Posted on 08/07/2007 11:00:37 AM PDT by NEMDF
Slice: Mother strives for healthful meals on a budget
Sandra Shepard has to make the $500 food stamp allotment she receives reach to the end of the month. She plans carefully so that she will be able to feed her family of five, including, daughter Macole Shepard, 13, and son Dominic Shepard, 10.At half past noon, the No. 30 rolls up. And the family's monthly marketing ritual is on.
Shepard's next three hours will be filled with comparison pricing and child pleas. It will wrap up with 33 plastic grocery bags and a crowded cab ride.
Not a suburban soccer mom's ideal afternoon, but Shepard doesn't mind.
The 44-year-old mother has no job, no car and no husband to share the bills. In her world wracked by financial instability, the monthly shopping trip offers a welcome bit of control.
The tricky part is stretching her food stamp allotment to feed her family of five.
Providing nutritious fare for a little more than $1 per meal per family member is challenging - and it's getting more so every month.
* * *
Grocery prices are soaring at the highest rate in years.
Not since 1980 has the annual growth rate of food bills been as high, said Steve Reed, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fresh vegetables and fruit helped drive up grocery costs 4.6 percent in June compared with a year ago. That's faster than the 2.7 percent inflation rate during that period.
Combine the squeeze at the supermarket with increasing demands on time, and
we're all in danger of falling short of hitting the U.S. Department of Agriculture measures for fit and healthy Americans.
Consider: Only one in five people eats the recommended daily amount of fruit; kids eat less than half the fruits and veggies our federal government advises; and obesity in youngsters is on the rise.
Failure to pull it all off could mean low performance at school or work and raise a number of health problems.
Nationwide, roughly 26 million people receive food stamps on debit-type plastic cards. Shepard is among the 120,000 or so in Nebraska. Half the recipients are children.
For them, the challenge is magnified with every trip to the grocery store.
* * *
When the No. 30 reaches the No Frills intersection, several passengers quickly jaywalk toward the store.
Shepard pauses, her bad foot still smarting from a slip on the ice while walking home from a party in December.
The broken bones have temporarily exempted her from food stamp work requirements.
When she gets a job, she wants day hours. Her past night shifts, Shepard says, have left her kids vulnerable to the streets. Her 15-year-old son has been in the youth detention center for truancy.
Thirteen-year-old daughter Macole, however, is on the honor roll, a distinction mom boasts on a bumper sticker plastered on her front door. Son Dominic, 10, also is on track, and Shepard wants to keep it that way.
She instructs Macole to run into the Dollar Tree for deodorant.
"Ain't nothin' but a dollar, and just as good."
Dominic and his mom saunter into the cool market. It's bursting with brilliant colors and orderly shelves, a contrast to their public housing apartment.
Shepard mounts a motorized scooter. Dominic grabs a shopping cart, and the mom-son caravan heads to the produce aisle.
Mom bypasses bananas, examines strawberries and settles on a pineapple. "Dang," she exclaims. "Apples went up."
She bags 10 nectarines and, after a third thought, gives in to the pricey Bing cherries. "It's summer," she reasons.
Shepard draws the line at the Asian cocktail shrimp that caught her daughter's eye. Nix on the beef Twister Dogs her son saw on TV.
She chooses calorie-dense, generic fish sticks over the trans-fat-free kind. Sodium-plenty salami and smoked liver are in; two-for-$1 corn on the cob out.
"That's just ridiculous. I'll buy the frozen corn."
Key to staying within budget, says Shepard, is buying in bulk. Economy-sized ketchup and pickles. Pork chops by the carton.
"I don't really care for pork chops, but they're cheap."
The 10-pound pack of ground beef will make four meals: spaghetti, sloppy Joes, tacos and hamburgers.
Breakfast? Her kids like the taste of plain-label cocoa puffs.
Snacks? She buys four $1 boxes of gummy candies.
Shepard calls the eight frozen pizzas and two dozen $1 TV dinners "fast food" - they're the closest her children get to Pizza Hut or KFC.
More often, she carves her own nuggets out of chicken breasts.
"Anything a restaurant can make, I can make better," says the former waitress.
She learned the craft from her ex, who was a better cook than a husband.
