View Full Version : Local food banks/pantries
If you are able, please donate to your local food banks/pantries. Between the cost of living, the fed shutdown likely ending SNAP at the end of the month, lots of folks are in need. My church has upped its donations (from the parish itself) to a local food pantry as well as to a local group that supports overnights in churches with the space.
My parish draws people from a four county area. Part of that is simply where we are located near the corner of three countries. I asked our priest to put something in the bulletin this week (and announce at the end of the service tomorrow) urging people to donate to the food pantry the church donates to (and we have a barrel in the lobby for non-perishables) or one in their local area.
I know a lot of people like to donate food itself to a food pantry, but cash goes much farther. The Northern IL Food Bank says on its website that for every $1 donated, they provide $8 of groceries. With cash, pantries can get what they need at a large discount from regional providers like the Northern IL Food Bank, can fill in holes with what they need, etc.
catherine
10-25-25, 2:40pm
Thank you for that recommendation. I was thinking that communities will have to step up. We have a food bank here in our local Catholic church, so I'll ask them how I can give most effectively.
iris lilies
10-25-25, 2:51pm
Thank you for that recommendation. I was thinking that communities will have to step up. We have a food bank here in our local Catholic church, so I'll ask them how I can give most effectively.
Are you kidding? Give them cash.
The average American loves buying objects and carting them to the food bank. If you give cash, they will buy exactly what they need and not try to fit your physical contributions into slots.
I recently dropped off a couple of things I had purchased that we’re not using, but those are edge items, they’re not basics.
our local grocery store has a small section of food pantry sacks filled with items food pantry folks have chosen. They are either $10 or $15. You take one to the cash register along with your groceries and pay for it, and then they put them in a place for a food pantry to pick up. Or you can drop them off if you wish. I live close to our house food bank, so it’s not a chore to visit. This implies that I have purchased some of these food sacks and I have not, I’m just reporting on what our local situation is. Also, our local newspaper has a fairly regular list of items needed at the food bank.
I went through my kitchen and pulled out some pasta and pasta sauce as the local pantry has that on their list of needed items. This food pantry allows people to shop for the items they need.
ETA: also pulled out tuna/chicken pouches, canned fruit.
Target had sales and coupons on personal care and household products. Spent $20 on shampoo (4), dish soap (2), and a pack of 8 bars of soap. Local food pantry said they need these things. They tend to be the things that are donated the least.
It really pains me that supposed Christians have such contempt for the poor. You see this among many Trump fans. They complain about the government helping those in need and even complain about private charity. They appear to want people to starve.
If funding doesn't come through for WIC as threatened, baby formula and baby food would be good donations.
Our food bank is heavily used by the community. They have an extensive relationship with local farmers and food suppliers. Cash is by far their preferred type of donations, they can easily plug the cash into their existing logistics infrastructures. Random contributed items are less useful, and cause some “friction” in their operations. (There are 2913 households on the island, and about 4500->5000 residents. Of those, 1200 households use the Food Bank, 2288 individuals - data from 2023, use has continued to grow since then.)
https://orcasislandfoodbank.org/
It really pains me that supposed Christians have such contempt for the poor. You see this among many Trump fans. They complain about the government helping those in need and even complain about private charity. They appear to want people to starve.
Would it help if I created a single purpose "TrumpTrumpTrump et.al." forum where everyone can celebrate their TDS and disdain for others in one spot and everyone else would not have to be surprised to see it expressed in every other forum?
If not, you should be prepared to be asked to back up your unfounded generalizations, not as a means of argument or retaliation but to fulfill this forum's purpose of making a difference in our interactions and the greater overall society.
Would it help if I created a single purpose "TrumpTrumpTrump" forum where everyone can celebrate their TDS in one spot and everyone else would not have to be surprised to see it expressed in every other forum?
If not, you should be prepared to be asked to back up your unfounded generalizations, not as a means of argument or retaliation but to fulfill this forum's purpose of making a difference in our interactions and the greater society.
