When was the last time you bought a pound of coffee? More likely, it’s 12 ounces. And that big fat red plastic container that I would think contained 3 pounds is really 2 pounds and 1 ounce.

Is there anything on the grocery shelves that hasn’t been “downsized” in the last few years? When the box of snack crackers changed size (smaller) and cost more all in one week, I thought about how the box-making machine had to be reset, the color printing rolls re-programmed, all to accommodate a smaller size. These changes in machining cost money, passed on to us consumers, of course. That’s just one of my gripes this week.

I’m still trying to figure out how the changes our governor has made for food stamp recipients will work out. First, there was the rule about adding photographs to the cards. Where does the picture come from? Is it like going to renew a driver’s license and the photo is taken? Those guidelines haven’t been shared, but this change was supposed to cut down on fraud. And this change (improvement?) cost a lot of taxpayer money. Perhaps it cost more than it saved. When will we get a report?

Next we hear that more than 10,000 food stamp recipients are going to be “removed.” I wonder how many of them are also those who had to get photographs taken. Just think, that wasted time and money could have been put to good use. Maybe a committee dinner and meeting. Or perhaps another investigative panel to check up on a suspected area of misuse.

I remember a few years ago when some expert on benefits for the elderly advised me to apply for food stamps. You may have forgotten or were never aware that for a couple of years there was no cost of living increase in Social Security – not that it’s ever more than a miniscule amount. Anyway, I did apply, filling out a great many forms, and it was determined that I qualified for $17 or $18 a month and got a small plastic card to use.

It was very embarrassing, but I rationalized that I’d earned it with the taxes I’d been paying all my working life (50 years) and because I’d been a single, working parent – no child support, no “welfare.”

For whatever reason, my food stamp “benefit” was reduced last year to $15 a month. Good for a few gallons of milk, although I’m tempted to splurge on chocolates. Maybe in the candy aisle, a pound is still 16 ounces.

Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.

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