I remember when my mom would cook dinner for us. We never complained about what we ate. We were grateful to have a full meal. Once a week my father took us all out to dinner to give her a break. I never forgot our family dinners. The meals were not fancy by any means, meatloaf, pot roast, stewed chicken even chili. For desert we had fruit and during the holidays we splurged and had ice cream. But times have changed. People want things fast and salty, sweet and creamy. At least this is the way it is for people on EBT. Since itās not their money, why eat what is good for you? That would be a waste. Instead, buy all the frozen food and deserts and chips you can gorge yourself with. People who cook their own meals and try to eat healthy are fools. Remember, welfare, EBT, is a privilege, take advantage of the opportunity.
I was amazed to see how people are, on this topic also, to have as many kids as possible for the check. It is a lot more than it costs me to eat in a month.
McDonalds was a luxury.
Why Canāt Senior citizens who have worked all their lives, retired, living on their well-earned social security income, not qualify for FREE FOOD 
, Women (not working) having babies left and right from whoever, qualify for FREE FOOD (stamps) andā¦
OH WAITā¦
I get itā¦I donāt qualify because Iām a MALE 
$#!T neva mindā¦..
No, you canāt always get what you want
You canāt always get what you want
You canāt always get what you want
But if you try sometime youāll find
You get what you need. Rolling Stones
I have had a rough time economically for a while now, and I can tell you that, yes, food is expensive compared to what it was, but you can eat very well still if youāre willing to put in the effort. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, dried beans and lentils, squash, green beans (all fresh) can fill your cart and stomach with really good tasting, truly nutritious food for very cheap. Walmart or Sams has decent prices on good cuts of meat. All it takes is a willingness to shop carefully, and put a little effort into preparing your dinners, and youāll be much healthier, and better off financially, than 90% of the people who are eating fast food and prepared junk from the grocery store.
I swear, Publix is trying to kill us with what they push. I was noticing this with my wife. You almost canāt stand in any single spot in the store, except in the middle of produce, and not be confronted with something bad for you. The end caps, and front/rear isles and even the main isles are jammed with racks of donuts, candy, soda, snacks, chips, etc. etcā¦
This 
I have the app for local grocery stores so I can be alerted when they have specials.
āFish are friends, not food.ā
At least that is what my brain though of when I read the title.
I have been on food stamps before during the Covid pandemic. Texas made accommodations for families with school aged children to get a little extra one summer. ONE summer. Three months. I think we got $150 worth of food stamps on an EBT card.
We also qualified to get WIC after each of our boys were born. WIC lasted a year and we had about $250 a month of specific items we could get.
Shortly after the Covid-19 propaganda campaign hit, I lost my really good job and I now survive on approximately $10,000 less per year than I had before that crap hit. The company had a huge loss due to fewer customers, and my pay was cut accordingly. I had to jump ship in order to feed my family.
I currently qualify (financially, anyway) for food stamps and Medicare, but I donāt qualify in other areas. I am married to the mother of my children, my children have my last name, etcā¦ There is one tiny paycheck coming into a family of 5 consisting of Mom, Dad and three teenagers. It doesnāt stretch very far.
My Wife has become a very frugal, yet effective cook in the past few years, producing absolutely delicious meals with a minimum of supplies. Couple that with the fact I have certain things I cannot eat due to medical problems (Gout and Diabetes, high blood pressure) and it gets slim of what she can cook. No white rice, No turkey for Thanksgiving, no ham for Christmas, no cakes or pies EVER. No white bread EVER. No beef EVER. No shellfish EVER. No sweet tea EVER. No beer EVER. Nothing with any oats EVER.
My wife makes the most delicious, melt in your mouth oatmeal cookiesā¦ I canāt have any.
We eat a lot of beans. We eat a lot of chicken. We eat a lot of long grain wild rice. I can have all the fruits and certain veggies I want. I can have lettuce but not cabbage or spinach. No broccoli. No asparagus.
