Oregon gov starts week on food stamps

Ore. gov. starts week on food stamps By JULIA SILVERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 25, 3:27 AM ET

If Gov. Ted Kulongoski seems a little sluggish this week, he's got an excuse: he couldn't afford coffee.

In fact, the Democratic governor couldn't afford much of anything during a trip to a Salem-area grocery store on Tuesday, where he had exactly $21 to buy a week's worth of food — the same amount that the state's average food stamp recipient spends weekly on groceries.

Kulongoski is taking the weeklong challenge to raise awareness about the difficulty of feeding a family on a food stamp budget.

Accompanied by reporters and food stamp recipient Christina Sigman-Davenport, Kulongoski headed straight for a display of organic bananas, only to have Sigman-Davenport steer him toward the cheaper non-organic variety.

The governor pined wistfully for canned Progresso soups, but at $1.53 apiece, they would have blown the budget. He settled instead for three packages of Cup O'Noodles for 33 cents apiece. Kulongoski also gave up his usual Adams natural, no-stir peanut butter for a generic store brand, but drew the line at saving money by buying peanut butter and jelly in the same jar.

"I don't much like the looks of that," said Kulongoski, 66, staring at the concoction.

Other shoppers in the store were bemused by Kulongoski's quest.

"Obviously, he doesn't shop often," Barb Sours of Salem said, as Kulongoski bounced around the aisles in search of granola. "He's all over the place."

Kulongoski did pause to chat with shoppers John and Bonnie White of Salem, telling them all about his $21 limit.

"Don't spend it all in one place," John White warned.

Along the way, Sigman-Davenport, a mother of three who works for the state Department of Human Services and went on food stamps in the fall after her husband lost his job, dispensed tips for shopping on a budget. Scan the highest and lowest shelves, she told the governor. Look for off-brand products, clip coupons religiously, get used to filling, low-cost staples like macaroni and cheese and beans, and, when possible, buy in bulk.

At the check-out counter, Kulongoski's purchases totaled $21.97, forcing him to give back one of the Cup O'Noodles and two bananas, for a final cost of $20.97 for 19 items.

After the hourlong shopping trip, Kulongoski said he was mindful that his week on food stamps will be finite and that thousands of others aren't so lucky.

"I don't care what they call it, if this is what it takes to get the word out," Kulongoski said, in response to questions about whether the food stamp challenge was no more than a publicity stunt. "This is an issue every citizen in this state should be aware of."

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When I first read this article I was cynical and i thought politics right away. Reflecting on it now I think this gov has set up a wonderful precedent for politicians and perhaps this type of excersise should be mandatory. I am blessed not to have to worry about such circumstances but I think this is a great way to remind politicians of exactly how thier most vunerable constituants must live.

Anyone else think this is a viable excercise for politicians? Considering the growing devide of the economic classes here in the U.S. I think this is spot on. Any thoughts?

Matthew Parris did something similar in the early '80s, he lived for a week in the northeast of England on the dole. I remember it well.

IIRC he got about £30 a week.

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Originally Posted by InsaneApache

Matthew Parris did something similar in the early '80s, he lived for a week in the northeast of England on the dole. I remember it well.

IIRC he got about £30 a week.

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And Michael Portillo spent a week or something as a single mum. Got on well with some of the kids (especially the oldest, who was his chief advisor), but carried on a running feud wth the youngest IIRC.

Review of When Michael Portillo Became a Single Mum

About Parris' original effort, from The Independent preview of his redux.

Twenty years ago, when he was one of Margaret Thatcher's silly backbench bully boys, Matthew Parris (right) famously took a courageous step that changed his life. After banging on about keeping benefit payments low as an incentive to the unemployed to find work, he was challenged by ITV's current affairs strand World in Action to go and live in the Newcastle suburb of Scotswood for a week. Living on a single-man's unemployment benefit (then pounds 26.80 a week), it was one of the first examples of life-swap programming.

