This is Day 1 of a month long food stamp challenge. If this is your first visit, please check out this link to see all of the posts and get a better understanding of what is going on.
FIRST SHOPPING TRIP
We were short on time for shopping today as John had to work, so we had to do a very quick blind shopping trip to the two nearest stores because the current sales start tomorrow.
Still, we started with just a barebones pantry and certainly didn’t have much to put together a meal with.
PURCHASES
| ITEM | SIZE | PRICE | UNIT | PRICE/ UNIT |
| all purpose flour | 5 lbs | 1.62 | cups | .09 |
| sugar | 8 lbs | 4.12 | cups | .23 |
| green beans | 2 cans | .86 | can | .43 |
| whole corn | 1 can | .43 | can | .43 |
| white rice | 4 lbs | 2.49 | cups | .31 |
| yeast | 3 packets | 1.08 | packet | .36 |
| hot dog buns | 12 pack | 1.08 | each | .09 |
| russet potatoes | 10 lbs | 3.25 | lb | .30 |
| turnip greens | 16 oz bag (fresh) | 1.30 | oz | .08 |
| chicken breast | 2.81 lb | 4.57 | oz | .10 |
| sloppy joe mix | 1 can | 1.08 | can | 1.08 |
| sand. bread | loaf | 1.08 | slice | .05 |
| TOTAL SPENT | 22.96 |
While we did spend just over 8% of our total budget today, most of the purchases have a lot of staying power. 10 pounds of potatoes will last the entire month, as will 4 pounds of rice. The split chicken breasts came pre-seasoned and were reduced for quick sale. Flour and yeast will make it possible to make our own bread after we have used the loaf bread and hot dog buns.
NOTE: In the interest of not wasting food that was already on hand as well as to reflect a somewhat accurate portrayal of what the average household might have at the start of a given month, we have a starting pantry with basic perishable items that would otherwise spoil as well as a few basics. None of the items in the starting pantry would be considered a luxury item and with few exceptions, only items that are in danger of going out of date or have already been opened are included. A complete list of our starting pantry items will be posted soon.
BREAKFAST: $0.00
John had coffee with powdered creamer & sugar and I had hot tea & sugar from the starting pantry.
LUNCH: $0.20
John made 2 peanut butter sandwiches with bread purchased today and peanut butter from the starting pantry. The per slice price of the bread comes out to $.05.
Michael had a packet of ramen noodles from the starting pantry.
DINNER: $4.30
Oven roasted chicken
turnip greens
mashed potatoes
Sweet tea (starting pantry)
DAILY TOTAL: $4.50 (+$3.68 for the day)
NOTES
We both woke up hungry this morning and though we’re accustomed to skipping breakfast more often than not, we probably shouldn’t have today. John’s sandwiches for lunch didn’t fill him up and the tap water at work was so unpleasant he didn’t drink anything.
Dinner was great and very welcome after a long day.
Total Spent to Date: $22.96
Total Remaining: $256.22
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Curious – how close were the two closest stores? were they chain stores or small grocers?
Suggestion – buy oatmeal/grits and eat it in the morning. You will be less hungry at lunchtime. Shredded wheat is pretty cheap and filling, too.
Comment: For the price of the chicken breasts you could have gotten a whole chicken. Your budget is too tight to make that kind of mistake. Your going to end up eating at your cousins house by the end of the month. (roflmbo)
Jokes aside, you probably bought the breasts because they were “on sale,” and ready to heat and eat. We don’t realize how much we pay for convenience in food. Heat and eat is not cheap, even “on sale.”
Another suggestion – you should outline your monthly plan. What’s cheap now, how are you going to use it in your meal planning? What do you have freezer space for? (Always an issue if you are not lucky enough to have a deep freezer.)
Last suggestion – commit to not spending more than half your money before the 15th, no matter what tempts you. Otherwise, you will be eating at soup kitchens by the end of the month.
I remember the depression thinking, “how are we going to live on this little bit of money.” I remember the in-your-face satisfaction when I figured out how to get it done. I never went back to eating food or buying food the “old way” again.
If you think you appreciate the value of growing your own foodand herbs/spices, and of teaching others how to do the same now, wait until the end of the month.
