Food Stamps

           Today I heard two women talking in line at the grocery store. The line was long and their own carts overflowed with food. These women were upset about how long they had to wait to pay for their groceries. The problem, apparently, was a technical one. A cashier had trouble redeeming a woman’s food stamps, which triggered computer issue that was slowing up all of the registers. These two women took personal issue with the woman redeeming her food stamps. Both expressed loud and lengthy outrage that someone would “live off of the system,” “take advantage when everyone else has to work,” and, most horrifically, “come to this country and take American handouts when she doesn’t even speak our language.” Their anger extended further, to include the fact that the woman had the audacity to have a child with her, as this meant that she was “creating more of them.”

            As of the beginning of 2013 the average recipient in Massachusetts received the equivalent of $132 in food stamps per month. This does not cover toilet paper, diapers, soap, or medicine.

            These two women in line did not know the women they were talking about. They couldn’t know her life story or how she came to be in a grocery store in Malden, Massachusetts on a Thursday afternoon. They didn’t care. They threw a label on her and not only chose to focus on their negative impression in that frustrated moment, but also chose to discuss it at such a volume that everyone waiting in line got to hear their misguided judgment.   

            Recent federal cuts to the food stamp program will decrease the average family’s monthly food budget by $39.

            It’s easy to grab on to the idea that people take things that they haven’t earned. It is undeniable that this happens. But federal programs are designed to help people who, if you can believe it, NEED HELP. I sleep well knowing that I live in a country where I can get help if, for some reason, I become unable to work (even if that help equals $132 a month- far less than I spend a month on food). I’m glad to know my children won’t starve. These women made me sad about the state of humanity but all that more determined to teach my children not to be the kind of people who stand in line and pass judgment with a cart full of food while someone in front of them struggles to buy a carton of milk.