More importantly, though, it became one of the defining pieces of political television from the dark days of the 1980s, when there were 3 million on the dole. The programme was watched by more than 13 million, who saw him fail dismally, and was instrumental in him resigning as an MP. It wasn't through any realisation that the Conservative government was to blame for the bleakness, though. It was more that he was, in his own words, "made to look like a Tory prat". He called something right for once.

Interesting fellas.

This is a fairly rare phenom in the U.S. and when it happens it flies well under the radar (even more so given the political climate in the U.S.). I personally think this is a fruitful excersise for any politician, and might go as far as to say that it should be an expected excersise for politicians once elected.

I have been to europe a few times but never lived there, here in the states most of our politicians have wealth and dont necessarily understand the nuances of living at or above the poverty line.

What a fool. Food stamps aren't supposed to be the sole source of your food money for a week but a supplement. What point was this guy trying to make by trying to buy "organic" food (you know the story about a fool and his money) and fancy peanut butter? You already have an excess of money and emotion if you buy into the organic craze. I suppose his daddy paid his way thru college and he never had to eat on a budget. Whenever politicians go to a grocery store, they make a fool out of themselves.

This "experiment" isn't weather or not the amount is enough but whether or not a person can live the lifestyle they want to while on government support. It's like these damn fool households where both couples have to work to make their gilded ends meet. America has some of the best dressed, well-fed poor people in the world. Do you know what one of the reasons is given for the obesity epidemic among poor people: Because eating is one of the few joys they have in life. Fools.

Barring some physical injury/defect/etc there is little excuse not to be able to afford college education in the US. If you want to you'll risk the (at worst) 1-2% risk of death in the military (because, you know, if you're not in the military you can't die. The boredom of garrison life is likely to kill you first). It's all about choices. You can have just about anything you want in this country it just depends how much you want to give up for it. Whether it's freedom by joining the military for four years (or even better, the National Guard; huge bonuses and student loan payback) or time by using FREE libraries to research and apply for grants/loans, you can be successful.

What's that saying about a tyranny for our own benefit?

*and breathe*

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Originally Posted by Vladimir

What a fool. Food stamps aren't supposed to be the sole source of your food money for a week but a supplement. What point was this guy trying to make by trying to buy "organic" food (you know the story about a fool and his money) and fancy peanut butter? You already have an excess of money and emotion if you buy into the organic craze. I suppose his daddy paid his way thru college and he never had to eat on a budget. Whenever politicians go to a grocery store, they make a fool out of themselves.

This "experiment" isn't weather or not the amount is enough but whether or not a person can live the lifestyle they want to while on government support. It's like these damn fool households where both couples have to work to make their gilded ends meet. America has some of the best dressed, well-fed poor people in the world. Do you know what one of the reasons is given for the obesity epidemic among poor people: Because eating is one of the few joys they have in life. Fools.

Barring some physical injury/defect/etc there is little excuse not to be able to afford college education in the US. If you want to you'll risk the (at worst) 1-2% risk of death in the military (because, you know, if you're not in the military you can't die. The boredom of garrison life is likely to kill you first). It's all about choices. You can have just about anything you want in this country it just depends how much you want to give up for it. Whether it's freedom by joining the military for four years (or even better, the National Guard; huge bonuses and student loan payback) or time by using FREE libraries to research and apply for grants/loans, you can be successful.

What's that saying about a tyranny for our own benefit?

*and breathe*

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You finished yet ? :laugh4:

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Originally Posted by Vladimir

What point was this guy trying to make by trying to buy "organic" food (you know the story about a fool and his money) and fancy peanut butter? You already have an excess of money and emotion if you buy into the organic craze.

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Could you please elaborate on your reasons for condemning all organic food? Mrs. Lemur is a professional chef, so I'm quite curious to hear your rationale.

Maybe this guys needs to adopt a bunch of kids he can't afford, buy lots of alcohol, smokes, and lottery tickets to get the true effect. Perhaps a nice drug addiction would make it a little more real.

