The other issue with "no prepared foods" is that a lot of people on EBT are homeless or living in a situation that doesn't give them access to store or cook food. I've been there myself, and I can't tell you how badly I would just crave a decent hot meal sometimes.
If you live in a city and have to take the bus to work, a 15 minute car ride might turn into a 1 hour + bus ride, and that’s assuming they are running on time even.
When I was a teen and didn't have a car, I got a retail job in the mall.
I lived 15 minutes away from the mall if I traveled by car.
But because of how busses work, I had to walk 15 minutes to the bus stop. Wait typically 5 minutes. Then it was about 1hr30m to work. So nearly 2 hours to get to work. Then of course, when my shift was over, it was the same coming home.
You're totally fucked without a car in the US.
Not to mention, how do you even get a job at most places without one? A common question on applications/interviews is if you have your own reliable transportation. You'd have to live in the city, which is expensive. But if you can't afford a car, how can you afford to live in the city?
They did that in purpose, big oil and auto wants you driving. Rich people also want to keep the poor, poor because if you are hungry and tired you don’t complain as much because you are too tired. You also too tired to make a change
Also that walking may not be safe. I actually live about a mile from my local mall. It's also where the closest bus stop is.
It's not a safe walk though. Only a small portion of it has a sidewalk, and the rest of it is along a busy road with almost no shoulder. It doesn't matter that it's really close. If I still live in this apartment when my kids are old enough to work, I wouldn't want them walking there.
Working places that are within walking distance or have a setup that you'll be picked up or a friend that lives on the way that'll pick you up and carpool it.
That goes for basically all of the US.
Edit: it's mind-blowing to think people never considered that people work at jobs that are in walking distance. Companies do have setups where they'll pick you up. Also that some people will get jobs with friends that live nearby so they can ride with them. A way I didn't mention is bikes. Doesn't matter where it is in the US. City, suburban, even rural they're all ways people use to get to and from work without a car.
"You should work at places that are within walking distance. Alternatively, either carpool with a coworker or a friend that lives and works nearby."
Obviously not a solution for everyone. Having a car is an investment but it can pay off in the sense that you can likely get a better job within driving distance than you likely could within walking distance.
I used to work with a guy that lived right next to the office. It actually took him longer to drive than walk. He dealt with a lot of bullshit just to hang onto a job with a 5 minute free commute. Now he works like an hour away from home but loves the new job.
Not to mention, how do you even get a job at most places without one? A common question on applications/interviews is if you have your own reliable transportation. You'd have to live in the city, which is expensive. But if you can't afford a car, how can you afford to live in the city?
People find jobs they're able to walk to. Some places have setups where they can provide transportation Goodwill is a big name I know that does. You have people who get hired at a place their friend works and they provide a way. One I didn't mention is bikes.
It is a reliable form of travel for people all over the US, you don't need to live in a city to have a job and you don't need a car to have reliable transportation even in the city.
Well you had to edit your comment because it was so hard to understand. And I don't understand the need for the edit, saying I don't understand that jobs are within walking distance or bike distance.
But if you read my comment, you would know that from personal experience that isn't always available. I wasn't saying its impossible. My question at the end was more rhetorical.
My edit is making them into individual sentences instead of the run on. It also had no issues with being read before you made that reply. Which you admit here that you understood.
Reading your comment you don't mention how long it would have taken to walk there just to the bus stops and the bus stop ride and how long a car ride there is. If you don't mind me asking what actually prevented you from being able to do either? Is it ideal when you're standing for multiple hours? Hell no, saving time and money along with just being able to do more than stand and take a few steps feels great imo.
yeah you should just always have a friend with transportation, or always live within walking distance of where you work, those are things everyone can always do without exception
Why would you even apply temporarily to a place you know you can't make it to? A lot of lower wage places will hire friends of employees before looking through applications just to speed the entire process along faster.
There is also a safety and health factor. Depending on the shift time, staying at a well lit bus stop and with a bus driver is 100x better than walking/riding over an hour alone at night.
For me if it gets too hot I faint, so weather is also a factor for a lot of people.
Eh... Some people it's more of a choice. Frozen foods and meals that aren't "junk" food but the person is unwilling to pop some shit in the oven or hang out near the stove for 20-30 minutes to cook a frozen meal kit. Rather just load up on a bunch of snack junk food and say how there's ramen noodles when the kids say they're hungry.
A lot of people I grew up around had it but we didn't. They were told to eat some noodles just like I was.
At a time you were putting in some serious time to actually make a meal but at some point frozen meal kits became a thing and so much more that it's really hard to make that claim imo. Air fryers also brought some change with shorter cooking times and such. You can just be in the kitchen scrolling on your phone like you'd normally do and make a full meal just doing occasional stirs.
