Thoughts on Food Stamps
It’s really annoying how people look down on folks who use food stamps. And classist. And racist.
In my hometown, about half of the city is eligible for EBT. And most people I’ve encountered in Gary who use EBT have jobs. I visited my family last week, and when I went to one of the very few grocery stores in my hometown and paid with a card, the cashier asked “debit, credit, or EBT?” It’s such a normal occurrence that it’s not really thought of there.
Today, I went into the Department of Human Services to apply for food stamps. I stood in line for three hours. If you want an appointment, you must come into the department between 9-2 Monday through Friday. Now, these are regular work hours. If you’re working, you’d lose an entire day’s pay (if not your job). There are phone interviews available, but they’re scheduled between 9-5, so the person applying would still have to leave their job for a bit to get food stamps.
Food is a basic human right, and it irritates the hell out of me when people get upset that others have EBT cards. Those who are unemployed are told to get a job and stop wasting the hard earned money of taxpayers. Those who have jobs are told to get better jobs, sell their valued possessions, and eat ramen. This obvious classism is coupled with racism, particularly targeting women of color even though white people make of the highest percentage of welfare recipients.
Today, I swiped my EBT card and bought fruit, cheese, granola bars, english muffins, and gelato. Yes, gelato. Because I deserve it.
And it was fuckin good gelato