David Britt-Friedman / NBC News
Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio: "It's incredibly hard to see a kid who is hungry and who is ashamed of being hungry. And if enough people want to fix it, government will get the message."
Best known for being a withering judge on "Top Chef" and a successful restaurateur, Tom Colicchio has long been interested in the other side of the food equation: fighting hunger in America.
That’s where the new documentary "A Place at the Table" comes in. Executive produced by Colicchio and co-directed by his wife, Lori Silverbush, the gut-wrenching film chronicles a small sampling of the millions of Americans who are unsure where their next meal is coming from. It also offers solutions for how we can fix the problem by 2015.
“Hunger is right here in the United States,” says Barbie Izquierdo, one of the profiled characters in the film, a single mother of two from Philadelphia. “It could be right next door and you wouldn’t know it because people are too afraid to talk about it.”
NBC News talked with Colicchio about the film, about his own connection to hunger in America and how we can solve the problem of food insecurity.
NBC News: Why make this film now? What do you hope to accomplish?
Colicchio: Working on various hunger issues over the past 25 years, you get to a point where even with all the money in the world and working with great organizations is not fixing the problem. So at some point you need to look at the systemic reason why people are food insecure. And at home, my wife and I were mentoring a young girl and we realized the things that we were doing – she was often hungry and her family was often hungry, so we’d give her food and send it home – was really just putting a band-aid on it. It’s not a way to fix it. It’s a way to reduce the suffering and get by, but it doesn’t fix the problem.
My wife is a filmmaker and we said maybe it was time to do a film. Very early after she started her research we discovered that in 1968 there was an hour-long news piece that changed hunger in this country. That increased pressure on government and created more news stories, and very quickly people were fed up and shocked by it, which led to change. Through this process, most people that we talk to are simply shocked when they hear the numbers about food insecurity. People think it’s a smaller number, but they don’t understand how bad it is. So I think our hope is that through this we get a groundswell going and affect change.
NBC News: Why do you think this particular film can help lead that change?
Colicchio: I think if enough people see this film and understand the problem, it can happen. You have to understand the issue to fix it. And it’s not a film with talking heads giving you a bunch of numbers. It’s three people and three different unique narratives. You see their faces and you see police officers, teachers, a pastor and all these other people affected by food insecurity. And maybe you don’t know them, but you probably know people like them. And you make a connection. And once you make that connection, you say to yourself, “I have to help.” It’s incredibly hard to see a kid who is hungry and who is ashamed of being hungry. And if enough people want to fix it, government will get the message.
NBC News: What did you learn from working on this film?
Colicchio: For 25 years, I’ve been raising money and going to workshops to try and correct this issue, and I thought that was enough and I was doing my part. But from working on this film, I realized it’s not enough, because it’s not going to fix the problem of hunger. So it’s more about being an activist and an advocate now to give the people a voice that just don’t have a voice. Fifty million Americans don’t have a voice and can’t speak for themselves. We need to turn this into a voting issue, a single voting issue, and that’s where I hope this takes us.
NBC News: Many people think having a job is a guarantee against going hungry, but that’s not always the case. Can you talk about that a bit?
Colicchio: People don’t want to be in poverty and not be able to feed their kids. But because of the economy, there are plenty of people who were solid middle-class who are now on assistance. They want to work, it’s just not happening or happening fast enough. What we didn’t cover in the film are things like senior hunger or hunger in the military. Again, this issue is much bigger than many people realize, and hopefully this film raises awareness to fix it.
NBC News: On television and with all of your restaurants, you are a celebrity chef. How do you balance that role versus now being a food politician and advocate?
Colicchio: Television is television. I’m extremely proud of the fact that a few seasons ago on "Top Chef" we talked about school lunch and did a program on school lunch. But what it’s done for me is give me a platform, and this is how I choose to use my platform. That’s the real bonus. People who are in the limelight can do what they choose, and I want to use it for positive change. We were so lucky that Jeff Bridges came out for this film, too. We didn’t even reach out to him. He found out we were doing a film, called and said, “I need to be in it.” I think that there are plenty of examples of people doing it for positive reasons.
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The other day a friend of mine witness a woman from Edina, Mn transferring her groceries from a discount grocery sack into a top of the line eco sack made by Bylerly's which is one of our more expensive grocery stores in the Minneapolis area.it seems that she was ashamed that she had to shop at a discount grocery store and decided to make up for it by putting it into her prestigious sack to give the illusion she had shopped there. Seriously, hunger is very much a problem with more and more people who were once proud people are humbling themselves because they cannot find ways to stretch their middle class budget to cover both food and gas
I wasn't aware that we had any hungry people in the US. I have not seen any stories about anyone who has died of starvation by not being able to find food. I have seen our so-called poor have some serious health problems related to being obese. High BP, diabetes, heart disease...
Well, however wrong-headed and mean-spirited your observation is, there is a reason why you sometimes see an obesity problem among the poor. Often the cheapest food is also the least nutritious and highest in fat and calories. There are also many areas of the country that are food deserts, even in big cities. The only place to get groceries near by are convenience stores, leaving someone with no car and limited funds for transportation to choose between junk food and not eating at all. But by all means, judge away, DickCranium.
