare. I'm not in the best shape because we did grow up with snack cakes, fast food, and ramen, and I'm learning what foods are okay and what foods aren't all over again.

I do see why it's difficult though. Single parents tend to have a lot going on. It can be really tough to buy healthy foods when they won't necessarily last as long as you need them to. The preservatives that make some of the worst foods terribly also keep them edible for a long time.

So I think they need to monitor the situation, and see how it goes. Check and see if anybody's starving, do people end up being grateful for it in the long term, etc.

Also, out of curiosity, does it say no ramen?  

[Hathor The Mad]

Im not sure I would have to look at the ban list further but from what I understand this is just snacks. But one thing I worry about is this could mean stuff like.
Granola bars
Gogurt
yogurt rasins
rasin packs
natural fruit snacks like welches gummys
breakfast bars
pop tarts  

[rosadria]

Trust me, I understand poor. My mother's first husband was a loser tattoo artist. Beanie weenies every night. Welfare for years, and I didn't bring in more than 20k last year. Which would be ok, except I have a wife without work to support and put through college plus I also had to move three times in the last six months. AI'm sure I'm eligible for all kinds of aid, but I don't take it. We are able to make it go far enough. And are able to eat healthy enough. It's hard, but not difficult or unreasonable especially if the government is providing money.  

[Hathor The Mad]

I know what you mean. I used to work overtime before my muscular nervous system issues got really bad. Now Im finally done with physical therapy and I can get back on my feet again. Right now my husband is working full time and acting as stay at home mom. Right now they say some volunteer work is fine but they want me to pass myself.8( Im still going to start tutoring for school because I can't take just sitting around. I have great community support and I want to help others the way I was helped when I was going through all my health problems. Im going to see a neurologist and I hope they find nothing further wrong.  

[Aquatic_blue]

XknightkidsX

Im sorry I just dont think we will see eye to eye on this matter. I grew up poor so maybe thats why I see it differently. When I used to volunteer in a soup kitchen I used to see a rise in people at the beginning and end of the month. My states foodstamp days I think are the 10th-15th of the month. I worry about the limit on what people can buy affecting the amount of food people can get. If you look at grocery prices healthier foods and produce are more expensive.
This is the reason I choose charity and welfare work because I want to help with these issues. I want to get involved with food programs and family aid.

I slightly understand where you're getting at about the freedom of choice. Desserts and refined sugars aren't the best for you. I was on food stamps a year or so ago and sometimes I'd get snack foods with it, but it's honestly better worth it if you can get at least one vegetable...such as maybe carrots, a cucumber, or something of that sort. Stores have sales on veggies more often than we think at times and sometimes a cucumber is only $1 with tax and sometimes you can get avocados for around 2 for a $1. so look for the sales and get a few veggies and sometimes canned vegetables like potatoes, corn, or carrots are only a few cents biggrin I understand that some people may need these sugars, too, and they are a good break. I think that those on food stamps should be able to get a little something to indulge on such as ice cream or something of that sort for an occasional dessert, but there may be some people that spend all their food money on junk foods.  

[Hathor The Mad]

I agree on the fact that sugar should be cut down on and should only be a special occasion treat. I just wish they would drop the price on the foods they want us to eat. Sometimes produce can be cheap but other times it can be ridiculous.  

[Aquatic_blue]

XknightkidsX

I agree on the fact that sugar should be cut down on and should only be a special occasion treat. I just wish they would drop the price on the foods they want us to eat. Sometimes produce can be cheap but other times it can be ridiculous.

Yeah, I know how that is. Being in a lower income position I understand how it can be hard to eat healthy. My husband and I would buy frozen dinners since they were sometimes like 88 cents each or 10 for $10 and they were fast, convenient, and tasted good. However, we worried about our salt content in our diet because some of those have over 1,000mg of salt in one tv dinner. We would also eat a lot of Ramen and pastas because those were cheap. Tuna sandwiches became a favorite because they didn't cost all that much, but had to be careful not to eat those too often because of the mercury content.

Some foods that were cheap had too many salts and we try our best to stay clear of the heavy duty salts, but don't avoid them entirely. We've figured to make soups with one or two veggies or buy hamburger at a good price and make a meatloaf. Eating healthy can be done and being able to indulge yourself for a while, but you just gotta figure out ways to stretch food and be able to do it.

I remember getting a cookbook from someone when I got married and it was a family cookbook someone was kind enough to give us. Although, my husband and I looked over the ingredients and sometimes it's ridiculous! We can't afford to spend like $8 for an appetizer or snack and like $20+ on one meal. Some of the stuff in there is cheap, but most of it requires a lot of ingredients, but they were also into growing their own veggies so they didn't have to worry about that cost.

I so wish I could grow my own veggies, but as of now, I don't have anywhere to do that. One day when my husband and I get our own house, I would love to grow corn, tomatoes, watermelon, potatoes, etc. so that we get enough produce.