Sen. Deb Fischer offers up 'canned food' as alternate to USDA food bank cuts

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

03/13/2025 09:35 AM EDT


Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) seemed to defend the Trump administration’s cuts to local food purchasing for schools and food banks, saying Thursday that “canned food” and other non-perishable options can also be “wholesome.”

“I think there’s different avenues we can take on that to make sure that still meet the needs of people,” Fischer said at POLITICO Playbook’s First 100 Days breakfast series.

Fischer was responding to news earlier this week that USDA canceled two programs that gave schools and food banks money to purchase food from local farms, axing more than $1 billion in federal spending.

The Republican senator added that she continues to back food banks and supports having “fresh food available,” but “sometimes we forget that” canned food is “always an option as well.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/13/deb-fischer-canned-food-usda-food-bank-cuts-00228164

---

WTF does she think most food banks primarily have for fruit, vegetables, and legumes, where schools use the "industrial size" cans? Most of the stuff IS "non-perishable", where having access to actual "fresh produce" has been a chronic problem for years.

[Omaha Steve]

1. I'm so proud of my Senator

[dchill]

28. No brains in HER family...

She canned them all.

[Meadowoak]

2. nobody ever accused a republican of being smart.

[NotHardly]

11. For good reason.

It is amazing how f*cking stupid she is.

[Dave Bowman]

3. She can eat this canned food:

[BoRaGard]

4. The G.O.P.ers want to strangle wholesome local food to promo Industrial FoodCorp, inc, crap

[bucolic_frolic]

5. It's all about developing the farms with McMansions - the real estate lobby

Someday they'll be plowing them under to make room for farming.

[Historic NY]

6. The fresh cabbage is the money. No money no cabbage fresh or canned.

[BoRaGard]

7. Repube version of ChocoRations is CorpoRations

[turbinetree]

8. RESIGN........and give back all the money as a senator and give back all the future retirement that you will be getting

from the taxpayers and even those future medical services that are going to be paid by the citizens of this country ..............give every fucking dollar back...............your a grifter and very stupid one at that........... with your mind set of let them eat cake.............a strong society is a well fed and educated society .....................but you haven't figured that out YET.............she really has shit for brains ........

[Bok_Tukalo]

9. Let them eat canned food

There is a disconnect between the people and the Ruling Class that may be getting a bit dangerous.

[ButchMcMuffin]

13. What she meant to say was

"Let them eat cat food"

That's what it sounded like to me.

[Wiz Imp]

33. Thing is, canned cat food & dog food isn't all that cheap anymore either.

[ButchMcMuffin]

46. No it's not

The point is is that they see the rubes as less than human.

[rubbersole]

19. "may be" is rapidly becoming "is".

What could go wrong?

[get the red out]

26. I know the basics

But I really need to read-up on the French Revolution.

[Submariner]

10. The canned food sodium levels will keep the salt miners gainfully employed

and the spike in strokes/heart attacks from sodium spikes exceeding the maximum daily limit, should crush the patient's health care budget, if any, and keep the local ER's, if any, busy.

[Wiz Imp]

12. I'm confused. So does she think that canned food is free?

Canned foods cost more than fresh foods so what is the advantage of food banks purchasing canned foods over fresh foods? Not to mention that fresh foods are generally healthier. As was already pointed out, a very large portion of the food given out by food banks is already canned foods. Is this person really as stupid as she sounds?

[Tootbsb]

14. The aluminum for cans is about to skyrocket in price. Thank you trump tariff

[Wednesdays]

16. To be accurate, most canned foods come in cans made of steel.

But, that too will be skyrocketing in price.

[58Sunliner]

15. What an effing ......

[Wicked Blue]

17. She needs to be canned

from the Senate

[Harker]

18. She is paid a salary of $174,000 per year for a six year job.

Plus whatever she rakes in on the side.

"Let them eat cake!"

[WestMichRad]

20. Is she an example of what happens when...

… a person has too much microplastics in their head?

