Addendum to Just feed people ,for fucks sake…
I just just hear the counter argument now..
“But without war, there would be even more people to feed & shelter!”
Yeah, I think the $1735 will cover them,too.
Category Archives: Food Stamp Food
Just feed people, for fucks sake.
This is going to be a doozy of a round-up. Slacked off last week because I was overwhelmed. Lots of things going on in the area of food justice & hunger. Also, I might rant a little.
Where to start….
Well this happened: House panel OKs Farm Bill with cuts to food stamps
Like my state Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “Families who are living in poverty did not spend this nation into debt and we should not be trying to balance the budget on their backs.”
Yeah,that.
It was that same day that some random woman on the Internet chose to yell at me for “spreading lies about America. There are no children going to bed hungry in America!” That’s a summary. There was a shitty diatribe about how I should leave the country and whatnot. I can almost see her sitting at her computer wearing a flag emblazoned sweatshirt with the words “God Bless America” across the front.
Fuck yeah, ‘Murica!
You know this stuff happens all the time but on that specific day when even more family’s food security was compromised?Bad timing ,lady. She was also pointing at what I wrote about my personal experience with hunger . MY own story. Fuck no, you do not dismiss personal stories of hunger in America, mine or anyone else’s.
It’s true that in some poor families, children don’t go to bed hungry but their parents do. They make sure the kids get fed first and go without for themselves. But sometimes, there just isn’t enough for anyone. Free lunch in school might be the only meal that kid gets and that’s only during the school year . 
In America. Don’t get pissed off at the people who can’t eat, be ashamed that it’s happening in your fucking country.$400 billion every single year is lost because of tax evasion. FOUR.HUNDRED. BILLION.DOLLARS. That’s 5 times more than it costs to fund the whole entire SNAP program.Why aren’t you mad at those people?
Oh, and people shouldn’t have kids if they can’t feed them? Most people struggling with food insecurity didn’t start out that way. So, once they do, they’re supposed to destroy their family and their child’s life by letting them bounce around in a broken foster care system that fails children more than it rescues them, letting state taxpayer money support that child ENTIRELY without love & security of family? Well, that makes no fucking sense but if economics is the bottom line (and it always seems to be with these people) giving a family food stamps & TANF is cheaper than funding a child in the foster care system. 11 times more.
So,seriously…fuck off with the idea that people struggling have no right to keep the children they have. Your humanity and your math don’t add up.
Let’s also talk about this God blessing America business. Part of what happened in the debate over SNAP cuts was that Jesus was pulled into the conversation. What would Jesus do or say about feeding people?
My good Christian friends would say that Jesus was all for feeding anyone who needed it. Not being Christian , I trust they’re right about this. The thing is, we shouldn’t be talking about Jesus at all when making decisions that affect American citizens. This is not a theocracy. I appreciate that those against the SNAP cuts were using the Bible to point out to conservative Republicans (Christians) how against the words of Jesus they were. It’s not a strategy that is likely to work anyway. These types of Republicans use the Bible to defend what they believe , whether or not the majority of other Christians think they’re full of shit and do not interpret The Bible the same way.
I mean… Rep. Stephen Lee Fincher (R-Tenn.) used 2 Thessalonians 3:10, which says “for even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” Which implies that people who get SNAP don’t work. Oh,really?
And the other 60%? Disabled & elderly taking the biggest chunk of that percentage.
We can’t form National policies and programs based on religious text that is so widely interpreted by so many. If you want to be an asshole and not feed people, then own it. Don’t use your religion to justify it. This is probably why I don’t understand organized religion. I don’t understand why someone needs a religious book to tell the how to just be a good human being.
Thank you ,Jim McGovern for being a good human being…
He brings up so many excellent points and addresses the reasoning Republicans use of trying to reduce fraud with these cuts.
Do you know why I never discuss food stamp or welfare fraud here? SNAP works well and the amount of abuse is not worth addressing. It’s hard to convince people who have it drilled in their head that there a bunch of freeloaders abusing food stamps . I don’t know where this stubbornness and vilification comes from but it should really stop. No one has time to listen to all that bullshit.
There was a time when ending national hunger was a goal for both Republicans and Democrats and part of the reason we can’t end hunger in America right now (besides mismanaged food waste) is that everyone is too fucking concerned about what political party is doing what and make no mistake about it, which politicians are getting their pockets lined with payouts from lobbyists and special interest groups.
