Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The majority of people don't keep gochung or harissa paste or veal demiglace or African spices, etc that you can get with these meals. Like I said, I'm not going to get a ton of bottles of stuff for one recipe. Yes, it's cheaper by volume but I still have to buy it. But whatever, I'm not going to argue.
That's another reason I decided against a subscription. I probably have 70-80 spices in my collection, (including everything you mentioned above) along with a fair assortment of oils, vinegars, and condiments, and I would have fewer opportunities to use what I already have if I had more delivered with each meal. I think the most useful part of a meal delivery plan for me would be having new recipes for meals that use these complex ingredients, but don't take hours to prepare. Ideally, I would like to have a plan where they just email the recipes and a grocery list each week, and I can do my own shopping and prepping. Bonus: No rotting produce.
I really don't have anyplace in mind. In fact, I have no idea how to even get started with this idea. It's just something I believe is a need, and I would love to do something about it.
Start the research, I guess, and start looking for potential donors, maybe see about a grant for the space. I can't do this out of my home, we don't have the storage for it.
What about the food pantry that you mentioned? Approach them with your idea. They have the space and contacts for donations; you bring the labor. You want to supplement what they already provide, so I think they would be eager to have you on board.
(Next holiday food drive at work, I will remember to throw in some spices. Never thought to do that before. Thank you.)
That's overly cynical, no? Why do you think that people who need food, and are willing to cook for themselves, would turn a bottle of dried basil into a black market commodity? I assume that people go to food pantries because they need food and want to cook. What would be their motivation to barter away the very things that make food taste good?
Then again, I might be naïve about these matters, because your comment reminds me of another conversation I had recently. A woman at work told me that she knows people who will allow her to use their EBT cards (food stamps) for forty cents on the dollar. Apparently, she had recently encountered someone who was asking for 50%, which she thought was outrageous. I asked her why someone who needs the government to subsidize their food shopping would turn around and transfer that benefit to someone who can pay for her own food. Don't they need to eat? She told me that they either get more than they need, or prefer to have cash to buy fast food (or other things). I was pretty astounded that a) this woman had no qualms about telling me that she participates in this fraud; and b) it is so common that there is a "going rate".
The woman who used their benefits for 40 cents on the dollar is at least as guilty as they are, perhaps more so. I'm sure this happens, but I have never heard of it, observed it, or met anyone who admits to doing it.
The fact that it happens does not mean it's a common practice, nor does it mean that anything like the majority of SNAP recipients engage in such practices. If they do, it may be because they really don't have a decent place to cook. There are lots of inconsistencies in what SNAP covers. You can use it to buy a whole raw chicken, but if you want to get a rotisserie chicken because your stove is broken or the power is out, it's not covered. Chips and soda? Covered. A freshly prepared deli sandwich, or even a damn hot dog at a convenience store? Not covered. I understand that this is to prevent people using food stamps at a restaurant, but the prohibition on any and all "ready to eat" purchases seems awfully arbitrary to me, and it sure as hell does not encourage either healthy eating or the wise use of food stamps.
I'm not sure any of us really know what the OP's original point even was, other than a complete inability to cook and a truly nasty example of alcohol abuse, in the purest sense of the word.
The woman who used their benefits for 40 cents on the dollar is at least as guilty as they are, perhaps more so. I'm sure this happens, but I have never heard of it, observed it, or met anyone who admits to doing it.
Yes, I agree. That's why I called it what it is: fraud.
You can't make the majority of the meals they send for much less than the $9.95 unless you have an EXTENSIVE international spice and sauce collection, cooking wines, vinegars, demiglaces, cheeses, a fresh herb garden, every type of pasta and grain, etc.
You CAN make a regular dinner for much less than $9.95. It's apples and oranges. You can't compare a pork chop and applesauce to homemade schnitzel with lingonberry jam, herb roasted fingerling potatoes and a fresh vegetable medley. You can't compare spaghetti with ragu and a lb of ground beef to bucatini Alfredo with goat cheese, fresh peas and pine nuts. I urge you to find any recipe from the companies and price them out. You can see the prices are on point. The ones that are pricier than buying yourself usually make up for it in the flavor profile. I have gotten a lot of interesting grilled cheeses and pizzas that are probably cheaper to buy but I would have never thought of it myself.
