This is Day 13 of a month long food stamp challenge (on October 15th). 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.
NOTE: Because I’m an idiot, I accidentally lost the Day 12 entry and do not have a backup copy on my computer. Oops.
A week from now we will have a house guest for a couple of days when a longtime friend and colleague will be visiting while here on business. We are not adjusting anything for the visit and will still be living within the rules of the challenge for the duration. Because the colleague is a gardener though, I do suspect there will be something green and tasty arriving with them.
For all of the public commentary going on here, I have to admit to being impressed at the number of private messages I receive relating to what we’re doing. These messages are telling very personal stories, telling me of how some are seeing their own biases and being forced to face them head on as a result of this dialogue.
People’s attitudes are changing about those around them. They tell me they are more aware and that they appreciate what we are doing. As masochistic as it sounds, I’m appreciating this entire project more with every day. Sure, I want something I can’t have on occasion, but who doesn’t?
Oddly enough, the thing I’m looking forward to most about the end of the challenge isn’t eating. It’s the break I’ll get from the daily accounting for it all! Did I mention I’m not a numbers guy?
MEALS
BREAKFAST: $1.24
coffee
sugar
creamer
eggs
toast
LUNCH: $0.65
6.5 oz carrots
apple
peanut butter & jelly sandwich
DINNER: $3.60
roasted chicken
sautéed cabbage
rice
corn
Sierra Mist
TOTALS
- Consumed Today: 5.49 [+3.51 for the day]
- Consumed To Date (week): 29.30 [+24.70 for the week]
- Consumed To Date (month): 56.43 [+60.57 for the month]
- Spent To Date: 159.59
- Remaining Balance: $119.59
ANSWER OF THE DAY: Got a question to ask? Today’s your chance! Let us know what questions are lingering on your mind (pertaining to the challenge and related issues, please).
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
ok, my question is one i read other people ask a couple of times, but i haven’t seen answered yet…probably it was on day 12, huh? (!) that reminds me of a story…but 1st the question: is this kinda how you guys usually eat, or what? cuz for instance, those seem like awfully small lunches for grown men, and all that white bread and stuff, few vegetables (glad to see you had TWO for tonight’s dinner!), no milk or cream on your oatmeal…stuff like that.
The story: an old woman was asked to what she attributed the success of her long marriage. She said that she had been told when she was a bride to make a list of 10 things to forgive her husband for, without even fighting about. But she hadn’t gotten around to make the list, so every time they were going to get in an argument, she’d just say, “lucky for you, that was one of the ten things,” and let it go! Well, i am REALLY BAD at retelling jokes and actedotes, but that was the gist of it anyway…
No, this isn’t entirely how we normally eat. John for example, doesn’t take lunch and usually doesn’t eat lunch per se. He snacks while at work. we are eating enough and aren’t hungry for the most part. We don’t put milk or cream in oatmeal on or off challenge, so it isn’t unusual here.
If we buy bread it is wheat bread and we we do eat vegetables, it just happens to be the stuff we have grown and preserved when we aren’t on the challenge.
I just rinsed out the last little bit of laundry detergent to get one more load of laundry out of this container. I wonder, do food stamps or food assistance programs cover anything other than food? I’ve seen one woman turned away when she tried to buy her two small children candy. Very sad.
No, food stamps and other similar programs do not cover household items like detergents. Many faith-based assistance programs do offer these items though.
Deb, you CAN get candy on food stamps, so if she was “turned down,” it’s that she’d already used up all her benefits for the month, not because it was candy. A lot of people (i’m not saying anything like the majority, just saying a lot) that have food stamps take drugs and, among other things are not really on top of how much FSs they have left (what! You’ve never been in line behind these people?!!) That she’d already used up her FS for the month and was trying to get her (doubtessly hungry) small children candy–for their dinner, most likely–THAT is what is very sad. I’ve spent several years of my life working with drug addicts, so i do know what i’m talking about.
