Less than $2 a meal | A reporter takes the Food Stamp Challenge

Kansas City Star ^ | Jill Wendholt Silva

[operation clinton cleanup]

Usually I make a list and send Otavio to the store, but that is always risky in terms of budget. If the sushi looks good, he’ll probably buy it.

Is Otavio her servant or her (unfortunate) husband?

[HungarianGypsy]

I am on an e-group called BudgetHomemaking. One lady said she feeds her family on $50 a week and broke down how she does it. Her food looked very yummy. Except I must have fresh or frozen veggies. Canned I just will not eat.

[Harpo Speaks]

The whole premise of the article is based on a lie.

Food stamps are not designed to be your sole provider of food. They are meant to supplement the income you already have — such as a job or other government benefits.

[HungarianGypsy]

One thing that can cut things down. $3 a loaf for bread. I was able to find a bread machine for $15 at the thrift store.

[M203M4]

Just a few years ago, as college students, my wife and I ate fairly well on $40 per person per week. No junk food (cake, pop, cookies, donuts, booze, pie, etc), no prepared foods, lots of whole grains (oatmeal especially), lots of cheap cuts of raw meat and cheap veggies, and lots of canned/frozen fruit and veggies. We never went out to eat (and we still don't that often) either. We both still managed to gain weight! And, though we never needed it, there was a 100% charity food bank a few blocks away that we could have leaned on.

I'm not sure what people are expecting to be able to get on the government dole, which is supposed to be a supplement anyway (and, in turn, can be again supplemented by private charitable food banks/pantries depending on your location).

[Chode]

i not only can... i DO eat on less than $5.00 a day.

unless i eat out or want to grill/B-B-Q that is.

i eat a yogurt and a cup of coffee in the morning(.75) i take a sandwich to work(1.00) and that leaves 3.25 for dinner/bedtime snack.

[Drango]

But for a food writer

More like an idiot.

[ktscarlett66]

I was thinking the same thing about most women I know! I spend roughly the same amount - a bit more but that also includes pet foods, cleaning supplies, laundry, *some* paper goods (I’m more of a recycle-those-old-sheets-for-cleaning kind of gal than buying disposable cleaners) *and* some extras like ice cream. Feeding a family of 4 which includes two very healthy teenage boys and often a stray friend or two and I have no problem creating healthy, yummy meals for us. Once I fed us off a turkey for a solid week when money was tight and we had a great and different dinner every night (although hubby did ask me to ‘buy some red meat, PLEASE!’ that payday!) I also do a lot of stuff with leftover meat and bones, soups, stews, casseroles, stir fry, and have created some family favorites just by throwing things together that I have on hand. I bake a lot from scratch too.

I don’t get the author’s difficulty here.....

[true_blue_texican]

My wife, our 2 kids, and myself were on foodstamps for about 5 months. Just enough time to get back on my feet after a bad job experience. We were thankful for them when we needed them and thankful to be able to mail the rest back to the state (this was before debit cards) and cancel our “membership” when I got a job again.

[ktscarlett66]

And bread that, she admits, goes moldy most of the time before they eat it! Ka-ching!

[jacquej]

Guess what, HungarianGypsy?

You do not even need a bread machine to make great bread! In fact, hand-kneaded bread is so much tastier than machine kneaded bread, particularly if you keep a “biga” going.

If someone really wants bread on the cheap, they would be better off buying a grain mill, grinding thier own wheat, and then feasting on something that can’t be bought in a store.

Truly food for the privileged, seriously. All it takes is basic survival skills, something most of us have never considered, alas.

[therut]

I can do that. We have a Con Agri outlet store in town. I can get Healthy Choice meals for 35 cents each. Yes 35 cents. It is a much cheaper way to do a Nutra System type diet also. Go to the Wonderbread outlet store and get bread 5 for a dollar. Just gotta know where to go.

[padre35]

“And bread that goes moldy”

Artisan bread at that, 4.00 or more a loaf.

That would make great stuffing, croutons, bread pudding etc.

Sort of like manbearpig flying around in a Gulfstream jet to speaking engagements on the subject of the need to reduce our “carbon footprints”.

Libs are clueless.

[ktscarlett66]

Ahhh, homemade, hand kneaded bread. You got that right!

I had to make several loaves of bread for son’s Spanish class this year. When it came out of the oven, hubby and I looked at each other and said, we really can’t send this in without knowing that it tastes ok...I think we ate half a loaf that night, the two of us!

I also don’t understand why the author couldn’t have friends over (c’mon, a big pot of spaghetti....? or homemade mac and chee and a big fresh salad?) We do that all the time even on our budget. Our friends aren’t here for haute cuisine, they’re here because they want to spend time with us and we all enjoy being together! She couldn’t have taken a casserole of red beans and rice to her daughter’s school? Pathetic.

[HungarianGypsy]

Oh! I know how to make my own bread. I held out for a long time on getting a bread machine. I would say, “Don’t buy the bread, dear. I’ll make some.” But, I would get distracted and it was messy, so I wouldn’t do it as often as I should. The advantage to the bread machine is my kids can make the bread and I can ignore it for a few hours until it’s ready.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

WHAT?? You think I should depend on my MYSELF for my livelihood? I should earn money to support me and my family? Are you nuts? That’s what guvmint is fer!

[BykrBayb]

Her difficulty is that she doesn’t know how to cook. She thinks expensive = good.

I understand not having cream for the strawberry shortcake, but you don’t solve the problem by putting yogurt in it. Yuck!

André must be a real milquetoast to put up with that diet she served him. My husband would have a lot more to say than just “Where’s the beef?” Something along the line of “So, where shall we eat tonight?”

[jacquej]

Well, gypsy, you ought to be teaching your kids how to knead it. Don’t they want to have nice strong arms?

Besides, then they can make nice pizza dough to flip on the grill, and cover with their own very favorite toppings.

Just don’t forget to tell them what toppings are your favorites, and give out prizes for the best grilled pizza!

[scottteng]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1841689/posts
cry me a river my two kids and I eat on less than $200 a month and we don’t eat just rice and beans either. Plus kids are homeschooled so no “free” school lunches and breakfasts are included. Stuff is a little cheaper here in Florida closer to the year round veggie farms. Shop careful hit the sales actually cook from scratch most of the time it can be done. God forbid hit the special value produce rack once in a while for variety. BTW frozen cauliflower is still 99 cents a bag oh my you have to cook it. And my 5 gallon bucket cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs on the deck make everything taste better.

28 posted on 05/29/2007 7:40:12 PM PDT by scottteng (Proud parent of a Star scout.)
My post and thread same topic still applies. In this article: a food stamp card is a automatic ticket to free school breakfast and lunch here in Florida. Not the nutritous one you might imagine but junk food. Kids hate that fancy bread Wonder bread is $.81 per loaf at the bread store down the street. One can eat very high on the food stamp hog.

[ktscarlett66]

Oh, bread pudding...! When I make that, my sons also eat it for breakfast, they reason that it’s basically french toast, just in a different form. They’re right, of course.

You can even take bread that’s gotten slightly old and put in on the broiler. Olive oil and garlic, or tomato sauce and a bit of mozzarella. Or fry it in a pan with the center cut out and cook an egg in the center.