Yum! lobbies for food stamp use in Yum! restaurants

It always chaps my ass when the less fortunate get nailed with the sledgehammer when the responsibility, in a particular situation, lies with the corporation. Yum! is the party doing the lobbying here. Does anyone think the issue would receive a sympathetic ear were it the "system abusers" pushing for an expansion of food stamp programs? Yum! is looking to increase its market by selling something off as "in the best interest of everyone involved."

Steve P, I think your original reading of Brian C's rant was right on target. You're a bigger person than me for reconsidering that reading. Brian C's rant could EASILY be re-written to rant about all the allowances and privileges we provide for corporations, but I'll refrain from doing so.

this gives me a terrible 'Oh my God.... Soylent Green is made of PEOPLE!!!!' kind of feeling.

It always chaps my ass when the less fortunate get nailed with the sledgehammer when the responsibility, in a particular situation, lies with the corporation. Yum! is the party doing the lobbying here. Does anyone think the issue would receive a sympathetic ear were it the "system abusers" pushing for an expansion of food stamp programs? Yum! is looking to increase its market by selling something off as "in the best interest of everyone involved."

Steve P, I think your original reading of Brian C's rant was right on target. You're a bigger person than me for reconsidering that reading. Brian C's rant could EASILY be re-written to rant about all the allowances and privileges we provide for corporations, but I'll refrain from doing so.

I completely agree with your first paragraph, and respectfully have to disagree with the second.

In regards to the type of food being purchased with said "government money", I believe we are creating a viscous cycle by allowing anything less than nutritional and healthy items to be purchased with food stamps. With many on subsidized health care, and the obvious correlation between poor diet and health problems, am I out of bounds by thinking that that only creates a larger monetary burden for which all of us must pay for?

As for the large golf tournament check (Happy Gilmore ) it is merely a stretch of truth on my behalf, tongue and cheek really, to emphasize the necessity to create a system that weens people off of assistance and provides job assistance or the education necessary to improve their lives. My sentiments were not fully explained nor clear enough with the keyboard as my only delivery method.

I misspoke earlier in suggesting Red Bull is WIC approved. It is not. It is SNAP approved, the new term for food stamps.
Energy Drinks

When considering the eligibility of energy drinks, and other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:

Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods


Energy drinks that have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible

It also is of intersting note that soft drinks and junk food are also within the realm of food able to be purchased on the SNAP program...

Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items

It always chaps my ass when the less fortunate get nailed with the sledgehammer when the responsibility, in a particular situation, lies with the corporation. Yum! is the party doing the lobbying here. Does anyone think the issue would receive a sympathetic ear were it the "system abusers" pushing for an expansion of food stamp programs? Yum! is looking to increase its market by selling something off as "in the best interest of everyone involved."

Steve P, I think your original reading of Brian C's rant was right on target. You're a bigger person than me for reconsidering that reading. Brian C's rant could EASILY be re-written to rant about all the allowances and privileges we provide for corporations, but I'll refrain from doing so.

I completely agree with your first paragraph, and respectfully have to disagree with the second.

In regards to the type of food being purchased with said "government money", I believe we are creating a viscous cycle by allowing anything less than nutritional and healthy items to be purchased with food stamps. With many on subsidized health care, and the obvious correlation between poor diet and health problems, am I out of bounds by thinking that that only creates a larger monetary burden for which all of us must pay for?

As for the large golf tournament check (Happy Gilmore ) it is merely a stretch of truth on my behalf, tongue and cheek really, to emphasize the necessity to create a system that weens people off of assistance and provides job assistance or the education necessary to improve their lives. My sentiments were not fully explained nor clear enough with the keyboard as my only delivery method.

I misspoke earlier in suggesting Red Bull is WIC approved. It is not. It is SNAP approved, the new term for food stamps.
Energy Drinks

When considering the eligibility of energy drinks, and other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:

Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods


Energy drinks that have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible

It also is of intersting note that soft drinks and junk food are also within the realm of food able to be purchased on the SNAP program...

Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items

I don't know enough about food assistance programs to argue the finer points of who should get what, when, why, and how. If people end up being "allowed" to purchase YUM! products, then that's a result of YUM! lobbying.

The whole welfare system needs to be overhauled. Which is not to say I'm against assistance programs. So, I think we can agree on that.

Cheers.

Why should the cashier at the grocery store need to know who is receiving food stamps and who isn't? I don't get it....

Maybe instead of the big awkward fake check or the monopoly money, they could just wear a scarlet letter on their chests?

Thanks for saying it first, Heather.

Regarding Yum! taking food stamps: that's absolutely the wrong thing to do from a nutritional perspective. Wrong message on so many levels. What we should be doing is insuring that food stamps can be used at all Farmers Markets, not making it easier to eat junk. Personally I'm very disappointed that Yum! would even consider lobbying for this- so much for their supposed corporate healthy eating initiatives.

