Life seemed to coming up roses. At 10:30 am, I spoke over the phone with a very nice and friendly Giant Customer Service Representative, Dee who told me she would aid me in my quest to trace the carbon footprint of foods that I purchased. All I had to do was supply Dee with the barcodes on these foods. Then she would trace their points of origin, their package and processing points, and I would be well on my way to successfully maneuvering through “Food Game.”
But it was in the checkout line of Giant at 12:15 p.m. where fate spun in an entirely different direction. Apparently, the Commonwealth of Virginia decided to launch their own version of “Food Game” by screwing the bejesus out of low income earners, like myself. Without any emails, phone calls or notifications whatsoever from Arlington’s Department of Human Services, I discovered my food stamp benefits were slashed when I tried to checkout. I found out later that day from DHS that instead of the $200 I usually receive at the start of each month, I now only qualify for $18.
The reason being, I didn’t initially report my AmeriCorps stipend as income. And, under a statute, that a caseworker other my own, Mr. Marcom, sited, AmeriCorps stipends should be reported as income. With that income correctly reported, he told me that I only qualify for $18 each month. “Fair,” you say. “You didn’t report your income accurately and you shouldn’t get food stamps.” Yet fulltime AmeriCorps volunteers last year received the full benefit. Also, to make things suckier and weirder, my heart goes out to my fellow AmeriCorps member, who I will not name for anonymity’s sake, who’s benefit was slashed from $200 to $33 this month. (A different, AmeriCorps member still gets a benefit of $200, so I’m going to have to learn his game and do that. We are all about as equally poor, and we all make the exact same stipend, so it is interesting that we qualify for $200, $18 and $33.)
Anyway, food stamp complaining aside, I was extremely eager to start Food Game today. I noticed how my mindset started to change within the grocery store, in response to my new imposed restrictions. Today, walking down the aisles of Giant, I found myself shopping for only one input items: bananas, peas, black beans, whole grain rice, mushrooms, honey, apples, so that I could more easily trace their origins - because foods that have multiple inputs, often have multiple origins. And I found myself searching for items that were only distributed by Foodhold U.S.A. , LLC of Landover Maryland (the Giant brand distributer), so that Dee could inform me to where these products hailed from.
Peas, oats and salt are three of a myriad of products that work their way through the Foodhold U.S.A. LLC distribution site in Landover, Maryland. Foodhold is the distributor for the Giant brand.
I’m sorry to conclude that I must put “Food Game” on halt, until I get to the bottom of this food stamps issue. I must say of our motherland, first she supplies tear gas to the Tunisian loyal police, then she supports the evils in Egypt, and now she strips her AmeriCorps compatriots of their necessary means of sustenance. (Okay a little dramatic about the food stamps, but definitely pissed about our pathetic diplomacy, and irked that I can’t start “Food Game”)
Hmmpfff, yar, geez
Power Up: My very caring and beautiful girlfriend took me into her home tonight and fed me organic chicken to cheer me up. She also supplied me with a local sweet potato, turnip and buffalo jerky. When reality bites, there is nothing more glorious than having someone to punch it’s teeth out.
I'M SO ANGRY
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