To your point, Mr. Head, who doesn't have food or access to food? We have 47million (about 15% of the population) on food stamps. Are those who are hungry the same ones who sell their food stamps for cash to buy drugs?
That is the biggest crock of sh!t and worst lie spread by people that don't want to put any effort into eating healthy.
Stick to the convenience store theory before spouting the other lie.
Can you give examples of cheap food that is good food? Would be more helpful. In my experience, things like macaroni and cheese, noodles, etc are not good for you. I ate plenty of whole wheat PB&J sandwiches which were reasonably healthy.
You can buy a whole chicken for $3-4 at whole foods, so I'm guessing it can be bought cheaper elsewehere. Is that the type of example you meant? Because if you're buying mac n cheese for health or cost, you are doing it wrong. You can get 5+ meals out of that chicken if you make it into sandwiches or salads. I just used one last week to make chicken soup that was good for 3-4 lunches for 2 people and it was great.
zitsky - when was the last time you saw a whole foods or a trader joes in the hood? they only have liquor stores to buy groceries. liquor stores don't have whole wheat bread or reduced sugar jelly for pb&j. they have one kind and it's not the low-calorie one.
Mind -
Whole foods wouldn't set up in "the hood" because the people would not shop there regardless, they will still go to the fast food, no matter what was available.
Go to a local Walmart or any grocery store in a crappy area, you will see everyone there with bags of junk food and other crap filling their carriages then complaining that healthy food is expensive when someone claims they are fat.
honestdebate- you're making a whole lot of conclusions with nothing to back it up besides your opinion. How would you know what people want? Whole foods isn't going broke and failing in low income neighborhoods. They've never been there so they don't know how well they would do. I've worked with low income kids my whole life and i KNOW for a fact that they do want whole foods and better food options. That's why you see urban gardens popping up in low income neighborhoods in larger cities.
You are right, your opinion is definitely worth more than WF research and marketing, I wasn't thinking.
You can work with as many kids as you want, kids don't do the shopping. But when you work with poorer people, you know that they ALWAYS choose the easy fast food. They never bring their own lunches and always buy at fast food restaurants or convenience stores.
Sorry if observation of what adults do trumps what you convinced kids they should say.
There are more fast food restaurants in poor areas than there are supermarkets, that proves me right on face value alone.
Yet these people can afford cell phones for themselves & children, alcohol, smokes, make up, hair dyes, hairdressers, big screen tvs, cable internet, new cars & so forth, and then rely on food stamps & free handouts to feed their families. Food stamps were meant to be used to help people feed their families not a way of life. I am not saying there aren't people who need help nor should we stop helping the ones who truly need help. However it is sad how we have become a nation of independent self- responsible individuals to society filled with people who not expect others to feed & house them but their generations of off-springs.
honestdebate. I was in need of a foodbank 2010 because my unemployment paid for my rent, my childsupport, and that was it. At the Foodbank I was limited to a can of green beans, one meat product from the freezer, some produce (3 potatoes, a couple oranges or a bag of grapes, or misc other items) enough food for a weekend but not for a week which is how often I was able to go to the foodbank. The pastries and baked goods, bread, cupcakes, whole cakes were all as much as I wanted. The only thing in there that had no limit was pastries and bread. So you saying that the cheapest food isn't full of crap is wrong. Half the food they served at the foodbank was practically rotten. It was all past their sell by date and much of the stuff had mold on it the day after I got it anyway.
Needless to say, that bran muffins and olive loaf bread got me by some really tough times. Nobody should be forced to live off of that. There are people that take advantage of the system... But remember those are only a small percentage of the people. The vast majority of them are like me. They get on the system and get off as soon as they can. Stop acting as if you know what is going on.
Fissile -
What does a foodbank have to do with poor people and people on foodstamps buying crap food?
Nutritious food does cost more in most cases. Anyone can come up with a few examples where it doesn't, but I can tell you that when I switched to a more healthy diet my food bills went up considerably. There is more to it than that though. Healthy meals typically take more time to prepare and the working poor often don't have the time to invest in making a healthy meal. Also, poor people are often more depressed which is certainly linked to unhealthy eating/poor food choices. There is so much more to this than most of you want to believe. Yes, there are people out there who are lazy and using the government, but there are plenty more who are doing the best they can and still can't make ends meet. Hunger is a real problem and more often than not it is children who are hungry. Are you going to blame them?
Becky--sorry, but you are falling for one of the oldest lies there is--that the ones who are hungry are the 'working poor'.
In the late SIXTIES, my HS's student council had an anual food drive before both Thanksgiving and Christmas, also collecting $$$ to pay for a turkey or a ham, and they Stuco would sort the stuff into meal type boxes to deliver to 'poor' families who registered as needing them.
Imagine the surprise of the HS kids who would drive to the home involved, see TWO cars parked out front, and when they knocked on the door, there would be at LEAST 2 adults sitting around watching TV in an absolute PIGSTY.
Imagine their greater surprise when the city finally asked them to stop giving families a turkey, since it had to be cooked, and instead, the family would just throw it out.
