I remember that surplus cheese and peanut butter. We were just this side of not being eligible but when all the eligible folks got theirs then they’d hand out the leftovers to anyone. Our school used all that government surplus and it was wonderful. Peanut butter on lunch trays everyday. Homemade yeast rolls with real butter!
We couldn’t afford regular milk so it was powdered milk. Gawd awful nasty stuff. I still won’t have it in the house unless it’s a small box used just for homemade yogurt. In high school, a neighbor gave us milk fresh from her milk cow. Ahhhh, the skies opened and the angels sang! OMG, there is nothing better than real cow milk. OK, sneaking the cream off the top was up there, too. I’d take a pint jar and shake it to make butter while watching tv at night. Sure, those were little things but it was little things that helped stretch the budget. People these days don’t understand that or can’t be bothered.
I remember that awful powdered milk as well, and coming from a poor background - we didn’t have food stamps nor get government cheese or anything. Nor did we eat very well, and that’s why I don’t complain about people who need help receiving food stamps. Some forget from whence they came.
“We couldn’t afford regular milk so it was powdered milk. Gawd awful nasty stuff. I still won’t have it in the house unless it’s a small box used just for homemade yogurt.”
We were reduced to powdered milk for a while when I was young. I still have some in the house, but it’s strictly prepper stuff for the apocalypse.
Having powdered milk by itself was pretty bad, but my mom would make it half and half. As I got older when someone would say "half and half" I wouldn't think "cream."
One memory I have is sneaking into the frig at night and taking a couple huge swigs of whole milk.