For fucks sake, just feed people already.
My patience is running thin with all this bullshit.
/end rant
More Shit That Will Either Piss You Off Or Inspire You
Which house members voted for the SNAP cuts and their Twitter handles -emails and phone numbers,too
Gardening, Gleaning, and Farming for Food Banks- The most practical and sensible solutions ever. A few people have sent me stories about their own food bank gardens and I’ll be sharing those in the upcoming weeks.
Poverty rates are WAY up in the suburbs - but no one really wants to talk about it
America’s poverty problem, it ain’t those other people - the face of poverty is changing
Our ‘no groceries challenge – you know, like a food stamp challenge people take to see what it’s like to live on food stamps…but real
#solvepoverty is a hashtag getting some action on Twitter lately. Here’s some stuff I pulled from that feed…
The UN says we should eat insects if we’re hungry -What is this, an episode of Survivor? Oh..wait..
Taking a look at economic mobility -from Melissa Harris-Perry. Also from MHP Digging into the health care part of the poverty issue , people who profit from poverty …and more at the website.
Poverty as a childhood disease
But really, we don’t even need to talk about it too much,Paris Hilton has the solution.
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To see all I’ve ever said here about hunger,food insecurity ,poverty, and living on food stamps, go here.
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[Living Free] Ramps!
Nearly 100% of items that make their way into our household are free or second hand. From time to time, I share some of our thrift and free scores here. To check out past free scores, look here. Second hand stuff…go here.
Crossposted from my other blog DIY OR DIE.
Three of my Little Preppers went on a walk along the creek in back of our house the other day to hunt down some ramps. 
(I don’t know if “Little” would be the correct way to describe my older kids. They’re not so little anymore. One is actually an adult. So, I haven’t quite figured out a better thing to call them yet )
Ramps are pretty awesome. Some people call them wild leeks and they are close to real leeks but not quite. For one thing, ramps are much easier to clean and prepare. They grow in wet ,woody places, usually near streams or ponds and lakes. In the springtime , you’ll be able to smell them before you see them usually. They have a garlicky -oniony scent. To harvest, you just give a yank and they come right up out of the ground.
They’re really pungent,actually. My whole kitchen reeked for a day or two after the kids brought them home. There’s a festival in Pennsylvania celebrating ramps that’s called “Stinkfest”. Not hard to smell why.
In my area in upstate NY, local restaurants that feature local,in season foods love the springtime and ramp season. You use ramps in dishes just like you would onions or leeks but it does have a distinctive flavor of it’s own.
If you’re lucky enough to know where a huge patch of ramps is, you can make some nice extra income in the Spring selling your harvest to local restaurants.
There have been some problems in some places due to over harvesting and environment destruction. In Maine, Rhode Island, and Tennessee, ramps are on the “special concern” list . In Quebec, ramps are a protected plant species and you can only harvest a limited amount.
If you can harvest ramps where you live, it’s worth exploring woods and clearings to find them. Obviously not on private property but I didn’t really have to say that,did I?
They’re high in Vitamin A & Vitamin C and also a good source of selenium and chromium. Selenium is one of those super helpful antioxidants that may be helpful in relieving symptoms of asthma,cystic fibrosis…and dandruff. Chromium helps metabolize fats,carbs ,and insulin.
To use ramps, all you need to do is clean the dirt off of them and trim the bulb from the stem and roots.Use the bulbs as you would onions. You can use them fresh or store them in airtight containers in the freezer. I’ve never tried it but I do know that you can also use the leaves to make pesto. Some people also pickle and can them.
Additional points to growing food when you’re poor & this week’s link round-up
After publishing my last post about obstacles to gardening when you’re poor, I realized there were maybe one or two points I missed…but then I read my emails and discovered there was more than just one or two things I neglected to mention! Thank you everyone who shared their individual experiences and gave feedback.
More Obstacles To Growing Your Own Food
I’m feeling like a lot of these points are reasons all people,regardless of socio-economic status might not garden.
Water -
I can’t believe I missed this one. I lived in a house without running water for awhile. Rain collection barrels helped but it was a pain in the ass.