Did I mention that in most of those places, everyone of the adults was SMOKING and there were beer cans/booze bottles around?
Now, today, I frequently am in line behind people who use their food 'stamp' (debit card) to buy food, much of which is still not that great, and a lot of which is NAME BRAND rather than generic) and then when they have bought everything the computer will let them with their food 'stamps', they will whip out an ENVELOPE filled with cash, and use the CASH to pay for magazines, cosmetics, cigs and booze, soda pop, candy, etc.
If they have the CASH for those things, they should not be getting taxpayer assistance.
And as for kids being hungry? IN my local school district, we offer free or reduced cost Breakfast AND lunch, (and OVER 2/3 of the kids qualify) and about 1/2 of the food is THROWN away by kids who will NOT eat things like canned green beans, or 'goulash' or even peanut butter. They ONLY want things like Hot dogs, cheese burgers, or (preferably) battered chicken nuggets dipped in (or could I say DROWNED in) ranch dressing, or some sicky sweet other sauce. (mostly sugar)
And where did those kids LEARN to eat like that? And while hot dogs are fairly inexpensive, CHICKEN nuggets are NOT.
And again, MOST of the 'working poor' are NOT working.
I talked to a recently wed, new teen father this weekend who was letting his father pay for his families food because he was too proud to get food stamps.
I made sure and let him know that I remembered years ago when his parents were getting food stamps to feed him and his siblings. He still felt like it was less shameful to let his father pay for his families food than to go take advantage of the program that his father helps pay for with all those taxes.
If I was his dad, I would drop him and his wife off at the foodstamp office myself, before I would shell out 400-500$ a month to finance a horny teenagers false pride!
The kid has a job, it's not like he would be some mooch. His taxes help pay for those programs too.
I get the feeling he has been listening to too much conservative talk radio.
Food stamps rob people of their self respect and turn them into machines waiting for the monthly entitlement programs and give up on finding jobs and taking care of their families.
Better that they should starve?
Jerry,
They used to rob people of their self respect. Not anymore.
Jerry; you don't know the full story. Yes, a small majority of people on food stamps give up, but most keep trying. And what you didn't mention is the number of elderly who worked their whole lives and took care of their families and now find themselves having to rely on food stamps to save their lives because their social security is not enough. It's time people took the blinders off and stopped listening to the "entitlement" bullcrap that is being spouted by the ignorant. I know the real statistics; I see it every day in my working life.
Probably right, you certainly wouldn't ever hear about people having pride from the left, you can't convince people to show pride while convincing them to be a victim at the same time.
Since my wife and myself and most of our close friends are people who all used to receive foodstamps when we started out and all no longer receive them, because we now make too much money I already know most of you moneygrubbing rightwingers are full of @!$%#!
Most of you wouldn't know a liberal if one bit you square on you ignorant ass!
Ironically, most of the folks my age(early middle age) that I know of who are still on foodstamps are all conservative rednecks! Go figure!
Let 'em eat cake.
Actually, I think Marie Atoinette was a communist. Providing cake is NOT a valid function of the federal government. Let 'em eat feces.
I've always said that the recession is some other guys problem when you have a job and can pay your bills. Hard to empathize when it doesn't hit home. Because of that, my wife and I support our local food pantry. We were lucky and have both been employed these past difficult years but recognize that other's haven't. Some folks have to decide which bill NOT to pay so they can feed their families. I can't imagine... So, what we've done is take our love of food and entertaining and turn it into a charitable event. We're throwing a party for friends and co-workers and asking them, in leui of a bottle of wine or whatever one brings to a party, to bring a check made out to the Food Pantry. Last year we raised nearly $900 and this year we plan on doubling it.
So next time you're having a party - ask your guests to donate to a local charity instead of bringing someting. Everyone wins this way.
The conservative-driven line of BS that "if you are needy it is due to your bad choices" is really a sad thing. Such nonsense has made hungry people feel ashamed to be hungry?! Disgusting :(
Really Sean? Where are these so-called hungry people?
Look up.
Sean -
Pretty sure conservatives have been giving to charities for centuries. It is people like you that feel our charitable donations should be mandated and controlled by the government so they can skim off the top.
As a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in a rural community, I see and get assistance for lots of needy families. One of the biggest categories we assist with is food, specially for the elderly poor in the area. Many have a limited SS income that barely pays for housing, single and Married older folks often get squat for food stamps. Hardly enough to pay for one week of food, let alone a months worth. This is a fact through out rural Kentucky. These were hard working folks, often small farm owners who don't have their farms any more, limited savings (often long gone now due to the failing economy) or widows who had to sell of their land because they couldn't pay taxes after their spouse died. Many others are out of work people, the rate here in Kentucky is still around 8%, with many no longer receiving unemployment. I've been a volunteer for almost 5 years now and things do not seem to be getting any better.
With 57 million Americans on food stamps there is no need for hungry children. Too many food stamp recipients trade their debit card money for dollars and use them to buy drugs. We just seem to have endless giveaway programs, yet none to encourage families to stay together and the man to stay with the woman and his children. Helping feed children is a good goal, but so much money dedicated to that is wasted and turned into fraud that any effort except feeding children directly seems like a wasted effort.
