Amazon excepting SNAP???

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I was allowed to manage my allowance since I was 8.

Partly because instead of bubble gum and candy I spent it on comics and THINGS OF SCIENCE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_of_Science

I was a weird kid.
Haven't changed.

I was referring to when I was about 3.
You see the sign that says do not disturb children reading. The librarian made that sign after a mom disturbed me. I told the mom where my mom was and to go control her own child. Her child was climbing on the shelves. My mom was downstairs in the genealogy room.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by ApK

So you judge people who go to food pantries to be violent and dangerous.

Fascinating.

No but the one around here is. Unfortunately we live in a county full of meth and heroin addicts. It's an epidemic here. The people here who go to the local one alot of them are not nice people. I've seen people fight over food there. There are normal families and the elderly that go there but there are some scary people that go there. Waiting in the hot sun can make it a place for violence. A couple months ago a volunteer got punched out for trying to stop two men from fighting. One guy supposedly stole food from the other guy's box when he wasn't looking.

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[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Just did some quick math. For a family of 4 to qualify for food stamps, they can work 40 hours a week at $16 an hour. That isn't small wages. For 2, the person can make up to $10 an hour. That isn't minimum either and it can be lived on without food stamps.

Don't you mean our moms would have killed for it? Mine would have gladly paid that when I was little just to keep me in books. (Before old enough to get an allowance).

For two people the wage less than 10. About a little over $9 an hour. $1701 was the cut off and that's gross not net.

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[sun surfer]

What is a food pantry exactly? Is it like a grocery store but only for people with a certain income threshold? I'm just surprised I've never really heard of them before (or at least heard of them and remembered).

I've also never seen one of these big government wheels of cheese in person but I do have this vivid memory of seeing some episode of a sitcom about a family with a bunch of kids and a gag was that they roll in a *huge* wheel of cheese (on its side to roll it was almost as tall as a person).

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I've been to many a non-violent food pantry. Not saying some might not be worse than others, but it seems unlikely to me that food pantries in general could be labelled as dangerous or scary.

I grew up going to them and no they weren't bad as some of them are now.
However I never thought of them as safe places. I was a teen when this guy tried to abduct me while I was waiting for my mom inside. I got away and jump into our car then locked the doors and laid on the horn. A stranger came to my rescue and the guy jump in his truck and took off. Mom never me let go back after that.

I'm not saying all food pantries are like that but the ones around here have always been somewhat not the safest place.

It's not even worth going these days. Most of the time you get a bunch of outdated junk food and a few canned goods. Nothing really healthy you can live on to eat.

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[issybird]

A food pantry gives away food.

I think government cheese comes in big bricks or sticks, like American cheese on steroids, and not in wheels.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

What is a food pantry exactly? Is it like a grocery store but only for people with a certain income threshold? I'm just surprised I've never really heard of them before (or at least heard of them and remembered).

I've also never seen one of these big government wheels of cheese in person but I do have this vivid memory of seeing some episode of a sitcom about a family with a bunch of kids and a gag was that they roll in a *huge* wheel of cheese (on its side to roll it was almost as tall as a person).

They are not grocery stores. Most of the time the boxes are presorted by volunteers the night before. You wait in a very long line till your name is called. Some times they do have a few tables where the volunteer takes you to and they pick out what they think you like. You cannot refuse any items even if you're​ allergic. Some volunteers are sweet and nice and some just are not.

My worst memory of a volunteer was
when I was a little kid I told this guy who handed me bread that we didn't eat this kind. He told me white trash can't be choosey and shoved it back at me. Mom yelled at me back at home never to refuse anything. I was a little kid. The guy just got out of prison as it was a halfway house as well. I was scared of volunteer workers after that for awhile and kept my mouth shut.

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[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by issybird

A food pantry gives away food.

I think government cheese comes in big bricks or sticks, like American cheese on steroids, and not in wheels.

The last time I saw any 27 years ago, it was in big bricks.
The time before that it was in boxes being loaded onto a truck. (It was stored in the caves at Lee's Summit, Kansas.) If I never see those caves again, it is too soon.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by issybird

A food pantry gives away food.