When I had kids to feed, we rarely ate “plain meat”, no matter what kind. A little meat with noodles or rice or potatoes. Almost every dinner main meal was a casserole. It was the only way to make things stretch. Example: rice, cream of mushroom soup, one can of tuna, and I had tuna-rice casserole that fed the family and the hubby still had leftovers for lunch. Or – Noodles, 1 lb ground beef, can of tomato sauce, packet of taco spice, and I had taco casserole with a lot of leftovers. Eat the chicken, but boil the carcass and get every last bit of meat and flavoring out of it. Toss a few carrots, celery, onions, spice and noodles in for homemade noodle soup, or rice for chicken rice soup. Of course I was feeding a family, but you get the idea. Meat absolutely has to take a back seat to the filler of rice/potato/noodles, which you obviously have aleady figured out. Pancakes for dinner, cheese sandwich for dinner. etc.
Both of the stores shopped on Day 1 are about 10 miles one day. Save-A-Lot is a chain while Hometown Market is small and locally owned.
We bought the chicken because we were very short on time and it was the most cost effective meat option where we were. There was enough from that package for a nice dinner and chicken salad for lunches. It was not ideal but another good example of what might happen with a food stamp recipient who is in too much of a hurry. Still, that chicken will provide 2 dinners, 2 lunches and a seasoned chicken broth so it wasn’t all bad.
I really wanted to set this up and have a monthly menu planned and posted. Because I couldn’t know the sales in advance like that, a lot of this is happening very quickly. Another example of the average food stamp shopper who doesn’t plan ahead. I love the idea about capping mid-month spending but because we are buying some items that will last for the entire month I’m not sure it is feasible.
This month is just the start of an ongoing dialogue. I’m doing this so I can say “I did this and made it without using mega skills and gardening.” Saying I’ve been there and proving it are two different things. This exercise is putting my life on display for the world to see, but it has a tremendous potential benefit. And it KILLS ME to not use the fresh herbs right outside the back door for some of these dishes!
We have a few tricks up our sleeves, just you wait! That splurge on reduced chicken was 2 dinners, 2 lunches and some really tasty pre-seasoned chicken broth, so it wasn’t completely bad.
Hey Michael something I would like to see with this..many of us on Food Stamps cannot afford a car..so I would like to see you conquer the task of going to the grocery store on the bus…knowing that you can only buy what you can carry..and you must sit at the bus stop..knowing that your frozen foods just might not make it.
Excellent point to be made, Laurel. Unfortunately I live in a rural area without access to a bus so I can’t recreate the problem myself. Still, I hope that some other readers might be able to offer some input.
remember most food stamp recipients are also getting a food bo or two besides, and oftentimes the agencies have some fresh stuff they give out (possible herbs!) so don’t feel bad or that it’s “cheating” to use your own herbs you’ve grown! Even us poor folks can pick some dandelion greens to add to the table! That being said, Jaevonna was definitely on the mark when she said about getting the whole chicken…ALWAYS make soup with the yucky pieces and bones!…or at least stock to use for gravy over those potatoes…which you will find will not go as far as you think when you are using them for the main part of your meal! And be sure to make friends with beans, “the poor man’s meat”! Good luck. I WISH I had the food stamps to buy food with. The people that have them and complain have not had to do without them, and constantly go from month-to-month with shut-off notices from utilities, borrowing money for gas to get to work, etc. They should be grateful for what they are given! At the time of my life when I received food stamps, it was definitely enough to feed the family, if you are receiving the ma imum. People need to use common sense when cooking, and gratitude when eating…and save ice cream for birthdays!
Don’t mention ice cream, that’s John’s kryptonite! He seriously loves the stuff.
Thanks for bringing up food boxes, that’s a great point. as for chicken, we usually do buy and cook whole birds, we just haven’t found it for the right price yet. It’s just Day 2 though so give us time :)
This is my favorite thing to read. I love the reader comments and ideas! Not only are YOU helping by doing this, you are bringing wisdom out in others.. helping more than you knew you would be!
Tell everyone you know! Hell, I’d love to see this hit the media and really get a conversation started.
How do you know which foods qualify or what budget you have?
This link answers the budget question. As for the foods that qualify, so long as it is not a hot prepared food (think restaurant or supermarket deli), you can get it with food stamps. Even sodas and candy bars are eligible.
