Tens of thousands of college students may no longer be eligible for benefits from the Bridge Card program after a shift in qualifications this spring.
The changes in eligibility for the Bridge Card program, a Michigan-specific manifestation of the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, will take effect on April 1, 2011. Michigan college students were previously able to receive an approximately $200 monthly allowance on a Bridge Card, which could be used for purchasing groceries. The new requirements will limit those benefits to college students in certain circumstances.
“(They) must be caring for children, physically or mentally unfit for employment, participating in an on-the-job training program, or working 20 hours a week,” said Christina Fecher, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS). “Attending college by itself is not an approved exception, and our department will enforce that policy starting in April.”
As of January 2011, there are 1,946,040 people in Michigan who receive some sort of aid from food assistance programs like the Bridge Card program, according to the DHS. Fecher said the DHS estimates that approximately 18,000 to 20,000 Michigan college students currently use the program.
“(The DHS) is ready to extend a helping hand to any citizen who is truly in need, including college students who … are taking the right steps toward becoming self-sufficient,” she said.
Bob Genetski, a member of Michigan’s House of Representatives, said that he thinks the new requirements are important because it will help decrease the number of people utilizing the program and help lower federal expenditures.
“This is federal money … and we’re blowing it on welfare. We need to make sure that it is going to those who really need it,” he said. “If we don’t get a handle on these entitlements, the future generations will have to foot a lot of crazy bills for things we didn’t address.”
Genetski said that as a legislator, he often heard complaints from constituents who felt that a lot of the college students using the Bridge Cards in stores didn’t seem to need the extra help.
“A lot of taxpayers don’t mind helping people who are truly in need but they were infuriated to see that their tax dollars were going to a situation that wasn’t needy,” he said. “A lot of people who are really mad about it are those who worked part-time or full-time jobs to get through college. They feel as if the current generation doesn’t understand that work ethic.”
Genetski said there are some additional changes that he would like to see implemented in the Bridge Card program, such as incorporating picture IDs on the cards themselves, which he says would decrease cases of fraud. Genetski said that he was
contacted by the concerned owner of a store in his district, who showed him that some Bridge Card recipients were committing fraud.
“They buy pop and pour it out in the parking lot to get the money from returnables to buy alcohol,” he said. “It’s not what that system is in place for.”
Amber Baillargeon, a senior English writing major at NMU, said that in the year that she has had a Bridge Card, she has not heard of anyone misusing the benefits.
“Everyone that I know that has a Bridge Card has it for very good reasons,” she said. “I haven’t heard of anyone abusing it by letting other people use it or anything.”
Baillargeon said that the Bridge Card allows her to eat healthier because she can afford to create well-balanced meals.
“Before the Bridge Card, grocery buying was sporadic and I absolutely only bought the necessities and even then, sometimes I would go without eggs or milk for weeks because I couldn’t afford everything at once,” she said.
Baillargeon is canceling her Bridge Card this April when she graduates and, while she won’t be personally affected by the new requirements, she said that she thought the change should be gradual.
“I understand why they’re making the changes that they’re making, but at the same time a lot of college students will be set back financially by this,” she said. “I don’t know what they can do to change it, but maybe they could have done it in smaller increments over the course of a year, and not so drastically with everyone at the same time.”
28 Comments
This is ridiculous. Instead of investigating and finding people who do this they group us all together. I am sure there are people abusing the system, not just college students either, but to punish all for the few who do this. I have a part time job and am lucky to get 15 hours a week. And if it wasn’t for food stamps my wife and I wouldn’t be able to eat enough, and what we could eat would probably be junk because thanks to the government subsidies that is what is the cheapest. Hopefully we do not lose ours because we our having a child in april, but I guess we will wait and see. Sorry I just needed to vent.
Above is the link to a petition that I am planning on taking to Lansing once we get enough signatures! This change is ridiculous, and if you think so, too, sign this and stand up for you rights!
Not to be disrespectful, but did you consider NOT having a child, since you can’t even afford to feed yourself and your wife without government aid?