In drought-afflicted areas, there are tight water restrictions. People who have to pay for water aren’t able to justify using large amounts every day . Rain collecting doesn’t work where it doesn’t rain and some states now prohibit rain collection now.
Pests
Sometimes there is no other way to combat animals that eat your garden other than building a fence. Building a deer proof fence…it’s not cheap.
Food Storage
One reader told me, “We managed to grow quite a bit but I ended up giving a lot of it away which seems to defeat the point.I filled my tiny freezer. I didn’t have money to buy a canner, which was too bad since I have enough mason jars to get me through doomsday ,if I could have just filled them with food! I don’t know how to can anyway….”
I can completely understand this. We scored an upright freezer at a yard sale years ago for only $30 and my Faux-MIL gave me a pressure cooker one Christmas. Both are really helpful when you do manage to grow any food in quantity.
“Gardening is fucking HARD!”
Thanks to Melissa for lending me that quoted headline right there. Add to this Shantay’s “Mother Nature sucks sometimes.”
Many readers shared their experience of spending money they did not have because they felt they needed to provide for themselves only to battle with surprise snow storms, bugs,hail,kids,animals,poor soil,plant disease,mildew,drought,flooding…. you know…pretty much every bad thing that can happen when you garden.
Once people have a horrible,no good,very bad experience with gardening, they aren’t likely to venture back into it,especially when they didn’t get a return on their investment the first time.
You can buy seeds with EBT? Who knew!?
It turns out a lot of people on food stamps didn’t even know that. Some people who did know that and had tried to buy seeds using their EBT said that they found limited gardening places that would take EBT and they weren’t interested in GMO seeds at the grocery store. Seed saving from store bought produce only works if you’re absolutely certain of the seed heritage .Most are hybrid and aren’t going to grow right (some won’t produce anything at all).
This part of the program is fairly new ,so perhaps the USDA has more plans to expand upon it .Maybe by offering gardening classes for SNAP & low income people?
Community Garden Plots Cost Money
True story. So do memberships to CSAs…although in my area, there is one CSA that has a sliding fee scale based on income and has a few shares reserved for SNAP recipients.
I received an awesome email from a reader who cannot grow her own food because of several of the original points I mentioned. Her email was long but there was one point I wanted to share:
“Even when I say to someone all the reasons I can’t garden, they throw WHERE THERE’S A WILL,THERE’S A WAY at me. I have will! I WANT to grow my own food! Hand to God cannot do it right now. Otherwise I would! I’ve ALWAYS had a garden and I’m good at it. My will & knowledge isn’t the problem here and it just makes me feel like a giant piece of dog shit when someone lays the guilt trip on me that I’m not doing enough to help feed myself because I don’t have enough will. “
Yeah. The “Where there’s a will,there’s a way” thing is getting old for me,too.
Ok, on to our weekly link round -up…
This is tomorrow. Leave your non-perishable food with your mail carrier and they will donate it to your local food pantry. If you miss this, consider donating directly to your food pantry. Food Bank Directory
Every Can Counts – a video from the Utah Food Bank featuring some of their food banks and the hungry people they serve.
Obesity is the New Malnutrition – looking at the “hunger-obesity paradox, especially in homeless.
Feeding Cities iTunes Course- This looks pretty amazing but I haven’t had a chance to check it out. Course description says: Food security is one of our biggest global problems. It is a commonly used, but often misunderstood, phrase that encompasses the availability, accessibility, safety, and security of what we consume. Every night nearly 870 million people go to bed hungry, an increasing number of whom live in cities. At the same time, another billion urbanites suffer from obesity-related diseases that the World Health Organization reports will be the number one killer of poor people globally by 2030. In fact, these diseases now cause close to 60 percent of all deaths worldwide. Surprisingly, nearly 80 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries
.While these food-related issues may have different manifestations in different parts of the world—urban, rural, developed, developing—they are particularly worrisome for today’s and tomorrow’s burgeoning urban centers in Asia and Africa. These centers are experiencing annual urban growth rates of two percent and three percent respectively. This sprawling urban expansion comprises miles of slums or golf courses and gated communities that displace the agricultural land that once supplied those cities with food. It also challenges weak transportation and logistics systems, which now must strain to bring food to market, and adds to existing inefficiencies that contribute to rising food prices, which contributes to undernutrition, overnutrition, and malnutrition. At the same time, the developed world also exhibits health crises, most evident in pockets of deprivation where access to healthy foods is limited and, more broadly, where obesity is epidemic. So what can be done?