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Could you please elaborate on your reasons for condemning all organic food? Mrs. Lemur is a professional chef, so I'm quite curious to hear your rationale.

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Um, Lemur...all food is organic. It's the irony that I can't stand.

But like Odin was saying, the percentages are quite small and many of those may be what I consider "exceptions" and need our help. It's this fool politician that set me off.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir

Um, Lemur...all food is organic. It's the irony that I can't stand.

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You've obviously never eaten processed cheese slices.

http://www.begacheese.com.au/images/burger1.jpg

If those things are ogranic, then my feet are made of jelly.

I think that the news added a little bit more winny picky childish feel to the governor.

I have to say it would be a good exercise for the politicians to taste their own medicine, and not pass sweeping bills, reform this, take out that, listen to 'experts' and not get down on the ground with regular Jane at the local supermart.

I liked the budget thing, but he should have had a week to prepare. Get a 'wife' and 'kids' and save up on coupons, then go in, see how far that $21 gets you. Maybe even a low-wage jobs at $8.00 an hour.

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Could you please elaborate on your reasons for condemning all organic food? Mrs. Lemur is a professional chef, so I'm quite curious to hear your rationale.

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Overpriced for an inferrior product, not to mention one that willfully spreads untreated cow waste into rivers.

The best food you'll ever find is fresh from the farm, doesnt matter if it's organic or not. As for meats, wouldnt touch a organic steak with a stick, let alone allow it to sully my grill. Grain fed, Hormone injected, perfectly marbled, iradiated beef, it's whats for dinner.

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I suppose his daddy paid his way thru college and he never had to eat on a budget.

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If you noticed in the article the man is 66. He did a good thing, and brought attention to a problem. Food stamps can't actually even pay for the neccesary food.

Yes, food stamps can pay for the average amount of food if, as Vladmir pointed out, you shoip wisely. Theres no need for someone on food stamps to be buying overpriced microwave burritos and bags of chips at 7-11, or ben and jerrys at the grocery store.


Ask any grocery checker how well people on food stamps eat. They will tell you "very well"

I would also like to point out a one of the early paragraphs: In fact, the Democratic governor couldn't afford much of anything during a trip to a Salem-area grocery store on Tuesday, where he had exactly $21 to buy a week's worth of food — the same amount that the state's average food stamp recipient spends weekly on groceries

Note the last sentence that says thats how much the average food stamp recipient spends on groceries a week. This is classic ambiguous journalism. The writer couldnt just come right out and say how much food stamps the "average" family gets per month or per week, the writer has to muck it up. So is the family not spending all of its allotted money? Do certain things, like soda, oreos and Doritos not count as groceries when adding this tally up? Does some of the "average 21 dollars come from out of pocket?

Something is not being told in its entireity here. Things may differ from state to state, but I find it damn near impossible to believe that the average food stamp expenditure from the governors state is less thatn 100 per month per person. That is hogwash.

I'd also like to point out the federal W.I.C. program, which stands for women infant children, and it allows women with children, regardless of marital status, to obtain free name brand staple foods such as milk, eggs, bread, juice, canned veggies, cereal etc.

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Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump

Ask any grocery checker how well people on food stamps eat. They will tell you "very well"

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:yes: Trust me I live at the store. Dad works there I work there. I know all there is to know bout the groceing business. People with food stamps eat fine in fact most have money to buy ciggaretes!

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Originally Posted by BigTex

Overpriced for an inferrior product, not to mention one that willfully spreads untreated cow waste into rivers.

The best food you'll ever find is fresh from the farm, doesnt matter if it's organic or not. As for meats, wouldnt touch a organic steak with a stick, let alone allow it to sully my grill. Grain fed, Hormone injected, perfectly marbled, iradiated beef, it's whats for dinner.

