This is Day 3 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.
For those who have asked eligibility questions with regard to the SNAP program, you can use their Pre-Screening Eligibility Tool here and get a better idea for yourself. A brief explanation of eligibility requirements can be found here.
I’m Hungry
After our shared frustration of the failed attempt at a pancake breakfast I skipped the meal altogether. In fact, as the day progressed I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use the day to illustrate another important point in this challenge – HUNGER.
As high as 32% of households with children in the state of Alabama go hungry at least part of the time because they lack adequate food resources [source]. I chose to go hungry today to represent nearly one-third of households in my state who didn’t have that choice.
The issue of hunger also adds a completely new dimension to this discussion and one that I am surprised no commenter has picked up on yet. Homelessness is a tremendous issue and one that has only grown since the recession led to unprecedented foreclosure rates across the country. There is misinformation out there that has people believing that if they are homeless they do not have access to food stamps / SNAP. This excerpt is taken directly from the SSA online website:
Homeless people and SNAP
If you are homeless you can still get SNAP even if you do not have an address, a place to stay or a place to cook meals. You are considered homeless if you do not have a fixed regular nighttime residence or your primary nighttime residence is a temporary accommodation in:
- A supervised shelter;
- A halfway house;
- The residence of another person; or
- A place not designed for regular sleeping, such as a hallway, bus station or lobby.
MEALS
The cost of a pitcher of sweet tea will be accounted for when made instead of calculating a per glass cost.
BREAKFAST: $1.63
coffee (starting pantry)
creamer
pancakes*
pitcher of sweet tea for the day
*NOTE: The pancakes did not turn out so well (my recipe was unclear and the batter was too thin). I opted to not eat them.
DAILY TOTAL: $1.63 (+$6.55 for the day, +14.54 for the week)
Total Spent to Date: $57.63
Total Remaining: $221.55
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Have you ever gone hungry because you didn’t have enough money for food? Have you ever skipped a meal so that another person could eat?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Have you ever gone hungry because you didn’t have enough money for food? Have you ever skipped a meal so that another person could eat?
Yes, a friend and I actually went a whole week without eating because there was absolutely no food in the house, and we didn’t know anyone in the area and didn’t know of any resources. We were both weak from not eating. A friend bought us mcdonalds. I got a stomach ache from 1/2 of a regular cheeseburger.
I have gone without eating so that other people in my family could eat, usually my younger cousins or my sister. I have also given my own groceries away to others so that they could eat. I guess I figure since I am single and I have been in much worse situations, I can figure something out.
Yes, I have gone hungry at times. There have been many times that I ate very little or nothing at all so that my child could have something to eat. This happened while both my husband and I were working. We were the working poor and did not qualify for assistance.
I can remember my daughter’s dinner being the one heel of bread we had left, and I burned it in the toaster. I lived in a 1975 Dodge Dart when I was pregnant with her, 1990, and then was hungry until 1999.. the year I moved next door to a food bank that I ended up running. I was paid in food :)
(submitted by Ginny via Facebook and reprinted here with permission)
You have not had to live on Foodstamps before. Allow me to illustrate a horrific coping strategy that works:
A brief look for my area shows that I can get a case of 24 boxes of Kraft macaroni & cheese for $41.00. If I ignore portion size I can say this will give me 72 servings. (we need 90 servings for a month if we want three minimal meals a day for 30 days). I just filled 72 of them on $41. That gives me nothing in terms of vitamins, fruit, vegetables or meat, but as a single person in Alabama I would have $81 left to fill out about 1 – 2 weeks’ worth of meals with those items.
Also, if I steal every Sunday paper I can find for the coupons, I might be able to save money on the mac & cheese. If I buy a dozen eggs I have 12 days’ worth of protein. If I buy powdered milk I don’t have to worry about a refrigerator. If I write a letter of complaint to the Kraft company, the folks keeping me alive on this month of Foodstamps, they will send me a load of coupons to make me happy with them again. These coupons will help with month #2.
Horde coupons, horde dry goods–buy in bulk, eat as little as necessary for month #1, that will give you a bit more to survive on for month #2, which you want–you want to build a food supply in case you get sick and need more nutrients. And on a diet of mostly Kraft Mac & cheese WILL make you sick eventually. But at least you’ll live.