Rochester Food Bank Garden -the produce from this church garden feeds the community’s senior citizens and supplies the food bank.
How To Profit From 46million Americans on Food Stamps - a look at “food stamp economy” and which business profit from it
USDA Expanding Food Stamp Usage At Farmer’s Markets- makes sense to me…especially with quite a few states looking to prohibit “junk food”, making access to better food that’s affordable , this is vital.
South Carolina Senate budget: Ban junk food at Governor’s mansion -I’ve given South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley a shoutout before for wanting to restrict junk food. SC Sen. Darrell Jackson is like, “Hey, that’s cool but then you can’t have any either.” (Not an exact quote)
Wisconsin Assembly Approves Junk Food Bill - I’ll bet the state paid governor Walker can still eat whatever the fuck he wants.
Tennessee is thinking that Wisconsin is on to something there - someone needs to take some lessons from Aamira Fetuga in that state and talk them out of it
Odd Coalition Objects to Wisconsin bill -amazingly (not really), people who like people to eat healthy food object to the nanny state regulation
Food Stamp Free-For-All – this week’s Huff Post Live talked about Wisconsin and limitations…. guest bloggers this week were Heather from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream (remember Blogger Idol ?) and Jodi from Freetail Therapy
Farm Bill Looking At Deep Cut To SNAP – Even deeper than last year. Check out the things I’ve written before to get caught up on these cuts & what you can do to advocate -Here … here…. and here.
Cinncinati City Councilman and Others Take Food Stamp Challenge - Next week, participants will eat on $23 for the whole week.
Animated video explaining childhood food insecurity. (Yes, you’ll probably cry.Sorry) There’s another one,too : Hungry Kate with the Bellyache
And I think that’s that for this week…
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To see all I’ve ever said here about hunger,food insecurity ,poverty, and living on food stamps, go here.
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Grow Your Own Food. Is It Really That Simple For Poor People?
It seems pretty simple. Having a hard time eating? “Grow your own food!”, they say. “They” are usually well meaning and coming from a place of only good intentions, otherwise I’d be whipping out my, “Honey, you better check your privilege!” speech. Which I guess is what I’m doing right now but I want to try to do it gently, in more of a pointing things out kind of way and not the tongue lashing kind of way. People living below the poverty line often feel that the ,”YES, you CAN grow your own food!” sentiment is just another way some people make poor people feel bad about being poor and blame them for not doing more to help themselves.
Growing your own food is undeniably one of the best ways to get fresh, nutritious food economically , and bonus points- ethically & eco-friendly. When someone suggests that a person struggling with food security just simply grow their own food, they’re making the following assumptions:
- The person has access to land,space , and the soil it takes to grow food
- They are able bodied.
- They have time to devote to a garden.
- They have a budget to acquire seeds & supplies for starting a garden.
- They know how to do it.
Digging deeper (that pun was not intended but it does seem like I didn’t try to hard to avoid it), I want to talk about each assumption separately.
Land & Space To Grow Food
Americans who live in urban areas are more likely to live in poverty than those who don’t live in the city.217 million people receiving food stamps live in urban areas compared to about 62 million in rural areas. Typically, the 
economically disadvantaged neighborhoods are not the greenest places on earth, which contributes to the food desert clime. In urban areas, the best places for growing food would be balconies,window boxes, fire escapes and rooftops. Not everyone has access to those spaces. If they do have an area they can claim as their own, they may have to consider getting permission from the building owner (who unfortunately, more often than not, is going to give the idea a thumbs down) . Is their hard work only going to be vandalized or destroyed? Is it practical?
I’m an avid gardener but I haven’t always been able to garden, even in rural small town America. I once lived in an apartment building that had a beautiful yard that I saw as potential edible gardens. The owners did not and tenants were only permitted to have small flower pots on the outside stoop. In the house we rent now, our Grey Gardens is A LOT of work for low yield. I’m mainly able to grow all herbs,greens and a few veggies but it’s not nearly enough to put a dent in the food needs of my 7 person family.