I've been active for years on a large firearms forum, so mostly conservatives. They're celebrating SNAP ending in less than a week, saying the fatties will get to lose some weight. They're breathlessly waiting for riots when SNAP is totally cut off some day. Some are hoping churches and food pantries won't pick up the slack and that poor folks will have to actually work to eat.
I've been active for years on a large firearms forum, so mostly conservatives. They're celebrating SNAP ending in less than a week, saying the fatties will get to lose some weight. They're breathlessly waiting for riots when SNAP is totally cut off some day. Some are hoping churches and food pantries won't pick up the slack and that poor folks will have to actually work to eat.
Have you considered contacting your state's Democratic Senators and asking them to re-open the government? That would probably make a difference.
frugal-one
10-25-25, 5:48pm
Have you considered contacting your state's Democratic Senators and asking them to re-open the government? That would probably make a difference.
Have the republicans agree before opening the government to continue subsidies so health insurance is affordable for multitudes of Americans. The continued shut down is the republicans fault. They are in control of everything… congress, senate and supreme court.
frugal-one
10-25-25, 5:50pm
I've been active for years on a large firearms forum, so mostly conservatives. They're celebrating SNAP ending in less than a week, saying the fatties will get to lose some weight. They're breathlessly waiting for riots when SNAP is totally cut off some day. Some are hoping churches and food pantries won't pick up the slack and that poor folks will have to actually work to eat.
What a bunch of morons. I hope they have hard times to see how ridiculous they are being.
iris lilies
10-26-25, 11:04am
I've been active for years on a large firearms forum, so mostly conservatives. They're celebrating SNAP ending in less than a week, saying the fatties will get to lose some weight. They're breathlessly waiting for riots when SNAP is totally cut off some day. Some are hoping churches and food pantries won't pick up the slack and that poor folks will have to actually work to eat.
No one in Missouri or Kansas should watch Caleb Hammer’s latest podcast where he gives financial advice to a single mom who is hell-bent on digging herself further and further into big debt and she’s on food stamps because she doesn’t want to work. She actually says that she does not want to work. She is a resident of Kansas City so I suspect I will be getting the bill for her food stamps although US tax payers get to the play that game, too.
edited to add: I watched further into this video and see that her boyfriend doesn’t pay income tax tax, he just skips it. And she also doesn’t admit to living with him, but there’s some evidence that they do live together and she’s not admitting it so that she can pull down benefits,. This woman is very unhappy with the state of our country and blames Donald Trump for all our problems, but I love the way this couple doesn’t pay taxes yet takes their food stamps.
I will say I ran into some odd YouTube videos that quickly revealed themselves to be fake content, they were click bait videos put up for outrage viewing. They were fake welfare moms complaining about how $8000 a month in food stamp benefits were being cut. These are obviously fake because no one gets that outrageous amount, and also one of them showed a letter from “the Department of Health and Human Services” about the cut in food stamps. Ummmm, it is the Department of agriculture that administers food stamps.
So, there is a market for genning up up outrage in this subject and someone is making money from it.
iris lilies
10-26-25, 11:08am
in my very red congressional district I’ve already detailed some of the food pantry options here, but we also have two “little food pantries “in town, one in front of the Methodist Church and one at the public park riverfront. I don’t know who maintains them, but there is an effort to keep them filled.
catherine
10-26-25, 12:30pm
No one in Missouri ir Kansas should watch Caleb Hammer’s latest podcast where he gives financial advice to a single mom who is hell-bent on digging herself further and further into big debt and she’s on food stamps because she doesn’t want to work. She actually says that she does not want to work. She us a resident of Kansas City so I suspect I will be getting the bill for her food stamps although US tax payers get to the play that game, too.
