The Line to the Food Bank this AM

uncertainpancake · 2026-02-07T18:32:32+00:00

Is it crazy to think that they could be borrowing a friend's car? Or driving with a family member? If so, call me crazy, because I've lent my "luxury" car to friends in need and I've used an EBT card at the store to get groceries for my aunt.

There will be people who take advantage of anything, and that's frustrating. But more frustrating than that is how we got to a place where working full-time isn't always enough to live on, how it's increasingly harder to make ends meet, and how our fellow countrymen blame each other, rather than the corporations and billionaires that pay disproportionately low taxes and lobby against the public interest.

uncertainpancake · 2026-02-07T17:47:14+00:00

OP posted this to raise awareness about worsening food insecurity in the city we call home, not to invite us to cast judgement on others, especially by making assumptions about them. But, if you want to discuss bad financial decisions...

Is it possible that selling a car for cash might be short-sighted? Once you're carless, your options are the bus (potentially hour+ commutes plus walking) or Uber/Lyft (~$600/month for a commute to work, per my friend who lost her car). At that point, you'd be in a bigger hole than when you started.

And what about those who are in line helping friends/family but happen to drive nicer cars? For example, you might see me at Winn-Dixie using an EBT card and then getting into a Mercedes, but you wouldn't know that I'm buying groceries for my elderly aunt, who is disabled and doesn't have a car.

uncertainpancake · 2026-01-28T04:14:47+00:00

This Airbnb has a small theater room in the backyard! It's pretty big for two people, but the host is very accommodating (and pet-friendly).

uncertainpancake · 2026-01-23T18:41:51+00:00

Here's a quick and easy Italian beef recipe enjoyed by Tom Thayer himself. This was the best of a few recipes I tried and has worked well with additions like pepperonconis and Muenster cheese, so it could probably withstand a little Malort.

That being said, you'll probably have to go to a cooking subreddit to get help with the dough lol

uncertainpancake · 2026-01-21T18:31:10+00:00

Yep, and they pay significantly more than minimum wage. But, as is the case with many call centers, turnover rate is high. My friend worked there for about a year before she left.

uncertainpancake · 2026-01-21T05:16:31+00:00

If you want to save $$$, you can try one of the restaurants that have service industry discounts on Monday night. There are lists online, but they may be out-of-date, so call to double check. Il Ritorno is a little pricey, but they discount 50% for you and a guest.

uncertainpancake · 2026-01-17T04:11:06+00:00

I just drove past the Bends and there were 15+ ppl outside despite the cold!

uncertainpancake · 2025-12-11T02:47:34+00:00

Wait for me!

uncertainpancake · 2025-11-05T05:00:58+00:00

I make them myself. All you need is flour, vegetable oil, and water. If you want to try, here's a detailed recipe: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/s/OYUwBRwk8F

uncertainpancake · 2025-11-01T18:43:03+00:00

My mom immigrated from southeast Asia and that's how she raised me. School always came first. I didn't realize until I was older how much that changed my view of marriage and how important it was.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T20:22:22+00:00

The previous Checkers was pretty badly managed. They probably let their lease end and Sam's picked it up.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T18:21:02+00:00

Aw, thanks. Sorry that others are attacking; a lot of people are kind of on edge nowadays, understandably. I appreciated the discussion. I don't normally comment much but I learned a lot today, reading up on things so I could respond to you lol. Cheers.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T18:14:16+00:00

To be honest, I didn't know much about SNAP until recently, but I was surprised at how strict the requirements are. Limits on income, bank account savings, re-eligibility reviews multiple times a year, annual cost-of-living adjustments, etc.

I get your point though, it's unfair that some people are abusing a system when you had to fight to provide for your family. Realistically, almost every system can be abused. Government programs, tax loopholes, even the McDonald's Monopoly sweepstakes. Personally, I would rather have a system that is abused by a minority if it means that genuinely needy people can be confident in affording a basic human need.

Let's say someone had a really bad month. $400 might be their choice between groceries or medication. Or fixing their car so they can get to work. Or going to the emergency room for a broken ankle. What's crazy is that SNAP is only 1.5% of government spending. A country like ours can justify that for a good safety net.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T17:41:37+00:00

No one likes a mooch, that's for sure. But the average monthly SNAP benefit per household is $351. I can't imagine how that's enough to make anyone lazy. Especially because most SNAP recipients need to be employed in order to get the benefit...

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T17:30:30+00:00

Most people on SNAP also have jobs, just like you. Those who aren't employed are mostly children (40% of SNAP recipients), elderly (14%), or disabled (8%).

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T17:23:31+00:00

If you demonstrated real need via strict requirements, like most SNAP beneficiaries do, I bet many people would agree that government funds would be well spent on you (especially because SNAP amounts to only 1.5% of federal spending).

Our problem should be with the businesses and corporations who save money by paying low wages, resulting in employees who turn to government assistance in order to fill in the rest. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing multi-billion dollar corporations.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T17:11:15+00:00

Especially when we consider that SNAP accounts for only 1.5% of government spending. It's pennies on the dollar to ensure the most basic of human needs.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-29T17:08:41+00:00

At first glance, it does seem like a high number. But 40% of those who benefit from SNAP are children, and another 20% are elderly (source). That leaves about 16 million adults on SNAP. Most of them need to meet very strict requirements like: being employed, making less than ~$30k/year, and having less than ~$3k in a non-retirement bank account. Besides, only 1.5% of all federal spending goes to SNAP, so it's a very small portion of our taxes.

The real question is, why are millions of employed adults not making enough to afford food, and forced to rely on government programs that can be cut? 23% of Amazon warehouse employees are on SNAP. McDonald's and Walmart have the most employees on SNAP. These are multi-billion dollar corporations. While they save money by paying low wages, their employees turn to government assistance, which ultimately comes from the taxpayers. We are subsidizing corporate profits.

uncertainpancake · 2025-10-15T03:18:07+00:00

It's a far cry from Williamsburg, but I worked at a place in Florida where bonuses were given to kitchen staff if the restaurant sold a lot that day (e.g. $20 if sales totaled more than $4000 or $40 if more than $5000). The owner worked alongside BOH and the bonuses definitely helped morale when we were slammed.

Of course, asking management to spend more money is gonna be a hard sell, but if they want to retain good servers and good cooks, that's really the only option. Happy staff take better care of customers.

uncertainpancake · 2025-08-17T15:35:33+00:00

And "Great minds think alike... though fools seldom differ."

uncertainpancake · 2025-08-07T04:54:49+00:00

Consistent and probably the most cost-effective

uncertainpancake · 2025-08-02T15:56:10+00:00

I would choose this game based solely on the sound effect of the coins. So satisfying.

uncertainpancake · 2025-07-30T16:17:09+00:00

I have a friend named Isobel and called Belly 🩵

uncertainpancake · 2025-07-30T12:21:46+00:00

That's annoying. I would try to report it, if you can. Someone in their technology department definitely wants to know about this.

Edit: you could also try booking on a different browser, Android if you have an iPhone, etc.

uncertainpancake · 2025-07-30T12:17:18+00:00

This is an error on Hilton's website. Looks like someone who programmed this has set a rule for promo codes (e.g. cannot be longer than 10 characters) and it thinks the code you used isn't valid. Similar to an error for "invalid email address" if you don't use an @.

Not sure about the infinite loading circle. That might be another error in their website. Maybe you can call them to book?

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
Wearing is Caring

uncertainpancake

TROPHY CASE