Community gardens and CSA co-ops are an excellent solution to this problem but as Novella Carpenter’s experience with her Ghost town Farm ,and other city farmers like the people of LA who founded The Garden can tell us, space in the city is coveted and premium. Meaning, to create sustainable food sources in food deserts, communities need to raise money to own a space to call their own or a benevolent property owner will have to see a reason to give a gift of land to the community.
Ability
photo via eartheasy.com
There’s a strong connection between being a disabled American and being impoverished. Roughly 30% of all disabled people fall below the poverty line. Disabilities is a broad term but a fair amount are physical and even disabilities not considered a physical disability could inhibit someone’s ability to garden.
Under this category, I would also include elderly people…and sadly, the statistics for the number of elderly living in poverty isn’t so great these days.
It isn’t impossible to garden with disabilities or once you reach old age but there are limitations and accessibility issues. Raised garden beds that are wheelchair accessible are a fantastic solution. Community organizations could help fill the need by contributing supplies and assisting with labor.
Time
A common misconception is that poor people don’t work, especially people who receive assistance like SNAP. For example,30% of food stamp recipients are employed full time .This isn’t a reflection of all people in poverty, since many do not seek assistance or make just barely over the qualifying limit but still live below the line. Some work part time and are full time students.It isn’t uncommon for a family living below the poverty line to be a two income household or a single parent household working 2 jobs. Underemployment is just as dangerous a place as being unemployed entirely. Time and energy are already being spent on working and/or raising a family in many cases.Gardening? ”Ain’t nobody got time for that”.
Resources
There’s a popular homesteading page on Facebook that promotes growing your own food as a way to solve your economic hardships. After several posts with the “Poor people should just grow their own food!”, I felt the need to raise some questions, starting with ,”How?”. The response was a very simplistic: People who get food stamps can use their EBT to buy seeds!
Oh. Problem solved! 
Except… if a person on food stamps is buying enough seeds to actually provide fully for their family, that’s a huge dent in their food stamp allowance. Many people are not going to be able to put off food they can eat now for seeds. Many food budget decisions are short term when you’re poor because that’s the way it has to be. The creation more of seed banks and seed exchanges would benefit poor gardeners a lot more than their EBT card.
You can’t buy topsoil or potting soil with food stamps. You can’t buy garden tools with food stamps.
If the person has to resort to indoor gardening, EBT isn’t going to buy grow lights. Planting containers… nope, not those either.
It’s fantastic that the USDA allows people to use their EBT to buy seeds but to help people be self-sufficient food providers, there has to be incentives and programs that offset start-up costs for gardening. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. But you still have to give him a fishing pole.
Knowledge
Some people don’t know the first thing about growing food. That’s not just a poor people thing. There’s a gap in our American modern culture that has a huge disconnect with where our food comes from ,and with nature in general. The bright spot in this deficit is the huge upswing of food education and ag-curriculum programs in schools. My children’s schools all have some type of food education and gardening program. These programs need to be in every school, not just for the gardening knowledge but for the nutrition education. It takes work,parental involvement and community support but it can happen.
The nice benefit that comes from community gardens is that the organizers pass on their knowledge to any adult interested and willing to learn and do the work. Peer education is an incredible free learning tool.
I’m not trying to rain on everyone’s real food parade here by pointing these things out. I’m just trying to raise awareness to the complexities of growing food. It isn’t as simple as just doing it. If a person CAN do it, then I am their loudest cheerleader. I’m just saying, not everyone can, so let’s just stop with the sentiment that says they can. If they really can and want to, everything should be done to cheer them on. If they can’t, so be it. Don’t keep preaching. It doesn’t help. Grow some extra food in your garden and donate it directly to a family or a local food pantry . That would be an excellent way to help.
Communities everywhere should facilitate and encourage gardening and community supported agriculture to solve their local hunger and food security problem. I have asserted time and time again that we already CAN feed every single human being with the food that is wasted in the U.S. . Politics prevents this from happening. With that in mind , it might seem like gardening is a moot point. If there’s already enough food ,why not just focus on managing that correctly and putting it in the people’s mouths? Why garden at all? The great thing that community and home gardens would accomplish is an end to dependency on corporations that grow and distribute the not-so-great food that’s in our system. Bringing food back into local communities and putting the power into people’s hands is best for everyone but everyone needs to work to make this happen. Poverty and food insecurity isn’t going to be eradicated by putting all the responsibility on the people in poverty. Becoming self-sufficient is a huge privilege and the obstacles to achieving it need to be kicked aside by those who already have the possibility of that privilege .
