RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week

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pahunkboy -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 2:41:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: sambamanslilgirl now where did i put that mink coat? LOL you're not too far off on the price of milk since the dairy prices are going up these days however $4.12 for cereal?!? what did you buy? hey i don't have workable gas stove but the hot plate idea gets my two thumbs up ...plus i use my George Foreman grille to cook my meat (while draining the fat away). the cereal-- 20 oz- Reeses Puffs. it is sorta like that candy chocalate and peanut butter. I had stocked up on chocalate captain crunch- which the wheat content seems livestock grade. a hot latte os the best part of $5. so this is sorta a snack. the competing store has generic at a better price- but then there is gas cost to get there. they are redoing the Aldis store- this is a no frills bring your own bag store. i can get a good bag of groceries for $20; unlike traditional grocers. alot of the off brands are the same thing as teh name brand. hands you a mink coat

pahunkboy -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 2:46:53 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LaTigresse Oh I know you aren't. I am just giving you ideas that I used when I was broke. Try the hot plate thing, you can even heat water on it to wash a few dishes so that you do not have to waste money on disposables. When I was a kid we were without hot water for almost a year. No money to buy a new water heater. Trust me, if there is a trick to cutting financial corners and making a dollar stretch I have it. I am fortunate that I don't need to as much as I have in the past but I can, if the situation calls for it. I apoligise if i seemed snappy. I am all ears at ways to save on the budget. I am sure many a folk here at one time in life had fallen on hard times. Again- i am sorry if I snapped. Roger

LaTigresse -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 3:48:08 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: pahunkboy quote: ORIGINAL: LaTigresse Oh I know you aren't. I am just giving you ideas that I used when I was broke. Try the hot plate thing, you can even heat water on it to wash a few dishes so that you do not have to waste money on disposables. When I was a kid we were without hot water for almost a year. No money to buy a new water heater. Trust me, if there is a trick to cutting financial corners and making a dollar stretch I have it. I am fortunate that I don't need to as much as I have in the past but I can, if the situation calls for it. I apoligise if i seemed snappy. I am all ears at ways to save on the budget. I am sure many a folk here at one time in life had fallen on hard times. Again- i am sorry if I snapped. Roger No appologies required. I didn't think you were being snappish at all, in fact I felt that perhaps my words had the potential to be read that way. There really are ways to survive on an extremely limited budget, it just involves alot of creative problem solving. Some people are good at it and others, not so much so. As for food, I always was able to have balanced healthy meals even when I had very little money. I just completely avoided processed foods and focused on the healthy stuff. No snack food, no soda, etc. Buying meats in cheap large cuts like a roast then planning several meals that could be made with it using potatoes, pasta, veggies, etc to spread it out further. A turkey is an excellent item that can also be spread a long ways. Frozen veggies are usually inexpensive and healthier than canned. Farmer's markets are a good place to get good fresh things relatively inexpensive. Buy in season and freeze them. Breakfasts are best when it is stuff like hot cereals or eggs etc......most cold cereal is crap and has very little nutritional value. Rice, potatoes, pasta........good inexpensive items to fill with and add veggies and meat to. Also, plant a garden! Seeds are cheap! Some things can even be grown in a pot year round. I used to grow potatoes in an old garbage can.

domiguy -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:08:52 PM)
Obviously none of you possess the capability of looking at this logically....You buy other people the food they need and take the twenty one dollars in cash! Now you take your "nest egg" and invest that money in scratch off lottery tickets....How could you possibly lose money with this flawless get rich quick scheme?.....I'm brilliant!!!

MissSCD -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:15:51 PM)
We need to clear up one thing. A lot of people on Food Stamps are not looking for a "handout". Some are. Most are not. I was on food stamps for three months when I could not work. I have got myself off of them. I work 40 hours per week and do not make enough to live. I could still qualify for them, but do not with to participate in the program. I think I got about $250 per month for Food Stamps for three months. I would stock purchase things and put them awway. They were very nice to me when I applied. It was the hardest thing I ever did. One does not know when their time will come when they will need assistance, and that is what food stamps is basically for, and no way can you live on $21.00 per week. I have heard low amounts as well. Regards, MissSCD

