Food Stamp Crunch Intensifies

Chicago Residents Struggling To Make Ends Meet Rush To Get Groceries On The First

(CBS)  Midnight might not seem like an ideal time to open grocery store doors.

But on the first of the month, it is, CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports.

In the afternoon, the aisles were almost empty at One-Stop Foods on Chicago’s South Side, because most of the patrons there rely on food stamps - and their monthly allotments had run dry.

“They're struggling to get through the month,” Dennis Kladis, the store’s owner, said. “So the minute they get their money back, they come shopping!”

The benefit money is electrically deposited on a debit card. For many there, it comes just after midnight on the first of each month.

For Maranatha Mays, the moment can’t come soon enough.

How long has it been since she last were able to come to the store and buy food?

“Like two weeks ago,” Mays said.

She lost her job six months ago, and her family of six gets $369 a month in food stamps.

"It really like, cut me out,” she said. “I’m really not eating. Because my kids have to eat before me.”

Getting through the month is a stretch.

“Do you notice the cost of food going up?” Doane asked grocery shopper Myeisha Collins.

“Yeah, because you could buy a bulk of cheese for like $10. Now it’s almost $13. Milk use to be like $2; now it’s almost $5,” she said.

The midnight madness is a come-as-you-are event.

Owner Dennis Kladis makes sure there are lots of sale items. And he says he does more volume in the first few hours of the month - than in entire days at the end.

“They're trying to make the same ends meet on the same money - while prices go up … so, it's an indictment on what's been going on,” Kladis said.

Food stamps are only designed to supplement food budgets. And now the working poor are relying on them more and more. And they need to spend their cash elsewhere.

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Read more about the food-stamp struggle over at Couric & Co. blog.

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“Do you worry that a lot of the stuff you’re buying isn’t the healthiest?” Doane asked Terrelyn Watkins.

“Yea, but I know it’s cheap,” she said. “I mean, if you don't pay Con Ed - you're gonna get your lights cut out. If you don't pay people gas - your gas is gonna get cut off.”

Watkins makes about $25,000 a year as a dental technician. But supporting two kids, one job doesn’t do it.

“It's just crazy out there. People are doing what they have to do to make a living," she said.

Michael Jordan and his partner, Renee Bishop, both work in health care. But their salaries aren’t feeding their kids - and food stamps don’t last.

“Whoever making … these prices go up? They need to make 'em go back down,” Jordan said.

They’re not shy about asking for help.

“The costs are high! I'm about to ask you for a little ... change!” Jordan said.

But change isn’t coming anytime soon. The government won’t consider raising food stamp allotments until October.

[DocHollywood1955]

$369/month and they are complaining?
I am a single white disabled father who gets food stamps for myself and my 13 year old daughter.
Within days of Obongo getting elected I was notified that my food stamp benefits were going from $218/month to a whopping $16/month.
Yes, you reads that right $16.00 a month to feed 2 people.
Maybe if I was black or an illegal alien I would be able to feed my daughter.
I have worked my entire life until I got injured and this is the payback I get for paying taxes!

[redhatterb]

Some people are really cruel. For one thing your vehicle can only be of a certain value in order to receive food stmaps. These people might have borrowed a vehicle in order to get groceries. As far as remarks about weight go, there are some prescription meds that make you gain weight. Sometimes it is genetic. I am 68 years old, three of the prescription meds that I am on cause weight gain. Live off retirement soc. sec. of $600 a month, on food stamps, and the reason a lot of people buy junk food is because it is cheaper than healthy foods. I can''t afford to drink milk at the price it is now. A lot of people buy their whole months supply of groceries at one time, so if it looked like somebody was buying a lot of meat, junk food, etc., that could be why. How does anybody know exactly what kind of clothes and jewelry the women were wearing. It could have been hand me downs and dollar store stuff. Maybe even bought at a thrift store. Nobody has any way of knowing exactly what anybody''s situation was.

[keithle1]

Tie your tubes. Tie your boyfriend''s p e n i s in a knot. Whatever it takes to stop poor people from having children. It''s ridiculous. Insane. Makes no sense. Stop it now! You''re not doing your kids any favors!

[libsluv2spit]

every wonder why most ''poor'' people are fat and obese???

[libsluv2spit]

for your continued support and vote..The DNC will make sure welfare freeloading continues..

[auntiemilis1]

It is *** to sorport freeloaders who have income and speand on things they want instead of what they need. I get SSDI which is about $657 a month. I also get $48 in food stamps my rent takes $295 of my buget then phone $156 that includes home and cell and DSL witch is one of my plesers and the rest is for what I need it make me very mad when I see people spend it on drugs and alchol athings that they do not need!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[babooph]

Maybe they will all become rich& not have to pay social security ,have 15% dividend taxes,& a safe ,gated comunity to live in-after they pay their social security & income tax ;that is.

[scott743]

$25000 a year with two kids.... I manage to support my wife (disabled) and daughter on less! I work full time and go to school full time. I asked for help but was denied. As for the woman with 6 kids and says she''s only getting $369, she is pulling your leg... that is such bull.. I know of a woman with 6 kids, her husband left her and is a "deadbeat dad" she is pulling about $600/mo.

Oh! and another thing.. the comments on this site are for the most part true.. nice luxury cars and designer clothes? C''mon people wake up! You need to sell that SUV and buy a used car.. quit showing off like you''e got something...

[keithle1]

I''m not sure why minorities think every white person has money. Black men coming up to me on the street to beg for money like I own my own bank or something. Never fails. Not like I''m wearing a three-piece suit & stepping out of a Bentley with my wife draped in jewels & furs.