I think this whole plan is bull s*** what about all of the students who aren’t abusing the bridge card. Yeah almost 2 million people have the card and only 18000 to 20000 are students that isn’t even a percent of that. What about all of the people who live in that big city that is going nowhere “Detroit” look at how many people are on welfare there. I guarantee they aren’t even trying to look for a job. Us college students are actually being self sufficient by getting a degree to go somewhere in our lives. Tell me how a busy college student is suppose to get a job and also carry 17 credit hours. Also you will be “eligible” if you work 20 hours, if you work that many hours then you shouldn’t even be eligible for a bridge card if you some kind of income. Yes, i agree if you have children and are attending. Prove to us how you stated “college students are buying pop and dumping them out for alcohol” did you actually sit in the parking lot and see these students doing that, where is your evidence. If that’s such a huge problem then ban buying pop with a bridge, oh there you go I just helped the state save money. If college students were to lose this it will be tough for him or her. Reason being is because we have to pay for rent, textbooks, tuition, car insurance, gas, utilities, and many other bills. Whatever the case is your plan probably won’t do anything to save Michigan money anyway just like all of the decisions our governors make especially gov. Grammole.
Hey Jennifer that is a great idea I tried to click the link but it doesn’t go anywhere. I don’t know if it’s my computer or what but I’ll keep trying.
Confused- That statement is cruel and irrational. You assume life is perfect.
Terry- Women, infants, and children (W.I.C.) provides help to pregnant and nursing mothers and infants.
What am I not getting here? Since when does attending college qualify you for welfare? That’s kind of like saying I bought a house I can’t afford, so now I need government aid for groceries.
Scholarships are available for students who provide some sort of enrichment to the University. Student loans are available for everyone else. There are plenty of tuition grants or reimbursement programs available to people willing to work for their money.
Student welfare cases too lazy to work and instead leaching off the taxpayers. Only in America. Get a job.
Has anyone noticed how little the states are subsidizing the cost of tuition over the past 10 years? The cost of tuition, textbooks, utilities, food, etc. has increased at an incredible rate over the past 10 years. These students will graduate, and hopefully, if there are any worthy jobs left in Michigan, will get a job and pay taxes for the rest of their lives. We are basically creating a society of “haves” and “have nots”. The rich can pay for their children and the very poorest can, but the middle class gets the squeeze again! Scholarships are few and far between in this economy; tuition grants and work studies are geared for the poor…I guess that leaves most of us with $50,000+ or so per child available to help our children, right???
Lumpen Proletariat as Marx said. That’s what some of us have become. We want someone else to pay. Moochers and looters of those who work and pay taxes. Whine, whine, whine. Schools too expensive, subsidize me. I can afford an X box but not food, subsidize me. I see the them at the grocery. The guy with his big beer gut and his well fed muffin top girlfriend whipping out the Bridge card to buy snacks. It’s not haves and have nots. It’s those who work and create and those who only take.
The most effective way to prevent abuse and waste in the program would be to further limit the foods eligible for purchase with a Bridge Card for all recipients, more in line with nutritious foods that are eligible for the WIC program.
Changes to this program should have been made over time with a scalpel, not an axe.
Sometime no Piece
I think that the cuts to the Bridge Card program are a good decision. It is very possible to hold a job while attending college and make enough money to pay for groceries. I worked throughout college and was always able to buy my own food, pay for rent, utilities, and eventually, car payments. I made financial decisions such living off campus to cut down on loans. I did have the benefit of supportive parents in way of tuition; what I did not cover in scholarships and direct loans, my parents paid. However, I worked hard to maintain finances and studies; my senior year, I managed full-time at two local hotels (40-50 hrs/week) and took 20 credits. From sophomore year forward, I was working full-time. It definitely was not easy, but it was worth it. The Bridge Card is in place for people who desperately need it; i.e. high poverty areas with severely failing economies like Detroit, expectant mothers attending college, low-income families. College kids who can work to support themselves should.
Part of my reasoning for this is also because I know several people personally who have abused the system. It’s somewhat upsetting, because I knew that my 40-50 hrs/week of taxed income was supporting some sects of people who simply did not want to work. I have no problem supporting and helping those in need. However, the term “need” seems to be relative.