Capitalism again! People bartering what they have. Still, the few abusers are far out-weighed by the truly needy. The whole magical "family" thing is just silly.
I'd rather 100 guilty men go free than imprison one innocent man.
The average food stamp budget is $21 per WEEK (That is $3 per day). Of course families on food stamps still have hungry children. It is naive to think that families that accept this helping hand from our government actually prefer so-called 'entitlements' to earning a living wage and supporting their family. A little bit a something, anything, is better than nothing at all.
Yes, I am sure there are people who abuse the system and others who trade their debit cards for drugs. I would much rather that than standing idly by and doing nothing.
exactly! and in my experience, the parents or children over 18 receive the welfare benefits but the children below that age don't. THOSE are the hungry children.
Jerry and Mindy: What a load of crap! Yeah there's cheaters, just like with income tax, stop signs, and speed limits! But the majority receiving food stamps DON'T cheat and DON'T get enough to buy a month's worth of food. Why do people insist on repeating bogus "facts" that have been refuted over and over again. I pray to God that NONE of you ever find yourselves in dire need of assistance. Because it may no longer be there, thanks to politicians who are continuing to help the rich at the expensive of the poor in this country.
Jerry:
Yes, of the nearly 50 million Americans on food stamps, an overwhelming number have been caught trading their food stamp money for cash: 208!!! No, not 208,000: 208. For the mathematically inclined, that's FOUR TEN-THOUSANDTHS OF ONE PERCENT of the total. And not all of those were even using the cash to "buy drugs:" some were using it to purchase other items.
So, Jerry, even if we assume that NINETY-NINE PERCENT of this kind of fraud goes uncaught, that would still compute to less than one-tenth of one percent of the total number of food stamp recipients. Now, I agree, one-tenth of one percent could be defined as "too many," but I don't know of any business or organization that can claim to be more than 99.9% efficient.
Face it: your "facts" are bogus. You just hate poor people.
How many of us know a family on the edge....it's a small kindness to drop off groceries, extra diapers, a movie or a game to a family struggling...I was raised by a single mom...dad walked out in 1963 and never showed up again...I learned that you have to take others under a wing once and awhile..it will not make or break you...but, it makes a family feel cared for. Be a good example...it's a wonderful feeling.
Nice, I raised by a single parent also & coming from a poor family I learn to work for my needs & wants. We worked in the fields during harvest seasons until we were old enough to find other types of jobs, house keeping, laundry, or washing dishes & waiting tables. We were taught if we didn't work for it we didn't need it. We always had a little garden & took hunting season seriously not recreational. The best things about the whole experience is we took education to heart because we knew it was the only way to improve our future and seen how our dad sacrifice his needs for ours. But hey that was back before the days of food-stamps, free medical, clothing & low cost housing. The days when pride, independent, self responsibility meant something.
People should not feel ashamed to be hungry in this country and this country should try and figure out how to help. At the same time, I was walking with my children through our neighborhood this weekend and our neighborhood contains $700,000 homes and $10,000 homes within 500 feet of each other. We walked by a home that is government subsidized and a man was grilling out some chicken. I said, "Wow, that smells great, we are stopping by!" He smiled and said "It's easy to get food vouchers, bus passes and housing and you don't have to do anything for it except apply in person and show up once a month." Therein lies the problem. There are people who abuse the system, make no effort to get off the system and are content "getting by" on government funding. It's why those programs create shame to people who need the support because others abuse it at the expense of taxpayers. No one should be on food stamps for more than 4-5 years unless you are physically or mentally disabled. The programs are not designed to be permanent solutions but temporary help while you get back on your feet.
Looking forward to seeing the piece - very curious about the military hungry.
Cool story bro. Still, the abusers are greatly outnumbered by the truly needy.
Did you leave out part of the story? How do you know he was an abuser and not just being friendly and offering you helpful information?
ALso how about senior citizens who need assistance to stretch their social security - CE Daly - would you cut them off too?
Show the proof if you are going to keep saying that.
C.E. Daly.... You said you were curious about the military being hungry. It's not the soldiers who go hungry, but their families. When I was stationed in Germany, I have seen soldiers who were privates that brought their families over with them. Not smart. There is little to none on-post family housing. They had to live off the German economy on a privates pay. Ohhh about $600 a month. That's $600 a month for rent, food, utility's. I think you see the problem. Best to leave them at home in the U.S until you get some more rank on your shoulders.
Okay, Let's put it out there - I receive foodstamps for myself and my grandson. This allows me to spend what cash I have to get him the help he needs to overcome autism. So, I could pay for the groceries and not his therapy or vice versa. I also stay home to be able to take him to allhis therapies and oversee everything and work with him myself.
If the governement would be willing to provide the transporation and therapy he needs as part of his schooling, then I would be happy to be still working and not needing food stamps!
No offense but why should the government pay for your childs transportaion and therapy? If you are working then presumably you would be able to take care of those things with the money you make right?