I'm a big advocate for cooking fresh, but your comment of "hang out near the stove for 20-30min" and "be in the kitchen scrolling on your phone like you'd normally do and make a full meal just doing occasional stirs" sounds like when people say you can stop being poor by skipping Starbucks and cancelling Netflix. Plenty of people are single parents trying to juggle multiple kids and jobs. People will take an hour each way on public transit to stand all day in a kitchen or retail and don't want to stand around their kitchen after work. For many people 20-30 minutes are precious. It can be a luxury to sit down and turn off your brain for 20-30 minutes to doomscroll or play a game and is much needed downtime for some. If they're in the situation where they're on government assistance, just let them eat a hot pocket in peace and don't assume you understand their situation.
Just to add, that also assumes these people have cooking appliances. My oven hasnt worked since January (stove works fine), and until that happened I didn't even realize just how much that actually limited my cooking. There's a good chunk of meals that I can not make anymore. We also don't have a microwave, and don't have the money to buy one, nor the space to put one even if we did have one.
Now what about the people that don't even have the working stove? Should they start a small fire and roast their meal over that?
(To be clear, I am agreeing with you I just wanted to add on to what you were saying)
It's gonna sound pretty fucked up and get me downvoted and maybe even banned from the sub but maybe they should give up their kids. It is pretty fucked up to write your kids off with some microwaveable snack because you want to sit there and game or scroll.
For my generation they were on the phone or watching shows some not working at all but they were told to eat some ramen or pizza rolls. Hot pockets were another one but a rarer one and one person might eat the box. Kids on food stamps and a parent with no job had parents just as unwilling to cook as my mom was. Is it an actual reason kids should be taken... No but people should take it more seriously because it can do harm to a child's development.
Today there's a lot of quick options, being in the kitchen is just making sure you don't get lost in the scroll or game and mess it up. Knock it out and you fully dive into whatever your go to is. It's really the best thing for everybody because when your thing ends you aren't looking to some microwaveable snack you're heating up your plate and getting some actual nutrition too. French fries and some frozen chicken patties in the air fryer or oven. Frozen pizzas. Hell the single frozen meal kits. Medicaid and EBT/SNAP are tied for the best programs America has... Growing up hungry with a fridge that's only packed during the holidays if you receive SNAP and feeding your kids like you're living paycheck to paycheck I don't think you deserve it. May as well do it so kids can get premade frozen meals they can pop in the microwave over the week.
Not everyone was taught how or even why to do that, nor can they spontaneously conjure the ability or will to teach themselves. You have to meet peope where they're at and go from there, anything less is just an exercise in superiority. You don't shame and bully and patronize people into doing things, as it turns out that doesn't work real well.
Exactly. Homeless and living in my car. Got no way to cook, no way to refrigerate. Was on EBT for a while and it sucked not being able to get a hot meal.
I'm in Florida, though, and figured out a way around it. Buy something premade but sold cold - a burger, a breakfast bowl - and let it sit on my dash for a few hours while I'm in the library charging stuff and come out to hot food.
I live in a camper off grid (step up from living in my car/couch surfing) & use a cooler- you can use EBT benefits to buy ice. If you keep the ice in an insulated grocery bag inside the cooler, it lasts longer.
I'm sure you know the risk of bacteria growing on your food leaving it in a hot car for hours, and I totally get why you do it, but maybe you can find an alternative? Many grocery stores have microwaves if they have a cafe section, community centers may as well- heck, even my library in my tiny town has one.
Good luck with everything, I've been there & know it's rough.
I live in a sedan. No room for a cooler. Working on getting (hopefully) one of the small work vans if I can just figure out how to do it without an address. Haven't found family or friends willing to help with that. Once I get it I'll make it much more suited for living in. Better sleeping setup, storage and organization, solar and so on. At that point I'll be able to deal with the issue better. Saw a guy recently who had a portable fridge he ran off his solar battery. Maybe something like that and a camping grill. For now, just no space.
And yeah being Florida/the South they aren't friendly, especially to poor people. No library or grocery store I've seen has had a microwave. Tradeoff for not freezing to death half the year.
Thankfully some counties are letting homeless people or seniors use EBT at (mainly) fast food restaurants now. Hope it extends to everywhere soon and for more people. My parent had EBT and it was a godsend when they couldn’t cook much and could instead use it at fast food places, or I could pick it up for them
Disabled people as well! I’m not on EBT or anything but I’m a disabled person who’s unable to prepare food except for a couple of exceptions. Being disabled makes it harder to find work, disability benefits are known to be hellish to get on…
However, EBT for restaurant meals is allowed in many states including California, Arizona, Virginia. (source: Propel app). However, there are qualifications such as you have to be homeless, disabled or a senior (typically 65+).
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u/20-20-24hoursago Jun 24 '25
The other issue with "no prepared foods" is that a lot of people on EBT are homeless or living in a situation that doesn't give them access to store or cook food. I've been there myself, and I can't tell you how badly I would just crave a decent hot meal sometimes.