Pasta costs $1 a bag. I cook from a variety of cuisines. Everything from Puerto Rican pernil to Indian korma to Bangladeshi chicken roast to Cantonese beef soup. I buy and keep all types of ingredients on hand.
It's your money. Spend it as you please. I know how to do math, purchase ingredients, and cook. I'll save my money by sourcing and cooking my own ingredients. I also know how to use Google or watch the Food Network or Top Chef.
That's another reason I decided against a subscription. I probably have 70-80 spices in my collection, (including everything you mentioned above) along with a fair assortment of oils, vinegars, and condiments, and I would have fewer opportunities to use what I already have if I had more delivered with each meal. I think the most useful part of a meal delivery plan for me would be having new recipes for meals that use these complex ingredients, but don't take hours to prepare. Ideally, I would like to have a plan where they just email the recipes and a grocery list each week, and I can do my own shopping and prepping. Bonus: No rotting produce.
There are other services that offer that. But the meal kits are very popular and many people do want the convenience of everything they need being put together for them so all they have to do is cook it. And the people who are willing to pay for these kits feel like they are getting a benefit for their money because they want something more complex than "fish, rice and broccoli." For the most part, these are people that go out to higher end restaurants, not Denny's or Applebee's or whatever, and they want that kind of quality at home too.
No one is required to use these services, but for a lot of people, they don't have the time to do the research to find a recipe that sounds good, go to all the various stores they would need to go to to assemble all the ingredients, do all the prep and then cook it. They are willing to pay for the convenience of cutting out the first three steps. As I said before, I don't personally find the convenience valuable enough to pay for myself, but I understand why others do think it's worth it to them.
The woman who used their benefits for 40 cents on the dollar is at least as guilty as they are, perhaps more so. I'm sure this happens, but I have never heard of it, observed it, or met anyone who admits to doing it.
The fact that it happens does not mean it's a common practice, nor does it mean that anything like the majority of SNAP recipients engage in such practices. If they do, it may be because they really don't have a decent place to cook. There are lots of inconsistencies in what SNAP covers. You can use it to buy a whole raw chicken, but if you want to get a rotisserie chicken because your stove is broken or the power is out, it's not covered. Chips and soda? Covered. A freshly prepared deli sandwich, or even a damn hot dog at a convenience store? Not covered. I understand that this is to prevent people using food stamps at a restaurant, but the prohibition on any and all "ready to eat" purchases seems awfully arbitrary to me, and it sure as hell does not encourage either healthy eating or the wise use of food stamps.
So basically you didn't even read the links. Especially the government one. But chose to go off on a tangent about even the SNAP benefits aren't good enough - and justifying fraud.
Now the thread's been hijacked with food stamp politics.
And yes they CAN buy the chicken and sandwiches they just have to wait until it goes in the cold case. Not hot.
Oh boo hoo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hellob
I'm not arguing that fraud doesn't exist but I hardly think that the old "someone told me" story is the best evidence.
That's why I gave you links instead of you having to believe anecdotal evidence. Even from the GOVERNMENT.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 09-23-2017 at 02:50 PM..
That's another reason I decided against a subscription. I probably have 70-80 spices in my collection, (including everything you mentioned above) along with a fair assortment of oils, vinegars, and condiments, and I would have fewer opportunities to use what I already have if I had more delivered with each meal. I think the most useful part of a meal delivery plan for me would be having new recipes for meals that use these complex ingredients, but don't take hours to prepare. Ideally, I would like to have a plan where they just email the recipes and a grocery list each week, and I can do my own shopping and prepping. Bonus: No rotting produce.
I can't see where you seriously considered one since the recipes and grocery list are clearly spelled out on the website for each meal.
Since the OP hasn't been back, and the OP wasn't very clear, I am closing this thread.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