I will say I ran into you some odd YouTube videos that quickly revealed themselves to be fake content, they were click bait videos put up for outrage viewing. They were fake welfare moms complaining about how $8000 a month in food stamp benefits were being cut. These are obviously fake because no one gets that outrageous amount, and also one of them showed a letter from “the Department of Health and Human Services” about the cut in food stamps. Ummmm, it is the Department of agriculture that administers food stamps.
So, there is a market for genning up up outrage in this subjevt and someone is making money from it.
Maddening.
I think I've said it here (and I'm pretty sure I have) that I consider abuse of safety net help by the poor to simply be by-catch. It's good to try to avoid it in your net if you can, but you expect it to some degree. I would rather tolerate the by-catch than have poor families go without critical food and shelter. Especially when abuse is not purely the domain of the poor. Abuse is practiced by people of all stripes.
Maddening.
I think I've said it here (and I'm pretty sure I have) that I consider abuse of safety net help by the poor to simply be by-catch. It's good to try to avoid it in your net if you can, but you expect it to some degree. I would rather tolerate the by-catch than have poor families go without critical food and shelter. Especially when abuse is not purely the domain of the poor. Abuse is practiced by people of all stripes.
Absolutely.
After my priest made the announcement about the food pantry drive, I made a short little comment about how cash goes further, using the $1 donation provides $8 worth of groceries figure from the Northern IL Food Bank website. I said I know people like to donate tangible stuff, but cash goes further. A number of folks told me afterwards they didn't know that. Probably 30 people told me they were going home and donating. I was very happy to hear that.
iris lilies
10-26-25, 5:53pm
After my priest made the announcement about the food pantry drive, I made a short little comment about how cash goes further, using the $1 donation provides $8 worth of groceries figure from the Northern IL Food Bank website. I said I know people like to donate tangible stuff, but cash goes further. A number of folks told me afterwards they didn't know that. Probably 30 people told me they were going home and donating. I was very happy to hear that.
That’s good Tradd. A lot of charitable organizations have trouble getting across a message that cash is king and there are reasons for that.
The organization wants to encourage donations and gifts and especially participation at any level. To be overly specific in donation requests would seem ungrateful. but the reality is the organization knows what they need better than anyone else, at least I need to trust that they know.
I don’t donate to human welfare generally, but I know this from animal rescue. Our rescue storage shed is full of donated cages, blankets, dog toys, etc., etc. but it’s the cash that pays the vet bills.
Washington State has income guidelines for its Food Bank programs:
https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/Pubs/445-TEFAPIncomeGuidelines.pdf
Roughly 1/2 the households on my island qualify. The cutoff income for a 1-person household is $60,240/year. I would qualify, as I deliberately keep my income well below this. I do not use the local Food Bank myself, both my parents do/did, as their income is entirely from their Social Security, and falls below the line easily.
To sign up, individuals must self-declare that their household income is at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level and that they are in need of food. They must also state their name, address, and household size, and reside in Washington State. Proof of income, ID, social security number, or immigration status is not required.
Our local food bank doesn't seem to think many people are abusing the system. I am aware of some specific cases of abuse, I think I have commented on the common one here in the past: mainland "visitors", usually 20-somethings, wearing $2k of top-end camping clothing/gear, asking "so, where's the food bank here?". Traveling grifters from outside the community. Over half of the monetary and food support for the Food Bank's operations here come from private donations by community members.
When my Dad first arrived on the island a few years ago, he initially was donating to them the value of the food he was receiving, as he was raised in a time/place that made it seem a moral failing to accept any sort of "public assistance". I have been tempted to do this myself, when I take Dad to the food bank's facility, their produce is often much nicer than what is available right across the street at our main grocery store.
In my community, I think what little abuse there is is indeed "bycatch".
iris lilies
10-26-25, 8:44pm
Washington State has income guidelines for its Food Bank programs:
https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/Pubs/445-TEFAPIncomeGuidelines.pdf
Roughly 1/2 the households on my island qualify. The cutoff income for a 1-person household is $60,240/year. I would qualify, as I deliberately keep my income well below this. I do not use the local Food Bank myself, both my parents do/did, as their income is entirely from their Social Security, and falls below the line easily.
