Require Weigh-In for Food Stamps

A number of years ago, I was working a short-term assignment at a job site in Texas when I had the occasion to stop at a one-cashier grocery where I got stuck in the checkout line behind a 20-something woman with a full shopping cart. I patiently waited my turn.

The woman was short, maybe five-foot, and heavy, I'd guess 200+ pounds, and she had difficulty reaching for items in her cart to put on the conveyer. So I helped.

I was immediately struck by the types of items she was buying. Her cart was full of expensive appetizers, beefsteaks, pork chops, soft drinks and a variety of candy. There were no fruits nor vegetables.

I was also struck by the amount of money she was wasting on what I considered to be mostly treats. As examples, she bought at least six 6-oz packages of frozen breaded shrimp, several 8-oz packages of frozen rock lobster tails and a 10-oz two-serving package of swordfish steaks.

The whole experience dragged and it got worse. The woman paid for her cartful of treats with a handful of food stamps, some looking weathered by a number of transactions.

As I recall, the bill was around $70 and the woman counted out the amount while the cashier went item-by-item through the sales slip to identify the purchases not covered by food stamps. Then the cashier calculated how much of the bill had to be paid in cash. The woman then counted out a small pile of bills next to the large pile of food stamps and paid the amount owed. Everything was bagged and the woman waddled out.

I had spent at least 20 minutes waiting for the woman to complete her transactions. Consequently, the episode is tattooed in my memory and it's made me wonder just how much does a person have to weigh before being denied food stamps. The woman in the store was at least 100 pounds overweight, way beyond the point at which taxpayers should be buying her food.

Arguably, the taxpayer shouldn't be subsidizing people with food stamps when it's obvious that the people are getting plenty to eat. I would contend that an overweight person, barring any medical complication, shouldn't be granted food stamps.

Furthermore, it's somewhat irksome that the woman in my anecdotal story purchased expensive products with food stamps that would be considered frivolous and a waste of money by people using their own money. Sure, pricey breaded shrimp puffs can be nice and quite appropriate for a party but hardly the basis for any nutritional diet.

I propose scrapping the whole government food stamp program. It's corrupt in my estimation.

If there must be a public food subsidy, I propose making it a program to keep people alive and as healthy as is reasonably achievable. Food stamps should be authorized for people only after they are weighed and found, within a reasonable margin, to be underweight or at risk of being underweight.

Under no conditions should food stamps buy specialty items for snacking while watching television.

In any event, I suggest that all food subsidy programs should have a goal of eliminating the need for food subsidies. The programs should operate to reduce the number of people on the rolls. After all, the desired condition would be a society where everyone has enough to eat without government help. I suggest making food stamps difficult to obtain and an embarrassment to receive.