Iowa Republicans want to ban SNAP recipients from buying meat, white bread, and American cheese

Pommer · Jan 24, 2023

hislegacy said:
any clue as to where it speaks of restricting the purchase of meat?

It is in “legislature-ese”, to wit:

8 DIVISION V. This division requires HHS to request a waiver from the United States department of agriculture, food and nutrition service, to provide that the eligible foods under the state administration of SNAP only include those items defined as supplemental foods in the most current Iowa special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) approved food list. The department is directed…”

Pommer · Jan 24, 2023

Pommer said:
It is in “legislature-ese”, to wit:

8 DIVISION V. This division requires HHS to request a waiver from the United States department of agriculture, food and nutrition service, to provide that the eligible foods under the state administration of SNAP only include those items defined as supplemental foods in the most current Iowa special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) approved food list. The department is directed…”

LINK to Iowa’s WIC “approved food list”.

GreatLakes4Ever · Jan 24, 2023

hislegacy said:
90% of the bill has to do with WIC - you want to feed an infant steak?

Good grief - look at the charts.

Supplemental: def Added to supply what is wanted; additional; being, or serving as, a supplement.

another much ado about nothing....

The bill in the OP does not have to do with WIC, it has to do with SNAP and Iowa legislators trying to graph WIC guidelines onto the SNAP. WIC is usually in addition to SNAP and therefore has stricter parameters on what is allowed to be bought with the understanding there is other help available for WIC recipients.

I did look at the charts. Canned salmon and canned tuna are the only meats allowed under WIC. If that was extended to all SNAP recipients, many of who are not infants, none of them would be able to get fresh meats, several of which are not steak.

rjs330 · Jan 24, 2023

GreatLakes4Ever said:
The bill in the OP does not have to do with WIC, it has to do with SNAP and Iowa legislators trying to graph WIC guidelines onto the SNAP. WIC is usually in addition to SNAP and therefore has stricter parameters on what is allowed to be bought with the understanding there is other help available for WIC recipients.

I did look at the charts. Canned salmon and canned tuna are the only meats allowed under WIC. If that was extended to all SNAP recipients, many of who are not infants, none of them would be able to get fresh meats, several of which are not steak.

I mentioned all of this earlier in the thread.

I'm not in favor of this as it's too restrictive.

Unless if course they added bugs to the list. I'm in favor of them being able to buy and eat all the bugs they want.

Since they are so popular in other countries you know and have high nutritional value. Better for you and great for the environment.

iluvatar5150 · Jan 24, 2023

rjs330 said:
Snap is NOT meant to buy all your groceries. Not should it. We don't live in Mexico where there are no jobs and no other sources of income. People in America are not impoverished.

That being said I think people ought to be able to at least buy chicken and hamburger on Snap.

And buy the way they CAN buy cheese. Just not the American processes kind.

Have you looked around? No one is malnourished in America unless they choose to be. Quit making it sound like we have thousands of people living in the garbage dumps like Mexico.

Sheesh.

Buy the way this does not apply to people who are totally disabled. There are those who are physically unable to work at all. In those cases, which aren't very many, we should be doing all we can to assist them. Sometimes they can't help it.

The lowest COL state in the US is Mississippi, which has a minimum wage of $7.25/hr. At 40 hr/wk, that comes out to $15,080/yr gross, or $12,928 after taxes.

The cheapest apartment I can find in Jackson, MS on apartments.com is $475/mo. That's $5,700/yr (assuming that your minimum wage job paid enough to qualify you for the rental terms' minimum salary requirements, which it doesn't), leaving you with $7,228/yr.

Utilities at this place are another $25/wk or $1300/yr, leaving you with $5,928/yr.

Vehicle insurance and maintenance will run you at least $150/mo or $1800/yr, leaving you with $5428/yr.

A low end cell phone plan is $40/mo or $480/yr. That's $4,948/yr remaining, or $412/mo, or $95.15/wk to cover food, toiletries, clothing, and health insurance / medical care.

That also assumes you get 40 hrs/wk from your job. A lot of minimum wage jobs schedule fewer than that.

This also assumes no kids or other dependents.

