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Eating well on nearly nothing
Sustainable Food Trust ^ | 08 April 2016 | Anna Rohleder

Posted on 04/18/2016 3:08:35 PM PDT by Lorianne

The benefit provided by the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) works out to about $4 per day per person (about £2.80 at current exchange rates). If that weren’t dismaying enough, the government pamphlets that offer advice for grocery shopping on such a restricted budget tend to be flyers illustrated with clip art and little in the way of real tips – “include meatless meals to extend your protein dollars” is about as creative as it gets – and zero inspiration for nutritious meals with colour and flavour.

Leanne Brown decided to change that. As the thesis project for her masters’ degree in Food Studies at New York University a few years ago, she wrote a cookbook based on a SNAP budget called Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day. When she made it available as a free PDF, it suddenly went viral: it was downloaded more than 100,000 times in a few weeks. Brown decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to make printed copies available to people without computers. That initiative was also more successful than she envisioned: instead of the $10,000 she asked for, she received more than $144,000, allowing her to get about 40,000 copies of the cookbook printed. These have since been distributed to more than 980 food banks and other community organisations in the US and Canada to pass on to their clients. The free PDF, meanwhile, has been downloaded nearly 1 million times now.

And no wonder: Good and Cheap challenges every assumption one might have about eating on a budget. The pages are filled with photographs of luscious-looking food, while the recipes themselves are built around the creative possibilities of cooking rather than the limitations of funds. Often the recipes incorporate the idea of multi-purpose ingredients, or variations on a theme, such as Oatmeal Six Ways (including a savoury version with cheddar and scallions). “I called it a cookbook but I think of it as a strategy guide,” Brown says. Here’s how those strategies translate into shopping for food as well as cooking it.

What’s the key to eating well on less money?

Leanne: It’s really about developing different sorts of habits. What are your go-to meals? How do you frame your visit to the store? If you are looking to spend X amount, and make X number of meals out of that, then adding in considerations like raw ingredients versus prepared is important. There is a bit of an investment in time at the beginning of the process, but over the long term, this kind of planning can actually save time because then you will have the food in your pantry that you want, the groceries you won’t regret.

Then there are things like never buying drinks, either in the grocery store or when you’re out. The way our economy is structured, restaurants and stores make their money on drinks rather than food because they’re very cheap to make but can be sold at a high margin. You can save a lot of money by having coffee at home, or making “health drinks” yourself with water and a little fruit juice.

... snip


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cookbook; free; nutrition
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1 posted on 04/18/2016 3:08:35 PM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

got chicken quarters for .79 a pound at shoprite yesterday.

at 16 bucks that’s 20 quarters plus water for four.

Better than starving and I guess better than working.


2 posted on 04/18/2016 3:11:05 PM PDT by dp0622 (The only thing an upper crust conservative hates more than a liberal is a middle class conservative)
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To: Lorianne

There is a much better and cheaper way, ABOLISH FOOD STAMPS and Go back to Soup Lines run by Charities, bring the REAL WORLD right out front and in the open.


3 posted on 04/18/2016 3:12:17 PM PDT by eyeamok
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To: Lorianne

Another variation of the ‘iron triangle’.

Good food-—cheap-—time.

You may have any two, of the three.


4 posted on 04/18/2016 3:16:14 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT (Looks like it's pretty hairy.)
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To: Lorianne

[[What’s the key to eating well on less money?]]

Sticky fingers and knowing where all the security cameras are


5 posted on 04/18/2016 3:24:50 PM PDT by Bob434
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Time can come from practice.

Nothing is easy the first few times.

My first kitchen rule I just can’t get the females in the house to follow is “Always start with a clean kitchen and clean as you go.”


6 posted on 04/18/2016 3:27:50 PM PDT by PeteB570 ( Islam is the sea in which the Terrorist Shark swims. The deeper the sea the larger the shark.)
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To: Lorianne

I’ve done $4 a day for years.


7 posted on 04/18/2016 3:37:26 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Lorianne
We've had these discussions for years on FR. Working people all over are able to feed their families on tight budgets. They are able to do so by buying raw food and COOKING it.