(submitted by Ginny via Facebook and reprinted here with permission)
Here’s a po’folks’ hamburger helper, BTW–my kids will remember this “casserole” with dread:
2 boxes of mac & cheese, 1 lb of ground beef, browned & crumbled (keep some fat, you need as much intake as possible) 1 small onion, chopped & browned, a pinch of salt & pepper, an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce; combine all and bake for about 30 minutes on 325 degrees. If you have any on hand, rate some cheese on top and brown, or take that beef fat, toss it with bread crumbs, and sprinkle as topping. You’ve just fed 2 adults and 3 children for under $8–out of reach money wise for 1 person’s portion of food stamps, but for a family allotment it’s right on course.
You have hit me in the gut and made me aware of my need to get more involved again. More than just dropping a can in the food bank box or writing a check each month.
The hunger and homeless issue was FINALLY brought up locally, here, in my small north woods WI town. (population 7700) For the first time ever, in our area, a homeless shelter was needed. A home was purchased through donations and refurbished by volunteers. The first night it was open, it housed several families.
During that same time a food supplement program was started for children and families in need. Folks became aware that kids sometimes were getting only one meal a day; school lunch. The program allowed kids in need to take a backpack home from school every Friday. The pack included juice, canned tuna,cheese sticks,cereal,soups,crackers fruit, and baby food if needed. When I thought about children going hungry it broke my heart! CHILDREN are hungry!! I felt ashamed… My 12 yr old daughter and I decided to fast for 2 days to see what it felt like to be truly hungry.. What came out of our week-end fast was my daughter talking about how we chose hunger and her concern for those who have no choice but to go hungry.
Michael, “32% of households with children in the state of Alabama go hungry at least part of the time because they lack adequate food resources ” crushes me… :(
I just went through the Pre-Screening Eligibility tool link you had here, we may qualify …for $59. Gonna look into that further. We could use any help we can get these days.
It crushes me too, Rachael. I was handed that study just after we made the decision to do this challenge and it was as though I needed that final push to tell me that we were doing the right thing.
Definitely check into it Mary, and best of luck to you.
When my oldest was a toddler, I frequently went hungry. The longest I’ve ever gone without food was 3 weeks. I was very sick at the time and desperately needed medical attention, but couldn’t afford it. I just lay in bed, getting up every few days to crawl to the bathroom across the hall. My (soon-to-be ex) boyfriend would bring me a cup of herbal tea every few days and that’s the only thing I had to eat or drink during that time. It was kind of a blessing to be that sick though, since that meant my son had more to eat. We only had about $5 a month to feed the three of us at the time. I don’t actually know what they ate during that time (maybe my boyfriend found more money somewhere?) since prior to that, the main way we got food was me foraging for wild urban edibles. We’d been eating a lot of plaintain and acorns before I got sick. At the time, I didn’t know anything about food banks or getting food stamps, or I’m sure we would have been getting help from either or both sources!
In recent years, the hunger hasn’t been that bad. Yes, I’ve gone hungry so others in my family would have enough, far more often than even my husband realizes. It usually hasn’t been in the form of skipping meals though. Usually, just eating enough that my husband and kids wouldn’t worry (ironically, claiming to be not hungry) so they would have enough to eat. I figure, since the kids need food to grow and my husband needed it to work or to heal (depending on which time it was, whether he was working or if it was during the year he couldn’t work because of a back injury), they should get dibs.
My husband doesn’t understand why I’m so stressed out about putting up as much food as possible this time of year, from my garden, from wild foraging, and from the “extra” money we get from the Double Up Food Bucks program at the farmers market we go to (June 1-October 31 for every $2 you spend on food stamps, up to $20 a visit, they give you a token worth $2 to use for Michigan grown fruits or veggies). Going hungry is not a fun thing and I’m doing everything in my limited powers to make sure it doesn’t happen again in my house!
I know I should probably sit in my little corner and behave…….but just need to get a few things out.
Hopefully no one is stealing coupons! There are ways to get some, recycling centers, friends, neighbors.
Macaroni and cheese is a very inefficient way to use those dollars.
You’d be better off buy 30 lbs of rice and 30 lbs of beans.
There are lots of coupons that you can print from your computer (since you are typing here, I assume y’all have one)
Pasta is something you can always get free with coupons if you wait for the right time. I purchase my Ragu and classico pasta sauce for $0.49 a jar by combining sales and coupons.
And Hamburger Helper (if that’s something you want to feed your kid) can be purchased dirt cheap……..The last time I bought….and the reason why I bought it and so much of it was because I got paid to buy it. The money I made buying the Hamburger Helper helped pay for vegetables. I also gave away most of it….kept some just in case of some kind of an emergency.
My 2 younger girls want to know if they can have “hot lunch” at school.
