Letter to the editor: Cut in food stamps makes it difficult for many to survive

I was shocked and disappointed to learn that my food benefits have been cut by almost 40 percent from $162 per month to $99. I am a diabetic, living on a fixed income. I have no health insurance, and my medical bills are more than $14,000.

I was told to watch the thrifty food buyer video presented by the government, as a guide to poor people on how to stretch their food dollar. But as a diabetic, I am under doctor’s orders to avoid starchy, fatty foods like spaghetti, beans and potatoes. The doctor said I need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

In case you think it’s easy living on a fixed income, let me tell you, my house and outbuildings are badly in need of paint inside and out. The ceiling in one room is falling down, leaks in the basement are causing black mold and there are numerous broken windows. I have no stove, refrigerator nor a washer or dryer. I have stopped going to the doctor and to the dentist, because I cannot afford to go.

I should like to know why, with the soaring price of gas and groceries, my food allowance has been cut by 40 percent. I should like to know why the federal government is spending billions of dollars on the war in Iraq while denying me $63 a month for food? Officials make us jump through hoops to prove our eligibility. Yet these very officials are totally unaccountable to us as to how they squandered our Social Security trust fund.

I should like to know Gov. John Hoeven, why you are sitting on a $1 billion surplus in the state treasury, while denying me $63 in food stamps? I know I am not the only person faced with this situation. Is this how the government provides for the common welfare? Is this how you take care of the elderly and poor? Let them starve or eat food that is going to cause further health problems?

Everyone involved in making these decisions should be ashamed.

Janis Schmidt

Warwick, N.D.

Tags: foodstamps, benefits, cuts