College kids on food stamps/SNAP?
I just applied to help me get through til next month when my financial aid comes back.
If you google the topic, a slew of articles come up that have been raped by conservatives and mention hipsters eating gourmet food from Whole Foods (which I won't do, damnit.)
I don't have the option of a meal plan really as long as I'm full-time in Providence. Once I start commuting to Kingston I'll get a commuter meal plan as they're actually quite affordable, but it's not practical for me to drive an hour for dinner every day, and my campus doesn't have a true dining hall, just a cash-only cafe and some vending machines.
I also have dietary needs, and can't really live on ramen and grilled cheese.
I brought the issue up at my fencing practice last week and got totally cut down by people who I thought were my friends for even thinking of enrolling in the program. That hurt. Bad.
I feel almost embarrassed for even thinking of it, but I did it anyway, on the suggestion of my 40 something coworker who also needs temporary assistance while taking classes (unfortunately her financial aid package isn't as great as mine.)
Comments?
Um...you need food and the government might pay for it...do it? I mean you are going to college and might potentially do something that will better parts of society, but can't get a job that pays more so apply and use them food stamps to get food.
I'm kinda surprised the US lets students sign onto those kind of welfare programs, asI know the UK does not, except in a few exceptional scenarios (more likely, you will be told to apply for hardship funds from your University, which are always oversubscribed and underfunded).
I don't see anything wrong with it, except in the larger sense that people who are going to University shouldn't have to be using such programs in the first place, that it is something which suggests a major fuckup has happened in how economic priorities and incentives are calculated.
Fuck them. You need to eat, so do what you can to do so. If I needed SNAP, I'd feel no same at all for applying. And who the hell cares WHAT you get with it? If you got it, you got it. I don't know about RI, but here it only applies to certain things anyway.
ETA: clarification.
Quote from: Cain on December 14, 2010, 03:11:10 PM
I'm kinda surprised the US lets students sign onto those kind of welfare programs, asI know the UK does not, except in a few exceptional scenarios (more likely, you will be told to apply for hardship funds from your University, which are always oversubscribed and underfunded).
I don't see anything wrong with it, except in the larger sense that people who are going to University shouldn't have to be using such programs in the first place, that it is something which suggests a major fuckup has happened in how economic priorities and incentives are calculated.
If I was a full-time student at the main campus and not the Providence campus, I'd be eligible for meal plans, health services, etc. But since I'm not,. I get a "cheaper" cost of attendance, but I also get the short end of the stick of what my school could offer me.
I pay over 10k a year in tuition only at a state school not including all the fun fees. If I remember correctly, I think you once told me I could go to St. Andrew's for about the same, and get an Ivy League caliber education at a fraction of the cost. Our higher ed system is so backwards it's disgusting.
And trust me, I'm making this as temporary as possible. $100 will feed me decently for a month.
I have no problem with it. If it's what you need to do, then you shouldn't let some heartless douche make you feel bad about it.
And as far as the Whole Foods thing goes, they do tend to have the foods with higher nutritional values and more specific dietary needs than the processed crap you can find at Market Basket. I mean, can you imagine someone with celiac's disease trying to find something they can use use food stamps for at a Stop&Shop?
Bottom line: If you need it, that's what it's there for.
My personal position is to always exhaust every possible option before taking government assistance (family, friends) but that's just how I role.
However, you have to eat, and the assistance is there to help you whether you take it or not. If you need it, use it. That's why it's there.
Also, unless those "friends" were offering to rotate out days of the week you can come over and eat a good solid dinner, then they're not your friends. That's a fact.
I'll never go hungry, because I surround myself with those sorts of friends, and they also know that my door is always open to them should they ever find themselves falling on hard times.
no one should ever be made to feel ashamed for needing food. that's fucking barbaric.
Fuck those people Suu. You need to eat and you need to survive. Apply for everything you can get if it will help you finish your education.
I personally feel going to school is essential. As there are rarely enough educational funds to cover everything 100%, I think students have every right to food stamps, SNAP and medical coverage. They are trying to get an education, to get a better job.
I don't understand how anyone can argue or be mad about that! Stupid people!!! :argh!:
Quote from: Niamh on December 14, 2010, 03:25:03 PM
I don't understand how anyone can argue or be mad about that! Stupid people!!! :argh!:
WE ARE NOT OUR BROTHER'S KEEPERS!
