Weigh in - State lawmaker wants to ban people from using food stamps to buy junk food

I very much appreciate your thoughtful response, you make some great suggestions, even OP make some good suggestions, my point was less that I personally "couldn't do it" and more that impoverished people in general shouldn't be expected to do that. I personally am in the blessed position where I could conceivably do something like that. I have an apartment with a patio where I can grow veggies and I can take use my quality time with my daughter to cook and take care of the garden. However, people in general are not in my position. OP states that all it takes is a pot...are you really going to grown enough veggies in one pot to feed yourself? Much less a family? Where are you to put the pot? What if your window faces North/South with no incoming light? Are you going to wait 2 months minimum for harvest? Farmers markets are great but a lot of people don't have one near or have no transport there. Plus are you going to waste gas going to the farmers market then to Wal-Mart for your toilet paper? And again, while it may healthier, how realistic is it to ask someone who may be getting off of a 12 (or 16) hour shift to come home, cook a holistic homemade meal, and then do all of the prep work of growing and preserving your own food, then spend quality time with your children?

No, I don't think that should be expected by food stamp recipients at all.

I agree with you more that you know. I make choices in life. We have a big house and a big yard. And big back porch. At a few time over the years I tried to grade just herbs, tomatoes and peppers. Nope. It's not me. The initial investment did not bring expected results. I don't like digging into dirt, it's just not me. I have a few pots with herbs. And wheat grass for cats. But if my guy would stop watering them, they all would die. I am ok with that. I buy fresh herbs, the ones I use all the time, chop, and freeze. And use within a couple of months. Once we run out of the "fresh frozen" herbs, I go to WF and buy organic bunches, and I repeat the wash- cut - freeze. I love love love fresh dill. I often buy 3-5 bunches and freeze loosely in plastic containers.

And again - I do need to have the know time, know-how-to , energy and initial money to "invest" in dill, that if my freezer breaks - is practically wasted money. I can take the risk, and WF in my area are not that far away and have relatively good prices and stick on items I want. 10 years ago ,- we did not have WF. Or Costco. Organic - if available, was above my pay grade. I did what I could with the budget I had.

It all about compromise. BTW- I just discovered that Costco famous 4.99 roasted chicken are often available in cold - prepackaged version (what they don't sell) 1.5 chicken (3 halves) for 5.99. a 1.50 cheaper that if I buy that "fresh,". Since I never eat the roasted chicken on a day I buy it, hey, $1.50 is money. That I can add to my budget to spend on organic eggs (from Costco that to me taste better that the others)

Invest your energy wisely. It's ok to cut corners. Been there done that.

BTW: I love love cooking, but I need to retire soon to have time cooking some meals from scratch.

I hear you H.A.L.A.B, I'm actually a huge herb fan, I have cilantro, sage, mint, and basil in my garden right now. I still need to plant my tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos but they're going to have to wait until I've recovered from surgery. I really do love gardening and I am happy to place my energy there and my daughter loves it too, I guess I was just trying to give OP another perspective that not everyone has the knowledge, time, and resources that she does. I can see where it would be damn near impossible for some to do those kinds of things.

I've really enjoyed your respectful perspective in this conversation and totally support the path of retired cooking concierge!

So instead of feeding your family a nutritious meal, you use your time working as an excuse to feed them a chemical ****storm of non-nutritious carb-laden, sugary stomach fillers? You are missing the point of providing for your family. Cooking for them IS quality time. In a food desert in the city, what are you doing otherwise..watching television? You could have them assist in the preparation. That interaction IS quality time and is also teaching them life skills that many kids have none of these days.

You can live on the cheap nutritiously in the city too. Even if you buy a can of vegetables with food stamps, at least it's vegetables and not a box of macaroni and cheese that provides little nutrition. It's also as little as $0.45 instead of the $1.50 for a box of carbs and dehydrated chemicals. Chicken leg quarters are $0.69/pound every day from Georgia to Ohio and can be made into a multitude of different things (as well as canned for later soups and casseroles).

The N in SNAP is "Nutritional". If foods aren't nutritional, they shouldn't be part of the program. You just can't convince me that lack of time and money is an excuse to NOT provide for your family appropriately. It may not be lobster and ribeyes, but I cannot afford those either and still manage to eat healthy.

Tone deaf is so not a good look!

Not sure why your posts read so judgemental, but they do.

I hope you don't ever get in a situation that you do have limited time and energy, and money . I did. I am privileged now that I can buy healthy foods when I can't make my own. I hope you never had to chose between taking care of a loved one, crisis type situation that can last week's months.

Plus you probably never lived in areas that there were no real groceries stores and you had no transportation to get to one. Not space to store it when you finally were able to go and buy something healthier.

I hope you never find yourself in so much pain that making a tea seams like a chore you can't handle.

You are making an awful lot of assumptions about me and my lifestyle. I'll reiterate what I said previously, I personally AM in a situation where I can and do grow fresh herbs and produce every year. I actually really enjoy it and my daughter loves playing in the garden and helping cook, it's a big way we spend quality time together. I do not feed my daughter a ****storm of chemicals, carbs, and sugar. I am post RNY, on the menu today (for both of us) is egg whites with turkey bacon, bread-less sandwiches, and chicken breast with homemade marinara and mozzarella and veggies. I am very aware of what my daughter eats.

No one is arguing that anyone, not just SNAP recipients, should eat Little Debbies and Kraft Mac-and-Cheese all day. We should encourage everyone to eat more whole foods, more produce, and less prepackaged garbage. I'm just saying you can't expect struggling families to do the kind of things that you are suggesting. It would be great if they could, but at this point in time it's not realistic. Let's concentrate on encouraging better eating and purchasing practices without punishing the poor.

It's pretty obvious that Valerie doesn't have a clue where you're coming from, nor does she want to make any effort to understand.

Do you work full-time? I ask because I know first hand the hard work, time and money it costs to provide homegrown food for just two people. never mind a family. Those are not excuses folks are making up as to why they don't grow their own stuff. It is just a fact that there are constrictions that prevent people from growing their own foods.

My husband and I are trying to homestead as much as we can. This year we are putting up a commercial size greenhouse to hopefully garden year round. Now so you know I do the majority of the work myself since my husband was hurt almost two years ago at work. He has a back injury that prevents him from doing a bunch of stuff.

So in order for us to do this I get up at 4am M-F to take care of my animals and go to my full-time job. I get home from work, make dinner, feed critters again and then start on what ever project we have going on. Yesterday I had to move round pen panels to a different area and instead of dragging them one by one my husband walked me through how to move them with the bobcat. Something that would normally take an hour took me 8 minutes. Now the horses can clear and area for me to plant my pumpkins. We only have a few acres and we try to make the best of it all.

Holy effing judgement, Batman!