ethicial issues using food stamps - Page 2

[Mom31]

Yes- it has been an eye opening experience for my family.  What do you mean by both sides?

[superspatula]

oh just being poor and being used to being treated a certain way and then not being poor and being treated "better?" and then with my mom dealing with caseworkers and stuff and i feel like im being talked down to sometimes or if im not my my mom is.  what was my normal isnt my normal anymore?  i dont know.  im sure there is an element of overthinking people's behavior as well.  and im sure if my mom was more educated and confident people would treat her differently.  but its funny how vulnerability and begging for healthcare ruins your confidence.  your whole life is in the hands of someone deciding if you "deserve" healthcare.  dont even get me started on that topic!

[Mom31]

Well ALL people should be treated with respect- regardless of education or confidence level or financial situation.

[JudiAU]

Your support of your mother is generous and loving. Why don't you allow this source of income to help support her needs or the needs of the larger family. You can use it to free up your food dollars for childcare assistance or special foods for her diet or "upgrade" to the co-opp you'd like to support. Our local farmer's market accepts food stamps which is another way of helping to support the community. If you can't buy the food she needs with the funds, then buy the goods and donate them to the food pantry.

[rudhaen]

Our local farmers market actively encourages the use of food stamps in lots of ways.  While I was pregnant a lady selling vegetables told me to apply for WIC (I never did due to a slightly different sort of guilt thing, though I certainly would have qualified) as there is additional government support for farmers whose goods are bought with food stamps. You might end up really helping out some local growers!

[IncompetentHousewife]

Our family takes in foster children who are eligible for WIC benefits even though our family income is too high. (Foster children are considered a family of 1 with zero income.) Like you, I felt funny using the WIC benefits, especially because we intended on adopting the children and are about to do so. I'd never ask the government to pay for my bio children's food if I didn't need to. My husband and I realized that we're spending a LOT of extra money raising children who are wards of the state. There's transportation we wouldn't have had for our bio kids, tons of time spent on their special needs and paperwork, less time for me to spend on saving money in other ways now that I am so much busier raising these children.

The first couple times I used the WIC card, I made sure to work into the conversation that the items were for my foster child. How haughty of me! I'm now embarrassed at myself.

It is a little embarrassing when I buy something expensive at the same time as I use the WIC card. I wonder if I would have looked over at my cart and judged myself a few years ago if I didn't know the situation. I probably would have. But *I* know I am doing a good thing by taking care of these children and will use some extra help in doing so, just as you are helping your mother and using a little help in doing so.

When you look at it purely from a government policy point of view, the alternatives are much more expensive. Your mother doesn't get the care she needs in your home to manage her diabetes and her healthcare ends up costing the state much more. My foster children don't get the care they need and they repeat a cycle of illicit activities, costing the judicial system.

[Mom31]

How are you doing with it mama?  It takes time to adjust- it did for me and I still use the self check out a lot.