Sinergy -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:23:03 PM)
I have a refrigerator and stove and dishes, so I have the ability to do this. I will make something like chili in my crock pot or my 2.5 gallon cast iron dutch oven. I will make an entire pot of it. Usually with meat, but not too much. The meat I use is inexpensive pork and beef shoulder. I use a lot of beans in it. I put a lot of fresh veggies in it. Fresh chile peppers. A can or two of tomatoes. The total cost for this might be 8-10 dollars. Cook it. Pop it in the fridge. When it is cool, I divvy it up into ziploc bags and freeze it. The next night I will make something else similarly. It will usually be something (chicken parmesan, etc) which I can cook in bulk. I might pay 9 dollars for the meal, but when I have made enough different things and frozen enough that after a while I have an entirely full freezer and can go weeks eating out of it, something different every night, and the only money I spend is to buy things like green tea or salad stuff and toilet paper. Any processed food tends to be both bad for you and ridiculously expensive for what you end up getting. Sinergy

Griswold -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:35:43 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: selfbnd411 I saw this story on the Colbert Report. Supposedly, food stamp recipents receive only $21/week in benefits, and there's a campaign for people to take the "Food Stamp Challenge" to show how impossible is is to live on $21 per person a week. I saw an article debunking both these claims, but it was a conservative blog so I double checked with the USDA Food Stamp Program info website. Yup--the average food stamp benefit isn't $21/week, it's $94/week. Even if it wasn't so high, though--is it really impossible to survive on $21/week? My current diet is less than $21/week and I do just fine. I eat cheese sandwiches for lunch (load them up with veggies) and sandwiches or rice with stir fried veggies cooked from scratch for dinner. I also go to the gym 4x a week plus I'm working a summer job on a delivery truck so it's not like I lay around the house all day. And yet I read articles claiming that one cannot survive on $21/week--it leaves you tired, irritable, and listless. That seems odd to me, considering that I don't feel hungry, I'm not starving, and I don't feel tired/irritable/listless despite expending vastly more energy than I'll wager any of the pundits who have declared the challenge impossible. We are so spoiled now that we think life without bottled water and premium iced tea is not worth living. Certainly, everyone has the right to at least three meals out a week, right? And cook food? From scratch? Such a thing hasn't been heard of since the dawn of mankind! What a bunch of wusses. http://www.bakersfield.com/806/story/156824.html (Journalist claims she starved to death doing it) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101349.html http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/33fsmonthly.htm http://newsbusters.org/node/12926 Bud..I haven't read the follow on posts but I can be certain that a) 9 out of 10 posts will tell you that "you're fucking crazy...$21.00 a week...you're fucking NUTS!!!! I have 3 kids you know....it just fucking can't be done....b) "It can be done...I've tried it", and c)..."if you want to move forward in this life, you need to focus on the long term goal...and you're clearly on it". I make a substantial amount of money annually. (And...No...I'm not going to tell you). (It's a disgusting amount). Now, while many who precede me will tell you..."There's NO FUCKING WAY I can survive on $21.00 a week...you're smoking crack aren't you?" I can assure you, by "substantial", I mean "more than possibly everyone in this venue make...aside from possibly 5 - 15 of you" means...I make more money than very likely fewer than 1/2 od 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2 of 1% so. Be aware...those who believe the OP's comments....will become part of the group who succeed. (And guess what? I ain't eating saltines trying to stay ahead of the game). If you wanna win....you have to get in the game. (While I stay in very nice accomodations when I travel...for fun...for work, I stay in places that don't leak, the doors lock...and when it's all said and done, I spend the difference on things that matter...in my case...real estate...but...) *You* choose. The OP (effectively) stated the same thing as I did.... "You wanna work hard until you're 75...or you wanna give it your all until you're 50...and let someone else (then) pay the freight?" (It's really your option). "The Man" ain't out to get you. (Honest).

whis31 -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:41:41 PM)
I'm a single mother and the food stamps are the difference between making it each month and not.

SugarMyChurro -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 5:59:33 PM)
This is one of those idiot right-wing talking points. What it really amounts to is diverting attention away from the truly egregious things government wastes money on and focusing attention on something that costs almost nothing at all by comparison. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/gallery/050207_TheCostofWar?pg=9 I mean, really - who gives a shit about this topic except as an exercise in frugality? I think most people on public assistance need it and do not even try to scam the system. Where is all the outrage over handouts to corporations, no bid deals, war profiteering on both sides of the aisle, etc? But right, let's not talk about the elephant in the room. I think that's a GOP elephant BTW - at least for right now.

juliaoceania -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 6:14:29 PM)
Food stamps were started as a farm subsidy, and still serve that function I am amazed by all the people that want kids to work, and since they are the largest segment of able bodied people on this program, I suggest we repeal the child labor laws and get those little loafers off the dole. A kid living off $21 bucks a week would not be nutritious, and kids did not consent to being brought up below the poverty line. Now I suppose we could do what Gingrich suggested, put all the little bastards in orphanages, but I would remind you, that would cost many many times the amount of giving their parents a few bucks to feed them. Kids that grow up nutritionally deficient do not do as well in life as kids that grow up eating healthy food. So basically we are condemning kids to a life time of hardships when we do not give a crap what they eat or if they have enough. Now I do not expect everyone reading this to give a crap about the wee ones of this country, but I am not apologizing for being a bleeding heart and caring.

