Because Hot Chicken is a Privilege, Not a Right

I have never been judgmental of people on food assistance, but I also never knew how ridiculous the rules are until I started on SNAP myself.

There are many, many things you can't buy on food assistance because .... well, because even though they might be a necessity, they're not food. Things like:

• Toothpaste
• Toilet Paper
• Toothbrushes
• Feminine Products
• Soap
• Laundry Detergent
• Dishwashing Detergent

I miss making beer bread and adding beer to chili, but I can go without until we get back on our feet. I understand why alcohol isn't allowed.

But I just don't get this: Not being able to buy hot prepared food. I can buy cold prepared food just fine with my SNAP benefits ... but not hot prepared food.

I'll be honest: I'd like to be able to buy hot prepared food sometimes - in a grocery store! - because sometimes it has been a long day and I don't really feel like cooking. It would be nice to grab something out of the hot case and bring it home and just eat. Don't have to start up the oven. Don't have to dirty any pans. A minimum of dishes, and throw out the package it came in.

For me, it's about convenience.

For others, this is cold and processed food purgatory.

And that's the irony! All people on food assistance can fill up their carts with as much junk food as they want, as long as they're willing to eat it at room temperature. But what about the homeless? Those people living near the river in a tent. Those people living in dumpy hotel rooms.

Yeah, I suppose you're right. That homeless guy could start a small fire to heat up his food (and risk being arrested); that person living in the hotel room might have access to a microwave ... somewhere, somehow.

So what are they complaining about, right?

... do you hear yourself?

So what I'm not looking to do is inspire some politician to take away the ability to buy these foods.

What I am trying to point out is the absurdity of not allowing people on assistance to buy, say, a bag of hot potato wedges for about $3, when they can buy the items below. It makes no sense that the state can't shell out $1.50 for a hot corn dog for a person who may not have access to an oven or microwave, but it willingly doles out money for:

This is what makes me most angry, though: We are allowed to pay more to buy frozen junk food.

A big bag of Totino's Pizza Rolls is $9. That is a dollar more than the hot chicken. The hot chicken that is wholesome food as opposed to the (albeit delicious) Frankenfood in the Pizza Rolls.

Don't think about the electricity I have to consume to cook them, or the electricity and water I have to use to clean up later. No, just worry that it is a hot chicken, and that hot chicken is the "gateway drug" to me being food stamps forever.

And that's the real fear, isn't it? That if people are allowed to buy hot food, they'll never go off food stamps. It makes sense, right? You wouldn't want to enable that family living in one small hotel room by giving them hot food, right?

If they need hot food that bad, after all, they could go to a church for the once-a-month dinner, right?

What does this say about America, that we withhold hot food from the people who need it the most.