Could You Live on Food Stamps?

It's soapbox time. I don't do this often but there are a lot of rumblings going around bloggy world about Michigan's Food Stamp Challenge 2008. Quite a few are gasping at the amount of money Michigan gives one person per day for food.

According to the challenge website, participants are allowed to spend $5.87 per day or roughly $30 for 5 days. Some participants recognized the challenge right away. A $2 Starbucks coffee eats away half the budget real fast. Others have realized that they'd have to change their shopping habits, maybe find a cheaper store, clip coupons, plan ahead etc. (See their comments here.)

After reading so many posts today about the challenge and the people gasping that someone would receive so much money for food, I really want to point out a few things...

The amount that is used in the challenge is the maximum allotment. That's for someone who pretty much has a very minimal income. If the person makes more than minimum wage, the allotment would be less since food stamps are meant to be a supplement to income and not the sole source of grocery money.

The $5.87 per day per person is for a family of two or a single person. If your family is larger, the amount per person per day is reduced. For example, here in W.Va. the maximum allotment works out to about $3 per day per person or about $1 per meal per day. For a family of six the amount creeps downward and is somewhere around 75 cents per meal per day.

When looking at that $5.87 amount, also consider the cost of living in the area. Michigan has a higher cost of living than West Virginia, no questions about that. In reading some of the comments, I was surprised at some of the costs per item that people were paying.

I'm not sure how true this is in Michigan, but not every store around here accepts food stamps. So the concept of finding the best deal may not always work if that store doesn't accept food stamps. And buying fresh produce at a local farmer's market with food stamps doesn't work either.

Something else that not every recipient realizes is that different stores apply different taxes to food stamps. Some stores charge the regular tax amount like you were using cash. Others participate in a federal program that allows them to charge less in taxes for food stamps users.

Before you balk at that idea, think about it. Essentially the food stamps are government money, so why would they tax their own money? Depending on the state food tax amount, this can add up to a couple of "extra" dollars for a food stamp recipient to use on actual food.

I know that many Christians are opposed to accepting government help so they have sworn that they would never use food stamps. Before looking down a nose at someone who does, consider this... Do you pay taxes to the government? For those who are eligible for food stamps, often the amount paid in taxes is similar to the amount they receive in food stamps. Technically it's money that they've earned but don't have access to. Another way to look at it is this... Do you like receiving a refund on your income taxes? Technically that's a form of government money too; food stamps is simply broken into monthly allotments.

Another common misconception is that those on food stamps sit around doing nothing. In W.Va. every able bodied adult must work 30 hours a week at minimum wage in order to continue to receive food stamps. If they don't work or meet the requirements, they're only eligible for 3 months and during those three months, they have to be actively seeking employment. And they're only allowed one 3 month period per year.

I would strongly caution those who have sworn off food stamps or who state that they would never use government assistance. Don't be too proud. Disability, sickness, job loss can strike at any moment. Emergency funds only last so long when you are faced with a long-term crisis. (Read part of our story here, here, here, and here.)

If you were faced with the choice of temporarily accepting government assistance (remember that it's probably money that you pay the government in taxes with each paycheck) or working 60-70 hours a week 52 weeks a year just to make ends meet while your spouse endures a long-term illness, never seeing your family, not having the opportunity for vacation or even a day off, not being able to buy something extra like a new "used" book for your child, and still barely keeping your head above water, what would you choose?

Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox now. =)