My mother in on EBT as well as what assistance I can provide.
A few things in this thread need to be prefaced by that statement:
She has a support structure. If it’s her family or a friend, fostering these relationships should be two way beneficial. In other words we don’t wait until we are thirsty to start digging a well.
My mother’s coming habits have become... Let’s say, lazy. She’s often bored. Dinner takes about 10 to 20 minutes to make. Food gets tossed. It’s all obscene. I’ve been teaching her to make the basics - bread, butter, whipped cream, pastry dough, sauces from scratch. But the idea is still there... She isn’t doing it because it’s not at all convenient.
And this is where the problem lies. People on EBT are not spoiled, they aren’t greedy, they aren’t undeserving (not all). They are convinced that food comes from a building filled with magic that’s totally locked off from the normal person. It’s our packaging.
Suddenly chipped tuna becomes “Starkist (R) tangy sensations” air fried potato slices become “lays crispy delights snacks” and pepper becomes “flamin’ hot (tm)”
Marketing has created this strange divide between what they have to offer and the reality of what it is.
What are “kettle potato chips” ? Well apparently I need some kind of special “kettle” to make it, and Pampered Chef has one for only $400. Ranch dip? I need powdered... Um... Ranch?
So many people have been made ignorant to what food actually is because the marketing language in this space makes the food seem somehow so special that only a food company can make it. Like bottled water. I get it that pipes are gross but I mean... We can’t filter water anymore?
This is why we have needed, for a long time, to return to basics. As you said, to make things from scratch, be it whipped cream or bread or homemade fries. Everything processed (and “easy”) is typically more expensive, too.
The older generation knew how to make food stretch and how to get creative. Rice, beans and pasta go a lot further than a frozen pizza. They also used what they had on hand. I really believe people need to get back to those things, and it wouldn’t hurt to buy a can or two extra of something to create a stockpile, however modest.