Women and food stamps - Food Stamp Program

Women and Food Stamps

Of the multitude of social programs provided by fedeal, state, and local governments, the Food Stamp Program is perhaps the most accessible to the general populace. The program is available to everyone in need of assistance--men, women, and children alike--but because of social and economic factors, more women than men seek food stamp help.

The reasons women must apply for food stamps vary, including unemployment, illness, and the loss of a spouse. For elderly women, applying for food stamps often becomes a necessity when their fixed incomes don't cover their rising expenses. Vera Sides, a 78-year-old widow from Prattville, Alabama, knows what that's like.

Employed most of her adult life, Sides was forced to retire because of health problems. When she was younger, she worked in a factory in Montgomery. Then, for 12 years prior to her retirement, she helped care for children enrolled in nursery schools at two local churches.

Today she spends her days alone in a sunny apartment in Prattville's newly constructed subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled. A broken knee, which caused her retirement, makes standing and walking difficult for her.

"My children want me to break up housekeeping,' Sides explains, "but I like to be independent.' Her three daughters and one son respect her wishes, but they check on her daily and help her as they can.

Has benefitted from food help

Sides first applied for food stamps in January 1979. During much of the time she has participated in the program, she has received only the minimum $10 allotment.

"Even that little bit helped,' she says. "It bought my milk and bread.'

Late last year, she had an eye operation to remove cataracts and shortly afterwards she suffered a stroke. Her medical expenses entitled her to take a medical deduction on her food stamp application, raising her allotment to its present level of $72 just when she needed food stamps the most. Buying the five kinds of medicine she must take daily continues to strain her budget, but she doesn't complain.

"I do the best I can. I don't waste anything,' she says proudly.

Because of her health problems, Sides' doctor has advised her to do only light cooking. She prepares simple meals--toast and eggs, cereal or a sandwich. One daughter cooks her lunch every Sunday and cleans the apartment. Her other children take turns cooking hot meals for her several times a week.

They also shop for her or take her to the grocery store if she feels well enough to go. She buys food carefully, keeping cost and her dietary restrictions in mind. If she purchases any large portions of meat, she has them cut into individual servings and freezes them to use as needed.

Twice a week, women from the Autauga County Aging Program's Meals on Wheels deliver her hot lunches. She enjoys their visits as well as the meals, which consist of a meat, bread, two vegetables, milk, juice, and a dessert. In addition to the meal delivery service, the County Aging Program provides congregate dining for the elderly daily, but Vera Sides cannot take advantage of that program.

Ever cheerful, she counts her blessings--good children, a place of her own, and enough food to eat thanks to the Food Stamp Program and the Nutrition Program for the Elderly.

Many elderly women served

According to Deborah Cherry, food stamp supervisor for Autauga County, Alabama, persons over 60 years old comprise the second largest age group of participants in the county's Food Stamp Program, exceeded only by participants under 18 years of age. The majority of these elderly participants are women.

Unlike today's generation of women, many of whom work outside the home, most elderly women were housewives who stayed at home to raise their children. "Very few of the female elderly here have had a work history,' Cherry says. "Consequently, their only income is whatever they receive from their husbands' accounts.'

Overall, 58 percent of the food stamp households in Autauga County are headed by women. When hard times come, the Food Stamp Program is the first place local women turn for help.

Explains Cherry, "There is no general assistance program in Alabama, so our office is usually a person's first contact with a social services agency. Many women whose husbands have left them suddenly through separation or divorce come in and are very panic stricken. They don't know what resources are available to them. We try to guide them to other local agencies that can also assist them.'

In Wake County, North Carolina, Phyllis Sealey, food stamp branch coordinator, says her office also helps a lot of women, many of whom are their family's sole breadwinner.

"Women come in here with all kinds of problems,' she says. "In many instances, the father or husband is no longer in the home. The women find it very difficult to manage financially as well as emotionally.'

In addition to providing food help, Sealey's staff refers them to other people who can offer guidance and assistance. "But, whatever the problem,' Sealey adds, "the one thing our staff can always do is show concern.'

Staff responds to need for help

Wake County presently has 34 food stamp caseworkers, 31 of whom are women. The majority of the area's food stamp applicants are also women. Four out of five food stamp households in Wake County are headed by women.

One of those women is Ora Hinton of Raleigh. The slender 34-year-old mother of four struggles to meet expenses. Like Vera Sides, she has chronic health problems that prevent her from working, and she has the added dilemma of providing for children who also have multiple health problems.

Her two sons suffer from asthma and kidney and stomach ailments. Charles, who is 17, has had high blood pressure since he was 13 years old. He and his brother both need special diets.

The Hinton family presently receives $177 a month in food stamps. Ora Hinton did not participate in the program when the children were younger, but she's grateful for the assistance at this particular time in their lives.

"Two teenage boys eat a lot,' she says repeatedly. "My sons could eat all night!'

She tries to provide them with the fruit juices and bland foods their doctor has prescribed, but it's not always possible to buy everything she would like for them.

"To feed all of us I look for bargains and sales,' she explains. "I buy a lot of rice, dry beans, and greens to stretch my food stamps. I may not be able to feed my children right all the time, but with food stamps at least I can feed them better. The Food Stamp Program really helps women raising children by themselves.'

Both Vera Sides and Ora Hinton can remember when there wasn't a Food Stamp Program. The two women grew up in rural areas, raised by hardworking parents, but if it hadn't been for their families' gardens, putting food on the table could have been a problem at times.

Today Vera Sides, Ora Hinton, and millions of other American women can find comfort in knowing the Food Stamp Program is available to help them in times of need.

Photo: Vera Sides (below) is one of the millions of elderly women who have been helped by the Food Stamp Program. Here, in her home, she talks with Deborah Cherry, food stamp supervisor for Autauga County, Alabama. Phyllis Sealey (left) is food stamp branch coordinator in Wake County, North Carolina.

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