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a. I can't get 10lbs of potatoes for $3.
b. I would not call potatoes the kind of produce I am talking about.
If you look around the produce department and the meat department, the stuff is expensive. If you eat things like pasta, canned beans, prepared foods, you can get dinner on the table a whole lot cheaper than if you use varied produce and LEAN cuts of meat which is what I consider healthy.
You don't need meat, but you can usually find lean cuts meat for $3 or $4 in a deli, one of the smaller packages. A dozen eggs is certainly cheaper at $1.89 and can provide 6-12 meals along with a $1.20 loaf of bread.
I just did buy a ten pound bag of potatoes for under $3 -- on sale, but even if it was $4, it's going to last a lot longer than a $3 bag of chips.
A bag of dry beans is cheaper than the prepared beans, especially if you buy them bulk, but beans aren't the really bad foods. Pasta isn't all that bad because it's not all fat and simple sugar.
However- soft drinks, cookies, cakes, twinkie bars, doughnuts lack all nutrition value and should not be food stamp purchases. They are expensive at any cost since they are not food, do not supply anything the body needs, that makes them a waste of money.
Yes, i do, actually. Soy and beans and rice are not adequate to supply the amount of protein I require.
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but you can usually find lean cuts meat for $3 or $4 in a deli, one of the smaller packages.
I don't know what you are saying here. We definitely cannot get deli meat for $3 or $4 per pound. Most deli meat is packed with sodium and filler. It costs more to get plain old meat.
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However- soft drinks, cookies, cakes, twinkie bars, doughnuts lack all nutrition value and should not be food stamp purchases. They are expensive at any cost since they are not food, do not supply anything the body needs, that makes them a waste of money.
I don't have a strong opinion of this. I am not sure I agree with a punitive approach to low income social safety net. But that is another discussion.
That's not true. When I stopped buying processed food, my grocery bill went way down. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are not expensive when you're only buying whole foods. Try it sometime. Go to the grocery store and buy a week's worth of meat, a weeks worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, brown rice, whole grain bread, and some milk and juce. I guarantee you that your grocery bill will be less.
I do. Why would you think I don't? Trust me when I say it isn't less.
There seems to be a definite link to food stamps, invariably when you see a huge mother waddling through the store with a bunch of huge kids waddling along with her, they fill the cart with lard bricks, soft drinks, cookies, and all sorts of junk foods and pull out the food stamp card to pay.
Maybe if I put it this way. One meal for a family of 4:
A pound of macaroni, 89 cents
three pats of butter, less than a buck
shaker cheese, way less than a buck
That is a crap meal, but it will get my family fed with macaroni left over.
Or.
2lbs of boneless chicken @ $2.99 per pound which is actually somewhere between the regular and sale price for the sake of discussion.
maybe 1/2 a bag carrots @1.49 a bag
8 oz pkg of snap peas @2.99
garlic and olive oil, whatever flavor enhancers one might use unknown because I don't feel like looking it up and already have blown the cost of the meal.
Maybe if I put it this way. One meal for a family of 4:
A pound of macaroni, 89 cents
three pats of butter, less than a buck
shaker cheese, way less than a buck
That is a crap meal, but it will get my family fed with macaroni left over.
Or.
2lbs of boneless chicken @ $2.99 per pound which is actually somewhere between the regular and sale price for the sake of discussion.
maybe 1/2 a bag carrots @1.49 a bag
8 oz pkg of snap peas @2.99
garlic and olive oil, whatever flavor enhancers one might use unknown because I don't feel like looking it up and already have blown the cost of the meal.
Forget about adding fresh fruit.
This is EXACTLY why I do not buy produce at any grocery stores..AND I feel that it should be a crime what they charge for produce!!!
I have found an amazing produce store that is always packed with people and I always walk out with a FULL cart of produce for $30 !!! Sometimes we get 2 full carts , but I have never spent more than $50 at this place. It is mostly all local growers..
Many places have farmer's markets and such to buy produce at a reasonable price..
a. I can't get 10lbs of potatoes for $3.
b. I would not call potatoes the kind of produce I am talking about.
If you look around the produce department and the meat department, the stuff is expensive. If you eat things like pasta, canned beans, prepared foods, you can get dinner on the table a whole lot cheaper than if you use varied produce and LEAN cuts of meat which is what I consider healthy.
I agree completely with this. If you are low income, but too high to qualify for food stamps, you are unable to afford to stretch your few dollars to buy fruits and fresh vegetables. I remember regularly being in that situation, and seeing the people with food stamps with baskets filled to the brim with junk food. It was so frustrating, because I felt like I would be better off by not trying at all. It seems like the system is set up to allow for failure--like giving people unlimited access to all and any kind of food they want...as long as they have over x amount of children or don't work. The minute you try to better yourself, you're cut off and on your own. What people need to understand is the easy way is NOT the better way, which is plain and clear in this situation.
And FYI, I don't recall reading anywhere that the mother even receives food stamps, so I'm not making assumptions. Just following the conversation in this thread.
This is EXACTLY why I do not buy produce at any grocery stores..AND I feel that it should be a crime what they charge for produce!!!
I have found an amazing produce store that is always packed with people and I always walk out with a FULL cart of produce for $30 !!! Sometimes we get 2 full carts , but I have never spent more than $50 at this place. It is mostly all local growers..
Many places have farmer's markets and such to buy produce at a reasonable price..
Buying from local growers is indeed key. But depending on your geography, locally grown produce may be limited in variety and growing season.
Buying from local growers is indeed key. But depending on your geography, locally grown produce may be limited in variety and growing season.
Most places sell frozen produce, especially broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, corn, etc. I can consistently get that stuff at less than $1 if I buy the clearance stuff or shop at discount stores. I do agree that locally grown stuff is good (I live in the valley in CA so I know all about that!) but frozen veggies are a decent alternative.
On the thread topic, I think it is cruel to allow a child to get that obese. However I don't think it will help by taking them out of the home. I'd rather see children removed when parents fail to get them treatment for cancer, or physically/sexually abuse them. There aren't enough resources to remove every obese child from every home.
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