There are always people who fall and need a helping hand for a short period of time which I would be more than happy to help. Its those that make it their life's work to remain on some type of gov't assistance that I resent.
I am sorry to hear your issues but again "government'' is the working people, the money comes from us, not some factory making dollar bills. Whenever I hear anyone talk about the government like it's some entity that owes people something, I get a bit offended. I'm government, you're governement...every single working person is government. What's sad is the people that handle our monies..that's where the problem lies. Don't give my money away please, use it to those that really need it. You can't afford daycare for 4 children that you have had, 4 different daddies, well get child support, WORK show your children a better way in life. I can't support you any longer...
suesue: What are you talking about? She said she's got a special needs grandchild, not 4 kids with 4 different daddies.
Where are his parents? Why aren't they feeding and caring for their child?
I would have more sympathy if I hadn't seen cookies/sodas/ice cream/potato chips/frozen pizza/candy bars/ $13.00-a-pound seafood salad/deli meats purchased with food stamps. Visit local BigBox store the day the food stamp cards are re-loaded,watch morbidly obese person waddle to checkout with a cart full of pure junk food and pull out EBT card to pay for it.
Anyone else see the irony-the taxpayers provide high-fat/high sugar content junk food,leading to obesity,which then results in diabetes & heart disease,for which the taxpayers get the bill in the form of Medicaid. Vicious circle.....
Besides the deli meats (not premium), I'm with you, but I don't see a problem if someone is going to buy a few pounds of meats to ration through-out the week. IMO, that is exactly what foodstamps should be for.
They should be required to take the full $35 and spend it on a weeks worth of food, which $35 worth of cold-cuts will easily feed a person for a week. Or they should move to MA and get a tattoo with it, as Deval Patrick says is completely acceptable.
As a child who was raised on foodstamps, I can say that my mom earnestly tried to find job in an incredibly scarce market. When she was unemployed (and that was most of the time) we suffered through winters with no heat, hot water and very little food. We never bought into the idea that government should pay for everything. In fact, my mom pushed for me to go to college when we had no means of paying. Some people look down on poor people which makes a bad situation even worse. I've talked to many students in this same situation and I'll keep trying to get through to them that they can change things. I did - I know they can too.
I was on food stamp and welfare when I first came to this country at age of sixteen with my older brother. We spoke no English and thirty years later, I am a medical doctor and he is an aerospace engineer. I feel this program is very important to help the low income families. However, these families also need to work hard to move themselves up as well. I did it by myself then any one can.
That is the key and I've never heard anyone that doesn't agree that this is what the programs are setup for.
Unfortunately there are those that also believe they should be allowed to live off gov assistance forever, and there is a political ideology that tells them they are correct and entitled to it, but hey, buying votes is tough.
Great post KN, and good for you! Thats is what government assistance is (should be) about assisting, not supporting.
I just hope all of you with no sympathy for people needing food stamps never have to eat your words. With our economy set up the way it is, and insurance companies operating for profits, and Big Business calling the shots in Washington, 99% of Americans are just a medical issue/bad investment/lost job/natural disaster away from losing everything. You may think you're safe, but just ask many of the folks who are recently in the position of needing help. I bet an awful lot of them didn't think they'd be where they are now.
I personally know a family who had double six-figure incomes in what would be considered stable professions. They had masters degrees, a healthy savings account, good insurance, retirement funds, and a nice but not ostentatious house in a good neighborhood. Then the husband found out he was ill and needed treatment in another state to survive. Such a procedure takes several months of recovery and has lots of insurance copays. He was forced to quit his job, and eventually so did his wife because the hospital requires the patient to have a 24/7 caregiver with them as they recover, so she had to move to be with him. Which meant no more employer provided insurance (and Cobra isn't cheap). It wasn't long before their savings was gone because of that, and soon they had to move their kids out of their home and sell it in order to pay for his medical care. Luckily he's finally recovering but not before this family lost everything.
So all you haters could very well see this guy in a grocery store using an EBT card. You'd make your judgements without any idea what this guy has been through (one of the medications he's on causes weight gain, so he also has the audacity to shop while overweight). Should he never buy his kids treats to make sure not to offend your sensibilities?
The sad part is that even if there are 10x more welfare cheaters than honest users of government assistance, all the cheaters' ill-gotten gains combined wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket compared to the ill-gotten gains of Big Business, Big Pharma, the insurance industry, etc. But you all seem to love piling on the poor. It's sickening.
That is just as large of an issue as anthing though. People now-a-days do not plan for the future, they just live in the now. Everyone should be putting as much into a 'rainny day fund' as possible. But people would prefer to have a $100 cable bill.
I understand some situations putting money away is tough, but that isn't the people you were speaking of.
But then when you say that you show your liberal side and probably don't care about the truth at all.
You clearly didn't read my post before you responded with your "honest debate." These people had a very healthy savings account. Be glad you haven't had to find out how quickly medical bills can swallow a lifetime of savings, even with good insurance. It would sure be a long fall off your high horse.
I "show my liberal side"? What does that even mean? Yeah, it's definitely liberals and NOT Fox News watching Tea Party fools who hate truth. You're showing you're ignorant side with that comment, if you have more than one side.
