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Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Saturday, May 02, 2026

A bipartisan effort to expand what Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients can buy has sparked an unexpected rift among Democrats, after Minnesota's lieutenant governor publicly criticized members of her own party over a narrowly focused food policy change.

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It's never made sense to me that people on SNAP (food stamps) can't use the benefit to buy hot food like rotisserie chicken. It's cheap & protein-dense. The House Farm Bill rectifies that ... great! But it also cements $187 billion in cuts to the SNAP program. www.motherjones.com/politics/202 ...

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-- Abby Vesoulis (@abbyvesoulis.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 11:26 AM

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Admin's note: Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

Can we please stop this timeline? I want to get off.

#1 | Posted by jpw at 2026-05-01 03:09 PM | Reply

I can get 6 or 7 meals out of a $5 Costco chicken for myself. Can't buy a raw chicken for that.

#2 | Posted by morris at 2026-05-01 05:42 PM | Reply

"Can't buy a raw chicken for that."

Plus, cooking a chicken requires a pot and an oven and seasonings and time, none of which are free.

#3 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-05-01 05:45 PM | Reply

There's a Pajeet-owned Citgo gas station in the small town near me where they sell fried. There's a cooler in there where they will sell people raw chicken on their SNAP bebefits and then fry it for them. The raw chicken is the same price as the fried chicken.

#4 | Posted by lfthndthrds at 2026-05-01 05:57 PM | Reply


There's a Pajeet-owned Citgo gas station in the small town near me where they sell fried. There's a cooler in there where they will sell people raw chicken on their SNAP bebefits and then fry it for them. The raw chicken is the same price as the fried chicken.

#4 | Posted by lfthndthrds

I am guessing no health inspections, fly by night, popup?


Plus, cooking a chicken requires a pot and an oven and seasonings and time, none of which are free.
#3 | Posted by snoofy

True, but after eating a rotisserie chicken and you don't make a stock, well, then you deserve to be poor.

#5 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-05-01 09:02 PM | Reply

#4

Here's the deal, pal. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, believes anything you squirt out from that ---------- mounted on top of your neck, okay?

#6 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-05-01 09:26 PM | Reply

True, but after eating a rotisserie chicken and you don't make a stock, well, then you deserve to be poor.

#5 | Posted by oneironaut

Haven't bought chicken or veggie stock from a store in ages for this exact reason.

My favorite is using carcasses from smoked chickens to give just a hint of cherry and apple smoke smell and flavor.

#7 | Posted by jpw at 2026-05-01 10:44 PM | Reply

So, you use chicken for vegetable stock. Errr....

#8 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-05-01 10:49 PM | Reply

No. Veggie scraps.

I save and use the carcasses and scraps to get everything I can out of the food I buy and cook.

But yes, that wasn't particularly well written.

#9 | Posted by jpw at 2026-05-01 11:02 PM | Reply

Just keeping you honest, me boyo

#10 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-05-02 12:27 AM | Reply

Understandably. Veggie stock from chicken a carcass definitely is no honest.

#11 | Posted by jpw at 2026-05-02 01:48 AM | Reply

The cold and heartless conservative position is that letting people buy hot food with SNAP is tantamount to letting them buy restaurant food. Mercy, that won't do! It would almost be like giving them RESPECT! So, if you're going to make use of SNAP, you also need a kitchen, pots and pans, refrigeration, and enough money from some other source to have all these resources, that they can disqualify you for having too much money. And never mind that lots of homeless people have SNAP - they'll just have to buy canned food and eat it cold, down by the railroad tracks. Wait 'til these conservatives find out that the poors also get food at food banks, and then use SNAP to buy things to add to the bland basics and make it palatable.

#12 | Posted by AustinTX at 2026-05-02 11:18 PM | Reply

What does everyone think about people using SNAP to buy fast food like McDonalds?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is supposed to promote nutrition and reduce hunger at the same time.

Should a Big Mac qualify?