That's not enough to survive on - and I used figures as charitable to your position as I could find. You are wrong. There are people in the US who are impoverished. We do have thousands of people living in the equivalent of Mexican slums. Deep poverty does exist in the US - perhaps you're just fortunate enough to not be exposed to it.

rjs330 · Jan 24, 2023

iluvatar5150 said:
The lowest COL state in the US is Mississippi, which has a minimum wage of $7.25/hr. At 40 hr/wk, that comes out to $15,080/yr gross, or $12,928 after taxes.

The cheapest apartment I can find in Jackson, MS on apartments.com is $475/mo. That's $5,700/yr (assuming that your minimum wage job paid enough to qualify you for the rental terms' minimum salary requirements, which it doesn't), leaving you with $7,228/yr.

Utilities at this place are another $25/wk or $1300/yr, leaving you with $5,928/yr.

Vehicle insurance and maintenance will run you at least $150/mo or $1800/yr, leaving you with $5428/yr.

A low end cell phone plan is $40/mo or $480/yr. That's $4,948/yr remaining, or $412/mo, or $95.15/wk to cover food, toiletries, clothing, and health insurance / medical care.

That also assumes you get 40 hrs/wk from your job. A lot of minimum wage jobs schedule fewer than that.

This also assumes no kids or other dependents.

That's not enough to survive on - and I used figures as charitable to your position as I could find. You are wrong. There are people in the US who are impoverished. We do have thousands of people living in the equivalent of Mexican slums. Deep poverty does exist in the US - perhaps you're just fortunate enough to not be exposed to it.

You are making a huge assumption that there are all these people in Mississippi impoverished and living off of $7.25 hr.

Sorry, but whose all living on minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?

No we don't have people living in slums like Mexico. If they are healthy wage earners there is no reason to. America has all kinds of jobs and very few pay minimum wage. There are jobs all over the place that need workers and those jobs are paying a site more than $7.25.

If you are a healthy single person there is no reason to be working a $7.25 job full time.

It's interesting but I read an article on this and there was this woman doing it. Oh and she was really hoping to win the lottery. Definitely putting money into it. Really? Just goes to show the mentality.

I'm telling you I was very poor at one time. Had to fish for my supper. Didn't live that way for long. Got a good job. Had to move. America is the land of opportunity. There is no reason to live off $7.25 hr for any more than a month or so. It called job hunting.

We don't live in the depression. Or in Mexico.

rjs330 · Jan 24, 2023

I'm not opposed to helping people at all. Sometimes we all need a little help.

Sometimes life does something nasty to us and we are fully incapable of working. Yes, we all should absolutely pitch in and make sure those people don't have to worry about anything.

And sometimes we get laid off or fired and need some help until we get another job. Shouldn't last any more than a couple of months if we are healthy. And that's being generous.

rjs330 · Jan 24, 2023

iluvatar5150 said:
lowest COL state in the US is Mississippi, which has a minimum wage of $7.25/hr. At 40 hr/wk, that comes out to $15,080/yr gross, or $12,928 after taxes.

Well I happened to look at jobs in Jackson and I did find a job at Smoothie King for $8.00 an hour.

I also found pages and pages of basic jobs that paid anywhere from the lowest around $11 an hour to upwards of $20 depending on the job. With most falling into that $14-16 range.

Not a lot of money I know but certainly no impoverished living in a garbage dump wages. Especially if you have a roommate. And I would certainly hope as an adult you wouldn't count in working jobs your whole life in Smoothie King.

Hazelelponi · Jan 25, 2023

rjs330 said:
People in America are not impoverished.

Well thank you so much for joining in this conversation with grace and understanding not just standing in judgement... It was really effective.

rjs330 · Jan 25, 2023

Hazelelponi said:
Well thank you so much for joining in this conversation with grace and understanding not just standing in judgement... It was really effective.

I noticed you didn't answer my question in regards to two people living off Snap etc. Why would you need help for two people? Is your partner fully disabled as well?

And perhaps you missed it when I said:

rjs330 said:
Buy the way this does not apply to people who are totally disabled. There are those who are physically unable to work at all. In those cases, which aren't very many, we should be doing all we can to assist them. Sometimes they can't help it.