Just when it seems nothing more will fit in the two carts, Dominic stuffs in 30 Kool-Aid packets. They have sugar at home.
Finally, mom lets the kids splurge on the spicy deli wings they've been eyeing. They're cold and must be microwaved at home. Warm munchies, just like paper products and alcohol, aren't allowed under food stamp rules.
On to the register, where a cashier honors the outside ads tucked under Shepard's arm.
* * *
Total price tag: $346.
Shepard calls a cab, then pores over the draping receipt.
Her food stamp allotment for the month is $500. She has yet to buy food items she saw for less at Walgreens. That will barely leave the $100 food stamp reserve she tries to save for midmonth incidentals.
"Those Bing cherries did me in," she concludes.
The family's separate $500 state welfare check pays for rent, clothes, toiletries and other nonfood supplies.
Fifteen minutes later, Happy Cab arrives and Shepard packs the trunk with bags. Jumbo egg and Ramen noodle cartons ride on kids' laps.
Shepard calls ahead on her cell phone to round up carriers.
Keith, her 18-year-old, meets the cab at the 29th and Parker Streets housing project. A recent South High graduate, he baby-sits his girlfriend's child while she attends school.
Monte, the 15-year-old, is a no-show. The two oldest live in Missouri.
Once inside, Macole and Dominic snap into action.
They remove all frozen items from boxes so more fits in the refrigerator-freezer.
They store meat and cheese in the deep freezer, which Shepard bought for $80 with her Earned Income Tax Credit. She calls it her salvation because it lets her stock up on sale items.
"We always had a deep freeze growing up."
Shepard fondly recalls her "spoiled" childhood on a Missouri farm with fruit trees.
She became pregnant with her first child at age 20, had another child but never married their father.
She wound up in an Omaha shelter seven years ago after escaping the abusive man she did wed. Here, she received higher public assistance benefits and was absorbed into public housing.
Despite being in a high-crime pocket, she is pleased with her four-bedroom apartment. It's on the outer ring of the housing development, and she says violence is worse near the core.
Nonetheless, summer requires extra vigilance. The same watchful eye goes for the family budget, since the kids during this break don't get free school breakfasts and lunches.
* * *
For now, anyway, the refrigerator is full. Everyone's happy.
Shepard is frustrated by her limited mobility, but there's a bright side: She'd be throwing together a lot more "fast food" dinners if she were working.
Indeed, preparing healthful meals on a food stamp budget requires time and planning.
Dominic lobbies for his favorite: weenie and bean casserole topped with cornbread. Low in nutrients, but tasty and cheap.
Mom's doughnuts - hot biscuits topped with powdered sugar glaze - will be dessert.
"We manage," said Shepard. "You just deal with it the best you can."
Here in MI the bing cherries are on sale for $2.49 a pound. Normally they run $4.99 and more if you want Ranier.
I often struggle with buying local produce from a roadside stand and paying the cheaper price at Meijer, especially with all the concerns over imports.
My husband loves cherries but our budget is tight.
Carbs are cheap, produce out of season, dairy and meat isn't.
I thought so, too! I wish Detroit would take a lesson from their playbook. There's enough vacant acreage in Michigan's armpit to supply hundreds of people with fresh produce -- it would help solve the lack of good veggies because no decent grocery stores, too.
She's out of work for an injury that happened in december that most people wouldn't have taken two weeks off work for. She is doing pretty well riding the lazy bus and stealing our income.
I've never been laid off of work for more than 2 workdays without finding some way to make money.
Costco can make you run through your money fast. Yes, it saves buying in bulk, but you still end up paying more per month. When I used to go to Sam’s club my bill was always higher, even though I got great bargains. It’s just the way it is.
But I do know some families do need to spend more than others. I have found area makes a big difference, and also if you include stuff other than cleaners - well, if you have a young one in diapers that can bring your bill up really fast. But most people I know like to spend about $100 a week. Some spend a little more, and I know a family of ten that manages on about $20 per person per week.
Just chase it with vodka and you won’t feel a thing.
My parents are very generous. I never ask them for anything, but when they offer, I’m happy to accept :-).
Ever again!