Hey.
I am interested in watching your progress for the next 30 days. I see you are drinking coffee? If so, will you be buying it on sale since the price of coffee is so high?! I am a gardener and healthy living advocate, so I am curious to see how you are going to do this. With your permission, I will link to your website so my readers can follow.
See you
ML
Welcome, Mary Louise.
We bought a large can of a cheap off-brand coffee when we had a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase at the beginning of the challenge and found that it honestly isn’t bad! You’re more than welcome to link to the site as you like.
Thanks!
CeeCee, while I appreciate your work with the addicted I take issue with your characterization that “a lot of people that have food stamps take drugs…” That is a gross overstatement that cannot be backed up with statistics, just speculation and it is this sort of stereotype that reinforces the negative attitude society as a whole has about people on government assistance. For every drug- addicted food stamp recipient I can show you a responsible single parent who is receiving assistance, shopping sales and reducing their food bills with responsible couponing and ad matching.
In a dialogue such as this we have to be very careful about the statements we make to ensure that we are quite clear when expressing our opinions, which is obviously what you were doing with this comment.
Look I can make generalizations about people on food stamps too: MOST of them are family with young children (who aren’t doing drugs). A LOT of those families consist of one or both parents working, but still not making enough to make ends meet. And THAT is a generalization based on FACTS, NOT hurtful stereotypes.
Hi, not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings here, but that is why i said “not the majority,” and if BOTH parents are working, they would NOT be eligible for food stamps unless they had several kids. I make less than 1.5 times minimum wage with one child now, and i am over the limit, so 2 @ minimum wage is definitely over the limit for two kids, and probably 3. They never spell out those exact limits because they want to keep you guessing, and they want people to apply for various reasons, whereas if they just had a chart out there in the lobby or online, people would automatically know if they are under or over the limit, and how much they would get. Like most people would not going to go through all the time and trouble if they knew they were going to get about $20 for the month. So Chris K., when you say “a lot” of those families cosist of one or both parents working…I think my “a lot” of people on FS take drugs is way more than your “a lot” of two-parent, both working families. Based on mathmatical facts. NEITHER of which are the majority, by any means. (both of our “a lots” put together would still not be a majority!) ;-)
I think you are right that both of our “a lots” would still not be the majority. And that is taking into consideration that 40% of households which receive food stamps have at least one income coming in (here is one story about it, but there are plenty more out there if you’d like to look into it yourself: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/22/us-usa-poverty-foodstamps-idUSTRE77L45Z20110822). Not everyone that is working can get full time hours. And your numbers may be off for who is eligible, since when my husband was working full time at a job that paid better than 2x minimum wage and I was working part time a couple days a week, we still qualified for us and our 3 kids. Granted, it wasn’t a lot (and still isn’t, even though I had to leave my job when we moved) and there are 3 kids involved, but it doesn’t seem like it would jump THAT much from 2 kids to 3.
Chris, the more i read here, the more i am thinking that different states have way different guidelines. Like for instance, i just found out yesterday about some states don’t let people by things that are taxed, which evidently in some states includes candy. As you may know, we here in Oregon don’t have sales tax, so i was unaware of that particular issue. And all I can say is that $1600 a month for two people is over the limit to receive any food stamps here (even though $1100 a month is for housing). I know Oregon is way on the low end when it comes to benefits, but i had thought that food stamps had FEDERAL income guidelines, but evidently they don’t!
*buy*, not “by”!!
Side note: Eligibility requirements vary from state to state.
Sometimes I just shake my head when I read about the price people for rent. As a landlord, we see tenants rent places all the time that they really can’t afford.
I think many people are naive when it comes to FS and other welfare benefits.So many are using drugs. They may not be addicts, but they are users.
So many people work for cash, as so it doesn’t affect their benefits. They are busy ‘playing the game’ instead of trying to get a job.
Forgot to mention…the bread looks delicious