wilkes

pgato64

Posted 2:14 pm, 11/06/2009

Growth Hormones aren't feed to chickens

calla_lily

Posted 1:28 pm, 11/06/2009

wp, while I DO agree with you about the junk food contributing to the obesity epidemic these days, the growth hormones in the meats, poultry and milk makes a HUGE difference, too! (I only buy organic milk) Also the additives in the food that the WONDERFUL FDA says is alright for human consumption which have been proven to cause obesity, monosodium glutimate and high fructose corn syrup (which is in almost EVERYTHING from sweet pickles and caned ravioli to ice cream and sodas). Then there is the aspartame and sucralose, they are the sweeteners that have been proven to increase the cravings for sweets, thus causing people to consume more than they would normally. The only safe sweeteners are stevia, xylitol and sorbitol. If people would stop mindlessly consuming products with these poisons in them, and get busy writing, calling and emailing the companies that make the foods and drinks and tell them that we absolutely WILL NOT purchase their products as long as they fill them with poison, you would see a decline in obesity , people will be healthier, and feel MUCH better! Fresh or frozen veggies and fruits are the best nutrition wise, but it costs more than canned. Also, canned is LOADED with sodium!

Hubby and I have been off the poisons for several months now, and we both feel better. I had lots of problems with insomnia, but now I am sleeping well each night. I don't tend to fall asleep during the day now. I can actually do more around here since making the change in what I am eating and drinking. People, please think about this!

At A Crossroad

Posted 12:51 pm, 11/06/2009

I have heard you can apply for food stamps online

BooKitty3

Posted 11:52 am, 11/06/2009

Excuse me but I was charged with fraud 6 months ago.
Scenario: 16 year old asks husband for money for cigs, husband says no. he will not support his habit. Step son gets angry, calls DSS and tells them that he doesn't live with me and husband (which is a requirement to get medicaid). DSS without an investigation cuts off all benefits for us and charges us with felony fraud. We were arrested and had to bond out.

Step son is thrown out of MY home and he lives with a friend. Times get hard, he has no job and calls for help. Husband says we will not help him unless he signs a notarized statement that he lied because he had a hissy fit because he couldn't get money for a pack of smokes.

He didn't realize what damage he had done. He thought his dad would get a slap on the wrist. No, my husband fought it and had to go all the way up to Superior Court to discount the validity of his son's statement. In the mean time, we have no medical coverage and no way to get prescriptions and both of us out of work. The kid signs the papers in front of my husbands lawyer and the charge is dropped. Happy ending for us, although, we weren't convicted of this charge which is a class I Felony BUT the charge will forever float out there in cyber space. If we apply for anything, a background check will show we were charged with a felony but not convicted. All because of this little brat who couldn't get his way.

I don't know how much investigating DSS does into fraud but it wasn't much in this case. We were charged on the word of a 16 year old kid. The whole system sucks. If I wasn't disabled and didn't have to use it, I surely wouldnt!!! (If I were in law enforcement, I would find something to charge this kid with to teach him a lesson!)

wrestling Grandpa

Posted 11:18 am, 11/06/2009

Peedoffmom I can understand your frustration....some years ago I was in the same situation....but found some help from the local food banks not in North Carolina was in another state....I believe there is some assistance from the Samaritan Group that may help out...call them give them your name and address and they should be able too help....I have know others in your position who called them and got food for their family....I am sorry your having such a awful time...by the way ethnicity is not a factor to receive help its doing the right thing too help our neighbors less fortunate at these time...Bless you and yours....

bigmama1

Posted 11:02 am, 11/06/2009

My foodstamps worker never returns my calls and when i come in to see her i always have to wait a long time. My worker is Betty Brown and I think i have the worst worker at DSS. Don't try to see her in the mornings because she's never here on time!! I had to see Robin Faw one day when Betty wasn't here....she was so sweet!! Why can't they all be like her?!?!?

dizzycarolinagrl

Posted 08:27 am, 11/06/2009

I know it is not the same but you could try BROC over on 115. They have a food bank and will give you food. There are probably others in the county...I just don't know of the resources.
When I lives out in Utah, even though we were not Mormon, the LDS churches were always very willng to help the needy. I am not sure if they are the same here, since they are so few and far between and not nearly so well funded. There is also one of those on 115, just beyond the Old Lovette Egg. Good luck to you. It gets even harder, the closer the holidays get. It is truly a sad thing when the greatest things in life bring us hardship and anxiety vecause of all the greedy capiltalists of the world, such as being a parent, family, and holidays.

beaniebug6

Posted 8:38 pm, 11/05/2009

i applied less than a month ago. Applied on thurs or fri, received approval letter on Mon and had my card before the end of the week. my friend, the one who suggested i apply, applied the week after me and still hasnt heard a thing. guess i was blessed!

JuanJose

Posted 12:59 pm, 11/05/2009

Is it true that DSS had a table set up at career day for Central High?

pgato64

Posted 12:54 pm, 11/05/2009

I think every one getting food stamps should be verified as a us citizen or a legal resident who is married to a us citizen.

Next they should get an RFD microship implanted in backside of their forearm along with iris scan for indentification purposes so only they can use the money alloted to their account.