To sign up, individuals must self-declare that their household income is at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level and that they are in need of food. They must also state their name, address, and household size, and reside in Washington State. Proof of income, ID, social security number, or immigration status is not required.
Our local food bank doesn't seem to think many people are abusing the system. I am aware of some specific cases of abuse, I think I have commented on the common one here in the past: mainland "visitors", usually 20-somethings, wearing $2k of top-end camping clothing/gear, asking "so, where's the food bank here?". Traveling grifters from outside the community. Over half of the monetary and food support for the Food Bank's operations here come from private donations by community members.
When my Dad first arrived on the island a few years ago, he initially was donating to them the value of the food he was receiving, as he was raised in a time/place that made it seem a moral failing to accept any sort of "public assistance". I have been tempted to do this myself, when I take Dad to the food bank's facility, their produce is often much nicer than what is available right across the street at our main grocery store.
In my community, I think what little abuse there is is indeed "bycatch".
is your father on a SNAP program?
I asked ChatGPT to run a scenario where a single senior citizen (like me) earning $30,000 a year from Social Security income ( like me) in a single person household could get on Washington SNAP benefits. CHAT says I wouldn’t qualify because my housing costs are too low. For housing costs I can count only utilities. I don’t have a mortgage and I don’t pay rent.
I understand the SNAP program is different from this temporary food assistance/food bank program we’re talking about here, but it’s all related.
TEFAP, which is what my food-bank posting above was about, is not SNAP, different programs.
My understanding is that the Federal TEFAP budget was cut significantly a few months back, April I think. The USDA also cut the program that funds schools purchasing food from local farms, which I think caused some issues locally.
iris lilies
10-26-25, 9:41pm
TEFAP, which is what my food-bank posting above was about, is not SNAP, different programs.
My understanding is that the Federal TEFAP budget was cut significantly a few months back, April I think. The USDA also cut the program that funds schools purchasing food from local farms, which I think caused some issues locally.
yes I know they’re different programs. I’m curious how SNAP and the temporary food bank program intersect.
I could see situations where people don’t qualify for SNAP, an ongoing food supplement benefit, but would qualify for temporary emergency food thru TEFAP.
edited to add: my state has a limit on TEFAP benefits and a recipient can only take food from a TEFAP food bank once a month, no more often
The TEFAP qualifying income level is 400% or less of Federal Poverty Level. I think SNAP runs at 130% of poverty level.
Our food bank allows one visit a week, has special "quiet/slow" hours for senior citizens, and offers home delivery by volunteers for people who have trouble leaving their homes.
I find it interesting that in one of the wealthiest counties in the region, and #43 out of the ~3000 counties in the USA, we have so many people who qualify for, and use, our Food Bank. It also looks like about 6% of the people here are on SNAP.
Income, and wealth here are oddly distributed. Over the entire adult population, the distribution has two distinct "humps", with a big gap in between.
Tradd, add me to the people who donated, thank you for the heads up! See it's headquartered in Geneva, where we used to go to church.
We actually have a wood bank here, for firewood. I am encouraging my husband to go volunteer to cut wood with his chain saw. They are getting a splitter at cost from the hardware store. It just started up within the last year or so.
He just bought his third chainsaw (two need repair, and we decided to get a new one and repair the others, since they both broke after he just felled about ten trees in our meadow and he has to clean it up now) and I guess it would be like tithing on the new saw!
rosarugosa
10-27-25, 6:45am
There was a food drive here on Saturday. I was able to put together a nice bag to donate by shopping our storage shelves in the cellar. It made me think about how we have a life of such abundance that we can do this and not even feel an impact.
happystuff
10-27-25, 8:08am
We do a little bit of everything - monetary donations, food donations, etc. to a couple different local places. My grocery store also has the prepacked bags that someone else mentioned. I will do those when I see them.
iris lilies
10-27-25, 11:45am
There was a food drive here on Saturday. I was able to put together a nice bag to donate by shopping our storage shelves in the cellar. It made me think about how we have a life of such abundance that we can do this and not even feel an impact.
this is the time of year when Boy Scouts in this region do a food drive. They drop off to all households a brown paper sack with instructions to put food stuff in it and put it out for pick up on a certain date.