What I see a lot – and I do not know if this is norm everywhere, but here it seems to be – is that people on food stamps buy lots of processed foods. I see cart loads of frozen dinners, box meals and things that you can microwave. Very seldom do I see meat, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. I suggested that a program be started – and was willing to do it – that would help others learn how to shop and cook. I think a huge problem is a lot of people do not know how to cook these days. I lived next to a lady that received $5,000 a month (and no, I am not kidding) in food stamps. She went to the store daily and threw or gave the food she had away to make room for what she bought. She could not make it on the food stamps and by the end of the month was at the pantry begging for food. There were 5 adults and 4 children in that house.
I found that link after I posted that. Sorry!
This really makes me think about what I do and how I could be better in terms of money and health.
And I think you should be able to use your garden. I know my grandmother was on a fixed income and she always had a garden. Urban dwellers in apartments might not have them, but a lot of people probably do. Maybe you can limit what you use to the equivalent of one plant per vegetable or something?
I don’t know.
i think it’s funny you got hot dog buns and no weiners!!
also, i think Alabama’s FS amount is less than the average…certainly less than Oregon’s.
You’re not the first to bring that up, but there was a method to my madness. I had to go back to shop today with a new sale and a coupon! I got some weiners!
In fiscal year 2010 Alabama was #33 among states in the amount of money SNAP recipients got each month.
I am quite thoroughly intrigued with this project on several fronts. The discourse going on in the comments section is definitely adding to the flavor of the project and is adding the sociological elements that make the scholar in me quite curious. There are also more personal aspects involved that have me curious.
One thought I had as I read today’s comments was to ask how difficult it would be to maybe make homemade ice cream at some point. It you could manage to catch some of the primary ingredients on sale, and if you have an ice cream freezer, then you could make a batch that would feasibly stretch out much longer than a typical store bought container would. Flavoring it can also be as easy as adding a little cocoa or some overripe strawberries.
It might not work with the budget you have, but I wanted to toss the idea out as one potential.
Michael i can answer about shopping on the bus..you find yourself buying different things because you have a limited space and weight you can carry..some of these things are more expensive..such as being that I shop on the bus i CANNOT purchase bulk …I cant carry it!! yes i bring my own bag which are stronger than the plastic bags the store gives you..but i still have a limited amount of space in my bus seat..and I have to physically be able to tote it ALL home at once from the bus stop a ways down the road. Frozen foods?? Depends on the temp outdoors because like it or not..the bus only come every hour
To me this challenge lacks a few things..you see if you make any money at all..they subtract from your food budget…That includes the money you are using to pay those necessities such as rent..power..water. The state does not care that you have to pay that money in vital bills..you are penalized none the less. So ..if YOU were to count the money you pay for rent, power and water …how much would you get???
It is something that is definitely on the potential list!
Again, this is an example of someone not being able to see the large scale benefit of the challenge that we are doing. John and I both work (thankfully) and are not on government assistance because we don’t need and it would not qualify for it. That’s not something this challenge lacks as you say, it is exactly why I came up with the challenge in the first place – because I don’t have to and someone doing it when they don’t have to carries more impact to the general public.
I’ve been trying to come up with how I feel about this, and it’s really complicated.
I think you have a lot of good points, I think it’s a well thought-out experiment, and I think it has the potential to educate a lot of people about a lot of things.
On the other hand, even as much as you’ve tried to make it “fair” and accurate, it still makes a lot of assumptions.
It assumes that everyone on food stamps knows how to cook. It assumes that if they don’t know how to cook, they have the time and resources to learn, which isn’t necessarily cheap (since time=money). It assumes that if they are willing to learn, they’re willing to live with having to throw away food occasionally, because everyone has cooking disasters that are inedible when they’re learning.
It assumes that everyone on food stamps has access to tools for cooking. If you don’t have a decent pot or two and a knife that cuts, this is all a lot more difficult.
It assumes that everyone on food stamps is able-bodied and has the capacity to stand for about an hour to cook dinner, not to mention the other meals.
It assumes that people have relatively easy access to markets that have decent produce.
It assumes that people have room where they live to store bulk goods. It assumes that they have storage methods for bulk goods that pests can’t get into.
It assumes that people on food stamps don’t also work exhausting jobs. I’m young, able bodied, and have two jobs that have me on my feet and moving for most of the day. The last thing I want to do when I get home is stand any longer to make dinner.
