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Don't buy WIC products?


Alpo

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I got an email from my grocery store. And among other stuff it said to please not buy WIC products and less UNLESS YOU WORTHLESS BASTAGE, UNLESS you were authorized for WIC.

 

Back in the 80s I had reason to find out what WIC authorized.

 

Kix cereal, was one thing. Juicy Juice was WIC. Don't know about other juices, the Juicy Juice was on the list.

 

But so was milk. And eggs. And oatmeal.  I can see buying Captain Crunch, and Ocean Spray, and leaving the Kix and the Juicy Juice for the poor families. But thay Captain Crunch ain't going to taste as good without milk.

 

Has anyone else gotten a request from their grocery store not to buy WIC?

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WIC was a program to help lower income people buy food for their kids.  You were allowed only certain products on their list.    GW

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2 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

What is WIC?

 

It stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It is a government nutritional program aimed at those families that are at risk for poor nutrition due to poverty.

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Just now, DocWard said:

 

It stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It is a government nutritional program aimed at those families that are at risk for poor nutrition due to poverty.

 

Thanks Doc.

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3 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

What is WIC?

Women, infants and children.  Program established to provide nutrition for mothers, babies and children.  Annie has 47 years with a Kroger affiliate here in AZ.  There is a published listing of what can be purchased and nothing not on the list can be purchased using the draft.

Chas

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12 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I got an email from my grocery store. And among other stuff it said to please not buy WIC products and less UNLESS YOU WORTHLESS BASTAGE, UNLESS you were authorized for WIC.

 

Back in the 80s I had reason to find out what WIC authorized.

 

Kix cereal, was one thing. Juicy Juice was WIC. Don't know about other juices, the Juicy Juice was on the list.

 

But so was milk. And eggs. And oatmeal.  I can see buying Captain Crunch, and Ocean Spray, and leaving the Kix and the Juicy Juice for the poor families. But thay Captain Crunch ain't going to taste as good without milk.

 

Has anyone else gotten a request from their grocery store not to buy WIC?

Never mind.  Apparently not many others knew, either.  I don't fit any of those categories.

 

Wonder if there's a GOB  (Grumpy Old Bas Bachelor) category.

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7 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Never mind.  Apparently not many others knew, either.  I don't fit any of those categories.

 

Wonder if there's a GOB  (Grumpy Old Bas Bachelor) category.

Yeah. It includes Ensure, Big button cell phones, prune juice, Depends, and Geritol.

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33 minutes ago, DocWard said:

 

It stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It is a government nutritional program aimed at those families that are at risk for poor nutrition due to poverty.

 

It replaced food stamps because of the people that were abusing that system.  Like WIC doesn't get abused.   (sigh)

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Just now, Finagler 6853 Life said:

 

It replaced food stamps because of the people that were abusing that system.  Like WIC doesn't get abused.   (sigh)

 

I don't believe it was ever intended as a replacement for food stamps. It has long functioned alongside food stamps as a way of assisting poor families. Sadly, humankind has yet to make something that is not subject to being abused.

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As I said, my knowledge of them goes back to the 80s, but food stamps could be used for any food stuff. WIC coupons could only be used for certain items. And instead of saying something like "$5 food stamp", they would say "1/2 gallon milk" or "28 oz box of cereal". If I have $20 worth of food stamps, I can use them to buy $20 worth of t-bone steak. But if I have a half gallon milk WIC coupon, all I can get with it is a half a gallon of milk.

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It was a supplement to Food Stamps. I believe now they have an EBT card that takes the place of Food Stamps and WIC chits...or whatever they’re called. 

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12 hours ago, Alpo said:

I got an email from my grocery store. And among other stuff it said to please not buy WIC products and less UNLESS YOU WORTHLESS BASTAGE, UNLESS you were authorized for WIC.

 

Back in the 80s I had reason to find out what WIC authorized.

 

Kix cereal, was one thing. Juicy Juice was WIC. Don't know about other juices, the Juicy Juice was on the list.

 

But so was milk. And eggs. And oatmeal.  I can see buying Captain Crunch, and Ocean Spray, and leaving the Kix and the Juicy Juice for the poor families. But thay Captain Crunch ain't going to taste as good without milk.

 

Has anyone else gotten a request from their grocery store not to buy WIC?


WHY would your grocery store tell you NOT to buy “WIC” products?

 

Just because certain products are “authorized” under a gov’t welfare program doesn’t restrict them from purchase by those who purchase with cash, check, credit card.

 

But NO, I’ve never seen any such communication from a grocery retailer, or anyone else.

 

Cat Brules

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How do people get Mercedes, Cadillacs and high priced SUV's when they use a WIC card? I've seen plenty of that %$#@:angry:

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5 hours ago, Cat Brules said:

WHY would your grocery store tell you NOT to buy “WIC” products?

I came up with a theory. It's because of food shortages and hoarding.

 

If you go down there with food stamps, and you want to get a can of chef boyardee spaghetti, but all the chef boyardee is sold, you can get a can of franco-american uh-oh SpaghettiOs. Because food stamps don't care. As long as it's food you can buy it.