Tradd, add me to the people who donated, thank you for the heads up! See it's headquartered in Geneva, where we used to go to church.
Thank you!
We actually have a wood bank here, for firewood. I am encouraging my husband to go volunteer to cut wood with his chain saw. They are getting a splitter at cost from the hardware store. It just started up within the last year or so.
He just bought his third chainsaw (two need repair, and we decided to get a new one and repair the others, since they both broke after he just felled about ten trees in our meadow and he has to clean it up now) and I guess it would be like tithing on the new saw!
Wood bank - what a great idea!
There was a food drive here on Saturday. I was able to put together a nice bag to donate by shopping our storage shelves in the cellar. It made me think about how we have a life of such abundance that we can do this and not even feel an impact.
I’m going to go through my cabinets again this week. I still have plenty I can donate.
Wood bank - what a great idea!
This is one of the activities our local Order Of Odd Fellows engages in. They will come in, and turned downed trees into firewood, which they will then distribute to people here in need.
iris lilies
10-27-25, 1:29pm
Is smoke pollution not a problem where many of you are burning wood?
when pH fell our little force of scrub trees, he put the wood out by the street and one neighbor took much of it, and the rest of it disappeared from the “free wood” sign.
we have a gas fireplace which I love, converted from wood-burning
Is smoke pollution not a problem where many of you are burning wood?
From wood stoves, not especially hereabouts. Low population density, daily ocean breezes to clear the smoke over to Hawaii or Canada. Sometimes in certain weather conditions my neighbor’s smoke doesn’t get very far above her inadequate chimney, and it then flows over to my place, which can be irritating, but it’s a low-frequency event. More frequent when she burns damp wood and keeps the fire temperature too low.
Now, during wildfire season, depending on the winds, we can have horrid smoke problems in the air due to Canadian wildfires in BC, and sometimes from the US.
Back to IL and her housing expense. I know you don't pay rent or have a mortgage payment. There are other costs associated with housing, though. Could you factor in homeowners insurance and property taxes? Here in Florida it would be +/- $500 - $1000 or more a month.
Just threw a donation at the Northern IL Food Bank. That’s outside of Cook County. I’ve also been donating to a local food pantry in my town.
…we have a gas fireplace which I love, converted from wood-burning
I did that a few years ago for both my parents’ homes here, as they were getting too old to drag in firewood through the snow, and I wanted them to have reliable backup heating for their homes during out winter power outages here. They love it.
iris lilies
10-27-25, 2:02pm
Back to IL and her housing expense. I know you don't pay rent or have a mortgage payment. There are other costs associated with housing, though. Could you factor in homeowners insurance and property taxes? Here in Florida it would be +/- $500 - $1000 or more a month.
I’m going by what ChatGPT tells me the government counts as “housing costs “ for purposes of collecting food benefits. So for that, property taxes and insurance doesn’t count, at least according to ChatGPT.
edited ad: sorry, I was wrong, I CAN count additional housing costs as well as medical costs, but even when I throw those in, I still wouldn’t qualify for SNAP benefits in my state of Missouri.
So on an income of $30000 a year with no mortgage, I wouldn’t get government assistance.
And I’m fine with that because if I lived in a smaller property, I would be fine on that in this income. The house where I live now is too big for one person and also it has a giant lot that I would have to pay someone to maintain if I didn’t have DH around.
iris lilies
10-27-25, 2:19pm
I did that a few years ago for both my parents’ homes here, as they were getting too old to drag in firewood through the snow, and I wanted them to have reliable backup heating for their homes during out winter power outages here. They love it.
