'You open the fridge - nothing': renewed threat of US hunger as Trump seeks to cut food aid

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Jade Johnson has a word to describe the experience of going hungry in one of the world’s richest countries. “Humbling.”

-snip-

Those lean times were in the days before Johnson was accepted on to Snap, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, that provides low-income families with help to buy nutritious groceries. Johnson had applied several times, but had been knocked back.

She was finally approved, with the help of an adviser whom she met at a parents’ evening at Janai’s kindergarten. For more than a year now she has received $520 every month to buy good food – equivalent to $8.50 for her and Janai each day, or under $3 a meal.

-snip-

Now Johnson is bracing herself for a return to those grim days of food insecurity. Donald Trump’s multi-trillion dollar domestic policy legislation, his “big, beautiful bill” which is currently battling through Congress, would slash up to $300bn from the Snap program in order to fund extended tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/you-open-the-fridge-nothing-renewed-threat-of-us-hunger-as-trump-seeks-to-cut-food-aid/ar-AA1HAsSh

[dalton99a]

1. Another Trump legacy: Malnutrition, disease and death

While the super rich cavort and laugh

[synni]

2. I highly doubt her benefits are that high

I'm on disability, getting the maximum SNAP benefits, and I only get $146 per month.

As usual, the media is trying to paint SNAP recipients as having generous benefits raining down upon them from on high.

The reality is, benefits are already low enough, without Republicans making them even lower.

[Hekate]

3. Billions for private prisons and ICEtapo, pennies for food

[mwmisses4289]

4. Cue the idjits who will screech about $520

being too much. Usually they're idjits who have no idea how much groceries cost, because the SO does all the grocery shopping.

[DFW]

6. One of my daughters lives in New York City

She and her husband both work full time, and they have two children. She says the cost of groceries there is astronomical, and $500 wouldn’t come close to feeding them for a month.

[mwmisses4289]

7. I'd believe that. Even here where we live, which is not anywhere near new york,

depending on what we need, we can easily spend 100-200 a week on groceries.

(And we are a couple. For families with kids, it's higher).

[B.See]

13. Those will be many from TRUMP'S bamboozled maga hoard

who, btw, make up the MAJORITY of those SNAP recipients.

[DFW]

5. I ask this as someone living overseas, and having no knowledge

When SNAP is calculated, are factors such as local COL indices and number in the household figured into the amount one receives? It would seem logical to me, but this is government bureaucracy, so logic seems optional at best.

My wife, a social worker for many decades, told every month of her starving charges. She would often make up sandwiches and/or large plates of raw veggies with a dip, and bring them to her office during the last days of every month. Her (charges, clients, whatever you want to call them) were usually addicts of nicotine, alcohol or both. Their money went toward their addictions first, necessities like food and rent second. They were literally starving by the 26th or 27th of every month. Obviously, my wife couldn’t afford to do this every month on a social worker’s salary, but I’d kick in some, so that her people didn’t go completely hungry.

It seemed to us that a food stamp program would have been better, with the stamps not being valid for cigarettes or alcohol, but the tobacco lobby is very powerful in Germany, and the government loves the 19% tax they get on every cigarette sold. Several decades ago, a member of the government was caught on tape saying he was against restricting smoking because it brought in lots of taxes while the smokers were alive, and killed them off early so they wouldn’t be a burden on health care. The guy was trashed in the media, but wasn’t even made to resign or even apologize. He just said aloud what many members of the parliament alrealy felt.

[mwmisses4289]

8. I think it depends on the state.

Income, of course, is one. How many people in the household, how old they are (if I recall, those with kids 5 and younger get a bit more per month), tangible assets, how many hours someone is working, how much rent/mortgage is....lots of ridiculous hoops to go through just to prove you need the help.

[mucholderthandirt]

11. SNAP doesn't pay for alcohol or cigarettes, some food things not allowed.

Income, size of family, ages, where the people live (each state is different), if single no family, all counted.

I grew up with the empty fridge, the bare cabinets. Got free lunch (no breakfasts done back then), government "help", which sometimes meant just free cheese, powdered milk, sometime food stamps. They were in books of tickets, for varying amounts. You had to keep up a running balance so you got as close to an even amount as possible. There was only a small amount of cash given back, maybe a few cents, but if it was a few cents over you had to pay out of pocket.

People openly shamed you for having food stamps, or free lunches. Teachers would make fun of our clothes, or lack of school supplies. In those days, they wouldn't spend their own money for any. People would laugh at you for what your parents did for work, or how much they made, it was acceptable.

[RandomNumbers]

12. School lunch cards

that every kid has to use, are a great innovation.

Note that I do not have kids that saw this system, but I heard that it's done that way in some places.

The WORST was being a kid with a "free lunch card" so everyone could see that.

Okay probably not actually the worst, but it is bad. One more thing for a kid to be shamed and bullied by.

If everyone has a card that looks the same, then no one knows that a certain kid is in the "free lunch" program.

Or better yet, at least in lower income districts, just make school lunch free for all the kids. And breakfast too.

I wonder how much it would cost the billionaire class just to feed all the kids 2 basic meals a day? I bet when their billions are added up, they could afford it.

[Solly Mack]

9. ...

[sakabatou]

10. There's going to be many, many more people going hungry in the next four years