THINGS I MISSED: Additional talking points that I forgot or weren’t aware of
To see all I’ve ever said here about hunger,food insecurity ,poverty, and living on food stamps, go here.
Have something you’d like to say to me in a private email? Use this form. To comment publicly, scroll down and use the comment form.
Matriot
This is a poem I have had hanging above my desk for years, including this picture of Helen Vandevere, a righteous babe born in 1904…who has probably passed away by now. The magazine I yanked the poem & picture from was published in the late 90s, so she was nearly 100 then.
I love to share this poem around Mother’s Day. I’m not much a fan of days that have become Hallmark Holidays but other’s Day with it’s roots in anti-war sentiments is a little different. I still feel irritated at the guilt-gifting I feel like I MUST do every year for my own mother I’m not particularly close with but the history of it is special to me.
This poem is an extension of the spirit of Mother’s Day. Not only should we not send our sons to war to die but we should make caring for all the people of our country a national priority….true National Defense.
Photography © 1992 Kira Carrillo Corser
Matriot (ma´ – tri – at) noun 1: One who
loves his or her country. 2: One who loves
and protects the people of his or her country.
3: One who perceives national defense as
health, education, and shelter of all people
in his or her country. (Orig. FPA, 1991)
| Matriot
There’s not much that’s important at my age I say we damn well better I’ve lived through two depressions, I’d spend the money on health instead. How are we going to pay for all this? This is national defense. © 1992 Frances Payne Adler |
Food Justice Link Round-up
As usual, both sucky and fantastic things to share .
The Sylvia Rivera Food Pantry Helps New Yorkers Struggling With Food Insecurity and HIV/AIDS [via Anarcho-Queer]
Tomb Raider is gathering stories of courage and will donate $10,000 to Feeding America [via Gathering Courage]
The Harvest- a film that exposes child labor on farms in America & the extreme poverty workers live in [via MockingbirdQ]
Jim McGovern’s 9th End Hunger Now Speech
Feed to Achieve: West Virginia Passes Landmark Anti-Hunger Bill (mentioned preciously here )
The SNAP Alumni Project - featuring successful Americans who once depended on SNAP for meals [via A Place at the Table ]
Let’s Ask Marion: Who’s got the power to end hunger in America? [via Food Politics]
Food bank to carry on despite eviction
Who is minding the food movement? [via Mark Bittman]
Live Below the Line challenges participants to eat on $1.50/day (talked about here before)
An Austin grocery store strives for zero waste
Rep Marino introduces SNAP Transparency Act to monitor how SNAP dollars are being spent
Those on food stamps more likely to eat whole fruit
IRS employees charges with stealing food stamps & benefits
In Florida, a food stamp recruiter deals with wrenching choices
Coca-Cola called out on food stamp lobbying
Oregon CSA pushes for farms to accept food stamps
Austin Food Bank “Hunger is UNacceptable” photo stream
The Black Panther Party for Social Justice did some amazing things getting food to the people. Little known trivia : the school meal program that we know in American schools today was copied from The Black Panther Party. They started a free breakfast program for children in poor neighborhoods and fed 10,000 children every morning before school. The Panthers believed that “Children cannot reach their full academic potential if they have empty stomachs.” The Federal government instituted a program of their own when they saw the impact it was creating on neighborhoods. Some say the creation of the government program was due to politicians feeling shamed for not doing enough for families but more likely, the government was afraid of the power it gave the Black Panther Party.
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To see all I’ve ever said here about hunger,food insecurity ,poverty, and living on food stamps, go here.
West Virginia Republican proposes kids work for school lunch
West Virginia just passed a controversial new bill called the Feed to Achieve Act. The bill ensures that every single school child be fed meals in school, regardless of income. It makes sense to feed school children, based on countless studies that demonstrate the obvious connection between nutrition and school performance. West Virginia has been known as a state with the poorest health and nutrition overall. Way to go, WV ,for wanting to turn that around.