After that a GPS tracking device should be placed in every food item to insure that the food items are being consumed at their current address


red dye should be hooked into this GPS device in case it is tampered with or remove it will shoot out a red or infrared dye out on to the person tampering.

~glitter and glamour~

Posted 12:18 pm, 11/05/2009

This system was set up to help individuals get back on their feet. It was not established to be a means of a 'way of life' as it has turned out...

moving101

Posted 11:12 am, 11/05/2009

MudButt, we're on the same side. I say yes, do the investigations at added costs to us, the taxpayers, and stop the abuse. In the longer run it will save the taxpayers money and do more to make some folks be more responsible for their own well being as an added bonus. But, everytime we add government workers to the payrolls, voters cry foul "big government". Hey, it takes the government's resources to put those extra case workers/auditors to work doing the investigations.

In my way of seeing things, we're all peed at the government for taking all our money for tax dollars. When we should be peed at Uncle Sam for taking all our money and still not getting the job done we are paying it to do. Start distributing funds differently would be a good start.

MuddButt

Posted 11:03 am, 11/05/2009

When is the last time anybody remembers a person getting charged and convicted for fraud/abuse? When everyone is aware that the DSS doesn't check little things like Social security #'s and number of dependants being claimed, is it any wonder there is so much abuse. And if you get caught, nobody does anything.

Its easy to steal from the DSS and the scum bags doing it know it.

lightningkat

Posted 10:57 am, 11/05/2009

There's not a lot to add it seem as though it's all been said. But a few things I would like to point out. Food stamps cannot be used for hot foods where ever they getting pizza, they shouldn't be able to. Also one poster mentioned having to go back to dss to get the card activated. This used to be the case years ago but now they come with a phone number to call to activate them so you could pretty much use the day you receive the card. I still don't under stand though how someone able to work gets SSI. The only reason my kids get it is because my ex is on disability. Yes the system is flawed but those who need it are grateful for the help it gives them. And for those who know how to fill out the forms, well I did a goof on mine and put down my 401 k as an IRA. IRA's are counted as reserves where 401k's are not. This error just about kept me from being eligible even though my income was well below guidelines. You are allowed a $2000 reserve and still be able to receive.

MuddButt

Posted 10:57 am, 11/05/2009

Huh Moving101? It is cheaper to go along with fraud than investigate it?

You have it all backwards.

What if we spent the money now to aggressively investigate, prosecute, and shame those who abuse the system. After some of the abusers are made an example of for theft of benefits the word will get around that DSS finally is serious about fraud. Then fraud goes down. We save money and the caseworkers have more time to help the truly needy. Everyone wins.

moving101

Posted 10:51 am, 11/05/2009

Amen Mtnbiker, real people with real needs, in gray areas, are doing without, while abusers seem to get everything they ask for. I wish the elderly, the truly disabled, and the truly low income could get the help they need and the lazy, irresponsible, and fraudulent ones could be stopped.

Unfortunately, it will take more money to dig in and do the investigations and right now everybody is in an uproar about every dime the government is spending. So how do we convince citizens that sometimes we have to spend more for a period of time in an effort to save money on an ongoing basis?

BooKitty3

Posted 10:50 am, 11/05/2009

The whole DSS system and the SSI system need to be revamped. People are going financially under and even dying waiting for SSI. I know, I'm one of them. I can't recieve medical benefits until I am approved for disability. In the mean time my medical bills are piling up and I can't get my medicine.
I don't care what they do as long as they do something.

Mtnbiker

Posted 10:28 am, 11/05/2009

JUST BECAUSE THERE IS ABUSE DOESN'T MEAN THERE ISN'T A NEED. We've all of us known people who abuse food stamps or most any other public help type program there is.

In the end I come back to one thought. It must be awful to go hungry. Seeing your kids hungry would be worse. I don't wish that on anyone.

Another sad reality of legalese is that for every loophole closed there are also many deserving people shut out. This isn't to say we should give up on stopping the abuses. Just an observation that it isn't always as easy as one might think or hope.

moving101

Posted 10:28 am, 11/05/2009

The food stamp program is like most other assistance programs. There are people out there that know how to work the system. They know how to answer DSS questions in order to qualify. Often they have help from a sympathetic employer that will help "adjust" their income levels to make them qualify, or, they are paid in cash, making it difficult to verify income. Combined with not enough DSS workers to handle the case loads and investigate recipents and we have a perfect storm for abuse.

I know everyone is going to hate the thoughts of this, but, here goes. We could go to a card only system and do away with cash and eliminate all these problems. As long as so many employers and employees are paid using cash with no paper records to back it up, the ability to cheat is quite easy.

bubba39

Posted 10:20 am, 11/05/2009

my best friend is the same way. there is 6 in her family. 4 kids and her and her hubby. she doesn't buy junk food. she tries to make it on what they have but she runs out every month . she did can some things this past summer. they only get 367 a month for 6. its hard. i know there is plenty of times that she has had to get food off of her mother. and her in laws have to help too. just like today i know for a fact her husband had enough gas to get to work but not enough to get back home. thank goodness his brother is letting him borrow a few dollars to get back home.
this day and time things are hard on people. and everyone not just my sister and best friend EVERYONE needs to be thankful for the help they get and not abuse the system. but there is always going to be people out there who use and abuse the system.
there should be someway to filter the system to make sure it is not being abused. i don't know how that could be done