Banning soda and snacks from Food Stamp purchases

[eolesen]

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2014/06/09/study-banning-soda-from-food-stamp-purchases-could-curb-obesity-and-diabetes-rates

I'd love to see this happen. If the Obama Administration can manage to make school lunches worse than they already were, certainly the health benefits of modifying SNAP should be a priority, no?

Countless times, I've seen people walk up to the cash register at a convenience store with a mega gulp and a few roller-grill hotdogs, whip out the SNAP card to pay for it, and then peel off a couple $20's to buy a carton of smokes.

Food stamps used to be only valid for ingredients and staples, bread, milk, etc.

I'd hate to see the percentage of taxpayer funds now spent on Twinkees and sodas.

 

[delldude]

Or scan the contents of the cart or carts in line and make a point of seeing how the are paid for.
 
Eye opening.

 

[Ms Tree]

Link is broken. I'd love to see it happen. Not sure why tax payer money has to be spent on junk food.

How did the lunch program get worse? Everything I have read says the standards of what is fed are better. Less sugar, fewer carbs, more fruit and vegies. How is that not better than the crap that was being fed?

 

[delldude]

Link is broken. I'd love to see it happen. Not sure why tax payer money has to be spent on junk food.

How did the lunch program get worse? Everything I have read says the standards of what is fed are better. Less sugar, fewer carbs, more fruit and vegies. How is that not better than the crap that was being fed?

 
Works fine on Firefox.

 

[eolesen]

Works for me in Chrome, too.

What is being offered in school lunches may be better and healthier, but what's being consumed is another story.

The fruits and veggies are hitting the garbage can uneaten. You paid for that.

But, again, the hypocrisy is worth noting. If it is OK to force kids to eat foods they don't want to when they're paying for it (not everyone gets free/reduced lunch...), then why are the rules different with food stamps?

Under the USDA's rules, as long as the product has a nutrition data label, it counts as food, even if all those nutritional values are listed as "zero" (which is why Red Bull can be bought with Food Stamps and Monster can't...).

 

[Ms Tree]

Works for me in Chrome, too.

What is being offered in school lunches may be better and healthier, but what's being consumed is another story.

The fruits and veggies are hitting the garbage can uneaten. You paid for that.

But, again, the hypocrisy is worth noting. If it is OK to force kids to eat foods they don't want to when they're paying for it (not everyone gets free/reduced lunch...), then why are the rules different with food stamps?

Under the USDA's rules, as long as the product has a nutrition data label, it counts as food, even if all those nutritional values are listed as "zero" (which is why Red Bull can be bought with Food Stamps and Monster can't...).

So you are basing success on whether or not kids like to eat healthy food vs junk food?  Shoot, if I would have known that we should just base everything off of what they like to do. We can just make school it's self voluntary.  
 
And if you will look a bit farther than just the head lines the food hitting the garbage is garbage.  A lot of the food is spoiled or poorly prepared.  There have been countless stories about quality food being prepared at schools and the kids eating it.
 
http://www.chefsmovetoschools.org/success-stories.html
 
http://www.vsba.org/food-for-thought/detail/category/rappahannock_county
 
http://centerfornutrition.org/2011/08/943/
 
So you acknowledge that the food may be healthier and better but if the kids don't like it let them eat junk food instead.  Yea.  Cant beat that logic.

 

[delldude]

What is junk food?

 

[eolesen]

I'd rather have the kids eating something marginally less healthy but filling, than to be distracted by hunger.

I know this from talking to my kids. I don't need to read it on the web. They're to the point that bringing a brown bag PB&J with some carrots is preferable to what's being offered at the school for $2.50 a plate. My son won't even buy a lunch on pizza day. They went to a whole wheat crust.

Learn firsthand, Tree. Go eat at a school cafeteria for a week. See how much you like it, and how the kids respond.

Now.... about the topic, which was food stamps?

If you're this passionate about school lunches, clearly you'd support putting food stamp recipients on the same diet, no?

 

[Ms Tree]

I'd rather have the kids eating something marginally less healthy but filling, than to be distracted by hunger.

I know this from talking to my kids. I don't need to read it on the web. They're to the point that bringing a brown bag PB&J with some carrots is preferable to what's being offered at the school for $2.50 a plate. My son won't even buy a lunch on pizza day. They went to a whole wheat crust.

Learn firsthand, Tree. Go eat at a school cafeteria for a week. See how much you like it, and how the kids respond.

Marginally less healthy?  You're kidding right.  Went to a school lunch with my niece a few months ago.  I would not feed that crap to East and I can't stand that arrogant SOB.  I did not even eat the garbage they served in school when I went to school.  My mom always gave me a bag lunch.  Whole wheat pizza dough?  OH the horror.  You're proud of feeding your kids crap.  Good for you.
 
We made cauliflower pizza crust pizzas a few weeks ago for family dinner.  Nieces were eating it up.  Half way through we told them what was in it.  Thats a bit different but very good and very healthy.  Kept our nieces over the summer one time.  Took a bit of breaking in but they actually learned to eat something other than chicken tenders, burgers and pizza.  Their mother needed to learn to cook after we sent them back because they liked the new food.
 
There are lots of alternatives to the crap being fed at school.  Studdies have also shown that kids who eat healthy (low sugar low carb) foods perform better in school.  But hey, if the kids don't like it .... who the phuck put them in charge?   They are kids, they do not get to make those decisions.  
 
I'd rather get some chefs in there to teach the staff how to prepare a health meal that the kids will like as has been done in lots of other schools.
 
Now if you will excuse me I have some fresh trout that I am going to grill and some vegies from my next door neighbors garden.

 

[eolesen]

Good for you. Apparently you're OK with taking money out of the classroom and into the cafeteria.

Now, how about the actual topic, which is food stamps?

 

[Kev3188]

Both my kids brown bag it a lot. Besides being cheaper, we know what they're eating, and since they helped put it all together, the odds it all gets eaten are at least slightly better...

Speaking of cheaper (and back OT), I'd like to see fruits & vegetables be more accessible to SNAP families. I don't have an ideal answer as to how, but some sort of cost offset would go a long way...

 

[eolesen]

But Kev, your lunches might not be healthy enough for them, which would make you a bad parent.

Apparently Tree never raised kids. A balanced diet is managed across the entire week, not a specific meal.

 

[Ms Tree]

Good for you. Apparently you're OK with taking money out of the classroom and into the cafeteria.

Now, how about the actual topic, which is food stamps?

No, I'm ok with taking money out of the bloated military and putting it into the classes and cafeterias.
 
Thread drift is new to you? 

 

[xUT]

Good News, now in KommieFornia, the EBT (Formally SNAP)  card can be used in restaurants.
So look for Mickey D's and fast food joints to glomb onto this panacea...
Sit down places not too much.
Can't use the EBT for tips or alcohol... Yet,,, 😛
Are we nuts enough yet?
 

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[eolesen]

Arizona also allowed restaurants to accept food stamps. At one point, 85% of them were Dominos, Jack in the Box, and some obscure chain of serving fast Mexican food.