Buying hot lunch would increase my food bill by $90 a month…….no way-no how am I going to pay that much for “hot lunch” I rather buy more vegetables.
My girls have friends who have reduced lunch. These same kids have stuff my kids don’t. My kids don’t have video games, they don’t have those hand held things (sorry not sure what there called) They don’t have cell phones………..but their friends do and they qualify for assistance.
And I know that’s not every kid…….but it seems like so many do. No cable here either…..wondering how many of those “starving” children’s parents can afford cable?
32% of Alabama children going hungry is shocking, and unacceptable……There’s a problem alright…..one that throwing money at won’t solve.
As I sat here this morning in silence and I thought to my self, “What did I go hungry for?” “Why?!?” The entire purpose of this challenge is to not stock pile funds by going hungry, but to eat healthy and nutritious meals on the allotted money. Because I DECIDED to go hungry should not mean that someone with no choice should.
John,
That’s exactly the way my daughter felt after our chosen fast.
And Molly, I get it. My daughter sits next to the same friends at school; the kids with the name brand clothes, unlimited text on their phones, video games with all the bells and whistles etc…. I try and remind myself that some people make bad choices with their money, maybe these things were gifts from friends or relatives? Regardless of how these gadgets and and what might be considered luxuries were obtained, the children are still in need of the reduced/free meals and are not to blame. And to be honest, I am still a bit miffed when I see the person in line ahead of me buying $80.00 of Halloween candy with their SNAP card. :(
I think that overall people DON’T misuse the assistance that they are given. I do think there is a lack information on how to best budget~ whether it be using SNAP wisely or budgeting money. There is a need for educating people on how to best stretch their budgets, how to prepare healthier, less expensive foods like beans and rice, and how to cook homemade rather than rely on cheap quick fix meals.
I am lucky not to want for anything, but this wasn’t always the case. One time I remember having only $11 for food for a whole week. I was young and had no idea food stamps or assistance was available.
I learned a few things that I’ll put out here just in case they can help someone else. If you’ve able, get a job as a waitress or cook and ask for leftovers. Sometimes whole pans of untouched food were left and they would rather give to someone who they know won’t sue them then let it go to waste. After the holidays, it may be possible to get marked down holiday meals in the deli at grocery stores. I once got a 2o lb turkey dinner someone didn’t pick up for $5. If your grocery store has a fresh meat or seafood section, they may mark some items down at the end of the night. I found one store marked their freshly ground beef down 50% an hr before closing so that was when I shopped. If you can ask friends/neighbors, they will save coupons for you. Know your store coupon policy. Can you use a store and manufacturer coupon at the same time? Do they have double coupon days? Wait for the right time to use your coupons. A few items like pasta, bread, soup, canned vegetables are sold for pennies with the right sale and your coupons. Stock up as much as possible when these sales come around. I do quite fine now, but my frugal habits are still with me and I have 6 boxes of free pasta in my pantry. :-) Best of luck to everyone.
It is amazing to me that in this land of plenty, so many have been in dire straits at one time or another in their lives – or still are.
I agree that people need to relearn how to stretch their food dollar (great suggestion with the rice and beans), and I think that is a valuable component of this experiment. Michael and John know how to cook great from scratch, and everyone has good input.
There’s got to be a book chapter here somehow.
When my kids were small, I went hungry a lot. One week, I had been out of work for a couple of weeks, had just gotten a job, and didn’t get paid for another week. I had $13 to spend on food that week, and myself and a 4-year-old to feed. I had a few staples…rice, oatmeal, peanut butter, bread, sugar, flour…but that was all. I couldn’t go to the food bank because I had already gone once that month when I lost my job. We literally lived on cereal and mac and cheese for a week. I did buy some ground meat to add to the mac and cheese, but that was the only meat we had that week. I have many times skipped a meal or not eaten meat so my kids could have what they needed. Many days I would eat oatmeal for breakfast, a PBJ for lunch with water or free coffee from work, and then eat supper with the kids. I grew up poor, and my strongest memory of my childhood is always being hungry, waiting impatiently for summer so I could get wild plums or steal fruit from people’s trees. It’s scary, and I never wanted my kids to feel that.
I’m proud and humbled to call you my friend, Deb. Just wanted to say that.