Where you live, a gas fireplace would be fine for warming up a room. Where I live, it is inadequate to keep the pipes from freezing, it is only a fireplace for the temporary comfort of humans and especially cats.
6587
Where you live, a gas fireplace would be fine for warming up a room. Where I live, it is inadequate to keep the pipes from freezing, it is only a fireplace for the temporary comfort of humans and especially cats.
6587
Well, generally winter temperatures here are moderate, often not even below freezing.
But, we can get serious storms that take out power lines, sometimes for a week or more. And the temperature can remain in the single-digits for many days. You have to be clever in those times, taking care to preserve your plumbing, and living around your heat source. (I went into a neighbor's home to check on them in the last such storm, and found the two little old ladies there had isolated the room in the home containing their woodstove to keep a small survivable warm space.)
When my own wood stove perished a few years back, I put in a giant over-sized one capable of heating a large Montana hunting lodge. I have not regretted this decision. I have two wood stoves in the house, one on the "daylight basement" floor, and the huge one on the main floor. Sometimes I have had to have both of them running before I oversized the main unit, since then I only run the second stove now-and-then to make sure everything is functional.
In my Dad's place, I replaced the old wood stove with a propane "wood stove", which generates enough heat for these circumstances, and installed a wall-mount propane heater in the kitchen part of his home.
In my Mother's place, I put a propane fireplace insert into her existing lovely-but-not-especially-heat-produce existing fireplace, and it cranks out enough heat to keep the place warm even when the outside temperature is in the single-digits and the wind is howling in from the Arctic.
iris lilies
10-27-25, 2:43pm
From this thread I’ve learned there’s at least four feeding programs sponsored by US taxpayers at the federal level, There may be more for all I know:
1. school feeding orogram
2. WIC. Women, Infants, and .children
3. SNAP supplemental Nutirtional Assistance Program
4. TEFAP. Temporary emergency food assistance program
From this thread I’ve learned there’s at least four feeding programs sponsored by US taxpayers at the federal level, There may be more for all I know:
1. school feeding orogram
2. WIC. Women, Infants, and .children
3. SNAP supplemental Nutirtional Assistance Program
4. TEFAP. Temporary emergency food assistance program
Also the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) for seniors, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for childcare centers.
And the Farm Bill :-)
Just had an email with a friend at church about the local food pantry. She is older and is pretty well off. $10K to food pantry! I was thrilled to see that.
iris lilies
10-28-25, 9:14pm
Also the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) for seniors, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for childcare centers.
And the Farm Bill :-)
Six “feed the people programs “are not enough. We need more.
/s
iris lilies
10-28-25, 9:22pm
I’m playing around with looking into senior citizen housing supplemented by the government just for my own edification. I learned that a housing complex across the street from one of our former little houses is a subsidized senior citizen complex. I always looked at that and thought it was very cool and I figured I would like to live there. It’s called Saint Agnes Apartments and I just figured it was run by Catholic charities. Well, maybe it is but I didn’t know it was subsidized housing.
It is nice because it’s in the center of a neighborhood I like, an old Victorian neighborhood, and they have a nice yard and have a flower garden edging the yard that the residents take care of and there are plants in pots, too. It’s adjacent to a small city park and a dog park. The front part of the building is an old restored school house so it’s got that “old building “element that I like, but the apartments are in a recently constructed building attached.
it appears to be 100% subsidize housing and that surprises me. Again, it’s one of the few senior citizen places and I could envision myself.
according to ChatGPT the “senior only “ subsidized housing in the city of St. Louis does not have a long waiting list. I wonder if that’s accurate, but that’s encouraging if true.
Six “feed the people programs “are not enough. We need more.