I could keep going, but you get the picture. I agree that it IS POSSIBLE to survive on food stamps making healthy food, but you have to already have a LOT of resources and knowledge at your disposal for it to work.
Libbet, thanks for your input. I haven’t made any of the assumptions you list except as was necessary to make this challenge remotely possible for two working adults. The assumptions you bring up are actually the very topics I want to talk about. A few points on your comment:
1. I do not assume that anyone knows how to cook, which is why my daily recaps include the note that I will gladly share any recipe that someone wants to know. As for the learning curve, that is an issue to itself that does not add or detract from the goals of this challenge.
2. Very few people who have sustainable housing lack the most basic of cooking tools. There are those who do of course, as well as the homeless which is yet another topic that we have planned to cover later this month.
3. Though I lack the research data to prove such, I believe the average person on food stamps is likely able-bodied and while there are those who might not be, I have to speak to the widest possible audience in this challenge.
4. As for the produce comment, that one’s entirely incorrect because as you know I LOVE produce and yet the only produce I have purchased on the challenge has been what was readily available and very cheap.
5. While commenters have, I have made no assumption or statement about purchasing or storing bulk goods. That will be a topic covered and discussed on its own.
6. It does not assume that people of any sort do not work exhausting jobs. John works 50+ hours a week away from home and comes home to work more. I work at least the same amount of time on top of volunteer work and maintaining and building projects around home. If anyone knows exhaustion, we do and make no assumptions about anyone’s willingness to go anything other than what needs to be done to survive.
As for the final comment about needing resources and knowledge for it to work, do you not see that my primary purpose here is to be that resource?
O.K…..I hear the argument about not knowing how to cook.
I think it is a ridiculous argument and people need to stop making excuses for not cooking (unless you are homeless)
I am thee most domestically challenged person. I’m not the best cook, I hate cooking, and I definitely won’t spend an hour cooking.
Which is why we eat very simple, easy to make meals, a few ingredients.
And to save time, I always make a double batch to save for later.
Beans in a crockpot….rice and a salad on the side. Cheap, easy, simple.
There are books at the library that can be checked out. You can learn anything on Youtube too.
You don’t know how to do something- LEARN
You don’t have time- make time, by using your time wisely, be more efficient.
I used to have no time either. I used to go to the grocery store several times a week with nothing to eat and no idea what to cook and no time to cook it.
Now I go about once every 2 weeks, Plan ahead, and make easy meals.
I save time by not having to go to the grocery store often (also saves on gas too ;)
adjust or die<<<<<I heard that before and I thought that was the meanest thing and now when life throws a curve ball, I adjust….I'm in survival mode.
We got chickens to save money. I had no clue how to raise them or butcher them……but I was willing to learn. With the library and the internet you can learn just about anything….
Excellent points, Molly. I feel the need to remind folks that I am almost entirely a self-taught cook. In fact, the vast majority of skills that I have are things that I studied independently or learned from someone as I went.
Michael, when I say “people don’t know how to cook,” I don’t just mean, don’t know easy recipes. I mean like I know a girl who doesn’t know how to pick out edible vegetables. She doesn’t know what to do with an onion to “make it food.” (Her words.) She doesn’t know how to tell if meat is still good. I’m talking, I had to teach my 72 year old, college educated father what parts of a bell pepper are considered edible. I’m talking my boyfriend calling and saying, “When it says “brown the beef”, what does it mean?”
When the options are either buy something cheap and nuke it for 5 minutes, or spend large amounts of your free time (especially if you have limited free time for doing things you enjoy and spending time with your family) learning a complicated new skill from the ground up, it’s easy to understand why people go with the boxed meal.
I’m not on food stamps, I know how to cook, and I have just about all the equipment anyone could need, but when I was working 3 jobs and averaging 14 hour days, I wasn’t going to also spend time on cooking home cooked meals.
I get where you’re going with this, but I think you and a lot of the commenters are ignoring a lot of large root problems that make it a lot more complicated than you’re making it sound. And I’m not saying you aren’t bringing up a lot of good points, and trying to demonstrate a lot of complications, I just think it’s a much bigger problem than can be demonstrated in one month long experiment by someone who already has a lot of the building blocks under his belt.
^^^hey! I was that person! LOL^^^
I didn’t know how “brown” the ground beef should be…or if I should take out the insides of the bell pepper. I actually had to google…how to cut an onion.
