How could young strong men be on food stamps?

Because the economic system is broken.

Your style of thinking on this is also outdated. There are overtones in your question that suggest a young strong man that isn't working is not doing his part for the betterment of society. What about the corporateocracty that runs the country? Don't they have a responsibility to the society? Why are western nations OK with shipping jobs overseas? Why are decent wages and benefits a dirty word now? Why do we accept a backward slide in income redistribution from the workers to the rich just on the premise that we're lucky to have a job?

We are all wage slaves again, and we are slipping back into the 1930's

I will be honest & say the same thing probably would have crossed my mind as a patron.

That said it is possible he has a family your unaware of and maybe special circumstances like disability or terminally I'll family member. Or he could be certified to do groceries for an assisted person (many home health aids grocery shop for the sick & elderly). Or maybe he really is on it temporary.

Or it could be a perfectly capable person sponging off the system.

My eldest her dad is some how a "republican" by proclamation yet as a single man (who has no claim to her as a resident) who primairily lives alone is one of those leeches. It astounds me. He makes over $20 an hour in construction but a lot of its under the table profit so he frauds his income & gets many free assistance programs designed for low income families & single parent families.

I am a single parent and I think I would rather strip then do that.

I work my @ss off if I can do it I know that many others are capable. I have seen it both ways. I have seen fraudsters & leeches & I have seen people that utilize it out of need and work and strive for more. There's two types on it. Those who have special circumstances or temporary & those who work the system over while usually packing a bowl on the side.

Most of the people I see on food stamps (I work three jobs and two are with retail) are young people. I don't see a lot of elderly or physically handicapped. Of course, this young man may have been shopping for his relative (I have seen that too).

However, I must say that it seems these days I see a lot of 20 something year olds who refuse to work low paying jobs are two jobs so they take food stamps as opposed to a strong work ethic.

I was on food stamps when I had a part time job working 30 hours a week. I was actually surprised that I qualified for it but it was $175 a month and it helped a lot. Is there something wrong with young men being on food stamps compared to young women?

it was my understanding that most Americans currently recieve some form of government assistance, and food stamp usage is at an all time high - and even some people who are working earn such low wages that they are given food stamps.

It's a waste, yes. a waste of talent, resources and money.

Laziness. My grandparents raised 9 kids on a small cattle ranch--did they qualify for government assistance? Oh yeah. But they where independent and refused to take things they didn't earn. That attitude is dying in America.

Because we are in a terrible recession and well-paying jobs are VERY hard to find. There are certainly lazy moochers who milk the system. But When more than 50% of college grads can't find jobs, you can't blame the common folk. How about the president and his fiscally liberal policies?

Because we as a society don't want to see people starve to death.

Perhaps he is looking for work and unable to find it. Perhaps he's just lazy. Either way he deserves to be able to eat.