You know what would happen if hot food qualified?

People would eat a lot more fast food out of convenience.

Ten dollars of food from a grocery store goes a lot further than from a fast food restaurant.

This hot/cold debate sounds inconsistent on the surface but it really isn't if you look at the big picture.

#13 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 09:08 AM | Reply

#4

I wonder if your story is true.

If it is, you know good and well they would be selling this raw chicken at a much higher price than you could get it from a grocery store.

They're not going to cook it for free.

Maybe start a new service. Bring your own raw chicken and he'll cook it for you. Just kidding.

#14 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 09:15 AM | Reply

__________
#13 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 09:08 AM
Should a Big Mac qualify?

Why not? Or does new MAHA dictat prohibit all government/RFKjr-deemed "unhealthy" foods to be bought with food subsidies?

BTW, I've seen numerous "EBT accepted" signs on some fast food and restaurant chains, like Jack-in-the-Box, Burger King, Denny's, etc.

www.propel.app - A complete list of restaurants that accept EBT - Updated February 4th, 2026

.

You know what would happen if hot food qualified?
People would eat a lot more fast food out of convenience.
Ten dollars of food from a grocery store goes a lot further than from a fast food restaurant.

You want government regulating "convenience"? How about prohibiting or taxing sugary drinks? You sound like good ol' "woke" Democrats!

Do you want FDA making budgets for people because they, being poor enough to need food stamps, don't understand concepts of "cheaper" and "more expensive," like our illustrious Builder-in-Chief who overpaid for everything he bought and bankrupted at least 20 of his own businesses, not to mention those who financed or contracted with him because he failed to pay them?

SOME people will always find ways to abuse the system. You either trust that people will be responsible with their budget, if money comes from taxpayers or not, or you don't. If you don't then the program is not worth doing to begin with.

If the program is worthwhile, MOST people who will benefit from it will not abuse it, out of "convenience."

.

This hot/cold debate sounds inconsistent on the surface but it really isn't if you look at the big picture.

It is very inconsistent. Hot (aka "prepared") "fast food" is not that much different from cold "prepared" "fast food" such as sandwiches at Subway, Jersey Mike's, 7-Eleven or in prepared / packaged food sections in most chains of grocery stores, like Kroger, Albertson, Walmart, Costco etc.

Fast food is not necessarily "junk" food, and some would endlessly argue about what "healthy" food is.

Unless you want to go back to "government cheese" time of government doling out and distributing food (through third-party contracts with farmers and processed shelf-stable food companies) you are not going to control what people are buying with their EBT / food stamps.

Nor, as a likely proponent of limited, less controlling and intrusive in people's lives, government, you should be a supporter of the government that regulates minutia of temperature of food that poor people eat.
__________

#15 | Posted by CutiePie at 2026-05-03 10:41 AM | Reply

Cute,

I see your point but I stand by my opinion that if hot foods were allowed, fast food would be more heavily used.

#16 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 11:11 AM | Reply

Cute,

Did you ever get a government cheese?

They were great!

#17 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 11:13 AM | Reply

__________
#16 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 11:11 AM
... if hot foods were allowed, fast food would be more heavily used.

As would be many other things the "governmtent" (RFKjr or whoever is in charge at any given 4-yr interval) deems "appropriate."

So?

#17 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-05-03 11:13 AM
Did you ever get a government cheese?
They were great!

1. No... and 2. Don't pretend you didn't get the point.
__________

#18 | Posted by CutiePie at 2026-05-03 11:58 AM | Reply

Ten dollars of food from a grocery store goes a lot further than from a fast food restaurant.

This hot/cold debate sounds inconsistent on the surface but it really isn't if you look at the big picture.

#13 | Posted by BillJohnson

And if you do that, you run out of money well before your next benefits come. I would expect people to figure that out pretty quickly.
How they spend that benefit is their business.

#19 | Posted by morris at 2026-05-03 12:32 PM | Reply

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