/s
I know the /s means sarcasm, and so you might want to check out this article about the status of hunger in America:
America’s Hunger Crisis Is Growing (https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/america-s-hunger-crisis-is-growing/ar-AA1PgcmE?ocid=BingNewsSerp)
catherine
10-29-25, 10:59am
I know the /s means sarcasm, and so you might want to check out this article about the status of hunger in America:
America’s Hunger Crisis Is Growing (https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/america-s-hunger-crisis-is-growing/ar-AA1PgcmE?ocid=BingNewsSerp)
Wow, the article is powerful, but this is that part that makes me cry, maybe because I'm a market researcher:
Last month, the Trump Administration canceled the USDA’s annual Household Food Security Report—the only national data source that measures hunger by age, disability status, and household composition. For the first time in 30 years, America will no longer track hunger nationwide. Without that data, millions of older adults like Rubem will vanish from view as the social safety net continues to collapse around them.
What is Trump trying to accomplish by banning these statistics? He is so narcissistic he would prevent information that can help us identify problems and come up with solutions rather than burst his bubble that under his Administration we are happy subjects all living an American Utopia under his reign.
I don't know what he thinks will solve a hunger problem in this country--especially since he's about to make it bigger.
As I’ve already posted earlier, many MAGA supporters lack empathy. They think if you need this sort of assistance, it’s your fault. Probably from the influence of the fake prosperity gospel stuff. They don’t care if it’s a senior or not. You should have saved enough for retirement. If you didn’t, it’s your fault. Just about 40% of SNAP recipients are kids, I just heard on the radio. The MAGA supporters are “too bad, so bad” the kids have parents who can’t feed them properly. Or don’t make enough. Something like 38% of SNAP recipients work. But we all know that a lot of working class folks are in a bad way. MAGA simply doesn’t care.
This MAGA stance is what I’m seeing online. It’s very pervasive. One of the big MAGA people said empathy is a weakness. Was that Vance? Can’t remember.
catherine
10-29-25, 11:46am
I did Meals on Wheels for a couple of years up here, and a typical recipient was like one of my cients--an older man, Joe, who had a condition that made it difficult for him to get out of bed, and he would ask me to simply leave his meal on the washer that was just inside his trailer. On his good days, he would ask me to sit outside with him and talk, and he would tell me about his days as an interior designer in New York. He's the one who advised me to choose a couple of shades darker on the paint color I was considering for my house, because the sun always washes it out.
He would talk about his wife and how they bought that small trailer as a summer place but eventually moved up there permanently. She died a few years ago and Joe still grieved her, saying that he was supposed to go first. I'm sure he wish he had. I saw he died last year, and he is buried in our local cemetery. I think about him every time I pass it.
Some people need to realize that "there but for the grace of God go I."
rosarugosa
10-30-25, 6:54am
As I’ve already posted earlier, many MAGA supporters lack empathy. They think if you need this sort of assistance, it’s your fault. Probably from the influence of the fake prosperity gospel stuff. They don’t care if it’s a senior or not. You should have saved enough for retirement. If you didn’t, it’s your fault. Just about 40% of SNAP recipients are kids, I just heard on the radio. The MAGA supporters are “too bad, so bad” the kids have parents who can’t feed them properly. Or don’t make enough. Something like 38% of SNAP recipients work. But we all know that a lot of working class folks are in a bad way. MAGA simply doesn’t care.
I have a MAGA FB friend (actually an acquaintance) who has been receiving SNAP benefits, along with her 2 adult daughters and their 5 small children (the whole clan is 10 people altogether, friend has 5 kids plus 5 grandkids). They were all living together in the family shelter system, although recently some of them have gotten out and found their own housing due to necessity (given deadlines that they could no longer stay in the shelter system after more than a year). Her outrage seems to focus on the idea that everything is being given to "illegals," so there are less resources available to deserving "American born and bred" folks like them. I actually have more sympathy for migrants who are often fleeing horrendous circumstances than "American born and bred" people who are in bad circumstances due to their own poor life choices. I do have sympathy for them too, since none of us make great decisions all of the time. Let's face it, luck can have a lot to do with it as well - mental illness, physical disabilities, the families we are born into, etc. She constantly knocks the state of MA, and doesn't seem to appreciate the generous benefits she and her family has received in MA, or realize that if the safety net is robust for her and hers, that it's going to be for others as well, even those she may perceive as less deserving. She and her husband and 2 youngest kids have just moved to SC, so I hope that suits them better.