I think government cheese comes in big bricks or sticks, like American cheese on steroids, and not in wheels.

It use to come like Velveeta does in a brown box. It was the best cheese. I've never seen it as a wheel either. Now it comes in a big plastic bag and it's shredded. It's no longer as good tasting though.

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[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by issybird

A food pantry gives away food.

I think government cheese comes in big bricks or sticks, like American cheese on steroids, and not in wheels.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Blossom

They are not grocery stores. Most of the time the boxes are presorted by volunteers the night before. You wait in a very long line till your name is called. Some times they do have a few tables where the volunteer takes you to and they pick out what they think you like. You cannot refuse any items even if you're​ allergic. Some volunteers are sweet and nice and some just are not.

My worst memory of a volunteer was
when I was a little kid I told this guy who handed me bread that we didn't eat this kind. He told me white trash can't be choosey and shoved it back at me. Mom yelled at me at home never to refuse anything. I was a little kid. The guy just got out of prison as it was a halfway house as well. I was scared of volunteer workers after that for awhile and kept my mouth shut.

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Thanks for the details. I see now how it might not be the nicest place to get food at.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Blossom

They are not grocery stores. Most of the time the boxes are presorted by volunteers the night before. You wait in a very long line till your name is called. Some times they do have a few tables where the volunteer takes you to and they pick out what they think you like. You cannot refuse any items even if you're​ allergic. Some volunteers are sweet and nice and some just are not.

The food pantry in my town is nothing like that! I used to volunteer.

Each client is served one at a time, is asked what they'd like from what is available and gets a customized assortment. No one is forced to take anything. The only time cartons are prepared ahead of time are for the big holiday meals.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by issybird

The food pantry in my town is nothing like that! I used to volunteer.

Each client is served one at a time, is asked what they'd like from what is available and gets a customized assortment. No one is forced to take anything. The only time cartons are prepared ahead of time are for the big holiday meals.

Ours aren't like Blossom's either. It is a very clean place and the people are nice.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

Thanks!



Thanks for the details. I see now how it might not be the nicest place to get food at.

It depends on the locations. Churches are usually nice and safe but you may have to show more proof or even sit in a service before you get anything but usually it's better food than local pantries.

Here's how mine works. Every Thursday they start lining up at 3AM by the door and doors open at 8:30AM. Once inside you register and can go sit or stand outside. You then wait hours till your name is called it's usually a three hour wait on normal days and four to five on days before holidays because they do give better during those times. They close at noon. It's first come, first serve and they serve thousands of people. It's a mad house to say the least. Parking is a nightmare at mine. Most workers are nice but some of the temps can be snotty. One girl was more into taking selfies and flirting with this guy then making sure you got the stuff from the tables.

There are no regulations here so each pantry can set their own rules. Most food given here is out of date and questionable quality. Sometimes you get lucky and get something in date that looks edible.

Example on food: Granola Bars expired almost a year ago. You open them to find them rancid. There is no law here in Missouri on even selling expired food. So even at the Dollar Tree or local groceries stores you need to always check the date.

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[Blossom]

Originally Posted by issybird

The food pantry in my town is nothing like that! I used to volunteer.

Each client is served one at a time, is asked what they'd like from what is available and gets a customized assortment. No one is forced to take anything. The only time cartons are prepared ahead of time are for the big holiday meals.

We went to something like that in Tennessee between jobs. You paid $25 and they did just that. Nothing like that here that I know of. Maybe in St Louis there are some nicer but here where I am at it's a place I absolutely hate to visit.

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[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Blossom

We went to something like that in Tennessee between jobs. You paid $25 and they did just that. Nothing like that here that I know of. Maybe in St Louis there are some nicer but here where I am at it's a place I absolutely hate to visit.

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That sounds like Angel Food Ministries. They have shut down. You paid so much for their box of food and then went to usually a church and picked it up. IIRC: That was once a month and anyone could buy it.