• danekrae@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    I live in a first world country, so can anyone tell me what a food stamp is? I’ve heard a lot about them from TV, but I don’t understand wth it is. Is it discounts that the government pay for food, who makes them, where do people get them?

    • Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      It just means that the goverment will give you money to buy food if you’re poor.

      They used to be stamped paper cards, hence “Food Stamps”, but are now distributed via debit cards. The name stuck, even though current programs have different names

    • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Sorry you’re getting down votes for just asking a question

      The other comment reply got you your answer, but I’ll just add that these days, I believe “food stamps” are under the government acronyms of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and are dispersed via EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer).

    • uis@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Depending on which country(USSR or USA) is first for you, in the other it means food for free or ability to buy some amount of food accordingly.