THAT'S IN THE BIBLE!
\
:teabagger1:
LMNO
-reading comprehesion is for liberal pussies.
Alphapance you are a very bad boy!! Mrs Claus is going to spank you this Christmas!!! :lulz:
Quote from: Niamh on December 14, 2010, 03:30:51 PM
Alphapance you are a very bad boy!! Mrs Claus is going to spank you this Christmas!!! :lulz:
:fap:
Well, as long as I get the pegging I asked for, then fine.
Quote from: Suu on December 14, 2010, 03:20:14 PM
If I was a full-time student at the main campus and not the Providence campus, I'd be eligible for meal plans, health services, etc. But since I'm not,. I get a "cheaper" cost of attendance, but I also get the short end of the stick of what my school could offer me.
I pay over 10k a year in tuition only at a state school not including all the fun fees. If I remember correctly, I think you once told me I could go to St. Andrew's for about the same, and get an Ivy League caliber education at a fraction of the cost. Our higher ed system is so backwards it's disgusting.
And trust me, I'm making this as temporary as possible. $100 will feed me decently for a month.
Ah, I see.
I checked and its closer to $15,000 to attend St Andrews, at current exchange rates, but that's not at all that far off.
I dread to think what an English University would cost, my musically inclined friend is looking at paying $30,000 for her MA if she cannot get a scholarship. That does include living costs, but with that she would not be eligible for jobseekers benefits, housing benefits etc. She'd get a $7500 loan if she was lucky, and be told to fend for herself. Obviously, she cannot afford that. Foreign students would be hit with additional fees on top of that, starting next academic year, unless they were studying in Wales or Scotland, where the old costs still apply.
If I was an out-of-state attendee, I'd be paying almost 3x as much. :x It would cost me 30k to go to the fucking University of Rhode Island, which is only a 2nd tier school, but it's a draw for basketball and hockey players because there's a higher shot of making the pros. Still though, that's almost as much as if I were to go to Brown.
But being from CT or MA, it would be about 1.5x as much...they give the neighbors a break.
My masters is going to cost me only $100 more a semester as of the current rates, but we'll see.
don't feel bad about it Suu. All those people that gave you shit are probably riding off of mommy and daddy's tuition money. Other people actually abuse the system, you're using it for what it's there for.
I have an emotional reaction to the assumption that people who get unemployment or other financial support services are just lazy or something. Society's real thin right now, there aren't enough resources to go around this year. It's not a measure of your character, you work harder than most people. We all do what we have to do to get by. Given the choice between your pride and your education, I think you made the right long-term choice.
Do what you need to do. Almost everyone who is against government assistance seem to change their tune when they're out of work... so don't worry about their opinions. ("I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No. " - Craig T. Nelson)
On the other hand, just because they're not capable of putting themselves in your shoes, it doesn't make them horrible people... just friends that don't get it on this particular issue.
You do what you gotta do.
Between Retail Hell and the substance abuse prevention job, I was on UI for about a week. It certainly took a hit to my pride. But, I had to do what I had to do to make sure we were able to pay the bills and feed my daughter. All kinds of people fall onto hard times. I wouldn't put too much thought into what others think.
He also gave me a hard time about claiming 0 on my W-4 and getting a tax refund.
Sorry, I kinda like paying taxes, and considering he's a former Marine who was deployed and clothed and fed on MY FUCKING DIME, you'd think he'd be more grateful.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 03:24:02 PM
I have no problem with it. If it's what you need to do, then you shouldn't let some heartless douche make you feel bad about it.
And as far as the Whole Foods thing goes, they do tend to have the foods with higher nutritional values and more specific dietary needs than the processed crap you can find at Market Basket. I mean, can you imagine someone with celiac's disease trying to find something they can use use food stamps for at a Stop&Shop?
Bottom line: If you need it, that's what it's there for.
THIS.
And I'm sorry, but FUCK those guys that gave you shit for it. What would they rather you do? Go into debt? STARVE? Fuck that shit. If your assistance was better, you wouldn't need further assistance, and the fact they OFFER it means there are plenty out there like you who do.
Sorry, but I'm ALL FOR students getting 1) food 2) health care 3) jobs. ...maybe that's just me/most of PD.com.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 03:33:52 PM
Well, as long as I get the pegging I asked for, then fine.
goes without saying...