Lots of poor white people out there.

Q: Do black people have issues with birth control?

[mbasinger2]

How much of this bad economy is perpetuated by the drum beat of the media? Where is FDR when we need him using his fire side chats to reduce the illogical recession panic with some words of encouragement?

[cmp271]

People need to wake up to how high prices are. It will get worse as the cost of transportation goes up. I don''t feel sorry for those who drive SUV''s, or any other gas guzzler. They deserve to walk!!

[jstskatnby]

Loods like to me that they were not starving (little overweight?). Did you notice what kind of things they were putting into ther cart? And...not to mention that pricy gas guzzling suv they were loading there junk food into. Food assistance is great when you really need it, but the people you showcased need Jenny Craig...not potato chips and soda.

[whiskyrocker]

tvent1 :

You hit the nail on the head. Well said.

[tvent1-2009]

Ok this story makes me sick to my stomach, I am white and live in an area where the populations is mostly black about 60%....vs 40% of other races, first of all if I were to ever walk in to try to get food stamps, WIC, or any other government assistance they would look straight at me and laugh in my face, its so bad here racially speaking that when you register for public school they want to know your income level your(the parents) highest level of education and your race I see that as discrimination but nothing is ever done about it, so people always say that whites are racist and I really hate to bring up the race card but blacks are the ones with the race issue and whites are discriminated more than any other race for everything including government assistance, and this segment makes that very clear, everyone thinks because you are white you automatically have money or you dont need or even deserve assitance and we need it just asmuch somethimes but we dont get it as much simply because of our skin color.

[chardawson]

hate to say it..But, Getting Food Assistance is crazy. I am a white American. And, I get $10 a month for assistance. And, I am on Social Security Disability. Where as if I was a Hispanic or indian, or from any other country. And, I''m not saying "black" they are from the US. Yes, if you are totally African, then it''s wrong. I would get more money if all of these other people didn''t get it. People of other races say that the government is races, but they have never been white. We have to fight for it. Fine, if you were born here..you deserve the money, no matter what your race is. But, if you were born somewhere else, I disagree with it.

[mcounselor]

As I watched the evening news, I was very disturbed when I saw the segment pertaining to Food Stamps. I currently work as a multicultural counselor at an university, and I work hard everyday to erase stereotypes. It was apparent that everyone in the video were African American, excluding the store owner. Considering that many believe what is seen on T.V., I feel that this segment only furthers the ignorance of others. It enables others to believe that "many" blacks receive government assistance. I strongly feel that this episode would have been more effective if other ethnicities were interviewed. It is evident that based on the economy and regardless of the ethnicity, many families are struggling. Instead of people worry about what type of cars others are driving, lets consider how many children are starving in America. We also need to take in consideration how many people feel as if they are too good to accept government assistance and their children are also starving. Come on America, lets stop focusing on so much negativity and realize that even the middle class are struggling also.

[mntw1231]

My husband military active for 20 years now. We are black have never received food stamps. There was times when we had to get food from the military emergency food storage. I have seem all race of people on food stamps. I have seem a lot of wasted food purchased with food stamps. They don''t bargain shop, they buy steaks, shrimp and etc. The people that responded so negatively to the blacks need to travel around the world and see that this is happening to all people.

[vnveteran-2009]

Every person interviewed in this segment was healthy and appeared to be to some degree overweight. Espcially the lady who said she used the food stamps to feed her children while she went without meals herself.
Every woman intervied had artificial fingernails and jewelry. Money well spent. I am willing to bet the farm they all have cell phones.
Did anyone notice how high the packages of meat were stacked in the one cart? Never did my family have that much in a cart as I was growing up, or raising my family.
Finally the image of the food stamp groceries being loaded into an automobile I cannot afford.
I will also bet the farm everyone intervied in the store is voting for B.O. for president.
I wish to thank CBS for removing the "sterotype" myth and exposing this freeloading "culture" as a fact.

[cyandragon]

Legallydull,

Where did you get that statistic? According to http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils39.pdf, 41% of recipients are black, 19% are Hispanic, leaving a maximum of 40% to be non-Hispanic white. Just curious.

I think your points are decent, in that it is wrong to use these irresponsible people and assume that all blacks are like them. That''s obvious.

But it seems like you''re also trying to excuse these specific individuals. We should not be allowed to see black people who are living irresponsibly because *some people* *might* have a racist reaction. That doesn''t make sense.

A simple solution would be to factor in not only income but expenses when deciding on food stamp benefits. If your car payment is more than $X, you don''t get any. If your cable bill is more than $Y, you don''t get any. If you have more than Z cell phones, you don''t get any, etc. Determining X, Y, and Z are exercises left to the reader :)

[cyandragon]

Legallydull,

Where did you get that statistic? According to http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils39.pdf, 41% of recipients are black, 19% are Hispanic, leaving a maximum of 40% to be non-Hispanic white. Just curious.

I think your points are decent, in that it is wrong to use these irresponsible people and assume that all blacks are like them. That''s obvious.

But it seems like you''re also trying to excuse these specific individuals. We should not be allowed to see black people who are living irresponsibly because *some people* *might* have a racist reaction. That doesn''t make sense.

A simple solution would be to factor in not only income but expenses when deciding on food stamp benefits. If your car payment is more than $X, you don''t get any. If your cable bill is more than $Y, you don''t get any. If you have more than Z cell phones, you don''t get any, etc. Determining X, Y, and Z are exercises left to the reader :)