yahoo.com: $2 million Michigan lottery winner defends his continued use of food stamps

[Predicto]

That's per week...

I mean per week. It's still about 500 a month for a family of 4, not 800.

[IONTOP]

I mean per week. It's still about 500 a month for a family of 4, not 800.

Now are food stamps supposed to make your food completely free or subsidize it? Even if that's not enough to feed the family, it's still $500/month off of your grocery bill, $500 that you can now use to pay for a car/rent/clothes... So when you say it's only $500, I say I'd be fine with that because I'd like to have as much as a single guy living alone could get...

[styx491]

I just made some rice, smashed up some chic peas and added red curry, italian dressing, some green hot sauce and salt and stuff.

Might have cost me 35 cents and is enough for 3 or 4 people. When my veggies are grown, it'll be even better. Eating healthy being expensive is a myth.

You're totally right about eating healthy being expensive = a myth. I think being educated about eating healthy and how to do it is the thing that is hard to develop for most of the people I've seen (poorer people and refugees).

[mardi gras skin]

Where did this 200 a week figure come from? I jsut read this article that said that the maximum amount for a family of 5 was $129.50 a month only a couple of years ago.

In Maryland, max for a family of 4 appears to be $154.00 ($668 times 12 divided by 52). You'd have to squirt out 2 more kids to get up to $219 a month.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/fs_Res_Ben_Elig.htm

Easiest way to cheat the system is to hit up local churches, non-profits, restaurants, food stores and food banks for food assistance and trade your food stamp food for other things. Maximize food stamps and tax credits with as much undeclared income as possible.

I know a family of 4 that was living in a trailer for free on a parent's property. They got food stamps, $6000 in tax credits, heath care for the kids (when the mother had a major emergency, the hospital ended up writing it off), and assistance with their electricity. I don't know what other assistance they received. Husband worked part time at a Panera Bread kind of place (Atlanta Bread Company, maybe?) but not enough that their adjusted gross imcome got above $0. The wife occasionally babysat under the table to make a little extra spending money and to keep the car running. This lasted for quite a while.

In the town they lived in, this wasn't rare enough for anyone for anyone to bat an eye at.