A diet fueled by food stamps is making South Texans obese but leaving them hungry

[haele]

85. Unfortunatly, it's a local/states program situation.

Here is Southern California, in most urban areas, not only do we usually have a bunch of options to shop local fairly inexpensively most of the year, we also have some pretty dedicated community programs. Out in the sticks, where its a bit of a grocery store "desert" - as in, most shopping is close to an hour away, except for the closest "all in one" convenience store/greasy spoon/gas station or small strip mall where the 1000 or so families in a 20-sq. mile will shop.
Those places really jack up prices, and many of the elderly or otherwise disabled that live out in those small communities who are on SNAP or some other food assistance have problems finding healthy options.
In Texas, or Idaho, or in most of those oh-so-Xtian Red States, food assistance is grudgingly given by the state anyway, pretty much privately considered to be a waste of money to a "throw-away" population, so they don't provide programs that will assist the working poor, the single parents, the elderly, the disabled, or other recipients who don't have time or education to concentrate on ways to save money and provide nutrition rather than trying to survive on whatever cheap calories they can stuff into a shopping cart in 15 minutes while they're between errands or coming home from work.

What I would like to see is a program where SNAP and WIC participants can sign up for a certified health care or nutritional assistant who can act as a "shopping assistant", a local who understands the local provisional situation, and can comparison shop and purchase food and/or help with menu preparations for people who might otherwise be unaware or unable to cook and store food, or have special dietary needs that the local food sources may not be able to meet.
That would be a godsend for the elderly and disabled who live alone, and could really help out the working or single parent. While local charities in some places have initiated programs like this, it's often sectarian, and the programs are not able to provide a consistent level of assistance.

But helping the poor is apparently too much trouble, unlike helping the well off. It's so much easier and cheaper to give a helping hand to someone who already has their bootstraps on.



Haele