A cheap eat.. a loaf of $.99 bread from the bread store or sav a lot/aldi’s a $1.00 jar of pizza sauce and the cheese you get from WIC (if not on WIC this may not be the recipe for you since cheese is so expensive :( )… mozz if you can but any will do. A $.99 pack of pepperoni for your meat. This will feed your family of three for a week… if you eat it for lunch and dinner and eat WIC eggs/cereal for breakfast/snacks. (again, if not on WIC this will take the food budget up a bit for breakfast and some snacks)
Take slice of bread, take 1 t or less of the sauce and spread thin, add cheese depending on the amount you have and the number of days you have to eat off of it, add 3-4 pepperoni’s if you chose to buy that. Toast in oven on a tray for 3-5 minutes.
A package of spaghetti is very cheap too. You can get the $1.00 cans of sauce at sav a lot/aldi’s too.. this can be 1-2 meals depending on family size. Forget nutrition (like the person above said) a tummy that is not cramping from hunger is so much more important!
Another thing for those not doing this willingly, .. get a job at a fast food restaurant that isn’t worried about food costs. This generally means an inexperienced manager is what you are looking for. Also find one that does free meals if you work. This means that you get one meal free and at the end of the day, then the shift leader (usually not the GM or AM because they understand food costs.. and don’t ever mention this privilege to them either..) will let you take home some food for the family. Again, not nutritious but will definitely help stretch those food dollars..
OR look for markdowns wherever possible. Tonight we ate 1/4 of a $2.00 jumbo bag of the chicken strips anytizers (coupons and markdown). That and what was left of the $1.00 bottle of ketchup. Food at it’s finest… but food right? (My husband will be eating free at work tonight, unless they get to busy and don’t give him his legally mandated break in which case he will eat some of the chicken finger things when he gets home at 4am.)
Yea, it means that you eat what they are going to throw away tomorrow which *almost* means you are eating out of the trash can but not quite, right? If you tell yourself that enough you *might* believe it and be ok with eating the food the supermarket marks down to keep from throwing out. :(
Anyway, just a few cheap (but not nutritious) meals for when times get tough… I have certainly BTDT and STILL doing it.. Looking forward to nutritious food ideas and recipes that can rival / replace these! :)
Hold your judgement people. My kids get reduced lunch and wear name brand clothes and have a cell phone and handheld game. The clothes were brought at the thrift store, the cell is from my sister who upgraded her plan (my kid has a prepaid plan now), and the video game was a birthday gift from Auntie. I’m typing this at work because I don’t have internet at home. I also utilize library computers. People on assistance can still participate in life without spending alot of money.
Hear, Hear! Well said, Chelsea. A perfect illustration of how things are not always what we perceive them to be.
This is a bit delayed, but I felt compelled to post after reading Michael’s Day 31 post.
I am only in my twenties, so I have very vivid memories of being hungry as a child. Not for the reasons you might suspect. My mother suffered from mental illness, my father worked 12-15 hours a day and if it weren’t for the kindness of my older relatives and neighbors in my small town, my siblings and I would have suffered much more.
Like someone mentioned earlier, my parents had a steady meagar income but we were very much a part of the working poor. My mother’s moods more often led to forgotten lunches/lunch money and fending for ourselves at dinner with whatever groceries were in the cupboard.
We had a plum tree in the backyard and my grandmother’s yard had what seemed like miles of blackberries. She fed all of her grandchildren as much as she could on my grandpa’s war benefits, but could no longer feed herself as well as we got older.
Although my father made more than enough money to help, he wasn’t always aware of the position our mother put us in since he worked every night.
Like I said, I will always be grateful for the people around us who quietly and without embarrassing us slipped us lunch money, packed lunches and had us over for dinner many nights a week.
Now that I am married with a family of my own, my priority is stretching every dollar we have instead of gorging on all the junk foods, fast food and treats that I was never exposed to when I was younger. I quickly realized that’s where most of my food budget was wasted as soon as I began living on my own.
Thanks for doing this Michael. I’m very proud that you’re from Alabama!
Thank you, W. Thank you.
I have gone without eating before so my family could eat. I remember my mother doing this when I was younger, before my father went into the military. I am on food stamps while I am working through college. There is no such thing as nutrition on foodstamps, it is whatever will get you to the end of the month. Most things I make are from scratch but trying to keep fruit in vegetables in my 2 year old is nearly impossible. The budget wont allow. Usually we end up with some frozen veggies or canned fruit but certainly not enough for a daily eating.
No one has mentioned making a delicious stew with dumplings.
Very cheap and filling.
Homemade baked beans, or a pot of chili con carne.
Homemade biscuits and hearty soup.
Pancake and waffles are easy and cheap to make.
Homemade oatmeal with fruit/spices..yummm
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