You showed my statement of your liberal side was completely justified there, good job.
Makes you so mad that I read you perfectly, doesn't it?
Wow, AMAZING powers of observation! You must be some kind of wizard or something.
Doesn't really make me mad, though. Not at all surprised you see the world as black and white.
has anyone ever been in line in a grocery store, the person ahead of you has 2 carts, has vouchers and food stamps and is talking on the iphone the entire time she is emptying the cart? Then goes out and gets in a new car and drives off? I don't know about anyone else but I work 40 hours a week 35% of my pay goes to medicaid, SS and other taxes and I can't afford a cell phone, drive a 9 year old car and keep my heat down to 62 in the winter and 80 in the summer because of the utility bill. I'm not selfish and I'm not mean spirited but I am very tired of not being able to afford the 500 deductible on insurance I pay over 200 a month for while supporting unwed mothers with 3 or 4 babies, getting free healthcare, food and a phone.....sorry people, but I'm old and i'm tired...
Please stop perpetuating the same lie I heard in high school 50 years ago. A car is not considered when applying for food assistance. Most people have car payments. You're lucky to have a nine-year-old car. Mine is fourteen years old and I'm so thankful I don't have car payments.
Also, the myth of the poor selling "food stamps" has got to stop. Today it's a debit card or EBT card that is run through the system like any other bank card. It's impossible to even buy cat food on this card, let alone beer and cigarettes. I wish my tax money would go to universal health and dental care, and not for bombs, missiles, drones, and corporate welfare. How about all those contractors in Iraq that were playing touch football with piles of money? I'd rather give to the poor than those jackasses.
@Mugwump2. Agreed. In addition, with as often as I am in the store, you would think I would have seen at least one of these lavish food stamp spenders, since it sounds like they are so prevelant. But nope, in my 56 years I haven't seen one.
all i hear on tv is americans are too fat. kids are too fat. so which is it? are they starving or are they too fat? guess it just depends who's mouth it's coming out of.
Many of the older workers, when they retired, had SMALL SS checks. They never made that much to begin with, or saved that much. Living on minimum wage(and I remember working as a nursing assistant in the 70's and making $1.60/hour) is difficult. Now that I am in my 60's I don't have that much in SS coming in, but I am grateful for it. I never expected to live on SS, but now that my body is broken taking care of your elderly, and your people in hospitals, to have to be shamed is untenable. Trying to save on minimum wage is difficult to say the least. When are the landlords, middlemen of the grocery stores, the medical profession, etc. going to lower their prices so that we all can live?
Aww...boo hoo. Someone else's fault just like always. It's your landlord's fault that you couldn't afford rent and your grocery store's fault for wanting to make a profit.
This country is so damned soft. If people were allowed to FAIL then I think we'd all be a little more spartan in our lifestyles and choices. PEOPLE KNOW that there is a safety net, so the keep trying to make that triple backflip instead of first learning to just stay up on their own.
We're lazy, not hungry or too poor to get food. If you can't afford food, it is available to you. Everyone wants quick convenient food, well most of the healthy options in that dept are very expensive. Healthy food needs to be a priority and if that means buying it in a less convenient form and working a little, that's what we need to do. We buy whole chickens and clean them, not boneless skinless, packaged breasts. We buy bags of rice and cook them, packages of pasta and cook them, fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits that we have to wash and prep. If we eat food with better nutritional value, we can eat less. This is the cheapest, healthiest way to eat. I know people don't like to be told what to do, but maybe the government programs should regulate what people buy with program dollars. What people want to buy with their own money is their business, but my tax dollars are not their money.
I live with mental illness and no one will hire me here in Utah. I am considered a 47%er in Utah and can't get help. Lack of food is a constant problem and my mom is elderly and struggles anyway. My point is, try to live off of $50 to $100 dollars a month. It can always be harder to survive. It is not my fault I was born this way and did not ask to be here. Hungry in Utah!
Food stamps are just like a lot of other things in life...there's always at least one bad apple. One solution would be to make food stamps similar to unemployment...in order to get benefits you have to show the government that you're doing something to help yourself. Of course, there should be exceptions to that...the elderly or disabled.
As far as the couple of remarks I've seen that if you have a job then that eliminates the need for benefits...wrong. I'm a nurse and make a good living, but even I struggle to afford health insurance through the majority of employers when it's to the tune of $400 and $500 a month for me, MY HUSBAND and my 2.5 children (OMG what a horrible person I am to have the audacity to be married and have 2 children and one on the way). And btw...most insurance companies don't care HOW many kids you have...the family rate is the family rate.