selfbnd411 -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 6:46:14 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania I am amazed by all the people that want kids to work, and since they are the largest segment of able bodied people on this program, I suggest we repeal the child labor laws and get those little loafers off the dole. The point for me isn't that kids should be starving. That's a straw man. The point is that there's a huge gap between what people think they need and what they actually do need. When an adult tells me that they can't buy a gallon of milk...since when do humans need cow's milk to survive? Since when do we need meat, when beans are a superior and less expensive source of protein? Actually, I think the best thing people can do for their kids is teach them that we can actually survive and do quite well without most of the things advertisers and food companies tell us we can't live without. I'm glad my parents showed me how to cook for myself, fix my own cars, and do my own carpentry. It's shocking how many people are functionally inept when it comes to basic skills that every American used to have 50 years ago. PS--The one thing they didn't teach me was how to make my own bondage gear from scratch... Had to learn that for myself [:D]

juliaoceania -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 7:13:33 PM)
I buy expensive foods, and they are not prepared. Most stuff you buy in your grocery store is full of GMOs, hormones, fat, and because it is grown with chemical fertilizer it is devoid of nutrients. If you want to be healthy then you need supplements and to buy organic when feasible. Buying milk for kids is not absolutely necessary, but what i hear you saying is that because kids are poor they do not deserve an ice cream, or a steak, or any other delightful thing once in a while. They should live off bean soup and rice dammit! These are hard times in this here country! I rarely see people bitch about subsidies to big oil or big pharma.... but kids that are below the poverty line should never get a meal that has a little superfluous calories in it. They need to only eat what befits their station in life, Welfare Recipient! I want you to calculate how a single parent receiving no support is supposed to afford beans and rice and rent and gas on minimum wage. Please tell me how they are supposed to afford to feed their kids.... I want you to understand that most people below the poverty line actually WORK. They are the working poor. Now those two words should be oxymorons in this country...working and poor should not go together, but all too often they do. I have studied the welfare system. I have written papers on this topic. I have considered doing a thesis on it, so I am well versed in how ignorant people are about the food stamp system, welfare to work reform, and the like. I know most people do not realize that in most states if a person is not looking for work fulltime they can't get jackshit. I know most people do not understand time clocks on welfare to work. Most people do not understand that when single parents were forced into the labor market they entered a labor market that paid minimum wage. There were not enough jobs. There was no training to help them secure jobs that would pay benefits. These women often paid almost their entire wage to daycare, because there were no openings for people welfare to work deemed suitable care providers that the state would pay for. Often they were paying out more money to work then they were getting when transportation costs were added in. Now the stark reality is that if they wanted to get medical and food stamps for their kids, they had to work these jobs. Your point is lost on me, I guess because I spent 80 bucks at the store today for bare essentials, and I will be going back there tomorrow or the next day to blow 50 bucks more. And I do not buy prepared foods. I basically eat eggs, chicken, salad and oatmeal most of the time, and so do the rest of the occupants of my house. I would say I spend about 200 a week for three people, and I buy nothing prepared.

