Posted on 09/22/2011 7:36:30 AM PDT by Abathar
(CNN) -- That is the reality for the more than 40 million Americans who rely on food stamps. According to the Food Research and Action Center the average food stamp allotment is just $30 per week.
I began thinking about taking a food stamp challenge earlier this month when I met several women who we profiled on hunger for two CNN stories airing this week. These women had to make tough choices between paying bills and buying food. Often they skipped meals so their children could eat. Often the amount of food stamps they received was not enough.
Living on a food stamp budget for just one week won't begin to put me in these women's shoes or come close to the struggles that millions of low-income families face every day; week in and week out, month after month. But I do expect to gain a new perspective and a better understanding.
(Excerpt) Read more at theindychannel.com ...
Tell me more about the food dehydrator. Sounds like a
good idea.
That’s another habit (or skill) that many on food stamps,
etc. don’t know. Watching for the sales and buying in quantity.
If one shops at 10:30 p.m. at the corner bodega, the prices
will be higher.
wow, I definitely have to do more comparison on bananas.
They are $0.33 to $0.50 each in the local smaller stores.
Those plastic banana protector boxes might be a good idea.
I feel I should note that many in NYC recall the big
outage of 2003 and sundry other ones since, some large
some small. Makes one hesitate to freeze a *lot* of
stuff. The little freezers in refrigerators aren’t that
great either, which is all some ppl have.
How do you can the turkey? Pressure canner?
I mentioned canning too....that does not require a freezer but just a small pressure canner that can be bought for $59 jars can be found many times for free or $7 a dozen and your time.
Not her but yes a pressure canner allows one to can meat easily.It is better in stews and soups but some people just load raw meat cover with boiling water and pressure can, it will make it’s own broth.
Yep, pressure canner. It’s also a great way to preserve meats that are on the verge of getting freezer burned.
That...was awesome. After ten years of tasy but _dense_ screwups, this worked! Crunch crust, moist airy center. We just finished most of it, and assume the rest will be gone by bed.
Unable to find the Dutch oven, used the slow cooker crock instead. A bit too wide, may use another enamel pan instead (and risk it too small).
Almost brain dead easy.
Great! Glad you liked it... My grandmother used to tell me: “bread and meat, ignore them”. Meaning toss it together haphazardly (spices on the meat), and let it sit for the better part of a day or so before you do anything with it. And that definitely is the case with this bread - too much water, not enough kneading, too much heat - and it works like a charm...;)
My roommate and I did it exactly that way in college. We used all sorts of juices. A balloon is a good cheap wine gauge. lol
It’s been a couple months since I made dutch oven bread, beer or otherwise. Going to start one right now. :o)
I know! It’s that time of year when I want to make wine again, so I’d better put a few things on the grocery list for this week. I’ve made a really tasty cranberry variety that I’m going to try again.
God Bless the miracle of Fermentation! :)
You weren’t kidding about the french toast with this bread.
Any chance we can get that bread pudding recipe from you?
You bet!
About 4-6 cups of bread cubes (depending upon how custard-laden you like it - I like it with a thick custard so I do 4 cups)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup diced apple or pears (I prefer the pears)
Mix the eggs, milk, butter and sugar together in a saucepan. Put on med-low heat, and stir while heating until it thickens a little. Remove from heat, add the vanilla.
Take a 9x13 Pyrex baking pan, grease sides and bottom with butter. Mix the bread crumbs, raisins, and diced fruit together and put into the pan, and pour the custard mix over it. Give it a couple good stirs to mix all together.
Bake for an hour at 375. About 10 minutes before its done I like to take it out from the oven, sprinkle with some granulated sugar and cinnamon, and finish off. Gives it a burst of sweetness and makes the top a gorgeous brown.
I can eat on $30 a week. It’s the beer that cost me! lol
I eat what I like. I love Boar’s Head meat bologna with their American cheese.
Let’s not get judgemental like libs. ;-)
Many thanks. I’ve made it several times now. It’s half gone within 20 minutes of completion. It’s perfect bread, exactly what I’ve been seeking for a decade.
Using Costco flour at $16 for 50 lb bag, I figure it cost about $0.30/loaf.
Sounds like my mom’s “poor goulosh”. Lasted at least three meals.
Average. Food stamp allotments are based on income. A person who makes more money gets a smaller allotment. That makes the question of could we feed a family on '$30 a week' a lie.
For example - IF you got $30 a week for food stamps AND you were making $40,000 a year, could you feed your family?
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