iris lilies
10-30-25, 10:06am
I have a MAGA FB friend (actually an acquaintance) who has been receiving SNAP benefits, along with her 2 adult daughters and their 5 small children (the whole clan is 10 people altogether, friend has 5 kids plus 5 grandkids). They were all living together in the family shelter system, although recently some of them have gotten out and found their own housing due to necessity (given deadlines that they could no longer stay in the shelter system after more than a year). Her outrage seems to focus on the idea that everything is being given to "illegals," so there are less resources available to deserving "American born and bred" folks like them. I actually have more sympathy for migrants who are often fleeing horrendous circumstances than "American born and bred" people who are in bad circumstances due to their own poor life choices. I do have sympathy for them too, since none of us make great decisions all of the time. Let's face it, luck can have a lot to do with it as well - mental illness, physical disabilities, the families we are born into, etc. She constantly knocks the state of MA, and doesn't seem to appreciate the generous benefits she and her family has received in MA, or realize that if the safety net is robust for her and hers, that it's going to be for others as well, even those she may perceive as less deserving. She and her husband and 2 youngest kids have just moved to SC, so I hope that suits them better.
I always assume there’s a certain level of mental illness, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, in the chaotic lives of people who make consistently poor decisions that result in needing welfare programs for years. Of course, obvious health problems are major factors in poverty. Much of our good health is luck and genes.
But I also don’t think it’s entirely unreasonable to think the well that feeds illegal immigrants as well as the welfare programs that serve US citizens is NOT an endless flow of money. There will be consequences to decades of deficit spending. I’m just hoping those consequences don’t show up in my lifetime. I am old and maybe I can outlive it.
I also think it’s NOT unreasonable to prefer United States citizens for welfare handouts over others.
iris lilies
10-30-25, 1:15pm
Also the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) for seniors, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for childcare centers.
And the Farm Bill :-)
another is Meals on Wheels which gets federal funding and is carried out by by the Department of Health and Human Services.
another is Meals on Wheels which gets federal funding and is carried out by by the Department of Health and Human Services.
And it looks like Trump will be taking that one away, too:
HHS Layoffs: Meals on Wheels and Other Services Face Cuts - Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/hhs-layoffs-cuts-services-meals-wheels-2054175)
rosarugosa
10-31-25, 6:39am
I just realized that I didn't math very well in my saga above: friend + DH + 5 kids + 5 grandkids = 12 people (not counting the dog, 2 cats and 2 ferrets).
Meals on wheels is a program that helped my parents live at home in times of physical decline. They usually made a donation to help with costs. I've just about wrapped up charitable contributions for the year, but will send them a donation. It's a great program that I can't understand being cut back or frozen due to the shutdown.
Aside from federal funding they do get money from local sources and donations so it seems to be a shared program. My usual lookup fact sheet.
https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/research/fact-sheet-meals-on-wheels-funding-explained/
Meals on wheels is a program that helped my parents live at home in times of physical decline. They usually made a donation to help with costs. I've just about wrapped up charitable contributions for the year, but will send them a donation. It's a great program that I can't understand being cut back or frozen due to the shutdown.
Aside from federal funding they do get money from local sources and donations so it seems to be a shared program. My usual lookup fact sheet.
https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/research/fact-sheet-meals-on-wheels-funding-explained/
Thank you, that's a great idea, to donate to them. It's a wonderful program.
Note on food pantry donations: both pantries in my town have been totally overwhelmed by food donations so they’ve requested no more food donations for 10 days to allow them to sort things out. Cash or gift cards only until them. So please check with your local pantry before dropping food donations off.
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