Hypothetical situation:
A person is on the Food Stamp program. Their approved benefit amount is more than they can spend on food in a given month - even with buying some expensive menu items. Their understanding is that if they repeatedly fail to use their full benefit they will lose the benefit all together (I wonder about this becuase it would seem to me they would just be adjusted :dunno). Their solution is to use the full benefit amount by using what they aren't using on those in their household to purchase food that they then donate to a food bank.
Question - is this abuse of the system or do the ends justify the means?

If the system is that they'll really lose full benefit if they don't use ALL of the allotted money, then it's not abuse. If they're mistaken then yes it is abuse of the system.

i have been on food stamps once. i can honestly say getting to much money for food was never an issue. getting not enough money was enough was always the issue. if someone is getting more food stamps than they can possibly use even after buying expensive items and are being threatened with losing them because of this then i see no problem with them using it and donating the extras to the food shelter nearby.

i do not think it is abuse. food stamps, wic, welfare, and section 8 have lots of really strange rules and in some cases are too hard to comply with so i can see someone doing this to continue getting the help they need.

I would rather someone "abuse" the system by donating food to the poor than by selling it or something.

I would rather someone "abuse" the system by donating food to the poor than by selling it or something.

:yes :agree x100% We were on WIC once, and they were giving my daughter entirely too much formula when she was itty bitty. It was stacking up and stacking up and stacking up..to the point that we were almost overrun with those little concentrated cans (gotta love Virginia WIC). Anyway, there was another Navy wife that lived on my street who was too proud to go get WIC, but I would give her a few of the cans that came off of our checks each month. I wasn't selling them, and there was a baby who was using them who was in need. :shrug I don't see where the problem is.

i have been on food stamps once. i can honestly say getting to much money for food was never an issue. getting not enough money was enough was always the issue. if someone is getting more food stamps than they can possibly use even after buying expensive items and are being threatened with losing them because of this then i see no problem with them using it and donating the extras to the food shelter nearby.

i do not think it is abuse. food stamps, wic, welfare, and section 8 have lots of really strange rules and in some cases are too hard to comply with so i can see someone doing this to continue getting the help they need.


The people who really need help may sell their food stamps & those who really need the help if they sell them they are using the money on bills or things for their kids.

Now its the ones that drive benz's & live in nice house owned by family members on section 8that gets me thinking.

I was on foodstamps long ago & sometimes I got more than enough & sometimes I didnt get enough. Depending on the worker I had.
I was always embarrassed to go to get them because we had to go to a place to pick them up back then.

The people who really need help may sell their food stamps & those who really need the help if they sell them they are using the money on bills or things for their kids.

Now its the ones that drive benz's & live in nice house owned by family members on section 8that gets me thinking.

I was on foodstamps long ago & sometimes I got more than enough & sometimes I didnt get enough. Depending on the worker I had.
I was always embarrassed to go to get them because we had to go to a place to pick them up back then.

i understand what you are saying. we were a family of 5, living on 700 dollars and getting 300 dollars for food stamps. it was never enough for us. our sister in law got nearly 800 a month for her and her 3 children ( one of which was an adult and refused to work) she gave her food stamps to the church she went to though but that is another story completely.

when we first got there it took forever to get help we lived in a homeless shelter for 6 weeks before they helped us. i spent many nights in the emergency room being pumped with steroids and benydryl for one allergic reaction after another. ( i am allergic to onions)

if we had had food stamps at that time it would have made a world of difference. we lived in an area that had lots of section 8 houses and i rarely saw anyone with an expensive anything but i am not ignorant i know there are ones that abuse the system. i also know that at times the system abuses the people that use it as well.

I've worked with a lot of families who are on foodstamps and I have never had any clients who had the problem of too much food. :no If someone is getting too much then I would suspect an error in the grant. If it gets caught then they could be investigated for fraud.

Why investigate them for fraud if it is an error?
But there are ppl living in California I have seen it in my old neighborhood brand new homes in Corona and they are on sec8 and getting foodstamps, you see them in the store spending foodstamps & you see them home all day long everyday.
And My sisters used to see them in the club on saturdays.

