My Experience with Food Stamps

With the rise in food costs there has been a lot of talk about how expensive it is to eat and how difficult it is for those on food stamps to get by since their benefits haven't been increasing at the same rate food cost have been rising.Since I've been on food stamps myself I wanted to do my own post on the subject and tell about my experience with food stamps.

I was on food stamps in Texas for three months in 2003. I was employed at the time but not getting many hours and therefore not making much money. I was making just enough money to pay my bills but certainly wasn't going hungry. Since I worked at a pizza restaurant I had access to free food several times a week. I debated whether to apply for food stamps but decided I should go ahead and take advantage of the program.

It was pretty easy to apply for the food stamps. I just filled out an application and dropped it off at the office. I was called about a week later and after a short interview I was declared eligible for $160 a month in food stamps. I don't remember the exact details of documentation but I remember being surprised at how easy the process was. I was also surprised at the amount, $160 seemed like a lot to me for one person.

The food stamps were actually in the form of an EBT card which worked like a debit card. The first month I used my entire allotted amount. Some of this was due to buying food for a friend that visited and building up a supply of basic staples. The second month I didn't come close to using all of my allotted amount. This amount rolled over to the next month resulting in me having much more than $160 to spend on groceries for the month. The third month I got a new job and canceled my food stamps. However, I was still able to use the amount remaining on my EBT card and used it to buy my groceries for the next couple months.

Overall, I would say my experience with food stamps was a positive one. I found a $160 a month to be plenty of money for groceries and I actually bought more expensive foods than I normally would have. I did occasionally get dirty looks when using the card but for the most part no one seemed to care that I was using them. If I were in the same position again though I wouldn't apply for food stamps. I was eligible for them so it was legal for me to do so but since I could have easily got by without them I don't think it was ethical to do so. So far this year I've been averaging $100-$150 on food including restaurant food so I'd have to be pretty poor to not be able to afford food without food stamps.