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I wouldn't say that organic food can't be good- I'd just say it's a complete waste of money. In the case of the story, it was likely just a scripted stunt- part of the greater idiotic publicity stunt that the governor is engaged in. :no:

I would put money of the food people on food stamps eat is neither healthy nor balanced. leading to poor eating habits, and over weight kids. for $21 dont try to tell me you can eat, a balanced diet of meat, fish, vegies and stamples and well as fruit...:smash:

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Originally Posted by Marshal Murat

I think that the news added a little bit more winny picky childish feel to the governor.

I have to say it would be a good exercise for the politicians to taste their own medicine, and not pass sweeping bills, reform this, take out that, listen to 'experts' and not get down on the ground with regular Jane at the local supermart.

I liked the budget thing, but he should have had a week to prepare. Get a 'wife' and 'kids' and save up on coupons, then go in, see how far that $21 gets you. Maybe even a low-wage jobs at $8.00 an hour.

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This is an excellent position. Maybe have a relative be forced to join the military for a deployment should they start a war or something like that which would definately increase the amount of thinking spent by the politicians on their bills instead on how to twist the news partisanly into something good for them.

Again I ask you to note the 21 dollars per person comment. That means a single mom with 3 kids is actually getting 84 dollars (and yes WIC pays for formula, not food stamps)

84 dollars PER WEEK can very easily feed a family of 4, or 63 a family of 3, or 42 a family of 2. This all boils down to people living beyond their means and expecting someone else to pick up the slack so they can enjoy the same comforts of their neighbor.

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Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

Maybe this guys needs to adopt a bunch of kids he can't afford, buy lots of alcohol, smokes, and lottery tickets to get the true effect. Perhaps a nice drug addiction would make it a little more real.

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For a year or so there was a media addiction to those cases where people were taking excessive numbers of foster children, putting them figuratively (not always, there were deaths by neglect, most noted a florida case) down a hole and collecting the money. But like everything here the media shine wore off and we stopped hearing about it.


All the article, and the welfare system in general, illustrates is that whether you're rich or poor you posses a great capacity for making poor decisions, but seriously, some people work hard at it.

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Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump

Again I ask you to note the 21 dollars per person comment. That means a single mom with 3 kids is actually getting 84 dollars (and yes WIC pays for formula, not food stamps)

84 dollars PER WEEK can very easily feed a family of 4, or 63 a family of 3, or 42 a family of 2. This all boils down to people living beyond their means and expecting someone else to pick up the slack so they can enjoy the same comforts of their neighbor.

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MRD, if you have 3 kids, then yes, I agree with you that it might be enough. X people usually doesn't usually translate directly into x times the amount of resources required, but into somewhat less. What's more, kids tend to eat less than adults.
However, for one adult, I very, very much tend to agree with Beren Son of Barahi (very sensible post there, imho, :bow:), that for 21 bucks a week, while you may be able to survive, it won't be a pleasant, or healthy life at all. Yes, you can buy a lot of Ramen noodles with that, and you won't starve to death - but it will lead to vitamin deficiencies, obesity, and God knows what other :daisy:.
I personally need about double that amount per week (no eating out). I don't indulge in chips, icecream, or any of the silly stuff that would not be actually necessary. I could cut down that cost, but definitely not in half.
Please accept this as coming from a guy who, for many months in a row, had 1 meal per day, who, for years in a row, had 2 meals per day - and I don't really have 3 meals per day even these days.

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

:yes: Trust me I live at the store. Dad works there I work there. I know all there is to know bout the groceing business. People with food stamps eat fine in fact most have money to buy ciggaretes!

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How much do you spend for food per week then ?

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Originally Posted by Blodrast

How much do you spend for food per week then ?

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Probably as much as they like since they are responsible people, have made goo life choices, and take care of themselves. :beam:

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Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

Probably as much as they like since they are responsible people, have made goo life choices, and take care of themselves. :beam:

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...which completely ignores my question, fails to answer it, and launches into a bunch of unrelated issues. :dizzy2:
Or was that intended as tongue-in-cheek ? I can't tell...

