The Disaster Food Stamp program is getting more publicity today, and it's not necessarily good publicity. Here's a story about hundreds lining up for flood food stamps.
As of this minute, 24 people have posted comments, and many of them were enraged.... or the comments were based on false information. I wrote a comment, but it hasn't yet been posted. So here are my responses to some of those comments-- The published comments are in italics; my responses follow:
Disaster Food Stamps based on Flood Damage and Income
"The money was allocated based on the number of people in the home. Wendy Weather, a mother of two young kids from Calumet City, received $447 this morning, money on top of what her family normally gets in a month."
The money was allocated based on income, loss from the flood, and the number of people in the home. People were not entitled to get money from this program unless they had flood damage.
Get a freaking job already & quit relying on hard working American's to pay your bills!!!
If you had flood damage and the flood damage exceeded your monthly income or greatly reduced your monthly income, you could get Disaster Food Stamps. It had nothing to do with employment. Our damage was so severe, that we could have had a much greater income than we did that month and still qualified.
Disaster Food Stamp Program Was Started in 1974
We're going to have a country full of people with their hands out if that Socialist gets elected!
Get used to this.
In the words of the presidential candidate who is leading in the polls:
"I just want to spread the wealth around."
I don't think that either candidate would roll back the food stamp or the disaster food stamp program. The Disaster Food Stamp program has been around in some form since 1974, during a Republican administration.
So, if you line up and say you have water damage, you get food stamps? What a crock! Are the officials just taking your word for it?
My sense is that people requesting supplemental food stamps (people already in the program seeking extra allocations) might have been screened more carefully than those who were seeking one-time only assistance. This is just my impression; I don't know for sure.
What about the people with flood damage who work and couldn't afford to take the time off to wait in line?? This is an outrage!!!
I am not sure exactly what this person considers an outrage... that he/she couldn't take time off from work? Or that the program exists at all?
My comment is for Jeff and the other person with the comment, there were plenty of people that was in line that works so the lady that said along with her other income, maybe she was referring to her work paycheck. With the economy the way it is they should be giving food stamps away to people even though of us making 6 figures. My basement flooded but I couldn't go stand in a line for 11 hours like some folks did, just to receive food stamps for my family!!
I do agree that people who work and couldn't get away, or people with little kids (who can't stand in line for hours)-- and were entitled to these funds got the short end of the stick. Please remember that this is a one-time thing.
Pontiac, Il, Got Disaster Food Stamps in the Spring
Oh really? I don't remember Pontiac,IL getting food stamps when the whole town was basically under water this past January! We had to fight, and fight before FEMA would actually consider our flooding a "natural disater" At least the people in Pontiac are hard working and don't rely on the government for much, these people, wow, get real. Like they had the food stamps to begin with. What makes you think things are gonna change?
I quickly googled the state Department of Human Services site, and the people of Pontiac were entitled to disaster food assistance back in January. People in our neighborhood, Albany Park, are hard-working as well. Generally, every morning at 7 a.m., this block empties out as people get in their cars and go to work.
The article said nothing about these people not having jobs. I can't imagine ALL employers will not understand that you've recently been the victim of a flood and need to take a day off to handle matters.
The caption under the picture says the woman was not eligible, but then the article does not explain why she was considered not eligible...
The Disaster Food Stamp program has nothing to do with employment or lack of it. It compares damages and losses to income from any source to determine eligibility. I think that some people would be able to get time off to register for this program, and some would not.
Okay...is it just me or is anyone else wondering why in the heck a family of 3 needs an EXTRA $447 in food vouchers for a MONTH!!!!!!!
I'm really worried about how MY tax dollars are being given out. I struggle to pay bills, however they are paid and I'm fine. But that comes from proper money management and sacrifice. An EXTRA $447 is pretty outrageous.
I don't think you understand this program. It is designed to assist people who experienced significant loss due to a natural disaster. Most of the people who are entitled to such funds are not people who are already in the program. People are not entitled to extra funds unless they have significant flood damage.
I certainly hope that you never experience a $20-30 grand loss due to a natural disaster in the same year you are experiencing a loss of income due to unemployment or health problems... or both. Proper money management and sacrifice will only go so far when you experience one personal or natural disaster after another.
People lost EVERYTHING in their homes in the flood, including whatever dry goods they had in their homes.
And this job market has many many people out of work.
And likely many flood victims have jobs but used a vacation day to get in line for food vouchers.
Anyone who will wait in line for hours for food is DESPERATE.
I'll bet the people who are attacking those folks have never missed a meal in their lives.
Well, I wasn't desperate. Not Friday afternoon. I don't know if I would have stood in line for hours had I known the wait would be hours. And I was more desperate three weeks ago when we had to put down a down payment for a new furnace/water heater and we had to spend a small fortune on pumps, dehumidifiers, fans, and cleaning supplies... and my car broke down. We did have to throw away all of our refrigerated food as we had no electricity for several days.
I looked at the wait as getting $50-100/hr for my time and patience. And I felt that, considering all of the tax dollars that we (and our families) have paid over the years, it was good that we could get something back.
Not Only on the South Side
How does giving someone food stamps help them with a flooded basement? Sounds like another free giveaway to people that already recieve free services. Are there going to be locations around places that suffered the worst of the floods, like maybe Des Plaines?
I wonder if they will do a food stamp day in the northwest suburbs for all the people in DesPlaines that were flooded or if they have to travel all the way to the south side to collect?
WHAT does your home being damaged have to do with food? Are you saying they all kept their groceries in the basement?!? "Disaster unemployment insurance", you're gonna have to explain that too.
Yes, the people in DesPlaines are eligible, and there are centers in the NW suburbs. Nobody had to venture to the South Side. Many people in the areas hit hard by the floods lost power for days. The water in the basement resulted in no power which meant that all refrigerated foods needed to be tossed. Also, there were people living in garden apartments who lost all of their food. Some people stored extra food in the basement, perhaps they had a refrigerator or freezer down there, as we did. Unfortunately, most of those people could have used the assistance the third week of September, when the power came back on after the flood.
About the disaster unemployment insurance: I don't know much about that, but if you are faced with four feet of water in your basement or living space, or you are forced to move and/or stay elsewhere because your home is uninhabitable, you might find that you can't work while you deal with the crisis. Or your employer might be closed down due to the flood. Four feet of water in a living space is not the same as a few inches of muck in a basement. Just thank your lucky stars that you are never faced with significant damage due to a natural disaster. If you are ever in such a situation, you will be singing a very different tune.
There are more comments about disaster food stamps and my replies in
the next entry in the Albany Park Flood blog
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