We manage as we can, and YES, it pi$$es us off when we see these people at the grocery store with huge baskets of food spending $600 or $700 dollars a week with food stamps just because they have a dozen kids from 15 different donors. They drive better vehicles than we do and live in nicer houses.
I just donāt understand.
My daughter benefited from WIC too, to the point she was overweight. Iām glad DJT prioritized it early during the shutdown.
I use my home for a test kitchen. Before I do a dish for work, I play with it at home. When I get it the way I like it, I take pictures so I can use it to post the special at work.
I am going to do pumpkin tortellini with bacon and pepitas this coming weekend. I am going to work on a duck dish for the next weekend but havenāt decided if I will do a fig marsala sauce or a blackberry chutney.
If I ever want chips, I make my own. I can make them anyway I want that way.
I love taking a humble ingredient and making into something splendid. I really enjoy making my own pasta or noodles. I make my own ramen noodles. Nothing better than making your own food. That way you know what is in it. I have even made my own tea mixes with foraging the items to make it.
I cannot stand fast food restaurants, except in and out burgers. I do not even really go out and eat at restaurants. I get so disappointed knowing I could make it at home and even do it better for much less.
If McDonalds had a cousin twice removed it would be In and Out Burger. 
Iāve never seen that SNAP table before. A family of four - husband, wife, two kids - qualifies for benefits if the household income is less than $64K per year. If only one parents works, which is most likely because the other parent needs to stay home and take care of the kids, that equates to one parent making $31 per hour working full time. Remind me again what the minimum wage is?
According to Southern Regional Education Boardā¦ āWorkers in North Carolina with a high school diploma as their highest level of education have a median annual income of approximately $37,290. Nationally, this figure for full-time workers is about $47,632 per year. For the age group 25-34 in the US, median earnings for high school completers are around $41,800.ā
The math isnāt mathing here. Clearly, there needs to be a reconning of worker pay vs corporate profits.
Some quick Googling with Gemini AIā¦ āif the federal minimum wage had increased at the same rate as the average CEO realized compensation from 1970 to 2023, it would be approximately $28.54 per hour today.ā So that pretty much aligns with a minimum wage of $31 per hour assuming SNAP benefits and minimum wage are both supposed to be set at true poverty level.
I tried Ronald McDonaldās distant cousins Whataburger and Culverās a week ago 
Did you get a tenderloin sandwich and custard?
Butterburger cheese but big mistake forgetting about the custard 
Thatās not the biggest problem! Iāve shopped Publix for the past 36 years.
In the past 10 years Iāve seen a decline in the quality of fresh produce. Lettuce lasts a day. Celery, tomatoes donāt last as long as they used to. Nothing does except frozen foods and snacks!
Iāve seen a major decline in vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans and lately the potatoes.
Broccoli lasts only 2 days in the fridge, ( because of that, Iāve since been returning all my vegetables if they donāt last more than three days ) asparagus maybe three days , green beans maybe a week. Potatoes seem to be being plucked and exposed to light, which can potentially be harmful. The only way thatās safe is to bake not boil! Or they say throw them away, at todayās prices, not a chance, Iāll return the whole batch!
Itās sad, getting concerned about who may be handling our food. Nobody takes pride in their work any more. Are we going to have to start importing our fresh food from China?
I remember seeing trucks roll out of Florida with tons of orange oranges, now I see trucks rolling āintoā Florida with green oranges.
Whatās up with that?
On occasion Iāll try local farmers markets! Extremely fresh and well taken care of, no bruising and the taste is better! The variety is lacking!
Yep, same here. The lettuce will be all brown and limp, and still days away from the best-by date. Also, you now have to check expiration dates on everything you buy. Weāve found so much expired stuff for sale itās scary; stuff that could really hurt you like eggs, dairy, etc. Shopp9ng takes a long time now because everything thatbgoes in the cart needs to be inspected carefully.
āIF YOU DONāT EAT YOUR MEAT YOU CANāT HAVE ANY PUDDING!, HOW CAN YOU HAVE PUDDING IF YOU DONāT EAT YOUR MEAT?ā āPink Floyd ARGH!