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Originally Posted by Blodrast

...which completely ignores my question, fails to answer it, and launches into a bunch of unrelated issues. :dizzy2:
Or was that intended as tongue-in-cheek ? I can't tell...

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My point was SFTS and his Dad WORK and are RESPONSIBLE, unlike 90% of these social parasites that are too busy scratching lottery tickets, drinking 40's, and watching TV all day between birthing more future wastes of oxygen and blaming everyone else for THEIR choices. So its irrelavant how much the South family spends on THEIR food with THEIR money. They earned it and unfortunately, like my self, a large chunk of money that I work for goes to these bums.

I see your point. However, the discussion was if it is possible to eat for $21/week, not whether the recipients were deserving of the food stamps or not. And since SFTS and others claimed it was enough, and I explained how I wouldn't be able to eat properly out of that, it was relevant how much he spends for food per week, because that's exactly what we were debating: if one can live (decently) off $21/week for food.

I was not investigating the social standing of the Strike family.:beam:

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

:yes: Trust me I live at the store. Dad works there I work there. I know all there is to know bout the groceing business. People with food stamps eat fine in fact most have money to buy ciggaretes!

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There's a large amount of differences between food prices in Texas and Oregon. Especially in the more remote parts of Oregon. Always keep in mind the prices on the west coast are hugely inflated compared to Texas.

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Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

My point was SFTS and his Dad WORK and are RESPONSIBLE, unlike 90% of these social parasites that are too busy scratching lottery tickets, drinking 40's, and watching TV all day between birthing more future wastes of oxygen and blaming everyone else for THEIR choices. So its irrelavant how much the South family spends on THEIR food with THEIR money. They earned it and unfortunately, like my self, a large chunk of money that I work for goes to these bums.

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Another classic post by DD! Way to go Dave!

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Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

They earned it and unfortunately, like my self, a large chunk of money that I work for goes to these bums.

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Oh for pete's sake, DD, if you're so incensed about what your taxes pay for, just do what the rest of us do and get a good accountant. If it really angers you that families receive food stamps (and let's not even get into the hijinks that farmers do to bilk the Fed) then get a shady, aggressive accountant.

Assuming you don't go to prison, I assure you you'll never pay for a welfare mother again.

My family is a family of 8 (5 of which are boys in puberty!) so our bill is allot I cant give ther exact numbers but its up there. My point is this, young people come through my line every day use food stamps and then use cash to buy booze and cigs. Thats wrong.

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Oh for pete's sake, DD, if you're so incensed about what your taxes pay for, just do what the rest of us do and get a good accountant. If it really angers you that families receive food stamps (and let's not even get into the hijinks that farmers do to bilk the Fed) then get a shady, aggressive accountant.

Assuming you don't go to prison, I assure you you'll never pay for a welfare mother again.

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Nope, I pay my share to the worthless, but I still have the right to bitch about it. I'm not going to use any shady accountant in order to keep Tonyathe Trailer Tramp and Peter the Pretty Pimp from their lotto and booze. :beam:

you could alway try to implement a trading system, illegal mexicans for toothless rednecks and hillbillies that are on welfare..something you might want to get your local member on to dave...

On a serious note, i would of thought with the current overweight issues facing the USA and the serious outlook of increasing health problems. supplying good healthy foods for the poor, (the ones least likley to have health cover) would be of some importance, also with the amount of financial aid going to the farming sector in the US, it would be a great idea to provide cheap, healthy staples and vegies. in order to try and help the poor eat a better diet. Good PR for everyone really, and savings money in the long run for the government.

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Originally Posted by Beren Son Of Barahi

you could alway try to implement a trading system, illegal mexicans for toothless rednecks and hillbillies that are on welfare..something you might want to get your local member on to dave...
.

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I'd do that in a second. Best workers in the US right now aren't the legal citizens that's for sure. I'd even consider brushing up on my Spanish, and not just the bad words, for that trade.