 

WIC on t'other hand, is brand-specific. If chef boyardee is WIC approved and SpaghettiOs ain't, and the chef boyardee is sold out, you can't buy the SpaghettiOs with the WIC coupon.

 

 

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41 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I came up with a theory. It's because of food shortages and hoarding.

 

If you go down there with food stamps, and you want to get a can of chef boyardee spaghetti, but all the chef boyardee is sold, you can get a can of franco-american uh-oh SpaghettiOs. Because food stamps don't care. As long as it's food you can buy it.

 

WIC on t'other hand, is brand-specific. If chef boyardee is WIC approved and SpaghettiOs ain't, and the chef boyardee is sold out, you can't buy the SpaghettiOs with the WIC coupon.

 

 

Alpo is correct, it's all about the brand with WIC.  We haven't gotten letters, but where I shop they have posters up advising you to look at the shelf label for a red WIC and to ask you to make a different choice, if possible, so that the people shopping with WIC have that food available, since they have no choice.  If that brand is gone, they can't just grab the next most popular or available on the shelf.

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3 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

How do people get Mercedes, Cadillacs and high priced SUV's when they use a WIC card? I've seen plenty of that %$#@:angry:

Long ago, I was an Eligibility Worker at the Welfare Department for Aid to Families with Dependent Children. I had a family with a father who was "too fat to work." They had a Cadillac. It was legal as long as their equity in the car was less than a  specified amount.

 

PS They were eligible for Food Stamps too.

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When I was young I moved to Austin from El Paso and stayed with my brother.  At first, I couldn’t find the job I wanted, so I applied for food stamps.  They gave me food stamps.  My brother and I were literally dumbstruck!  A couple days later, I gathered up the food stamps and paperwork and took them back down to their office and handed them over.  They, in turn, were dumbstruck.  How embarrassing!

 

I had savings to rely on, and I did just fine.  My brother called my father and told him this “joke”.  He was not amused.

 

 Cat Brules

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1 hour ago, Cat Brules said:

When I was young I moved to Austin from El Paso and stayed with my brother.  At first, I couldn’t find the job I wanted, so I applied for food stamps.  They gave me food stamps.  My brother and I were literally dumbstruck!  A couple days later, I gathered up the food stamps and paperwork and took them back down to their office and handed them over.  

 

Why would you be surprised? You applied for them, and presumably your application met the requirements.

 

When I was in law school in Salem, Or, in 1970-73, with a wife and three kids, we qualified for the "Abundant Foods" program, run by the Dept. of Agriculture. Most students with families qualified. Food stamps had not reached everywhere then. The stuff was all very high-quality surplus staples: butter, cheese, flour, sugar, canned chicken, canned meats, etc. It was a big help.

 

I always had a high regard for that program. I have no idea if it still exists.

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That’s the damn problem!  The “bar” for qualifying for getting food stamps was set too low.  Then, and now!  That’s why I gave them back.  I was genuinely qualified to receive food stamps, but other options were still available....then, and now.  No one starves to death.  Other, non-government resources were, and still are, available.  STOP handing out our money!

 

Cat Brules

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1 hour ago, Cat Brules said:

That’s the damn problem!  The “bar” for qualifying for getting food stamps was set too low.  Then, and now!  That’s why I gave them back.  I was genuinely qualified to receive food stamps, but other options were still available....then, and now.  No one starves to death.  Other, non-government resources were, and still are, available.  

 

Back then, which is 50 years ago now, the Abundant Foods program provided surplus commodities which, as I recall, were owned and stored by the Federal Gov't as a byproduct of agricultural subsides to farmers. Giving them to people qualified by need seemed a sensible alternative to periodically burning them in vast conflagrations.

 

"No one starves to death". This was never the issue, and, while I don't know, I assume that the purpose behind these various programs was helping adequate nutrition rather than preventing starvation.

 

As for food stamps, we never had them but would have used them in earlier years if necessary. I never got exercised about that program, myself.

 

Anyway, we were glad of the 'government help', and I've paid a lot of taxes since 1973 and figured I long ago paid it back.

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My earlier comments regarding the government food stamp and related programs, were not directed at anyone, but were stating my own experience with the food stamp program.
 

Let me add:  

Poor administration and too-easy access to food subsidies, granted loosely on sympathy for “the kids” (gag me....I’m sick of hearing it), ability to fill in forms, and generally uninvestigated claims, is an attack on all of us; it’s an attack on our tax dollars.

 

It is well-known that corruption, by beneficiaries and other fringe elements, who “play” these government “food subsidy” programs is common and widespread.  My opinion is that this same corruption, in the food subsidy “system” with its various iterations, existed in the past and still exists today.
 

Cat Brules

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When I was an Eligibility Worker, we even made house calls. You had to let your clients know you were coming and when. I even got to see a man climb out a window.

 

I was lucky that my area was the road (HWT 180) to Kings Canyon. Mostly my clients were nice to me, even when they thought I didn't understand what they said in Spanish. At that time, I did.

 

Two of my most memorable clients were the affluent young woman who lived with her parents and an Indian (feather) family. The Indians lived is a shabby house that you could see outside through the distance between the boards. They had a huge TV.

 

This was 1971-1973. So, I assume many things have changed. I don't think they do house calls anymore.

 

 

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