You sounded a bit sarcastic which now seems to be unjustified since I did not judge anyone. In fact made a definitive statement regarding helping the disabled. Perhaps you mischaracterized me by mistake. Either that or you really meant it when you said I spoke with grace and understanding. Which was it?

It looks like you also missed post 107.

LizaMarie · Jan 25, 2023

camille70 said:
Iowa Republicans proposed a bill that would drastically limit what foods SNAP recipients can buy.

People wouldn't be able to buy grocery staples like white bread, American cheese, fresh meat, and more.

Critics argue the bill would further burden low-income people who are already food-insecure.

Iowa Republicans are proposing sweeping changes to the state's food assistance program — including banning beneficiaries from buying grocery staples like meat, American cheese, or flour.

A bill co-sponsored by 39 Republican state legislators would limit those getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buying food on a more restrictive list from a separate program intended for pregnant women and children.

SNAP recipients wouldn't be able to buy a variety of foods, including white grain bread, buns with added nuts or seeds, white rice, pasta sauce, canned fruits or soups, baked beans, cheese slices, butter, or flour.

They would instead be limited to foods approved for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

The foods people can purchase in the WIC program are much more restrictive than those allowed in SNAP. That's because WIC is designed to complement SNAP, and is meant to provide necessary nutrition specifically for — as the name suggests — pregnant women, new mothers, and infants, according to Michelle Book, the president and CEO of Food Bank of Iowa.

Story continues @Link below.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/iowa-republicans-want-to-ban-snap-recipients-from-buying-meat-white-bread-and-american-cheese

It's a dumb idea for sure. As one poster said, If they are going to eliminate foods, eliminate pop, candy and maybe chips.
I live in a state where food is not taxed. Pop and candy and certain sugary drinks are taxed.
I'm thinking this won't pass.

Neogaia777 · Jan 25, 2023

I'm on disability, and my problems are not physical, but if you had them...?

Well, let's just say you might wish to go to hell to take a much needed vacation from time to time, as I don't think any of you could handle it, etc...

It most definitely prevents me from a lot of work, etc...

And my application was also processed very, very quickly, and almost right away, and that normally doesn't happen unless there is almost zero doubt, etc...

It is not just physical problems that sometimes prevents people from working, etc...

My only relative sanity right now can only best be described as an absolute miracle, etc, but it is relative, etc...

And I definitely didn't choose this, etc...

And I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, etc...

God Bless!

iluvatar5150 · Jan 25, 2023

rjs330 said:
You are making a huge assumption that there are all these people in Mississippi impoverished and living off of $7.25 hr.

I made no assumptions about the number of people in MS who are impoverished and living off of minimum wage. If you inferred that from my post, you misread something.

But since you mention it, the US Census Bureau has MS' poverty rate at 19.4%. Nearly one in five people.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MS/INC110221

That's the highest rate in the country, if you don't count Puerto Rico.

List of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Census Bureau's poverty thresholds are listed here:

Poverty in the United States: 2021

This report presents data on poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2022 and earlier CPS ASEC.

www.census.gov

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-poverty-thresholds/thresh21.xlsx

For a single person under the age of 65, the threshold is $14,097/yr (pre-tax). That comes out to about 37 hours/wk @ $7.25/hr.

According to BLS, in 2020, 2.8% of workers in Mississippi earned the minimum wage or less - the 3rd highest rate in the country. (Table 3, in the middle of the page)

Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2020 : BLS Reports: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

In 2020, 73.3 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 55.5 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 247,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

www.bls.gov

rjs330 said:
Sorry, but whose all living on minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?

idk, why don't you take a drive down south and go ask them?

rjs330 said:
No we don't have people living in slums like Mexico.
If they are healthy wage earners there is no reason to. America has all kinds of jobs and very few pay minimum wage. There are jobs all over the place that need workers and those jobs are paying a site more than $7.25.

If you are a healthy single person there is no reason to be working a $7.25 job full time.

It's interesting but I read an article on this and there was this woman doing it. Oh and she was really hoping to win the lottery. Definitely putting money into it. Really? Just goes to show the mentality.