And Terry: if you have a child, your benefits will not be taken away. This qualifies you in an entirely different category. Also, Martin’s right when he says that WIC is a great program. Congratulations on your expected arrival!
Okay first of all i think it is just ridiculous that all college students are grouped into one category of “they are abusing the bridge cards”. Many students do abuse the bridge card and a few of my friends are. But unlike them my parents currently got laid off work and cannot help me pay for college. I am only getting so many grants to help pay for college. the more loans i take out, the more money i have to start paying back each month. So its not like i can just go out and take out how ever much money i need without having to pay anything. the bridge cards are basically a necessity to me. Without it i only have enough money to buy junk food because its the cheapest. i am taking 16 credits and am working a part-time job(not 20 hours a week) and am still struggling to have the amount of time needed to finish all my homework. For people who can breeze through their classes, of course they think its easy to have a job because it doesnt take them nearly as long to finish their homework. but some students need to spend hours to finish something for just 1 class. Without these bridge cards the students that are paying for their college, rent, utilities, ect by themselves are now going to be more stressed, barely make it by with getting food, and most likely be gaining weight because all they will be able to afford is junk food.
The bridge cards should have some other qualifying applicants instead of just working 20+ hours a week, having a child, or mental disability.
Jaime – Well, I am so happy you had parents who could afford to pay for your college. Many of us don’t have parents who saved or have money to send us to college and we are paying some through loans and out of our pockets as well. Yeah, everyone can be a little more stringent with their money but some of us are going to graduate with over $50,000 in student loans and part of the money we earn we need to save so we can start paying our 400+ a month student loan payments six months after we graduate. The ones of us who will be the first person in our family to graduate college and not have any help but a little financial aid and tons in loans forgive us for trying to better our lives during these few years our expenses extremely outweigh our income.
I do agree with the changes that not just any college student should receive one just because they attend college but the ones who are truly trying to make a living and have limited income and savings (which they do require proof of).
“who … are taking the right steps toward becoming self-sufficient”
Isn’t that the point of attending university?
Everyone is so angry that the BRIDGE card is being “taken away” from students who really need it. Also people are saying that without the BRIDGE card they will only be able to afford to buy junk food because that is what is the cheapest. A bag of Doritos is $3.99 and a pound of bananas is 64 cents. There are many healthy and cheap options for buying food that is good for your body and not just your taste buds. Most people can and do survive on way less than $200/ month for food. American’s are given way too much choice about what we want to eat, so we stock up our cupboards, look in it four days later and decide there is nothing to eat, so they go to the store to put more food in the fridge. We are lucky that we have the ability to do this if we so choose but that is how food ends up getting wasted and thrown away. Its about making smart choices and only buying what you truly “need” to sustain your body and not what you “want.” Yes, slowing grandfathering specific sets of rules into the BRIDGE system may have been less shocking way to ease the new system into place, but it did need to be done, regardless. The BRIDGE program should go the way of WIC and enforce what kinds of food can be bought with it. It’s the government’s money and if you want it, you are going to have to play by their rules.
To those who say college students have no work ethic. You say we should get a job and stop being lazy. Have you realized how hard it is to get a job presently? It’s not as easy as you ignorantly assume.
And another thing. Let’s give 200 dollars a month to a lazy stupid lady that has 5 kids and does nothing in her life. What an encouraging system to the lazy people. Discriminating against college students is ridiculous. Think about it, I as a college student am cut off from the program but all I have to do to receive it again is to drop out of school! This is absurd.
I love that when it comes to cutting spending its always students, children, and young adults that get the shaft. Do they not realize that if we do support and educate our children as a top priority what kind of future is our america and state going to see? Always thinking of the now and never for the future. Our politicians need a huge wake up call.
Anger is an understatement. I understand why everyone is upset. My husband and I are full time students at Baker College. I have 2 children in the house. With neither of us working I guess we should have applied for cash assistance. Our worker just notified us that our FS benefits will be decreased by more than $150 on April 1, 2011. The state will be spending more on our family than staying with just food benefits. This is like being told that if you try to better yourself we will penalize you.
