Get ready for a crazy rumor about one of the stars of the reality show Teen Mom that will actually make you respect them a little bit more. Someone is telling the tabloids that Amber Portwood's on-again-off-again boyfriend Gary Shirley is using food stamps to fill his fridge with junk food.
His response? He's not on food stamps, but he doesn't think there's any shame for people who are. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Gary is absolutely right. And I'm going to double down: it's time to kill the "food stamps = junk food" myth.
No doubt the "source" picked on Gary because -- despite recent reports that he's losing weight -- it's an easy sell that an overweight guy is eating junk. Couple it with a story about a reality star blowing all his cash and having to live on the taxpayer's dime, and it's tabloid gold even if it isn't true.
More from The Stir: 'Teen Mom' Star Gary Shirley Becomes an Even Bigger 'Loser'
There's a pervasive stereotype that living on food stamps means you have to eat a whole lot of unhealthy junk, and it fits right in with the Gary rumor. The claim is that "good" food is expensive, and the myth is that food stamp users are fatties who have to eat crap that's making them fatter.
Not true ... and Gary should prove that point nicely. Look at him back before he started trying to shape up, when he was ostensibly making nice bank from MTV: he wasn't low income, and he was still unhealthy.
Yes, there are barriers for low-income people that make it harder to eat well. But you're kidding yourself if you think unhealthy eating is just an income thing.
Here's the truth: the biggest obstacle standing between low income consumers and healthy food isn't their pocketbooks. It's knowing how to be a smart shopper. Don't get me wrong -- this isn't about intelligence; people with more money are plagued by the same problems, but they're blessed with a little more scratch to spend.
The sad thing is that you can have reality star-sized paychecks like Gary Shirley (ahem, the reason he really should NOT be on food stamps ... and we are glad he isn't) and still be stuck in the junk rut because you don't know how -- or don't want -- to shop smart.
So let's stop blaming one for the other, alright? Gary's right, there is nothing wrong with someone who is on food stamps.
What do you think of Shirley's stance on food stamps?
Image via MTV
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Comments 24
I think the junk food/food stamps issue is about OUR money being wasted on crap food. Trust me, I wish they were buying fruits and vegetables with my money but time after time I'm in line behind them and they're buying pure crap. And worse, they're buying cigarettes and alcohol at the local mini-mart who illegally takes them. When it's money they earned I don't care what they spend it on, but when I'm footing the bill you can be sure it ticks me off.
Connie Ott
You say "their" like were not human beings also! I get food stamps for a disability and i have 2 children i dont buy buy junk but here and there.....i dont smoke or drink either! Every1 is diff. you cant assume every1 on f/s are all like that! If you wanna put people in groups like that then yourone of those people that think your shit dont stink,n ur like better then every1 like u never made a mistake or needed any help!
Here it is...there is good and bad in every group. There are people who understand the true purpose of our welfare system and treat it accordingly and those who abuse it. Those who abuse it are very frustrating for those who have spent their whole lives paying into that system without ever using it. I have been in line behind people using their food stamps to stock up on junk food and it made me sick to my stomach. I don't mean failies who bought a carton of ice cream or a couple bags of chips or popsicles or whatever. I'm talking specifically about woman who used her food stamps to buy 30, yes 30, individual size servings of Haagen Dazs ice cream. That is abuse. I can't afford to do that because IT IS WASTEFUL!
I really don't see why everyone is so damn concerned with what other people eat. Get over yourself.
Connie ott is so stupid. You can not "illegally" buy cigs and alcohol with your food benefits. Thats not the way the program works. It only accept food items, and they cannot over-ride that. I worked in it for 3 years, I know. It will not accept ANY of the balance of a non food or drink item. They must have also had cash assistance on your electronic benefits card, which is in a separate account and NOT FOOD STAMPS. But I'm sure you'll have some made up story about how you just swear you know so and so who is buying this that and the moon with their food stamps.
Theresa, is it your argument that when they partake of food stamps they are only using what they have paid in? If so I'd like evidence of your claim. If they are in fact using less than they pay in then is it more someone else's moey than it is theirs.
mommy2annaliese, that may be true in your state, but it is not true in every state. Disagreeing with you or having a different experience from yours does not make someone stupid nor a liar. Can we please have an honest debate and leave out the childish name calling?