Readers' Comments

This would not save money. Foodshare costs the same for the state no matter what food people buy. It is not to stop abuse. People on foodshare do work but need the benefits to take care of their families. If you're not ignorant of these facts, you only hate poor people, or you hate organic grocery stores.

All these arguments are only to delay us from calling a spade a spade: you conservatives are evil. Just show people your true colors already so that we can take your ideology to the trash heap of history and move forward.

Stop pussy footing around. Go on and tell us what your plan for the endgame is: you won't stop at taking away what little freedom we have. I understand where this is going. The logical conclusion of all your efforts is concentration camps so the poor can starve out of sight. You're nothing but a bunch of fascists.

Every person chooses how to budget their own money. You don't know someone else's circumstance. Maybe you choose to drive a nicer car or have material things and you skimp on your food budget. Our family drives 2 used cars and doesn't spend money on clothing etc unless it is hugely discounted or bought used. We don't color our hair or get our nails done or have smart phones or cable TV... We spend our money on whole foods though. We buy farm fresh eggs and organic milk and we make our own bread and such things. I don't get food stamps and our family of 4 live on a meager budget but we still choose healthy unprocessed foods and do a lot of cooking from scratch and don't eat out to make up the difference. For example, you can make a whole lot of delicious healthy yogurt with one gallon of organic milk... Way more than you can get for the same price when buying cheap store brand yogurt by the cup that is loaded with fake sugar. Just sayin'... Limiting people from buying soda and candy I do understand but limiting healthy food choices because some people are ignorant to the health costs that processed foods impose on individuals and on our goverment funded health programs is foolish.

Your ignorance and lack of compassion are absolutely astounding. You're bitter that you can't afford to buy food that you like, so you think everyone else should suffer, too? Here's a thought...how about you try putting some effort into improving your community and your state in order to help promote job growth, rather than trying to punish people who have a difficult enough time making ends meet as it is. Being on foodstamps does not automatically imply laziness. That's called a stereotype and, like most stereotypes, it simply isn't true. You should stop watching Faux News long enough to find out what's actually going on in the world around you, instead of assuming that anyone who uses foodstamps is somehow inferior to you.

are for the canned food and other groceries some of these convenience stores carry... they are NOT for liquor or cigarettes.

If people are only allowed the bare minimum in nutrition (or, indeed, you aren't buying the best available nutrition for yourself), this can directly cause health issues that will have to be addressed at greater taxpayer cost down the road. It's a much better investment to ensure people have the opportunity to eat as healthfully as possible.

There are already checks in place to periodically determine who is eligible for food stamps... even people who work can be eligible if they fall under a certain income threshold. people who complain that they can't afford to buy groceries should look into it.

Juicy juice was found to have unsafe levels of arsenic. Bulk dry beans are cheaper than packaged. Humane and organic products benefit the producers, the animals, and ultimately all consumers. Making poor people less healthy is going to cost more in the long run and is purely to the benefit of our highly supplemented factory farm system and pharmaceutical companies. GMOs remain untested and cheap value brands are paid for with corporate welfare. Follow the money! This isn't about healthier food and supporting local agriculture, it is about funnelling more public funds into the pockets of multinational corporations.

If your friend is going to fill your car with gas, are you going to get the premium or regular unleaded? I'd get unleaded...

Exceptions should be made for those with celiac disease to be allowed to buy gluten free. (Or other medical conditions where food comes into play).... But those buying organic just because they can with money given to them by the government should be stopped. If you want organic, that can be your motivation to get off of govt assistance. So you can purchase them with YOUR hard earned money.

So WI "re-labels" (ala George Orwell) ACTUAL, REAL, SAFE, GOOD FOR YOU, FOOD as "junk food" because WHY??? Could it be that their legislators are BRIBED into the commission of TREASON TOO?!?

38% of adult FoodShare recipients were employed as of March 2013 (http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/foodshare/pdf/ataglance/2013/Ataglance201303.pdf). This number would be even higher if we would take the elderly and disabled adults out of the denominator, those who we don't expect to work anyways. It's a myth that people are living luxuriously off the government's dollar. People often have to rely on this supplement because their low-wage or part-time jobs aren't enough to make ends meet. Also, 50% of recipients are 23 or younger and 19% are elderly, blind or disabled.

am very sorry that you feel you are so limited by your budget. but why take out your anger issues on people less well off than you. people on wic/food stamps are NOT automatically lazy or out of work by choice. you are being most unfair & its OBVIOUS you have never been on such programs. its damn difficult to Get the help when one needs it (and i DO speak from experience!) i also speak to the fact you CAN eat better ON or off them if one pays attention & actually ISNT lazy..

You are the one whining about having to use value brands but its cheaper & better quality/taste to make from scratch.. the cost of the base ingrediants to make bread is far far cheaper than a loaf of dubious quality value brand. you buy canned goods why arent you buying from local growers & canning your own -again FAR cheaper.. soups, chili's, meat vegetables for a few hours work can fill your pantry for less than ANY grocery store. - when we were on food stamps to feed my children -- i learned and USED them for the ingrediants & my children ate better-

so frankly i find your arguments without value
they only seem to be ranting at others rather than dealing with your own anger.

I am all for limiting junk food. But I use chocolate to keep my sugar levels good. I could not afford insulin if I would step over to the diabetic side...I'm always on the border..I want to buy brown organic eggs or organic milk because it's healthier for me. I also want to be able to buy veggies and fruit but we have to buy volume and for two people you can't eat a watermelon in a week or eat a bag of apples or oranges..Single serve is better so I can buy weekly and fresh.
If the congress people can guarantee health insurance, then we wouldn't have to worry about what we are eating, because we could get access to free health club memberships and nutritionist and be able to make better choices.

Don't assume those on food stamps are unemployed. Work does not equal a living wage.

I don't know where you people shop, but a lot all-natural and organic items really aren't all that much more expensive than the non-organic stuff nowadays, dues to the rise in popularity and availability of organic choices.

And shell color of an egg has no difference in nutritional value of the egg. It's based on the breed of chicken that laid it. I think a dozen brown eggs at my locally owned grocery is about thirty cents more than a dozen white shelled eggs. And the price jump comes just because brown shell layer breeds typically don't lay as prolifically as a white shell Leghorn-type breed. Is that really that big of a deal that it needs to be exempted?