And now for the cost of food. 2 years ago, my family made the decision to start eating healthier even though it was slightly more expensive and took more time to prepare. This is a decision that my husband and I are exceptionally proud of for many obvious reasons. Here's the problem...we recently fell on hard times. I lost my job at the local nursing home and LVN's are a dime a dozen so finding another one is rather difficult. We existed on my husband's truck driver pay for a while, then he lost his job and has had difficulty finding a new one due to an unfortunate decision he made several years ago, for which he has paid for since. We tried eating canned food for a while...but anybody that has gone from eating canned/boxed foods to eating fresh and frozen will tell you...the canned foods will generally make you sick to your stomach due to the preservatives and what not. What are we doing to help the situation you ask? Well, my husband has recently gone back on the road (YAY)...I'm taking internet courses to work towards my RN as due to a couple of health issues with and the advance stage of my pregnancy, I'm now unable to work a floor or even get up and go sit in a classroom for hours at a time. Of course, that will change after little bit gets here.
Since our situation started, we have had to move in with my sister and her husband, who are both disabled and physically incapable of working and guess what? Due to the amount of their ss checks they were ineligible to recieve food stamps even though their checks are barely enough to cover their monthly bills. And oh yeah...the government paying all the medical bills of the disabled...it's a myth...they still have to pay a monthly premium for their medicare because their ss checks are too much for them to qualify for medicaid assistance. Before we got there and were able to contribute the food stamps that we recieve, they were eating out of food banks that gave them piss poor food that was either rotted or pretty close to rotted.
I've also heard a couple of people asking about hunger among military personnel. My husband has served this country for 15 years...is a 3 time combat veteran and is currently serving in the National Guard. Yes, he's been hungry to make sure that my pregnant self and our kids eat.
I'm not trying to sell anybody a sob story...just trying to demonstrate to the numerous people I've seen making severe or discriminatory statements on here that not everybody that receives assistance is a leech or fat or anything like that.
This is the biggest problem with America. Not hunger...but the idea that we need to fix everybody and help everybody that can't help themselves. Human beings have existed for a LONG time. Long before you could go to the store and buy food. Long before we even cooked our food. What I'm saying is that EVERYBODY has a choice. Everybody could live a more spartan existence if they really wanted to. Aw...poor amo62223, did your tum tum not feel good having to eat FOOD FROM A CAN THAT SOMEONE ELSE COOKED AND PREPARED FOR YOU. Jesus, what a bunch of WHINERS. Anyone can go fishing, catch fish, cook it, and live. You decide to eat canned food rather than not eat. Good for you. Personally, I decided to save money instead of buy a new car, new clothes, go out to eath.... so that if (when) I got laid off, I could live comforatbly until I found work. But I guess when people fail to plan for themselve, we should just run to the rescue. I honestly don't understand what is so god darned important about taking care of everyone. If everyone just took care of themselves, we'd all be just fine.
First of all...I would much rather cook and prepare the meals for my family than eat something that somebody else made...which is what we do. My daughter asked for McDonald's the other day and my son asked what that was...so no we don't eat out either. Secondly...part of the reason we chose to switch to fresh rather than canned and boxed foods wasn't just for the entire family's health benefits, but because we found out my son suffers from a gastrointestinal disease that requires us to pay careful attention to his diet. It isn't just my "tum tum" as you put it that didn't feel good...it was my now 3 year old son's. Finally, there are some things you simply can't plan for. DaBiz...I'm really sorry that you and so many other people on here have such a close minded view. Must be nice.
DaBiz:
LOL! Hilarious! "Anyone can go fishing?" What about someone living in Mesa, Arizona, dummy? Or someone who doesn't own a fishing pole? You sure as heck wouldn't give them a fishing pole. Or a fishing license: how to pay for that? What an ignoramus! Go back to your fantasy world.
I live in Chester county in Pennsylvania. It is one of the wealthiest counties on a per capita basis in the country. What is startling is there is a food bank no more than two miles from my home. Chester county is dominated by the GOP. It appears only a few see the food bank as a sign of the two economies. One supported by the GOP , the macro economy, whose continuing blind assertions lowering taxes for the corporations and wealthy will create the myth of prosperity. The micro economy , the economy of the work force as it continues its inverse unhealthy relationship supported by the GOP.
One can only take of themselves if they share in the wealth produced. The current outcome is not a random trend after 40 years. When will those who lead or comment connect the outcome of their policies to the devastation they have created.
Some people use their ignorance as an excuse not to see what is in front of them. People are starving in this country, children are homeless and we need to take care of our own before we worry about other countries.
Bravo!! You speak the truth. It's astonishing how the "working poor" have to live in the U.S.A. today.
Let's have a real discussion with a person who has actually battled hunger, shall we?
My husband is a nurse at our local veterans hospital. He has a good job with a good degree and makes decent money. He accomplished this by going back to school in 2008 after being laid off of his retail district management position of 11 years. He worked three low-paying part-time jobs to support myself and our six children while attending night classes and online classes. I was laid off in 2009 from my property management position with a large real estate firm. I had to stay home because it was not possible for me to work a low-paying job and afford 2 kids daycare fees as well as pay for after school care for the four older children. We went from a comfortable income to practically nothing overnight. Food stamps and WIC saved our family from literal starvation. We depended on the program for the years that my husband was in school. Then he graduated and we no longer needed them. We did not go "liquor stores in the hood" to purchase our groceries. I shopped at several local discount grocery stores to make every dollar count. I made and still make all of our families meals from scratch. Making meals from scratch is much cheaper than buying boxed meals and much healthier. All it takes is a little creativity and motivation. The social stigma of food stamps is something that I will never forget. The incredibly rude cashiers and hurtful comments from other shoppers was enough to make me cry more than once. The beauty that came out of this is that it opened my eyes to all of the hurt around me. We now commit to helping in a local shelter at least once a month. I help with our elementary school's food pantry, and my husband works on the medical front with many homeless vets. Being poor was very difficult, but it taught us to live within our means and to give back. We now live without credit cards and as debt free as possible.