Deb

The government spends more money controlling what folks can by while on assistance programs than what is lost to abuse. Every government program comes with a whole raft of regulators to make sure you are spending the assistance on the right food, the right day care providers, the right kind of housing, etc.

What about we treat folks on assistance like adults? Increase the EIC, or implement some kind of negative income tax system, and just give the folks money to spend how it best works for their families, with no nosy bureaucrats involved?

Folks could buy whatever food and services that they want. And if they want to pay an aunt or a sister to babysit, there would be no government asshat to tell them no.

What we should be doing is insuring that food stamps can be used at all Farmers Markets, not making it easier to eat junk. Deb

That is something that's already in place in a lot of states. While most programs are only giving $10-$20/month a lot of it has to do with getting the farmers to agree to take the program. Most aren't aware it's even available, farmers or participants, and have to sign up for it seperately from food stamps during the alloted months.

It's amazing what you can learn in an afternoon or three at the county health department as a pregnant woman!

So, if the obese person in the line in front or you was buying junk food, pre-prepared, high sodium, fat content etc and paying by cash or debit card that would be alright; but because someone buys the same crap and then pays by food stamps this is not OK? Just trying to figure it out. I regularly cringe inwardly when I see what some people put in their baskets, but if that is what they want to buy, then fine. I do not think that food stamps should be able to be used in restaurants though they should only be used in grocery stores for groceries.

This is my first post here. I've been lurking for years and trying to join for years, so feel like I know you all very well!

Welcome, Christina! Glad you're here ... hope this is the first of many.

What Robin said. Glad to have ya.

Ditto.....



A couple of thoughts
I know the abuse of the food stamp system is rampant. I have parted way with folks who I thought were my friends for this very reason. I have no way of knowing what the percentage of valid users is compared to the abusers. Does anybody?
I was in line once with a friend (who was legitimately receiving food stamps) and we were checking out with a large chocolate cake. Somebody behind us in line started in on how we shouldn't buy this cake and instead should be buying veggies and what not. My friend preceded to breakdown in tears and ran out of store. I explained to the A hole behind us that this was for my friends 5 year old twin boys birthday party. From that point on I never made any assumptions about what people were doing with their food stamps.
As to the stamps for farmers markets...I know many of the vendors at the Phoenix hill market are set up take WIC and I think SNP (senior program). I have also worked with a farmers market out in Anderson county that had a large percentage of the business with WIC and SNP.
In regards to the question of food stamp use in Yum restaurants...I have to say no. That said, I dont think anybody should eat at a Yum restaurant period.

So, if the obese person in the line in front or you was buying junk food, pre-prepared, high sodium, fat content etc and paying by cash or debit card that would be alright; but because someone buys the same crap and then pays by food stamps this is not OK? Just trying to figure it out. I regularly cringe inwardly when I see what some people put in their baskets, but if that is what they want to buy, then fine. I do not think that food stamps should be able to be used in restaurants though they should only be used in grocery stores for groceries.

Alison,

I agree that they shouldn't be used for restaurants.
The fast food thing is extremely troubling to me as it makes it even easier to buy fast food in the "food deserts" where it's difficult to buy produce. With no car, it can be a major effort to buy fruits and vegetables ( as anyone who has been in a West End corner store can attest). Allowing food stamps for fast food will only perpetuate this vicious circle.

Deb

I read the article when it came out. The only group I thought it even made sense to offer this new "service" to was the homeless. The more I thought about it, the more sense that seemed to make. It occurred to me that if a person is homeless, he/she probably doesn't have a refrigerator in which to store his milk and lunch meat.

I still don't think it's a good idea and the fact that it's the corporations that are trying to push this through really had me rolling my eyes. I think there was a quote that said Yum hadn't even computed the possible income this would create. Suuuuure.

And for what it's worth, I know some local farmers' markets do take food stamps.

The problem with the homeless is...I don't think most of them can/do get food stamps. They have to have an address. Perhaps there should be some sort of program put in place for people with those issues.

I wouldn't even know where to start.

From the libertarian center right - it's a bad idea.

The problem with the homeless is...I don't think most of them can/do get food stamps. They have to have an address. Perhaps there should be some sort of program put in place for people with those issues.

I wouldn't even know where to start.

There must be some mechanism in place because the article specifically mentions including the homeless, elderly and disabled as candidates for this program. Ultimately, this program is being pushed to put money into corporate coffers. It's not like Yum is a charitable organization, lol.

Should people on public assistance not be subject to random drug testing to ensure that a blatant misappropriation of monetary funds is not occurring, thereby taking money away from people who honestly need the help???

On this note, yes. Public assistance recipients should not be subject to random testing. Since you brought it up and put it on the table......twice, (civil liberty and legal issues aside) such testing would preclude people on public assistance from medicinal use of marijuana. Personally, I think marijuana should be legalized for recreational or medicinal use. Not to mention, domestically grown industrial hemp should be legalized too. It is imported, so why not grow it? That is another tangent, so I digress. Sorry about the the thread creep. Just sayin'. Mini rant off.