:lmnuendo:
Quote from: Jenne on December 14, 2010, 04:30:57 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 03:33:52 PM
Well, as long as I get the pegging I asked for, then fine.
goes without saying...
:lmnuendo:
That's hardly an innuendo... just saying.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 04:38:59 PM
Quote from: Jenne on December 14, 2010, 04:30:57 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 03:33:52 PM
Well, as long as I get the pegging I asked for, then fine.
goes without saying...
:lmnuendo:
That's hardly an innuendo... just saying.
COULD HAVE been...just the source makes it less likely. But still. I rarely get to use it.
Quote from: Jenne on December 14, 2010, 04:39:40 PM
I rarely get to use it.
Ok, now
that is clearly :lmnuendo:
:lulz: Ok, conceding that one.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 03:24:02 PM
I have no problem with it. If it's what you need to do, then you shouldn't let some heartless douche make you feel bad about it.
And as far as the Whole Foods thing goes, they do tend to have the foods with higher nutritional values and more specific dietary needs than the processed crap you can find at Market Basket. I mean, can you imagine someone with celiac's disease trying to find something they can use use food stamps for at a Stop&Shop?
Bottom line: If you need it, that's what it's there for.
Actually, I manage to shop quite well for a celiac diet (not my own, obviously) at regular supermarkets. Whole Foods is great for meat and seafood and cheese, but they actually kind of suck for anything that comes in a box, bag, or jar.
And Suu, totally fuck anyone who has a problem with you using state assistance for food. In the ass. With a stick. This is coming from someone who's general outlook is anti-welfare, but in your case that's exactly what programs like that are for. Especially given that your need for some extra food money stems from your acquisition of a higher education.
I'm just going to tell people that it's part of my "financial aid".
It kinda is...It's like a $200 a month grant for foods.
Get new friends. Then get your education. Do whatever it takes.
Fuck those assholes.
Hey, if your friends try to look down on you, then pull the "community saftey net" card, and ask them to actually be friends and pay for your groceries.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 06:58:31 PM
Hey, if your friends try to look down on you, then pull the "community saftey net" card, and ask them to actually be friends and pay for your groceries.
This will be their reply.
"No, I don't make enough fuckin' money to pay for your groceries. Why don't you ask your loser Democrat president to not tax me so much?"
Well, Gregor yes, Enzo...definitely not. He's given me food before. Gregor is just a brainwashed former Marine. When he doesn't bitch about politics, he's actually quite the awesome guy.
His wife makes great money too, and she once bitched at me about the healthcare bill, not realizing that I was liberal. And I went, "So wait...Did you know I didn't have health insurance?"
And then it was silence.
The response, "Well, I mean, for uh...people like you who, uh...actually NEED it, well yeah. Yeah it's a good thing, I guess. But I don't want my taxes to pay for everyone else."
:?
I dunno. They didn't like it when I told them what I want to do to this country.
"Gregor" and "Enzo"?
your friends aren't even American, they don't get to have an opinion on this. :lulz:
I have those folks in my family--takes being humble and NEEDING state assistance for them to come around, as Rata and others said. Methinks you need new "friends" if they don't get why this is necessary for you.
My problem is this, I don't think it's right to take money from people and hand it out to other people, just because those people need it. That not only takes the money from that person, but the dignity from the person it is handed to. HOWEVER, I also don't think its right to know someone is in desperate need, and yet do nothing about it.
So I really do see both sides, and have no idea which should win out. It is the major moral issue that I struggle with on a daily basis.
I see it as paying rent to live in that country. The management then takes the rent money and patches up the holes in the infrastructure, both physically and societally.
Or something like that. The fact that I make a decent living is due to, in my view, what this country has provided me. I have to pay back into that, or I can move to Somalia and see if they need someone to help with their insurance policy.
My father was in a similar situation when he attended UC (University of Cincinnati).
He was the first person in his family to attend college and his step-dad wanted him to be a construction worker.
Because of this my dad had to pay for all off his college by himself. Worked 20-30 hour weeks while in school, paid for an off-campus apartment because it was cheaper than on campus, and rode a bike to school everyday. Even with loans it was hard to pay and he had food stamps.
It may have been among the hardest four years of his life but he graduated and is doing well enough right now to send me to school. I feel grateful and guilty not having to go through the same hardships as him.
