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Monday, August 20, 2012

A Letter To The Editor On Food Stamps

People use their independence card to buy steam crabs at Fat Boy and Skipjacks

This is from the Md Dept of Human Resources:

Spending Your Food Supplement Program Benefits Food Supplement Program (FSP) benefits are issued to households on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, called the Independence Card.

You use this card to buy your food. FSP can only be used for food and for plants and seeds to grow food for your household to eat.

Sales tax cannot be charged on items bought with food stamps.

Food stamps cannot be used to buy:

any nonfood item, such as pet foods; soaps, paper products, and household supplies; grooming items, toothpaste, and cosmetics alcoholic beverages and tobacco vitamins and medicines hot foods that are ready to eat

22 comments:

  1. The loophole is that they sell the live crabs and steam them for free so technically they aren't prepared foods. I was at Chesapeake treasures and 8 of the 10 people were paying with independence cards

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  2. Some establishments will allow payment for the crabs, shrimp or whatever with the De-pendence card and then charge a dollar to steam.

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  3. Not all independance cards just food stamps. They can also be cash assistance cards. There is no restriction of what can be purchased if youare using the cash that is available on the cards. I'm not sure the cash is meant to purchase things like seafood, cigs, beer or other unnecessary items, but the cash assistance programs are not restriced as to how you spend the money so it is at the discretion of the recipient how to use the money. Some feel seafood is more important than rent.

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  4. Is there any way to report these abuses? Maybe even a reward program, that will stop a lot immediately.

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  5. Fat Boys crabs suck anyhow.
    They rip you off. They wouldn't know a number one crab if you struck them with it.

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  6. I work full time at a "good" job.
    I can not afford crabs.
    I can not qualify for assistance.

    Something is wrong with this picture.

    Obama.

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  7. My daughter saw someone pay for a drink at a bar with their independence card. She also works at a restaurant that she has seen it used. It should only be able to be used for healthy options, not frozen dinners (which I have seen done.

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  8. Not only do fat boys take these cards, they'll also allow the scum to have cash back by charging them for doing so. So they get to get seafood, and if they want fifty cash, fat boys gets twenty five, but I've seen as high as fifty for fifty. Real nice huh....

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  9. 2:26
    Sadly using their "independence card" at a seafood market is not considered abuse. I think it needs to be set up somewhat like WIC is and they can ONLY get certain things. After all it's for the kids right? The same kids that we give breakfast and lunch too whose parents frequent the food pantries then use the independence card to treat themselves for their hard effort.

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  10. @2:56

    You could have said all those statements during the Bush1, Clinton, and Bush2 eras and they still would have been true. So stop trying to insert your anti-Obama rhetoric into every single argument. Just like any other position that is overused, at some point, it just loses its potency (e.g., Al Sharpton and racism).

    The real issue is that this world will always have some good people and some not so good people. This country has a system that chooses to enable those not so good people. No matter who the president is, the entitlement programs will exist. You can either choose to continue to work to support yourself because that is the right thing to do or you can quit, qualify for assistance and get yourself some crabs.

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  11. 3:43
    Thanks for the advise.

    It IS Obama's fault.
    He hasn't kept his promises. Period.
    If he had, I could afford crabs.

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  12. I just wonder what culture the majority of these people aare who do these kinds of things. ie, sit on their fat @sses and soak the taxpayer!

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  13. I think that if this is enforced that some of these establishments might suffer. It is interesting that these things are not posted at the establishment

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  14. I love when they have go into a store and they buy chips and soda and use there independence card. After that is rung up, they pull put a wad of cash and buy cigarettes and blunt wrappers. Freaking losers!!!!

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  15. qualifications for fat boyz dependence crabs
    #1- latest edition of rocca wear or fubu
    #2-fingernails at least 1.5 inches long
    #3-being at least 3 baby,s daddys to 3 different wic mommas
    #4-free obama cell phone
    #5-must drive a nissan maxima
    #6-last but not least never done a day of LEGAL WORK OR EVER WILL IN A LIFETIME

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  16. It IS Obama's fault.
    He hasn't kept his promises. Period.
    If he had, I could afford crabs.

    August 20, 2012 4:09 PM

    ROFLMAO

    Buy ya some chicken necks and go catch some damn crabs. geesh.

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  17. I think all those on foodstamps, welfare and other kind of gov. assistance - You should be drug tested (at any time) if u test positive - you lose and you have to payback the taxpayers all the money you have used!! So which means you will have to get a job, maybe 2 so you can pay us taxpayers back!!! Take chips, candy, sodas, ice cream off of foodstamps - If you want that then u buy it with your own money!!! On foodstamps, you should only get milk, cheese, bread and hamburger meat!!! No steaks, crabs and etc. If we have to learn to budget (which we did in High School) our money and then you should not be able to eat better than me!!!! Got get a job!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hamburger meat? Have you seen the price of hamburger meat lately? Better give them some bologna and pbj.

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  18. Idependance cards are foods stamps and can only be used for food. Unemployment cards are different. They can be used just like a normal debit card and can purchase anything. The unemployment card does not say independence on them.

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  19. The other day I was behind a couple in Walmart who bought numerous items with their independence card. The lady with the card took it from her COACH purse

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  20. 7:36
    Some states do drug test them now. I don't see Maryland as one to follow suit on that idea anytime soon.

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  21. 7:43 PM, that "Coach" purse probably came from the flea market.

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