$6000 a year in food specific welfare, another $6000 a year in general welfare, a free 4 bedroom public apartment that probably costs us another $8 or 10,000 a year, free medical care for all of them, free public school for 5 bastard children - at least one of whom seems to already have one bastard of his own.
All told this woman and her brood are raking in at least $50,000 a year, probably more like $75,000, for nothing at all!
Offering these welfare queens a $50,000 lump sum tax free and a new car in exchange for being sterilized would be the best money we ever spent.
Sounds yummy!
Maters and onions are the only fruit/veggies I put in my sauce.
When I get in the mood (and have the maters) to cook sauce it is a 3 to 5 day project, which is why I do not put meat in it, that can be added later.
The amount of tomatoes I have determines if I use the 20 quart or the 33 quart stock pot. I do saute the onions and garlic in a 5 quart pot before putting them in the stock pot.
The urban neigbourhood I grew up in had been market gardens until hurricane Hazel wiped it out in 1954. One of the effects of the storm was that the berry canes went feral in the parkland around the neighbourhood. I fondly remember spending summer afternoons in the woods and coming home with three to four quarts of raspberries, blackberries and thimbleberries :-)
Medicaid covers sterilization. She should have taken advantage of it long ago
I think we forgot the mark-up on inner city groceries. Sometimes I stop at the supermarket in the city and — just as a for instance — cake mix that usually costs 89 to 93 cents a box elsewhere costs $1.23 there. Mark-ups on every item would add up. Also, she mentioned some items were cheaper at the drug store. Well, let me tell you, that is like an alternate universe to think some things are cheaper at the drug store!
That said, I agree with everyone that said she’s using too much meat per meal; the older kids need to get jobs; and over all her home economics skills need a tune-up.
That’s pretty slim pickings.
What about sandwich stuff for lunch, and milk, coffee(!) and eggs? Beverages for the kids (juice, iced tea mix, etc?) How about basic condiments like butter, seasonings, bread crumbs, sugar and flour?
What about Health and beauty aids (HABA) like toothpaste, soap, deodorant, aspirin, toilet paper, and maybe a splurge on moisturizer or sun screen? What about baggies, saran wrap or aluminum foil for leftovers or taking a meal out of the house? How about dish soap, toilet bowl cleaner a bottle of bleach, detergent and a bottle of some generic “fantastic” type cleaner? What about diapers, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products and a few basic first aid supplies for the kids?
This is all part of the “grocery” shopping for a family with kids. One hundred dollars a month plus the “specials” each week might barely do it.
Ever see a 15 year old home after school & sports devour the left-overs planned for another family dinner while standing at the refrigerator door?
(I’m also surprised to see “2 lbs breaded chicken tenders” For about the same price you can get breadcrumbs, an egg or a little milk and 3+ lbs whole (boneless) chicken breasts, slice them yourself into cutlets and prepare a much better meal or two.)
A bottle of generic bleach and a box of powdered laundry detergent will cover that.
Mix together with water and start scrubbing.
13 million adults on food stamps! Clearly we need more illegal aliens to do the work Americans won't do.
What about Health and beauty aids (HABA) like toothpaste, soap, deodorant, aspirin, toilet paper.
Still available for pennies.
and maybe a splurge on moisturizer or sun screen?
LoL.
What about diapers, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products and a few basic first aid supplies for the kids?
Vinegar, cotton balls, a cotton sheet, isopropyl alcohol. Again available for pennies.
I can just see me asking my dad for "first aid supplies" as a kid. What could that possibly mean beyond a band-aid?
LMAO.
Ever see a 15 year old home after school & sports devour the left-overs planned for another family dinner while standing at the refrigerator door?
When mommy and/or daddy can pay for extracurricular activities then they can pay for food.
The World-Herald keeps publishing articles trying to stir up sympathy for our less fortunate brethren, but somehow reality gets in the way. There was an earlier story about the travails of a high school dropout with two bastards from two different men (in the picture accompanying the article she wears a shirt that says “I like nice boys, but I love bad boys.”) There was another story about a 17-year-old high school freshman — he spent three years smoking weed and skipping school. He blames the world for not paying attention to him.
Since when is school an "extra cirricular" activity?
Boys in their teens can polish off a lot of groceries and usually do it under the influence of an empty stomach with little regard for the family budget, or what their mom had planned for leftovers.
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