• Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

newsMilwaukee NNSMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / Thousands risk losing food stamps under Walker proposal

Thousands risk losing food stamps under Walker proposal

March 15, 2013 by Brendan O’Brien Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Clients utilize the Marcia Coggs Center on 12th and Vliet. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

Thousands of Milwaukee residents living in poverty may be required to participate in a job-training program to receive food stamps if a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker is approved as part of the upcoming state budget.

In his 2013-15 biennial budget proposal, the Republican governor calls for FoodShare recipients who are able-bodied, not pregnant and not a parent of a child under 18 to participate in the FoodShare employment and training program.

Under Walker’s proposal, the state would use the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program eligibility guidelines. SNAP, which funds FoodShare, limits recipients who fail to participate in the job training program to three months of benefits every three years.

Sherrie Tussler, the executive director of the Hunger Task Force, is concerned that Walker’s proposal will ultimately create more hunger in the Milwaukee area.

“If people failed to participate and their cases were closed, that would mean they would become completely dependent on charity,” said Tussler, whose organization supplies all of the soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries in Milwaukee County.

According to the governor’s office, 75,878 FoodShare recipients are able-bodied individuals without dependents.

Tussler estimated about 27,000 FoodShare recipients in the Milwaukee area will be impacted. However, she noted that it is challenging to figure out exactly how many people would really be affected.

“The state of Wisconsin has refused to provide us with any other information other than to say that the program will be robust,” she said.

As he stood waiting for a bus near the Coggs Human Service Center, unemployed FoodShare recipient Gregory Jones, 54, said he opposes the proposal because the end result is still a low-paying job that is typically temporary. He’d prefer to find a full-time job on his own.

“You’ve got eat and you’ve got have housing. Getting food stamps is a good thing, but you got to have somewhere to cook the food,” said Jones, who gets $14 in food stamps a month.

Officials in the governor’s office were not available for comment.

Since 2008, Wisconsin has made the employment and training program voluntary. Walker’s proposal would require recipients to participate in a work program at least 20 hours a week, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau document published in January.

“My workforce development package provides a hand up to those who are able to work—not simply a hand out,” Walker said in a Feb.10 document in which he vowed to earmark $33 million to the employment and training program.

Daryl Wilson, a 41-year-old FoodShare recipient, doesn’t object to the program. “A person has got to want to help themselves,” said Wilson while standing outside of the Coggs Center.

“Some people just take advantage of this sh**,” said Wilson, referring to welfare programs.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Health and Wellness, Home, Neighborhoods, News Tagged With: food share, food stamps, FoodShare, Health and Wellness, hunger, Hunger Task Force, job-training, Marcia Coggs Center, poverty, Scott Walker, SNAP, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, welfare

Avatar

About Brendan O’Brien

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Top Stories

Advertisement

How To …

How to avoid stimulus check scams

A new round of stimulus checks will likely also bring out a new round of scams. Here’s what to watch out for.

More "How To" articles

Advertisement

Recommended Reading

A Vaccine Reality Check

The Atlantic

UWM study on the state of Black Milwaukee describes the city as ‘the epitome of a 21st century racial regime’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland

The New York Times

These mayors want to fight Covid-19 and the recession with one big idea: A guaranteed income

Vox

The World John Lewis Helped Create

The Atlantic

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Videos
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect Radio

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Internship opportunities
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in