LINK benefits have been recalculated for the poor here at Elder House. For you lucky 1%, LINK is the current incarnation of the Food Stamp Program. Most benefits were reduced; however one lady told me hers was raised to $106.58 per month. Her medical expenses went way up and so her food benefit was readjusted. That's not going to help her cancer get any better, but at least she might not starve.
Anyway, that sounded like a lot of money. So I tried to calculate just what she could purchase with that amount. For a breakfast of two slices of toast with cream cheese and jam, one container of yoghurt, and a home brewed coffee: $2.73. Lunch of a homemade tuna sandwich (no lettuce, pickles, or cheese) and a glass of water (from the tap, not purchased): $1.73. A dinner meal consisting of one sixth of a pasta, canned salmon, and mayo casserole: $.79. Total expense: $5.21 for the day.
That sounds really economical. No fruit or fresh vegetables. No milk. Not a whole lot of protein. No variety. No treats of any kind. And no leftovers.
If my friend absolutely, positively sticks to this menu she will spend about $145.88 for the month. See the problem? She cannot afford even this austere menu AND she will be malnourished in the bargain.
LINK benefits do not allow an individual any wiggle room. There is no way to stock up on a bargain; soup at fifty cents a can is a great deal. What other item could she sacrifice? She can switch from cream cheese to food pantry peanut butter and hope that she's here the day the guy shows up with free bread. No brand name products ever. A one pound bag of rice or pasta can stretch quite a way. Imagine it with no butter, no sauce, no spices, and nothing 'on the side'. Food boredom is not allowed for the poor.
This woman worked all her life and now is literally starving most days. Multiply that by a majority of the other tenants and that's a lot of hungry people. LINK and food pantries and sharing with each other are the strategies they use to stay marginally nourished. I know this to be true, even though I am not starving. What this knowledge has done is made me far less critical.
If I see a woman with a LINK card purchasing sugar sweetened Kool Aid and beef jerky, my bet is that those are the few goodies she and her kids will taste that month. I do not begrudge her that small amount splurged on junk food. And I am ashamed of anyone who would. Not unless they have also protested the bank bailouts and defense department overspending that is.
Anyway, that sounded like a lot of money. So I tried to calculate just what she could purchase with that amount. For a breakfast of two slices of toast with cream cheese and jam, one container of yoghurt, and a home brewed coffee: $2.73. Lunch of a homemade tuna sandwich (no lettuce, pickles, or cheese) and a glass of water (from the tap, not purchased): $1.73. A dinner meal consisting of one sixth of a pasta, canned salmon, and mayo casserole: $.79. Total expense: $5.21 for the day.
That sounds really economical. No fruit or fresh vegetables. No milk. Not a whole lot of protein. No variety. No treats of any kind. And no leftovers.
If my friend absolutely, positively sticks to this menu she will spend about $145.88 for the month. See the problem? She cannot afford even this austere menu AND she will be malnourished in the bargain.
LINK benefits do not allow an individual any wiggle room. There is no way to stock up on a bargain; soup at fifty cents a can is a great deal. What other item could she sacrifice? She can switch from cream cheese to food pantry peanut butter and hope that she's here the day the guy shows up with free bread. No brand name products ever. A one pound bag of rice or pasta can stretch quite a way. Imagine it with no butter, no sauce, no spices, and nothing 'on the side'. Food boredom is not allowed for the poor.
This woman worked all her life and now is literally starving most days. Multiply that by a majority of the other tenants and that's a lot of hungry people. LINK and food pantries and sharing with each other are the strategies they use to stay marginally nourished. I know this to be true, even though I am not starving. What this knowledge has done is made me far less critical.
If I see a woman with a LINK card purchasing sugar sweetened Kool Aid and beef jerky, my bet is that those are the few goodies she and her kids will taste that month. I do not begrudge her that small amount splurged on junk food. And I am ashamed of anyone who would. Not unless they have also protested the bank bailouts and defense department overspending that is.
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