At my supermarket, the weekly ad says a whole ham shank is .79/lbs, pork chops $1.99/pound. Another nearby supermarket's ad has a whole roaster chicken on sale for 88 cents/pound. Add rice or a baked potato, and you're all set.

You just need forget about processed microwaveable food, and learn to COOK.

8 posted on 04/18/2016 3:37:53 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: Lorianne

First principles: Buy basic raw foods cheap (chicken, pork, tough cuts of beef for slow cooking, vegetables, fruit, and starches) and cook at home. Discount stores and weekly food ads are your friends. Not only cheap but far healthier than heavily processed sugar infused crap. The main problem, of course, is that all requires forethought, intelligence, and a will to work shopping and cooking. None of those characteristics come to mind with today’s “poor”.


9 posted on 04/18/2016 3:38:46 PM PDT by katana (Just my opinion)
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To: PapaBear3625

Back in my day, most kids had 2 parents in the house and the schools taught “home economics” in addition.

After 2 generations of the “Great Society” a lot of basic life skills have been lost I’m afraid....


10 posted on 04/18/2016 3:41:20 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: Lorianne
What's ironic is that working people are often the ones who have to clip coupons, look for bargains and cook from scratch from raw ingredients while the food stamp crowd get to fill up their carts with abandon and no regard to price whatsoever. They also tend to get processed pre-cooked foods that only have to get heated up in the microwave so it doesn't cut into their TV time.

It is rewarding though to cook from scratch. I can make an entire turkey last all week along with a bag of carrots, onions, garlic, celery and maybe a few sweet potatoes.

11 posted on 04/18/2016 3:42:34 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: Lorianne

a person can have a small patio or kitchen garden.

if they own land people can plant fruit and nut trees and have free food for years.


12 posted on 04/18/2016 3:44:35 PM PDT by daisy12
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To: Lorianne

Who doesn’t understand the “Supplemental” in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program? Rather than the $4/day quoted average they should look at the maximum benefit as a survival budget.


13 posted on 04/18/2016 3:45:15 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (An orange jumpsuit is the new black pantsuit.)
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To: eyeamok

Or hand out boxes of food like macaroni and cheese, rice and beans, canned fruits and vegetables.


14 posted on 04/18/2016 3:45:55 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: Lorianne

The cost of eggs has been going up, but as a single guy they’re my base in nearly everything. Fry them and stir in almost any meat or vegetable.


15 posted on 04/18/2016 3:46:29 PM PDT by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Don't Tread On Me)
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To: Lorianne

Work hard for a living and you can eat like the Cartwrights

@ Ponderosa. :9


16 posted on 04/18/2016 3:46:47 PM PDT by Gasshog (CruZ is Romney's spork weasel sock puppet)
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To: Lorianne

The problem is that eating well cheaply requires effort and self-discipline.


17 posted on 04/18/2016 3:52:40 PM PDT by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach, said one woman.)
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To: Lorianne

Hunt, Fish, Bee Hives, and Garden ....... Keep a Chicken Coop, eggs and fryers........ easy life, Cheap. Annual fish and game license in under 70 bucks.

I barter with a local farmer to drive grain trucks for em during harvest... gets me hunting / fishing rights, a beef cow and hog for meat to augment venison and fish shot and caught......

Still my favorite dish is pinto’s and cornbread or rice an sausage ...... cheap cheap cheap.....

Stay Safe !!


18 posted on 04/18/2016 4:07:43 PM PDT by Squantos ( Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet ...)
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To: Lorianne

Given to people who can’t read well, do basic math or measuring, would rather be watching Maury or texting on their Obamaphones, have trouble scheduling and meeting schedules, and prefer buying steaks and lobsters at the beginning of the month because they’re really good and the end of the month is too far away to plan for.

It’s probably good for those of us who are forced to pay for SNAP, though.


19 posted on 04/18/2016 4:13:33 PM PDT by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: Lorianne

My canner is ready to go. I also bought a pressure canner and propane hot plate last year for those things that can’t be done with the water bath. I pretty much stick to basics on what we’ll actually use. tomatoes, strawberries, green beans and peaches. I buy the 2nds for canning from local growers.


20 posted on 04/18/2016 4:54:57 PM PDT by SueRae (An election like no other..)
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