As we all know (my regular readers,anyway), there are some people who take issue with feeding poor kids, even if it’s going to help them succeed. When Whitney Houston sang , “I believe the children are our future…”, these people were wondering if the kids could pay their own way into that future. The biggest controversy in this bill is that ALL children will be fed, even if their parents can afford to feed them. I get being kind of pissed off by that but the bill states that funding for this program will come from private donations and non-profits, not taxpayer money. In West Virginia, as is the case in every other state, there are children who DO qualify for free and reduced lunch but are not enrolled in the program for various reasons and a lot more who belong to families that struggle with food security but are at that dangerous line where they make just over the amount to qualify for assistance. The program ensures all these children – and even those who aren’t being fed at home even if their parents can afford to feed them - don’t fall through the cracks and are on a level playing field with every other kid in their classroom. At least nutritionally. Class equality. Crazy idea for many but makes a lot of sense for society.
Ray Canterbury, a delegate from Greenbriar, is clearly channeling some Dickensian character. He thinks kids should work for their food. Sure, if it’s in a school garden, helping to grow food that will be used in the school lunch program. I’d be down with that. There’s a huge connection between gardening and teaching kids good nutrition. That’s not what he means though. He wants them mowing lawns, those greedy little slackers.
Now, this was just a proposal he floated around but before it becomes a real thing, you can contact this dude and let him know what a stupid idea it is before he makes a fool of himself (or convinces enough people it’s a great idea).
CONTACT
Capitol Office:
Room 229E, Building 1
State Capitol Complex
Charleston, WV 25305
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3131
Home:
Route 2, Box 288
Ronceverte, WV, 24970
Home Phone: (304) 645-6370
[Guest Post] Coconut Oil ,FTW!
Jessica from Alternative Mommies loves coconut oil. Seriously, she talks about it ALL THE TIME. In an endearing sort of way, I swear! Jessica is also a reader of this blog who also has received SNAP and feeds her family on a tight budget. Since one of the most popular searches to this blog is “Can I buy coconut oil with food stamps?” , I thought it was time to give coconut oil it’s very own post here and thought Jessica was exactly the right person to do that.
It’s been less than a year since the first time I purchased coconut oil, but it would be an understatement to say that I’m mildly obsessed with it. I use it for damn near everything.
This post is specifically about how using coconut oil can help for those of us who have to live on a tight budget. I’m absolutely confident that once you try it you’ll understand my obsession! It is seriously one of the most versatile products I’ve ever encountered. It is a food product so it can be purchased with SNAP. I actually knew whenever my SNAP benefits were ending so I bought four jars the last month we had benefits. (Yes, I did get a funny look from the cashier. Too bad she didn’t inquire as to why I was buying it. I genuinely want to share the wonders of coconut oil with everybody!)
If you aren’t familiar with coconut oil, it is a solid at room temperature. It melts at 74 degrees Fahrenheit. When used topically it melts pretty quickly from your own body temperature. There have been two situations where I found it necessary to melt the coconut oil before I could use it: baking and using it in smoothies. I’ve tried a few ways to melt it. The microwave is convenient, but you run the risk of zapping out all the healthy stuff. I do use the microwave if it’s just a small bit. For larger amounts I just heat it in a small saucepan or cast-iron skillet on the stove.
In the kitchen coconut oil can be used to replace butter or pretty much any other oil in any recipes. I substitute an equal amount of coconut oil for the butter/oil I’m replacing. Just make sure you melt it if using it for baking! It can also be used for sautéing or deep frying. I’ve completely eliminated the need to purchase any other cooking oils. Coconut oil has also helped to drastically cut down the amount of butter we consume. You can add a tablespoon to a smoothie for an energy boost as well!
The uses for coconut oil definitely do not stop at the kitchen! This is where the money-saving benefits really come in! I no longer purchase shaving cream, lotion, moisturizer, eye cream, or lip balm. In the shower I just rub coconut oil on as if it were shaving cream. I was a bit nervous because I have super sensitive skin. If I shave with just soap and water I always get razor burn. Then one day I ran out of the ridiculously over-priced “natural” shaving cream I had. Enter coconut oil. Now I’m hooked. Bonus: your skin will be very well-moisturized whenever you’re done. After the shower, just apply all over as you would with baby oil or lotion.
Coconut oil is even great to use on your face. This was another situation that I was skeptical of. It seemed to me that putting oil on your face would just make it oilier. I could not have been more wrong. Apple it to your face daily just like you would with moisturizer. My skin looks so great now that I don’t wear any foundation or powder. Your skin will look and feel so good, and you can be happy that you don’t have to waste money on unnecessary products or slather a bunch of unpronounceable chemicals on your face. Go ahead and rub some on your lips too to keep them moisturized!
