Local food banks/pantries

[Tradd]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[Tybee]

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

[rosarugosa]

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).

[Rogar]

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...ing-explained/

[Tybee]

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...ing-explained/

Thank you, that's a great idea, to donate to them. It's a wonderful program.