I'm telling you I was very poor at one time. Had to fish for my supper. Didn't live that way for long. Got a good job. Had to move. America is the land of opportunity. There is no reason to live off $7.25 hr for any more than a month or so. It called job hunting.

We don't live in the depression. Or in Mexico.

I guess you haven't read too much about rural poverty, eh?

rjs330 · Jan 25, 2023

iluvatar5150 said:
I made no assumptions about the number of people in MS who are impoverished and living off of minimum wage. If you inferred that from my post, you misread something.

But since you mention it, the US Census Bureau has MS' poverty rate at 19.4%. Nearly one in five people.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MS/INC110221

That's the highest rate in the country, if you don't count Puerto Rico.

List of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Census Bureau's poverty thresholds are listed here:

Poverty in the United States: 2021

This report presents data on poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2022 and earlier CPS ASEC.

www.census.gov

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-poverty-thresholds/thresh21.xlsx

For a single person under the age of 65, the threshold is $14,097/yr (pre-tax). That comes out to about 37 hours/wk @ $7.25/hr.

According to BLS, in 2020, 2.8% of workers in Mississippi earned the minimum wage or less - the 3rd highest rate in the country. (Table 3, in the middle of the page)

Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2020 : BLS Reports: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

In 2020, 73.3 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 55.5 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 247,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

www.bls.gov

idk, why don't you take a drive down south and go ask them?

I guess you haven't read too much about rural poverty, eh?

2.8 huh. Looks like I was right. Hardly anyone is living off minimum wage.

And the vast majority of those are teens.

So you'll have to excuse me, but you still haven't shown me how there are all these impoverished people in the US living in garbage dumps.

We don't live in Mexico or any of these 3rd world countries. Or even second world.

In America even the poor are suffering from 1st world problems.

Yes there are poor people here. Never said there weren't.

And there are people who genuinely need help.

And we do help them. More could be done to help those in real need. But those who are like that are few cpaired to the rest.

rjs330 · Jan 25, 2023

Neogaia777 said:
I'm on disability, and my problems are not physical, but if you had them...?

Well, let's just say you might wish to go to hell to take a much needed vacation from time to time, as I don't think any of you could handle it, etc...

It most definitely prevents me from a lot of work, etc...

And my application was also processed very, very quickly, and almost right away, and that normally doesn't happen unless there is almost zero doubt, etc...

It is not just physical problems that sometimes prevents people from working, etc...

My only relative sanity right now can only best be described as an absolute miracle, etc, but it is relative, etc...

And I definitely didn't choose this, etc...

And I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, etc...

God Bless!

My bad for not clarifying. I know there are those who are so mentally ill that they can't work either.

I want clear. I have some mental health issues in my family so I know what that's like. It's a true disability so please know I understand that mental health is an issue and some can't work with those problems.

I've always had compassion for the truly physically and mentally disabled. Those folks ought to be taken care of cause it's nothing they can help.

But the majority of people that get government help are not in those positions. I know cause I've worked with them.

FireDragon76 · Jan 26, 2023

I get SNAP. Mostly I eat beans or vegetable protein. You don't actually need meat to survive, for the most part (you do need some kind of B-12 source in your diet, though). At the same time, that's not justification for the a state government to be cruel and tell other people what to eat, just because they are poor. Cutting flour in particular would be bad, since for many people its a staple food.

Hammster · Jan 26, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
I get SNAP. Mostly I eat beans or vegetable protein. You don't actually need meat to survive, for the most part (you do need some kind of B-12 source in your diet, though). At the same time, that's not justification for the a state government to be cruel and tell other people what to eat, just because they are poor. Cutting flour in particular would be bad, since for many people its a staple food.

Nobody is telling them what to eat.

FireDragon76 · Jan 26, 2023

Hammster said:
Nobody is telling them what to eat.

If you take away SNAP paying for foods, you are effectively telling them what to eat.

Hammster · Jan 26, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
If you take away SNAP paying for foods, you are effectively telling them what to eat.

Nope. You can still buy flour.

FireDragon76 · Jan 26, 2023

Hammster said:
Nope. You can still buy flour.

The whole point of SNAP is that people cannot afford flour of their own resources.

Iowa Republicans want to ban SNAP recipients from buying meat, white bread, and American cheese

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