I'm really tired of reading all of the attacks on those on food stamps. It's not the food stamps themselves. They are designed to help people like my family during a really difficult time. They are meant to be temporary. The food stamp program would do a lot to take a lesson from the WIC program. With WIC nutrition, the mother must meet with a nutritionist every few months and the program only offers assistance with healthy options. It teaches young mothers how to choose healthy options for their children.
The lesson here is: don't judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Not everyone on food stamps is looking for a permanent hand out.
Thank you Sarah. And thank your husband, nurse to nurse, as well. You're absolutely right about the way people treat you in the store. I had one incident, when I was on WIC, not FS...when I was pregnant with my son and accidentally picked up the wrong item. The clerk was nice enough to go get the replacement for me as I was a week from delivery and any mom knows how swollen the feet get at that stage. The guy in line behind me made the remark "F-ing leaches on society...that's probably your 5th kid. Why don't you just go get a f-ing job." His poor wife, who was standing right next to him, just turned red and started crying and apologizing to me. I looked at him and told him that I was on maternity leave from my nursing position and that my job involved making sure that people like his parents and grandparents spent their last days as comfortable as possible...that my "job" was to make sure people had a hug and a smile to go with the nasty pills everyday. He had the grace to hang his head and pick a different line, dragging his wife behind him still trying to apologize. And good for your family to bring yourselves up and help others...keep up the good work setting a positive example for your kids!!!
People want to believe they are in the middle class. But unless they have at least a third of their income remaining after paying for food and housing (including utilities), this is not where they are. They hold up this illusion, this lie, because they don't want to be labelled as 'working poor'. This prevents us from knowing the true extent of the problem.
There are already 15 government food giveaway programs, if they have not worked maybe we are trying the wrong approach.
Food Stamps is only one of the 15 food giveaway programs, here is the complete list:
1. Food Stamp Program (now called SNAP) (note, the territory of Guam is in the food stamp program, 25% of its citizens receive FSs and has 50,000 people on Medicaid or the Medically Indigent Program BUT the citizens of Guam pay NO federal income taxes- they just get the freebies, compliments of the American taxpayers)
2. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
3. WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program
4. National School Lunch Program
5. School Breakfast Program
6. Summer Food Service Program
7. Emergency Food Assistance Program
8. Child and Adult Care Food Program
9. Commodity Supplemental Food Program
10. Special Milk Program
11. Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
12. Nutrition Program for the Elderly
13. Commodity Distribution to Charitable Institutions and to Soup Kitchens and Food Banks
14. Nutrition Education and Training Program
15. Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands (note - in Puerto Rico 50% of the population is on the program, that's right - half the population! In addition 1,000,000 of them are on Medicaid. AND the citizens of Puerto Rico DO NOT pay federal income tax. It's all just a huge giveaway of American taxpayer dollars.)
Food assistance programs have a combined budget of $170.5 billion.
Goldman Sachs got $1.6 billion in tax free financing for its new headquarters.
Yep, that's 10 times as much as all US food assistance programs.
Jeanne, I think your math is off. $1.6 billion is less than 1% of 170.5 billion.
Food stamps are NOT a way of life by any means. They are only a supplement. The cost of a week of groceries will consume a whole month benefit of food stamps which is now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance) benefits.
Second, wholesome food IS WAY more expensive than processed foods. Are processed foods bad for you? Absolutely! Canned vegetables have no nutritional value (just read the label). Pasta, rice, potatoes, bread all equal starch which in turn equals sugar which over 40 years of your life equals diabetes. That box of mac & cheese is roughly 50% saturated fat per serving.
The cost of making a meal at home is often more expensive than eating out. I have done the math so before you start blasting me with your comments, know what you are talking about. You can walk into any McDonalds and stuff your self silly for $3. You can't even buy a loaf of decent bread for that money.
Here is a simple realistic reason why people cannot afford to feed themselves. The CEOs collect MILLIONS in compensation to sit on their fat asses and push pencils for 2 hours and go play golf for 6 hours then drinks for 2 hours while those who actually do the labor get paid @!$%# wages. Health insurance takes up nearly 30% of your take home salary!!!! The costs of everything continues to skyrocket while a persons wages stay the same. Did you know (and this is a fact) that Aldi's (for those of you unfamiliar with them is a Swedish owned generic named food store) can pay their cashiers over $12 an hour with an excellent health care package to boot. Most skilled laborers earn slightly more than that but pay out a third of their earnings on health insurance.
We as a society have gone from single well to do wage earners in the 1900's to both parents trying to manage their finances and still finding it difficult today. Then you question why people are going hungry? Get real people.