People can not be babied forever…eventually you need to grow up and start figuring things out.
Why are parents not teaching kids basic skills?
I say we bring back home ec classes in schools.
Wow, this experiment is great and definitely gives me alot to think about. It is a fact that you can’t make everyone happy no matter how hard you try.
ALL situations cannot be covered in this.. They are trying to take a perceived ‘average’ and go from there. I don’t think that the intent is to belittle anyone or have their ‘test’ be skewed in any way.
No-not everyone can cook. No, not everyone has access to fresh food or bulk. No, not everyone has a car. But most can and do.
I don’t think the intent is to save everyone… I am sure that if ONE family or person is enlightened by this project that they will be happy. For God’s sake-quit bashing them.
Not everyone on food stamps is a wasting food or our taxpayer money. BUT-I have seen alot of people on food stamps that eat a whole lot better than my family. AND they drive better cars and wear more expensive clothes. If they get hungry at the end of the month they can sell their gold hoop earrings since the market is so good for gold.
The feel the intent here is to show how that if we think for just a minute about what we WANT versus what we NEED, they will appear as 2 extremely different things.
We have become a society (not everyone) that is used to instant gratification (definitely me) that blindly expects good food to be a right-not a priviledge. The tough economic times are forcing us to do things and sacrifice things for what is probably the first time for many. It is a hard thing to learn.
I am terribly spoiled and we are now at the point that some things have to stop, be eliminated, sold, and turned off. It sucks.
So let’s offer these guys our support for doing what we probably can not and maybe we will all learn something useful.
jmho
Wow, Jeannie. Thank you. I couldn’t even read this comment aloud to John without crying through half of it.
Don’t shy away from beans. I love lentil,green split,black beans and small red. You save even more money if you buy dry beans and cook it yourself. I have a small patio and I grow blueberries,strawberries,tomatoes.peppers, lettuce, mustard greens,cucumbers,herbs and roses. It’s not a lot but it adds so much to the family meal. My sister has a large yard so a small garden has been place there. If you don’t have a yard,find someone that has one and ask if you could plant a garden.
Michael — the first thing I noticed on your list was Hot Dog Buns!!! I think it’s cheaper to use regular sandwich bread for hot dogs and hamburgers. I might buy buns for a special occasion — company coming for a cookout, etc.
I have 5 kids (all grown) and they all know at least basic cooking skills (even the boys). A couple of years ago my son married a girl who did not know how to cook — they got several cookbooks and a crockpot for wedding gifts. She called me sometimes for advice on how to do something, but mostly she learned on her own and is now a pretty darned good cook! My son and his girlfriend recently moved in with my husband and I — another one that does not know how to cook : ) She’s learning too and is not afraid to try new things.
I don’t have the freezer space to buy meat on sale and freeze it or make chicken stock to freeze or stock up on frozen veggies on sale. I have contemplated spending $150 for a small chest freezer but wonder if it’s worth it in the long run. I do make chicken stock to use within a few days when I buy a chicken. Otherwise I use salt-free chicken bouillon.
Good Luck with your challenge! Looks like it’s going well so far and has definitely got a lot of people talking : )
For those that don’t want to spend an hour making dinner after working all day, many good meals take 30 minutes or less. Also, a little extra cooking goes a long way — a double batch of spaghetti, making two meatloaves at a time — planned leftovers are a huge timesaver!
Susan, we bought a small chest freezer several years ago when my husband had an employee appreciation coupon and we had a little money to spare on such an investment. BEST THING WE’VE EVER BOUGHT! With the stuff I’m able to put up in it, we save a FORTUNE on buying in season and with my husband’s hunting, since we actually have a place to put his bounty. As for using freezer space for stock, you may be better off searching thrift stores, yard sales, or hinting for Christmas that you’d like a pressure canner and canning jars, etc. I recently started canning stock rather than freezing (to save freezer space for venison and garden veggies that don’t taste as good canned) and was amazed how easy it was! One of these days soon, I’ll be adding some venison stock to my pantry as well!
I also questioned the hotdog buns.
The amount of sugar, seemed immense, unless you want it for carryover.
Buying packets of yeast is more per unit than buying a jar.
As others have said, whole chickens whenever possible.
Susan, many people have small freezers to give away or very cheap.Use Craigslist/Kijiji/Freecycle type places.
{ 4 trackbacks }