How much will you get in food stamp?
Posted by Frugal on July 10th, 2009
I finally know what EBT is, whenever I swipe my credit card at the grocery stores. EBT is Electronic Benefits Transfer, an electronic system designed to reduce food stamp fraud.
Ever wonder how much you could get in food stamp?
The other day when my family ate at the Boston Market, a lady pushing her toddler in a stroller came in to beg for food. She went around in the entire restaurant, begging for money and chicken. I insisted on not giving her any cash, but I will buy a meal for her. Before I had a chance to order while waiting in line, she had got what she wanted: some chicken from one of the tables, and then she left without my order. I felt a little sad for her, because she must be ordered by her husband to come out and beg for chicken. Yeah, she didn’t really want any other food, but only chicken (and cash of course). But because of her assertiveness of being an unashamedly beggar, it was a bit hard to feel lots of compassion towards her. A beggar picking her own food?! I can’t help but recall another incidence where an old man in a grocery store commanding me to pay his bill, and convinced the cashier that I would pay his bill. No, I told the cashier! He didn’t even ask me nicely. Instead it was commanding with entitlement, as if I and/or the society owed him something.
Anyway, so I found this site where it will estimate the amount of food stamp that you will receive: http://www.snap-step1.usda.gov/fns/. Assuming zero income and no assets, a family of four can receive $588 a month, to my surprise. That’s about $5 per meal per person, for 3 meals a day. Without counting any dine-outs, I can say for sure that whenever my wife cooks, my family probably seldom exceed $5 per meal per person, and obviously breakfast is probably $1 or less. There is really no way that you can go hungry with $588 of food stamp per month.
Of course, I reckon that one still needs to pay the rent, utility, and transportation costs. Regardless, the welfare system in United States is not that bad. I guess I don’t need to worry about people going hungry at least in this country, thank God.
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July 11th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Don’t forget the WIC program. They get that too.
July 11th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Yeah and of course there are food banks and homeless shelters too. Definitely NO excuse for going hungry in this country. The worst is when I see people using food stamps to buy cars full of Cheetos and Pepsi. It’s freaking outrageous. People should be required to take cooking/nutrition classes to get their food stamps. Or they should only be given a prepackaged basket of food that will last a week = beans, rice, fruits, canned veggies, peanut butter, etc
July 15th, 2009 at 11:44 am
You can still use coupons too.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:28 am
The persons have to take the food stamps for the meal. Some places it is requared. IT is also banefical for us.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:41 am
It is easy to take food.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I think you need to check you math. $588 divided by 30 is $19.60, which means every person gets $4.90 a day to eat, or $1.63 per meal. I think if your family took the challenge to eat on $4.90 a day for a week, you would see things differently.
May 12th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
@Ruth: Well done with your sharp eye ! You just discredited every word this blogger have written in one strike…
@Frugal: Why is there no response from your side on this vital mistake, “Know-it-all” investment boy ???
May 14th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Ruth/Terry,
You can check my actual budget. For small kids, they don’t eat much in quantity. So if you cook yourself, $2.0 per meal per person is sufficient. For the two adults plus two small kids, it’s definitely possible to get by.
You guys are just too spoiled. I said you won’t go hungry. I didn’t say that you will have sumptuous meals. Do you expect to eat lobsters on food stamp?
There are also lots of resources on the internet, showing that you could get $100 grocery using coupons, and pay only $10. I’m not that crazy into those super-usage of coupons, but quite a few have done that.