New York want to Ban sugary drinks from welfare

[Racket_Man]

http://www.aolnews.com/discuss/new-y...sPageUrlAnchor

in some way I agree with this ban esp when I gas up before my shift and regularly see the same people buying $20 worth of soda and candy and "paying" for it using a state EBT card.

I have also personally witnessed people purchasing meat cuts on an EBT card that are WAAAYYYY more than I could afford even when I had a much higher pay job.

[Hobbs]

I think that the EBT code needs to be reformed. I get what you're saying about the sugary products and expensive meats being paid using the card. Of course, there'd have to be some way to discern "expensive" meats from "inexpensive" meats.

[Ladeeda]

Yeah, I'm not sure anything with basically no nutritional value should be counted as "food" just because it contains calories.

[HYHYBT]

I wish the article was clearer: it says "sugary drinks" in some places and "sodas" in others, and while there's a huge overlap, the two are not the same. (Grape juice is full of sugar, and Coke Zero has none.)

It's an important distinction, depending on which of the apparently two goals is more important: if it's diabetes prevention, well, diet drinks don't contribute to diabetes (and limiting the ban only to sugared ones would actually *help*, since you'd have to use your own money for the "regular" kind, but not for diet). On the other hand, if it's instead to get people to use the money for more nutritious food... well, not only would all soda be out but quite a lot of other things as well.

[MaggieTheCat]

I think it would be ideal if there was some way to track what people buy with welfare, so that stuff like soda and candy weren't totally off-limits but could be limited. Someone once said, "So just because I'm on welfare, I shouldn't be able to treat myself with a piece of chocolate once in a while?" I agree that people on welfare should be able to get themselves and their families "treats", but they should also know how to budget their money and the people who spend $20 in soda and candy should be limited. Something like $5-10 worth of soda a month. Personally I only drink soda once or twice a week. Sort of as a treat. So a 12 pack of anything would easily last me a month or more.

[telecom_goddess]

I was wondering if the ban would included diet soda....since it doesn't have sugar. And there is a valid point about the juice...it's full of sugar.

It's a tough one....and the rules are already wonky. You can use food stamps to buy cold sandwiches but not hot ones at subway, on the basis that they are ready to eat. So are cold ones....it makes no sense.

[joe hx]

I think people with food stamps or EBT should only buy stuff at grocery stores. Convenience stores and gas stations always seem to jack up the price.

[AdminAssistant]

I think people with food stamps or EBT should only buy stuff at grocery stores. Convenience stores and gas stations always seem to jack up the price.

The problem is that some inner cities/urban areas don't have grocery stores nearby or good public transit to get to a grocery store.

ETA: I don't have too much of a problem with them using it on more expensive cuts of meat, because at least meat's real food. I should also add that this will not pass, because the Ag Dept isn't going to piss off the entire corn industry (HFCS).

[Plaidman]

Count me in with the group that doesn't care if they buy high grade/expensive meat. At least that's FOOD.

Banning soda pop will never work. Too many people will say no. (Coindentally the same people that rely on welfare will vote no, which far outstripes those that don't rely on it).


As much as I hate welfare abusers, I don't agree on complete ban. I've stated it plenty of times before, that they should be allowed a small amount on /junk/. Like ten bucks a month. Not the $600 they get normally.

[Racket_Man]

I think it would be ideal if there was some way to track what people buy with welfare, so that stuff like soda and candy weren't totally off-limits but could be limited. Someone once said, "So just because I'm on welfare, I shouldn't be able to treat myself with a piece of chocolate once in a while?" I agree that people on welfare should be able to get themselves and their families "treats", but they should also know how to budget their money and the people who spend $20 in soda and candy should be limited. Something like $5-10 worth of soda a month. Personally I only drink soda once or twice a week. Sort of as a treat. So a 12 pack of anything would easily last me a month or more.

and I have no problem with a "sometimes" treat (AHHHHHH Cookie Monster is sad), but as I said in my OP, I see the same people day after day whip out their EBT card at the convience store.

when we did get "food stamps" (rare at that) while I was going through periods of unemployment, we budgeted like heck to make what we got last as long as possible so as not to interfer with my UE bennies (most of that was used for rent and basic things like a phone and car gas).

[Kaylyn]

I think EBT should work kind of like WIC does. Specific things are allowed, based on family size, and make it a weekly thing instead of monthly maybe, to allow for better meal planning.

I often get handed a shopping list and my mother-in-law's EBT card. The shopping list consists of soft drinks and ice cream. Then her and her younger son will eat all the REAL food that I pay for. I'll buy a package of lunch meat and a loaf of bread, go to open it the next day, and it's GONE. She should have used her EBT to pay for her own lunch meat...it's not the healthiest thing in the world probably, but a helluva lot healthier than a half-gallon of ice cream that she'll sit and eat most of in one sitting. The kicker there...she's diabetic.

Gah, just thinking about it now pisses me off. Going back to the CS blanket fort...

[LadyBarbossa]

"There is not an iota of evidence that poor people on the food program shop any less nutritiously than anyone else,"

Ha. Just ask your friendly neighborhood Volde-Mart cashier.

And of course I can't blanket statement everyone that uses EBT, as I have a select few customers who buy actual food items, budget very carefully, and use coupons to make the money last as long as they can. But the majority of them spend it on soda, soda, more soda, snack cakes, chips, you get the drift. Even the huge economy packs of candy bars that weigh several pounds. what really pisses me off is when they'll get to the register and then decide that everyone in their family of five + their kids' friends needs one of the 20oz sodas from the cooler that cost $1.50 each. NO. I think limiting the amount of treats and junk people are able to buy on food stamps might encourage them to try and get jobs so they can afford the fun stuff. I'm speaking about the people who hit hard times and are able to work; I don't think it'd be fair to limit someone who is on assistance because they have a disability, etc. The rules can't be the same for everyone.

And maybe slightly OT, but I think a lot of people are under the impression that they need to consume WAY more calories than they actually need to.

[crashhelmet]

They can ban it all they want, and the people will do what they do for alcohol and tobacco. They'll draw money off of the card and use the cash to pay for it in a separate transaction.

yes, junk food and drinks should be banned, but it won't change anything without a complete overhaul of the system.

CH

[LadyBarbossa]

They can ban it all they want, and the people will do what they do for alcohol and tobacco. They'll draw money off of the card and use the cash to pay for it in a separate transaction.

yes, junk food and drinks should be banned, but it won't change anything without a complete overhaul of the system.

CH

Not everyone with an EBT card gets cash on their monthly benefits. And limits could be put on the cash transactions, too. One good thing about my store ditching its fresh seafood dept in the remodel is that I don't have to watch these fuckers come to the checkout and buy lobster and shrimp on their cards anymore. Not that they don't do it someplace else, but it helps my blood pressure to avoid the sight.

[telecom_goddess]

As much as I hate welfare abusers, I don't agree on complete ban. I've stated it plenty of times before, that they should be allowed a small amount on /junk/. Like ten bucks a month. Not the $600 they get normally.

what planet are you on that anyone gets $600 a month in food stamps?