If you need food stamps to get fed through school do it, that is why such programs exist. Taxes are collected in order to make life better for the less fortunate/well-off inhabitants of the nation.
You have no reason to feel ashamed.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 08:22:21 PM
I see it as paying rent to live in that country. The management then takes the rent money and patches up the holes in the infrastructure, both physically and societally.
Or something like that. The fact that I make a decent living is due to, in my view, what this country has provided me. I have to pay back into that, or I can move to Somalia and see if they need someone to help with their insurance policy.
Yeah that's pretty much how I look at it too. Can you imagine paying tolls on every single road, or paying to get into a park to sit on a bench? I see where these people are coming from, but it would be fucking crazy. Maybe how things are now is not completely ideal, and its not complete freedom, but its the best that can be done. As far as I can see.
Well, look at it this way: is it better as a society to allow students who will eventually be giving BACK to society by creating, innovating and working HARD to STARVE while they are learning their skills? It's early payback, and I have no problem with giving them what they need to thrive, when they will eventually be doing the same for me and mine.
Also, I can pay into a central fund to help out my fellow citizens when they need it, or I can wait until they personally ask for it at 11:30pm in a dark alley with a lead pipe.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 08:27:04 PM
Also, I can pay into a central fund to help out my fellow citizens when they need it, or I can wait until they personally ask for it at 11:30pm in a dark alley with a lead pipe.
This.
Yup. Exactly.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 08:27:04 PM
Also, I can pay into a central fund to help out my fellow citizens when they need it, or I can wait until they personally ask for it at 11:30pm in a dark alley with a lead pipe.
Fourth'd.
*hides lead pipe*
What?
Easy, now. I did buy your book...
Quote from: East Coast Hipster on December 14, 2010, 08:15:05 PM
"Gregor" and "Enzo"?
your friends aren't even American, they don't get to have an opinion on this. :lulz:
They are. Those aren't their real names.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 14, 2010, 08:43:18 PM
Easy, now. I did buy your book...
:lulz:
Then you are exempt.
Quote from: Suu on December 14, 2010, 08:51:19 PM
Quote from: East Coast Hipster on December 14, 2010, 08:15:05 PM
"Gregor" and "Enzo"?
your friends aren't even American, they don't get to have an opinion on this. :lulz:
They are. Those aren't their real names.
LOL Scadian.
Quote from: Suu on December 14, 2010, 08:51:19 PM
Quote from: East Coast Hipster on December 14, 2010, 08:15:05 PM
"Gregor" and "Enzo"?
your friends aren't even American, they don't get to have an opinion on this. :lulz:
They are. Those aren't their real names.
Lemme guess, their real names are Sacco and Vanzatti. :lulz:
Quote from: East Coast Hipster on December 15, 2010, 01:05:45 AM
Quote from: Suu on December 14, 2010, 08:51:19 PM
Quote from: East Coast Hipster on December 14, 2010, 08:15:05 PM
"Gregor" and "Enzo"?
your friends aren't even American, they don't get to have an opinion on this. :lulz:
They are. Those aren't their real names.
Lemme guess, their real names are Sacco and Vanzatti. :lulz:
If only. but neither of them are from american families that came over here sometime before the turn of the 20th century.
As someone who was in your situation multiple times this last year, I have to wholeheartedly echo my fellow spags.
Survival comes first.
If food stamps aren't for students, who are they being saved for? :? Man, you're in school. You're going to graduate, get a good job, and pay into the system for decades. Right now, you need to eat, and you need to have time to study so a second job, even if you could get one, isn't an option. Get some fucking food stamps so you can finish your schoolin'!
As for Whole Foods, "gourmet" food, and food stamps, I don't see why that's such a bad thing. Basics at Whole Foods don't cost much, if anything, more than basics at Safeway, and it doesn't become "gourmet" until you cook it, no matter what store it's from. I live six blocks from a Whole Foods and I'm broke as fuck, but I buy a lot of food there, like bulk brown rice, fresh meat, milk, etc.
I don't plan to start going the extra distance to a marginally less expensive store if I ever get on food stamps, either. I don't buy prepared packaged foods so it doesn't make that much difference to me, and in most cases it's not worth the extra gas unless I'm doing major huge shopping.
Quote from: Suu on December 14, 2010, 03:05:31 PM
College kids on food stamps/SNAP?
Everybody gotta eat. Do what you have to do.