Quote:
Originally Posted by ring
This statement is extremely offensive to me.
No salad, fresh fruit or squash, for me, eh?
Perhaps the government should issue bright neon t-shirts stamped
with an appropriate stigma slogan, that have to be worn while
in the check-out lane.
I rely on foods stamps versus community food banks, because)1
I am gluten-intolerant. 2: Most food items to be found in the food banks
are rank over-processed food. Canned soups are full of monosodium glutamate. I won't eat a five pound slab of Velveeta cheese food or ring bologna. Sorry.
I do buy & subsist on mostly whole grain rice & beans, frozen veggies,
olive oil, & cheap frozen catfish nuggets.
Salt & pepper & garlic powder are a luxury you are telling me I don't deserve.
Well, that & the fresh food.
I haven't had a soft drink or a ding-dong or a potato chip in a long time,
nor do I want them.
.
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Ring, I meant no offense. But I also cannot apologize for my words. For what it's worth, I did include salt in my list of basics. Fish is meat and therefore a delicacy in my mind, no matter how inexpensive.
Growing up, my family was either dependent on the food banks or donating to them, depending on if Dad had a job. Perhaps our Bishop's Storehouse and Manna were entirely different from those you have available. It is difficult for food banks to accommodate allergies, and it is good that you have found a way to meet your dietary needs. When it comes to stigma, I did not mean to imply that one should stick out as they make their purchases, rather I meant that there should be some negative social pressure that would motivate people to move on from the system as soon as they are capable. Perhaps the difference in our ideologies is that I view food stamps as a stop-gap emergency program to see families through the worst times, rather than a long-term or permanent solution. The reality is that few people share my viewpoint, and perhaps it is best that they do not. The economy has changed drastically since the '80s, and my family's occasional 2 months without an income seems insignificant compared to the year+ of unemployment that people now face.