The only reason I applied for a bridge card in the first place was because government officials decided to do away with the Michigan “Promise” scholarship (which is awarded for scoring well on the MEAP/MME tests in middle school and high school). To me that cut amounted to a loss of $2,000. So much for that “promise”! It seems like each year college students are expected to get by with less. Pretty soon it won’t be worth it to attend college because it will be a guarantee of life-long debt! If you want college students to stop “creating a financial drain on the government”, then stop cutting financial aid to schools! It’s the college students of today that will be supporting the elderly of tomorrow!
I think it’s funny how some people think their parents helped pay their way to college and basically said “here ya go government, they’re all yours now” because thats what I seem to hear alot of. You came to college knowing that you would be on your own. Everyone did. Now your precious little bridge card gets taken away and the world is over. Give me a break. If you want to eat bad enough you’ll find a way.
In these tough economic times, it is hard to decide who will carry the burden. Everyone has a good enough reason for it not being them. Schools are losing money to educate our children, libraries are on the verge of disappearing, the police force is dwindling and the list goes on. All of these things are essential to a vibrant community. I am a college student who moved to a crappy apartment in Detroit last year with too many roommates for the size of the flat in order to be closer to school and ONE of my part time jobs. Living at home wasn’t an option and living in the dorms was too much money. My school has lost millions of dollars in funding from the state and financial aid is being reduced, forcing many students to drop out, lose their chance at a bright future and start their lives with debt and have nothing to show for it. On top of these cuts, it is near impossible to find a job in the Metro Detroit area right now. Not all together impossible, but close to it. With years of dedicated searching I know people who have found nothing and are losing hope. It is not uncommon to hear of college graduates with masters degrees working at Target.
Personally, my family struggles to pay their bills and wish they could contribute to my education. Part of my family, including my father, moved out of state to find work and make a living. I work 2 part time jobs, getting 30-40 hours total at minimum wage. I had to start going to school part time to be able to work full time to keep up with paying for college myself, rent, utilities, insurance, commuting to job #1, etc. With all of these things, I still struggled to make ends meet and needed help, so I reluctantly applied for a bridge card. I did not lose my benefits back in April, though I receive less assistance now. I was brought up to work hard and do more with less. By no means do I enjoy having my bridge card and every time I use it, I am reminded of how hard times are for not only me but everyone I know and Michigan as a whole.
I know that there are cases of fraud and I believe that they should ask more questions in the filling process to prevent this. However, I think it is too easy for people to be pigeon holed. However, times are tough and jobs are scarce. The government should not abandon their future, which is what they have done on so many levels (schools, libraries, promise scholarships, etc.) None of us want to be affected by the economic problems, but we all are. If you are a student, but don’t actually need the bridge card then of course you should not be receiving the funds, but so many do and so many won’t now.
I think college students should get food assistance too, because there are no jobs out here for anyone thats lookin ppl that have jobs should be thankful instead of complainting about ppl that have to settle for assistance, DAMN !! ppl need help sometime.
Just think if they cut government program there would be more unemployed people, there would be less jobs and more poverty and people with great jobs would have to pay more taxes, from the decrease in jobs, then they will be complainting about that.
“The truth” I’m a college student, have a great job, didn’t have any assistance to get the job, my parents don’t pay for anything for me, and I live on my own. I have never in my life used a bridge card, and I have to pay for my college education, I don’t get financial aid either. So how about you quit complaining, get off your lazy ass, and go find a freaking job. I’m sick of paying for lazy ass people to lay around all day bitching that the government won’t give them free money.
Why does a single person who is not working or going to school with no children get a bridge card? Here, we have a person who is trying to better themselves by going to school. So, they can get a good job and make good money. So, eventually they will be off the system and contribute to paying taxes so other people can use the system to get them on their feet. It is just a continuing cycle.
my son qualified for a Government Grant to be place in a on line college to better himself, he lives at home with us and we are a low income family and now the state is telling him to quit college or starve… is this suppose to be ok ??
All bridge cards are stupid. The program should not even exist. I get taxed fr all of you lazy bums on ssi and welfare.
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