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http://www.salon.com/life/pinched/2010/03/15/hipsters_food_stamps_pinched/index.html
I'm a huge fan of the general idea behind the food stamp program. I think it's a great way to help people who otherwise would be unable to eat properly get some food onto their table. That said, this **** is ridiculous. Not satisfied with being drains on society in all their usual ways, these hipsters have discovered that by getting the government to pay for some of their food, they can have more money to spend on fair-trade coffee, awesome new shoes, and that great weed that their friend picked up. There need to be some serious limitations placed on what can be purchased with EBT, both on the cheap/unhealthy and the overly expensive sides of things.
Mak, 31, grew up in Westchester, graduated from the University of Chicago and toiled in publishing in New York during his 20s before moving to Baltimore last year with a meager part-time blogging job and prospects for little else. About half of his friends in Baltimore have been getting food stamps since the economy toppled, so he decided to give it a try; to his delight, he qualified for $200 a month. "I'm sort of a foodie, and I'm not going to do the 'living off ramen' thing," he said, fondly remembering a recent meal he'd prepared of roasted rabbit with butter, tarragon and sweet potatoes. "I used to think that you could only get processed food and government cheese on food stamps, but it's great that you can get anything."
Think of it as the effect of a grinding recession crossed with the epicurean tastes of young people as obsessed with food as previous generations were with music and sex. Faced with lingering unemployment, 20- and 30-somethings with college degrees and foodie standards are shaking off old taboos about who should get government assistance and discovering that government benefits can indeed be used for just about anything edible, including wild-caught fish, organic asparagus and triple-crème cheese.
...
Food policy experts and human resource administrators are quick to point out that the overwhelming majority of the record 38 million Americans now using food stamps are their traditional recipients: the working poor, the elderly and single parents on welfare. But they also note that recent changes made to the program as part of last year's stimulus package, which relaxed the restrictions on able-bodied adults without dependents to collect food stamps, have made some young singles around the country eligible for the first time.
...
And in cities that are magnets for 20- and 30-something creatives and young professionals, the kinds of food markets that specialize in delectables like artisanal bread, heirloom tomatoes and grass-fed beef have seen significant upticks in food stamp payments among their typical shoppers. At the Wedge, a market in the stylish Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis; at New Seasons Market, a series of nine specialty stores in and around Portland, Ore.; and at Rainbow Grocery, a stalwart for food lovers in San Francisco's Mission District, food stamp purchases have doubled in the past year. "The use has gone way up in the last six months," said Eric Wilcox, a cashier who has worked at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco for 10 years. "We're seeing a lot more young people in their 20s purchasing organic food with food stamp cards. I wouldn't say it's limited to hipster people, but I'm certainly surprised to see them with cards."
I'm a huge fan of the general idea behind the food stamp program. I think it's a great way to help people who otherwise would be unable to eat properly get some food onto their table. That said, this **** is ridiculous. Not satisfied with being drains on society in all their usual ways, these hipsters have discovered that by getting the government to pay for some of their food, they can have more money to spend on fair-trade coffee, awesome new shoes, and that great weed that their friend picked up. There need to be some serious limitations placed on what can be purchased with EBT, both on the cheap/unhealthy and the overly expensive sides of things.