It is a crying out shame when the system is abused, because its ppl that make make $1 too much that really need help & they cant get it.
I remember a lady who went to Chicago back in the 80's was getting welfare there then getting it in California. They didnt cross check then like they do now.
I was like 17 and she was my friends older sister.
I really just didnt like her because she was using the money for drugs.
Now that I am older If I even suspect fraud, I will make a phone call.

It is to many homeless& hungry children.
I was a homeless mother on welfare w/ no child support. I dont know how but I would have motels rooms almost all the way thru the month.
a friend bought me a car we lived in that the other half.
I never sold my benefits because they were not for me! they were for my children.
and I made sure every penny was spent to take care of them.
I also worked on base. I was still married to my ex husband a marine.
I was on welfare because he refused to take care of us & the unit backed him ..(long story).

But I was not on long. I used it for what is it supposed to be used for.
And that is help when needed.
My worker told me you were so mean to me now your getting off. I told her I didnt want to be comfortable.

It is a crying out shame when the system is abused, because its ppl that make make $1 too much that really need help & they cant get it.

That is one of the most frustrating and heartbreaking parts of my job - having to tell someone we can't help them because of a few dollars "too much" in their income. I have had people break down in tears at my desk and it just sucks because I WANT to help them but can't.

it is illegal to give away or sell any products bought with government assistance...you'll loose your privelages by doing that a lot faster than not using the whole amount.

Wise thing to do that's NOT crossing any lines, violating anything...Stock up on food for yourself.
Get a dep-freezer and pack it full of meats, frozen veggies, etc ... buy a ton of canned veggies and meats, etc etc.
Stock up - fill up a closet and stack them under the bed if you have to...but use that for long-term personal purposes.

Why? Because people can't stay on the system forever and the hardest thing about geting off the system is loosing the benifits and learning how to take care of yourself - and if you have food enough for a few months stashed in the house then it makes the transition easier.

But, I suggest for anyone to actually find out the facts - when I was on FS they clarified that any unused portion will be removed from the account every month (which they never did, btw, ti just accumulated into a huge sum) and they would simply reduce the overall amount they gave me each month to equal what i was spending. (which they never did, either)

Wise thing to do that's NOT crossing any lines, violating anything...Stock up on food for yourself.
Get a dep-freezer and pack it full of meats, frozen veggies, etc ... buy a ton of canned veggies and meats, etc etc.Stock up - fill up a closet and stack them under the bed if you have to...but use that for long-term personal purposes.

Why? Because people can't stay on the system forever and the hardest thing about geting off the system is loosing the benifits and learning how to take care of yourself - and if you have food enough for a few months stashed in the house then it makes the transition easier.

But, I suggest for anyone to actually find out the facts - when I was on FS they clarified that any unused portion will be removed from the account every month (which they never did, btw, ti just accumulated into a huge sum) and they would simply reduce the overall amount they gave me each month to equal what i was spending. (which they never did, either)


That is what I was thinking as well. Then if you have too much, donate food to the shelter or soup kitchen.

The people who really need help may sell their food stamps & those who really need the help if they sell them they are using the money on bills or things for their kids.

Now its the ones that drive benz's & live in nice house owned by family members on section 8that gets me thinking.

I was on foodstamps long ago & sometimes I got more than enough & sometimes I didnt get enough. Depending on the worker I had.
I was always embarrassed to go to get them because we had to go to a place to pick them up back then.

We seem to have a lot of that here. At my daycare we have 2 families one just got their subsidized daycare taken away because "they make too much money" the mother just removed her daughter from our care and we are not sure where the child is going after school, but she has no family so we assume she is alone or someone is being paid very little to watch her (I hope she is being watched, I know if mom could afford it she is) Anyway we have another family on assistance, they pick the kids up in the escalade and the kids and the parents wear better clothes then I do and have more and nicer electronics then me too, think I- pods wicked nice cell phones. I get so pissed because many many of the other families are struggling to make ends meet, barely making it through and these people don't have to work or anything.
As far as the extra food stamps, I would stockpile until I could stockpile no more. And I would also find out the true policy about extra money before I did anything.

I can't imagine having too much money for food. I mean, if you buy fresh fruits and veggies, or organic it always costs more. I also vote for the freezer and stocking it up. Canned goods can be stocked up and kept for a long period, as well.