GoddessDustyGold -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 7:52:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania I buy expensive foods, and they are not prepared. Most stuff you buy in your grocery store is full of GMOs, hormones, fat, and because it is grown with chemical fertilizer it is devoid of nutrients. If you want to be healthy then you need supplements and to buy organic when feasible. Buying milk for kids is not absolutely necessary, but what i hear you saying is that because kids are poor they do not deserve an ice cream, or a steak, or any other delightful thing once in a while. ...<snipped for brevity> Your point is lost on me, I guess because I spent 80 bucks at the store today for bare essentials, and I will be going back there tomorrow or the next day to blow 50 bucks more. And I do not buy prepared foods. I basically eat eggs, chicken, salad and oatmeal most of the time, and so do the rest of the occupants of my house. I would say I spend about 200 a week for three people, and I buy nothing prepared. Wow, Julia...I know you probably have Me blocked, but $200 a week for a family of 3 and you mostly eat chicken, eggs, salad and oatmeal? Somethng is definitely wrong! Whether you choose to buy organic or not, it should not cost you that much, unless the ice cream or steak or some other delightful thing that you serve once in a while means 3 times a week. One problem may be that you state you just spent $80 for staples and you plan to be back at the grovcery store in 2 days to drop another $50. I have many friends who have often asked Me how I manage on what I have to spend, and they are always surprised at the care I take with My food bill. A few have even asked Me to teach them how to shop! No one has gone hungry yet in My family, and I was a single Mom who raised two healthy daughters. Nor did we have any illnesses due to a lack of nutrition. There are many things you can make that are beyond the items you have listed and they cost less and are just a nutritious. I am particularly puzzled about your buying and preparation habits when your daddy has just posted this on the same thread: quote: ORIGINAL: Sinergy I have a refrigerator and stove and dishes, so I have the ability to do this. I will make something like chili in my crock pot or my 2.5 gallon cast iron dutch oven. I will make an entire pot of it. Usually with meat, but not too much. The meat I use is inexpensive pork and beef shoulder. I use a lot of beans in it. I put a lot of fresh veggies in it. Fresh chile peppers. A can or two of tomatoes. The total cost for this might be 8-10 dollars. Cook it. Pop it in the fridge. When it is cool, I divvy it up into ziploc bags and freeze it. The next night I will make something else similarly. It will usually be something (chicken parmesan, etc) which I can cook in bulk. I might pay 9 dollars for the meal, but when I have made enough different things and frozen enough that after a while I have an entirely full freezer and can go weeks eating out of it, something different every night, and the only money I spend is to buy things like green tea or salad stuff and toilet paper. Any processed food tends to be both bad for you and ridiculously expensive for what you end up getting. Sinergy I agree that processed and prepackaged convenience foods lack nutrition. But I do not think that one has to buy "expensive" foods (perhaps we should define "expensive") to eat nutritously. Your Daddy has just attested to that in this same thread. $200 a week! Wow! It's your option, of course, but I am sure I can eat just as well (or better) for a fraction of the cost. So I admit I am mainly reacting here to your angry tone and a seeming claim that this is the only option you have!

Sinergy -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 8:24:12 PM)
GoddessDustyGold, I believe her point was about the fact that food stamps are an emotionally-charged non-issue. An issue raised infrequently in order to direct attention away from the more egregiously ridiculous government spending boondoggles. A sort of political blaming the victim. I often spend a lot of money during the week buying groceries and staples and supplies. Depends on what I want to cook. My point was that it is possible to eat nutritiously and well on a frugal budget. Sinergy

juliaoceania -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 8:53:19 PM)
Sinergy and I do not live together. Sinergy feeds only himself On the other hand I go through about 4 gallons of milk a week alone. Organic milk mind you. I have a 17 yr old UM... and he eats a lot of chicken... I do not block you, you amuse me.

juliaoceania -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 8:55:10 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Sinergy GoddessDustyGold, I believe her point was about the fact that food stamps are an emotionally-charged non-issue. An issue raised infrequently in order to direct attention away from the more egregiously ridiculous government spending boondoggles. A sort of political blaming the victim. I often spend a lot of money during the week buying groceries and staples and supplies. Depends on what I want to cook. My point was that it is possible to eat nutritiously and well on a frugal budget. Sinergy Daddy, her point is just to follow me around and be snarky and pick on my personal life instead of the substance of what I posted...

Aileen68 -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 9:06:48 PM)
I find it extremely easy to spend $200 in a food store. If anyone has the freezer space then the best thing to do is to buy a whole cow from a butcher. You pay a ridiculously low price per pound, any cuts you want. And the best part is you can get the cow from an organic farmer. edited to add...that four hundred or so dollar investment in meat feeds a family of four for over a year.

juliaoceania -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 9:12:33 PM)
Wow Aileen, I would love to do that. I have been thinking of investigating butchers. I spent 22 bucks on a 10 lbs bag of chicken breasts today, and that will hopefully last me a week. My mom who lives with me basically subsists on chicken breasts...lol

DiurnalVampire -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 9:19:36 PM)
I went to the grocery store today. I shop for 2 weeks at a time, living alone. I stock up on what I use the most, and a few perks on the side. I buy store brands, for the most part, and I take lunches with me to work so that I dont have to spend more than I already do. My grand total for 2 weeks groceries? $46.32 I guess that wouldnt be to far from the $21 a week, honesty, since I could easily have gone without the Mrs. Smith Berry pie (well, ok, not easily, it looked damn good) Thing is, I am only buying for myself. Aside from keeping some cookies and soda on hand for Angel, there s nothing in this house that isnt done for me alone. I cant imagine feeding more than one person on that... DV

dcnovice -> RE: Food Stamp Challenge--$21 a week (6/5/2007 9:58:28 PM)
quote: If anyone has the freezer space then the best thing to do is to buy a whole cow from a butcher. You pay a ridiculously low price per pound, any cuts you want. And the best part is you can get the cow from an organic farmer. Care to sell me the suet (kidney fat)?

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