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Food Stamps are NOT a food budget. They are supposed to be a food supplement.
So any celebrity doing some "food stamp challenge" is full of crap and doesn't even understand how food stamps are supposed to work.
People receiving food stamps are almost always receiving cash assistance, separate and 100% free breakfast and lunch for their children (year-round in school builldings), access to food banks, and the like.
Not only that, but schools send "care packages" of food home on weekends. My mom taught in a poor school, and this was the norm. The parents, who often had fancy stuff, would refuse to feed their kids on the weekend, because they thought it was the school's responsibility (because the kids would only eat at school M-F).
Leg quarters $4 (pack of 4, I bought a pack the other day at the store for that)
Pork chops on sale (about 6 to pack) $6
Peanut butter, store brand $4
Tuna, 4 can pack, store brand $3
bread, store brand $2
dozen eggs $3
rice, store brand $2
soup, 2 cans, store brand $2
baloney, store brand, 9oz? $3
Grand total: $29
And when I wrote that, I didn't necessarily mean I get all of the items I listed, I was giving examples of things that can be filling and low cost, but since you commented as if it were impossible, I'm showing you it's not. And food stamps aren't taxed either.
I think people are forgetting that that is $29 per person. It really doesn't take that much to feed one person for a week. We're just used to eating what we want when we want. You're not going to get steak and shiitake mushrooms but you can eat decently.
Leg quarters $4 (pack of 4, I bought a pack the other day at the store for that)
Pork chops on sale (about 6 to pack) $6
Peanut butter, store brand $4
Tuna, 4 can pack, store brand $3
bread, store brand $2
dozen eggs $3
rice, store brand $2
soup, 2 cans, store brand $2
baloney, store brand, 9oz? $3
Grand total: $29
And when I wrote that, I didn't necessarily mean I get all of the items I listed, I was giving examples of things that can be filling and low cost, but since you commented as if it were impossible, I'm showing you it's not. And food stamps aren't taxed either.
Correction, I just went to my local store. I was able to get the 18 egg pack for $3, so that would last longer. Also, I got a 10lb bag of leg quarters for $4.29 and I divided them at home. It was a total of 15 leg quarters instead of the 4 pack I budgeted for above.
It's easy to feed a family on a food stamp budget (our food budget is actually less than what our SNAP allotment would be were we eligible) IF:
- you know how to cook
- you're willing to cook
- you have the time to cook
- you have the mental/ physical energy to cook (remember, some people on SNAP are disabled or sick)
- you have a functioning kitchen
- you have adequate storage and functioning fridge
- you have working plumbing
- your family is willing to eat foods that aren't processed. kids today are so conditioned on processed food this alone is a tough one
- you don't care about organic or where food is sourced from
- you're willing to eat a lot of carby foods. starchy foods are cheaper than high protein/low carb ones ones (beans are a protein source but are quite high in carbs)
- you have a functioning car to comparison shop
So I'm sure Ms Paltrow will do just fine though I'm sure it will be painful for her to give up organic.
When are these people supposed to have time to look after their kids and look for work if they're spending all their time baking and gardening? And I don't think the time spent making jam is worth the "nutritional value". Sure there are a few areas with community gardens but most cities don't have them or have nearly enough space to make a dent in a person's food budget. BTW, cucumbers are neither filling or that nutrient dense...tomatoes a bit more so.
Most people who garden these days do it as a hobby or to make fancy jams and jellies to give away as gifts. They don't actually need to garden to survive or their advice might be a bit different.
I used to make jam and still get the urge to do so, but one day I quit.
it is nothing but sugar! A cup of sugar to each cup of fruit - eek. Its good, but good for you? Better to just eat the fruit alone or freeze or hydrate.
But it is good on hot biscuits with butter. I guess moderation is the key.
I grow tomatoes. The first couple of years to set up the garden can be pricy, but after that - eh - just pay for water, maybe some compost or fertilizer.
This year I started raised bed gardening, so a new expense.
Seems like it's a disingenuous publicity stunt as opposed to an actual attempt to foster honest discussion.
I view most celebrity 'causes' that way. They may be sincere, but the fact that their careers may benefit from the positive publicity makes it hard to know just how sincere they really are about the cause. So I'm usually skeptical about their motives.
Location: Subconscious Syncope, USA (Northeastern US)
2,365 posts, read 2,148,041 times
Reputation: 3814
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
When did the pioneers have time to grow their own food, tend the animals, can their own food and take care of their kids? Taking care of your kids doesn't mean sitting around watching them. You can take them to the store with you, they can help you prepare meals, they can go with you if you go to the food pantry or a church for a free dinner. They can help you grow a garden or bake bread. NOTHING I suggested has to exclude the kids. In fact, most of them could easily involve the kids and even teach them life skills.
I don't care if most people garden for a hobby. Gardening is a way of getting cheap healthy vegetables in season. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. You don't have to can. I only suggested that because things like strawberries are only in season for such a short time. However, many foods are easy to freeze too.
