Hellobee Boards

Its ironic that the people who are worst affected by the shutdown actually do want the affordable health care act in place.

OMG, I didn't know the shutdown was affecting WIC like this!!! I want to cry.

Just heard about this. So sad. I don't have anything to donate but I definitely would.

This is awful.

I heard about this yesterday, I have formula and food to donate, I need to look to where it needs to go. These mom's need to feed their children.

Seriously??? This is outrageous I have some formula that im never going to use. I need to donate it!

What I hate the most is there are so many government branches and programs that we, as a whole, probably could go without, but the ones immediately hit are those that should stay intact. It's really ridiculous and almost seems more like a punishment to the public as opposed to proper delegation of federal funds in such times as a shutdown. It's ridiculous.

It seems that Texas is okay for the month of October, but if the shutdown lasts I have babyfood that I'll be taking to donate!

Terrible

@runsyellowlites: which programs do you think we can eliminate?

@Mrs. Jacks: Well I haven't gone through the long list of departments & branches so I'm not sure at this moment, but I would imagine that since we've made it this far without many of them (especially those would still be relatively newer in the last decade or so, compared to the previous hundred years) that if needed we could survive without them. I know when my mom had businesses if spending started exceeding what was coming in, things that weren't absolutely necessary started getting cut... I can't believe that all the departments and organizations we have are all necessary.

I had heard about this and it makes me steaming mad - both WIC and Head Start.

It's one thing for adults to disagree on issues, but with those programs you are talking directly about taking FOOD away from very young children. No matter what you think of the choices the parents using WIC made/make, at the end of the day, we're talking directly about feeding babies and young kids. It's just shameful.

@Mrs. Jacks: I totally agree that there are a lot that we don't see that would be essential. It should us, the people, through our congress that are re-delegating but that obviously isn't happening.

ETA: The vast majority of us, myself included, don't even know all the dept/branches & what they do... Really hard to make cuts & delegate when we don't.

I was thinking about buying some formula to donate. Someone who works at a domestic violence shelter, where many of the women have babies, posted on our neighborhood listserv that they have enough formula for the week for the babies but will run out after. This makes me sick.

This is absolutely disgusting. Think what you will about those on assistance programs, but we're talking about innocent children, and their only means of adequate nourishment. I recently gave a bunch of full-lactose formula to an expectant mom who won't be able to breastfeed. I'm thinking about using some coupons and my cartwheel app to purchase some more tomorrow at Target. Sometimes, I feel things are relatively tight around here, but we've never had to fret over whether we'd be able to afford to feed DD. No one should have to go through that kind of stress.

So sad

Thanks for sharing this link. I'm going to buy formula/baby food and donate. So unfair to the babies

This makes me want to castrate and disenbowel every selfish mofo tea party moron who is on this pointless crusade. Just proves that to some the ends will justify any means. Sickening! I am vomiting inside.

I'm currently on WIC, but was able to breastfeed so we don't rely on the formula aspect. Instead, WIC issues checks for food, which we do rely on.

Right now our local office still has enough funds, so everyone's going in and cashing in their checks while they still can. We're also on SNAP and have family we could rely on if worst came to worst.

To be honest, I don't know what I would do if I did have to purchase formula. The amount for formula that WIC issues usually isn't even enough to cover a full month, so many of the women I know that rely on WIC for formula still struggle to make up for the last bit of the month when what they were able to purchase with their checks run out. I really worry for these women and their children.

@JamieLee: I've heard those types of comments many times before and they cut pretty deep My husband and I both work and still can't make ends meet. What should we do then? These programs are helping us to get ahead. We don't plan on being on them for life. I would seriously love to not rely on assistance programs and, once we're able to get off them, I fully plan on giving back in so many ways.

I also can't stand when people go on about WIC providing food for mothers and children and don't even understand how it works. It's not like we're getting pizzas delivered. My checks are for beans and milk and cheese and wheat bread and non-sugary, whole grain cereals and veggies/fruits. And they're very specific about what you're allowed to get (no sugar added, etc). It's very basic.