[Auggie]

21. Del Monte used to claim canned green beans were as nutritious as fresh cooked ...

until the FDA said they couldn't.

[littlemissmartypants]

22. Let them...

Eat canned cake. Fruit cake is too sane for them and richer than they deserve.

[benfranklin1776]

23. "Let them eat Spam and Stewed Tomatoes 🍅 !"

This modern Marie Antwitnette shrieks! 🤬🤬
Tell you what Deb, how about you demonstrate how it’s done after you are shown the door by your soon to be starving constituents many of whom are farmers who now but soon won’t produce abundant fresh produce. Heartless, Clueless bitch Rethuglican but then I repeat myself 😡😡

[Biophilic]

24. My question is repukes really are this stupid or crazy or are they just that scared of trump they will say anything?

[get the red out]

25. Eat your station

Sorting out the peasants from their betters by what food they are permitted.

[Klarkashton]

27. "Ketchup is a vegetable"

What happens to the farms that have been supplying them? There is a chain reaction here that seems to be missed by these assholes.

[Diamond_Dog]

29. Is she talking about canned cat and dog food?

[dchill]

30. EVERYBODY! Buy stock in CANNED GOODS companies!

Prices are gonna SKYROCKET!

[Renew Deal]

31. How long before she turns canned food into cat food?

[Magoo48]

32. Let em' eat canned food. Mmmmmmmm

[LW1977]

34. Marie Antoinette much?

[colorado_ufo]

35. Note that these remarks are part of

Politicos First 100 Days Breakfast Series. Irony is lost on them.

BTW, what about the effects on local farmers? Isn't RFK worried about the dietary effects on health?

[BumRushDaShow]

36. I saw that

and her willingness to SACRIFICE the farmers in HER STATE for getting more business for their produce in order to bend the knee (and this is on TOP of the tariffs).

(unless she is assuming they will get bailed out like was done the last time during 45's first term)

[hamsterjill]

37. The stupidity is simply astounding.

They are out of touch. Undoubtedly. But they are too stupid to just keep their mouths shut. Stupid bitch. She should have to eat Chef Boyardee Ravioli for a year.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. "She should have to eat Chef Boyardee Ravioli for a year. "

With a couple of these for "variety" -

(I have now lost another brain file! )

[Fichefinder]

39. Who remembers government cheese?

[BumRushDaShow]

41. Yup

[Solly Mack]

40. Hateful.

[highplainsdem]

42. Wasn't there some crazy and deliberately punitive GOP idea a few years back - can't recall if this was

a federal or state lawmaker - that anyone getting EBT benefits should only be allowed to buy canned meat and fish, and not fresh? The intent was clearly to make sure they had grossly inferior diets. Never got that bill passed.

EDIT - Just found an article on it. It was Iowa Republicans, and it was crazier than just suggesting canned meat instead of fresh:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/20/snap-cuts-iowa-republicans-sliced-bread/11090446002/

EDITING AGAIN - I did a search to see if Ernst could be linked directly to that insane bill in her state's legislature, but couldn't find anything, though I doubt they'd've tried this without her approval.

[Retrograde]

43. Some canned foods are useful to have around

I try to eat mostly fresh, but I do keep a stock of canned tomatoes, beans, tuna, sardines, on hand. They're not the same as fresh - and I do check the sodium content before I buy - but they're handy for a quick meal. Cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables is more demanding than just opening big cans and slapping the contents on plates, and it's harder to standardize since different parts of the country will have different fresh food availability at different times. But why should school lunches have to be the same across the country? We're a diverse country: IMHO, the appropriate Federal agencies should set overall nutritional guidelines and let local schools meet them with some creativity, using fresh fruits and vegetables when they can get them. And no, French fries and corn chips do not count as vegetables.

[BumRushDaShow]

45. She is pushing cutting subsidies and grants to schools & pantries used to support local farm produce markets

so that the money can be given to billionaires instead.

[SKKY]

44. Is she not merciful!?