Food Stamp Cutback Hits Home For Young People

November 12, 2013 /

Lisa Vasquez:

With SNAP benefits reduced, my family may experience more food shortages throughout the month. The stamps we get now barely get us through the month — most of our stamps run out by the second or third week. My mom also receives cash aid on her card and that all goes to rent, which doesn’t even cover our rent, let alone our other expenses. My mom has to hustle already to make it through the month and she can’t really get a job because of health and mental issues. Less SNAP benefits will be a big strain on not only my family but other American families as well.

Lisbeth Vazquez:

With SNAP benefits being cut, my family will be greatly affected. I live in a home with my two brothers and a single mom. My mom has tried looking for jobs but she has only been able to find part time work. That is not enough even though we have food stamps. If we didn’t have food stamps I don’t really know what we would do. All I can picture is us going to live with a family member, because we would not earn a living with my mom’s part time job.

Ana Llimet:

Most people I know here in Merced get food stamps, including my family. My mom has many health issues and a tumor in her knee. She can’t walk or stand for long so it’s pretty much impossible for her to get a job, plus she can’t read or write. My family depends on food stamps and welfare. Without these benefits, my family would be foodless and possibly homeless. Being in a desperate state brings out a side of people that isn’t pretty. I was once homeless and foodless and desperate. That’s when stealing and drug dealing came in. With SNAP benefits cut, I believe crime will increase.

Jjakoba Predmore:

My family will be affected by the SNAP cuts. I am the only person in my family that technically “works” and I only make the $120 I bring home every month from We’Ced. My mom’s boyfriend’s parents pay for everything but food, and I feel like if they had to pay for our food, too, they would just stop helping us altogether. All of the kids in the house would be placed in foster care. I know that sounds a bit extreme but I honestly feel like that could be the end result of our food stamps being cut.

Deborah Juarez:

I don’t agree with the SNAP cuts. I know a few of my peers that get food stamps and depend on it. I remember a friend of mine saying, “I need the food stamps; without them I can’t eat.” She seemed quite grateful to have them, which was weird because most people would be embarrassed about having them. I asked why she was so proud of being on food stamps and she said it was because she “gets to eat, and my mom works hard already paying bills. Food stamps help us get food on the table and gives me lunch to bring to school.” This conversation impacted me because she was the only one of my peers that said that out loud and proud, not caring who heard. Food stamps are a way of helping people survive in this economy, so taking it away from people, up to 3.8 million people, will only lead to a lot of people struggling and starving.

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