If you want to cut costs you garden, can, cut coupons, shop sales, use food pantries, take advantage of free dinners at churches....etc, etc, etc.... There's a lot you can do WITH your kids.
Gardening and canning costs money - not food stamps, but real cash. You need jars and seals and lids; thermometers and measuring cups. Im not sure you can can using a hot plate, campfire, or campstove.
Even shopping at flea markets and garage sales, the tools and jars cost money. There is no guarantee that whatever you plant will grow. Even seasoned farmers know that - and thats saying you have a space you can use to grow something.
If you dont have a vehicle, or reasonable access to public transportation, you are stuck with the prices that are within walking distance to you. Some of these local marketplaces actually bilk you for those food stamps, charging premium prices for items that would be much cheaper in another neighborhood, or at a larger store.
You can get seeds for $1 a pack, but you might need that money for basics like dish soap, a bar of soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper. Bus fare...
You arent freezing much with only the average freezer, and that's if the room you rent allows cooking and any type of refrigerator at all. Even a styrofoam cooler and ice costs money - not food stamps. You cant keep anything in a cooler for more than a day in most cases.
Not everyone on food stamps has a kid and easy access to section 8 housing. In fact, not everyone on food stamps is unemployed, and not every homeless person you meet is unemployed either. It just means they dont earn enough to rent a room or apartment. They might even have a need to live within walking distance of their job.
To cut coupons, you have to spend money on the newspaper, or steal one. It wasnt hard to get your own newspaper back when food stamps were made of paper - you just saved your change and bought one - usually Sundays. Its how I was able to view want ads and find jobs. With the advent of cards, there is no more change to save. You also probably would like a pair of scissors to cut those coupons, not that you cant just fold and rip them if need be.
Not all churches provide pantries for the poor, or even an occasional holiday meal. Ive spent a few years in my life as an employed homeless person but only ever had 2 bags of food/essentials ( 1 bag x 2 trips) and one Thanksgiving meal from them. The one's that provided such community services were simply to far away to get to in my circumstances usually.
I was necessarily transient, and the contents of my life - everything I needed to stay alive and attempt to function - filled a duffle bag, and was light enough to carry on my back. I dont have to study how to be a survivalist. I learned those skills on my own, out of necessity, lol.
God has been good though, and that struggle is long behind me; and I hope He will remain good enough that I will never have to eat another chicken thigh again in my life - ever! Ive had way more than my share of them.
Dont get me wrong, your suggestions are great for families that had stuff and a home and a car and suddenly find themselves in need of assistance. They arent that helpful for the thousands that have just started out in life, and have yet to have anything - which is what my post here attempts to point out.
Gardening and canning costs money - not food stamps, but real cash. You need jars and seals and lids; thermometers and measuring cups. Im not sure you can can using a hot plate, campfire, or campstove.
Even shopping at flea markets and garage sales, the tools and jars cost money. There is no guarantee that whatever you plant will grow. Even seasoned farmers know that - and thats saying you have a space you can use to grow something.
If you dont have a vehicle, or reasonable access to public transportation, you are stuck with the prices that are within walking distance to you. Some of these local marketplaces actually bilk you for those food stamps, charging premium prices for items that would be much cheaper in another neighborhood, or at a larger store.
You can get seeds for $1 a pack, but you might need that money for basics like dish soap, a bar of soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper. Bus fare...
You arent freezing much with only the average freezer, and that's if the room you rent allows cooking and any type of refrigerator at all. Even a styrofoam cooler and ice costs money - not food stamps. You cant keep anything in a cooler for more than a day in most cases.
Not everyone on food stamps has a kid and easy access to section 8 housing. In fact, not everyone on food stamps is unemployed, and not every homeless person you meet is unemployed either. It just means they dont earn enough to rent a room or apartment. They might even have a need to live within walking distance of their job.
To cut coupons, you have to spend money on the newspaper, or steal one. It wasnt hard to get your own newspaper back when food stamps were made of paper - you just saved your change and bought one - usually Sundays. Its how I was able to view want ads and find jobs. With the advent of cards, there is no more change to save. You also probably would like a pair of scissors to cut those coupons, not that you cant just fold and rip them if need be.
Not all churches provide pantries for the poor, or even an occasional holiday meal. Ive spent a few years in my life as an employed homeless person but only ever had 2 bags of food/essentials ( 1 bag x 2 trips) and one Thanksgiving meal from them. The one's that provided such community services were simply to far away to get to in my circumstances usually.
I was necessarily transient, and the contents of my life - everything I needed to stay alive and attempt to function - filled a duffle bag, and was light enough to carry on my back. I dont have to study how to be a survivalist. I learned those skills on my own, out of necessity, lol.
God has been good though, and that struggle is long behind me; and I hope He will remain good enough that I will never have to eat another chicken thigh again in my life - ever! Ive had way more than my share of them.
Dont get me wrong, your suggestions are great for families that had stuff and a home and a car and suddenly find themselves in need of assistance. They arent that helpful for the thousands that have just started out in life, and have yet to have anything - which is what my post here attempts to point out.
you can buy seeds and vegetable seedlings with food stamps.
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