Coconut oil can be used in place of diaper rash cream as well. In this case I always use organic expeller-pressed coconut oil. It is a bit expensive, but I only use it whenever I feel like I need to have the highest quality. This is definitely one of those situations for me. To use it for diaper rash, just rub it liberally on the affected area. You should notice the symptoms going away within the first or second day.
Coconut oil can be mixed with other cheap SNAP-accepted ingredients to make deodorant and toothpaste. I don’t do anything fancy to make the deodorant. I put coconut oil on my armpits then use a powder puff to put cornstarch on over it. I haven’t had any problems with sweat or odor. Making toothpaste is almost just as easy. In a small container mix equal parts (I did 2tbs) baking soda and coconut oil. Add around 10 drops of peppermint oil to freshen breath. The taste isn’t great, but I’ve read that you can add stevia to sweeten it. I haven’t personally tried this though.
I know this is starting to get long so I’ll wrap it up, but I could seriously write a book on how amazing coconut oil is. In addition to the things I’ve listed above it can also be used to make hair treatments and sugar scrubs. My advice for you is to go buy yourself a jar of coconut oil, and start to implement some of the ideas I’ve written about. It won’t take long for you to understand why I’m raving so much about this product! Its uses are absolutely not limited to what I’ve had time to share so I recommend doing a Pinterest or Google search if you want more ideas.
I really hope this was helpful! Feel free to comment here or e-mail me at thealtmommy@gmail.com to let me know your thoughts and how you use coconut oil to help stay on your budget!
Awesome Person: Aamira Fetuga
This is Aamira Fetuga. She’s an 8 year old in Tennessee who had a few questions for Sen Stacey Campfield.
A little background here …
Senator Campfield proposed a welfare bill that would reduce benefits to families if a child had poor school performance and required parents to attend parent teacher conferences. He said that the parents of failing children were guilty of child abuse and should be punished. In gentler language, he said the bill was in the interest of encouraging children to do better in school and break the cycle of poverty. Harsh or gentle language, his proposal was legalized class warfare. If his true concern was for holding parents accountable for their child’s school performance, those not below the poverty line would not be the only ones targeted.
My reaction when I first heard about this bill a few months ago was exactly the same as Jon Stewart’s.
(which can only mean he should hire me immediately to be a writer for the show)
I’ve been trying to think like a Conservative on the issue. It’s not as hard for me as you might think. I was raised by Conservatives. It gives me a unique skill and perspective . I’m pretty good at deciphering some of their crazier ways of thinking. But this one? I got nothin’. Even Republicans thought it was stupid, so it wasn’t just me.
Now back to Aamira’s role in this…
At a visit to the Capitol building , Aamira greeted the Senator and asked ,“Why do you want to cut benefits for people?”. Senator Campfield talked over Aamira at her adult escorts, “I love when people use children as props!”. When he did directly address Aamira, he told her that if a child has decent parents, they have nothing to worry about. Children can control whether or not they have decent parents now,I guess. (Also, I think the term “decent parents” is wide open for interpretation). Aamira was persistent and followed him throughout the Capitol, even after cameras stopped filming.
You can watch the interaction here:
After all this, Sen Campfield withdrew the bill, stating that he now recognized that it targeted certain “groups” (but really, I’m pretty sure it was mostly because he didn’t want to look bad AND even Republicans thought he was fucking crazy).
Aamira’s activism paid off. Yes, Aamira’s activism. I don’t believe she was used as a prop or a ply to gain publicity for the cause. I believe she sincerely wanted to be a voice for this issue. Children can be activists. It’s isn’t always motivated by an adult putting the kid up to something. My own children and I talk about current events all the time, on different levels and details depending on their development. There’s been any a time they’ve gotten out their lemonade stand equipment to raise money for some cause they felt passionate about after we discussed it or asked to go help out or be involved in a community project. THEY initiated it, I stood in the background and supported it.
The bottom line here: This was a stupid bill and this little girl stopped it from happening.
There are more excellent words about Aamira here: And A Child Will Lead Us
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To see all I’ve ever said here about hunger,food insecurity ,poverty, and living on food stamps, go here.
