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Food Assistance Program Is Just Fine As It Is

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 19, 2008

Aid Level Is Adequate

Regarding "Expand Food Stamps Aid" (Other Views, July 14):

I must respond to Michael Gerson's column regarding the implication that the United States needs to substantially increase food stamp benefits.

Gerson disingenuously suggests that recipients have nothing to eat for the last week of each month since their monthly benefits are utilized by the end of the third week. He further suggests that since these individuals are hungry, they will impose other social burdens on society such as additional health care costs and higher crime rates since their children will miss more school.

There are 37 million eligible food stamp recipients and 83 percent of all eligible benefits are paid out of the program and the benefit averages $200 per month per household. This is not a lot of money for a household, but most of these people have some other source of income as the number of currently unemployed is 8.5 million and most of those are getting unemployment benefits. The food stamp program is designed to help fund food purchases for low income families, not totally supply all necessary food.

Since monthly benefits are usually provided at the first of the month, wouldn't a reasonable person assume that most recipients will spend their benefits before they begin spending available cash? If we are supplying food for three out of every four weeks, I think the program is adequate.

JOHN CHAMBERS

Temple Terrace

Try 'Means Testing'

OK, I'm against starvation in children, too, but not for the government using my taxes to stem food anxiety. How about some "means testing"?

What I generally observe are folks eating to assuage their fears when a little restraint, discipline and even honest labor would be in order. Is there any dispute that obesity is a problem in this country? The situation is a whole lot more obvious than global warming, and encouraging it with government subsidies is adding to the growth of those backsides and attendant health problems.

The new law of supply and demand is: We, the producers, supply more, and they, the indigent, demand more.

IRWIN SCHUSTER

Tampa

She's Seen Harder Times

Regarding "Race Between Wheels And Butter" by Eric Hill (Other Views, July 12):

I am a healthy 84-year-old woman who grew up in Nutley, N.J. A war was on and President Roosevelt helped us through a Depression. It was suggested we grow a "victory garden."

We planted corn, tomatoes, potatoes, string beans, etc. Mom made bread and, with a 10-cent can of evaporated milk, rice pudding. We ate corn flakes in summer and oatmeal in the winter. Mom canned everything and made grape jelly. We had a few chickens and eggs, and never saw a doctor.

We ate, we lived and we walked.

ANN COLLINS

Lakeland

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