Two weeks of groceries on food stamps

a reply to: Iamthatbish

Just wondering, do you get free internet?

BTW, there are vegetables that regrow themselves and that might be a way to add a little more food to your house.

a reply to: Aazadan

Wow look at all that food

YOU ARE A RICH MAN

kidding, I am just glad I don't see bottles and bottles of COKE, SODA, Sugary BS, beer etc

I don't get free internet. I'm one of the lucky few that have a grandfathered phone plan with unlimited data. My plan is very low by today's standards.

ETA: My first attempt to grow this year didn't go so well due to the unusually cool nights. I still have seed, I'm going to see about flower pot gardening. We shall see.

originally posted by: ahimsa
a reply to: Iamthatbish

Just wondering, do you get free internet?

BTW, there are vegetables that regrow themselves and that might be a way to add a little more food to your house.

a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

You can buy veggies and fruits at flea market for pennies on the dollar for what you pay at the grocery place. Also some butchers accept foodstamps and your meat is half as expensive. In addition, check with your local town hall about the angel program, its a program that boxes up food and are most of the time at cost of the grocery store. In addition, snack foods can be found in date at flea markets for a pennies on the dollar that you pay at the grocery and dollar stores.

For those of us that are poor and cannot afford food,but do not believe in living off the system finding the cheapest way is imperative to survival.

Exactly. I never in a million years, would think my husband would have a stroke at 39, then be put on unemployment due to his medical condition. It was a huge blow, & I can only hope he stays healthy enough, so our young boys don't have to suffer another harsh winter or myself having to wonder where our next meal is coming from......sometimes.....sh*t just happens.....going from a lumberjacks salary to almost nothing a week! very difficult.....

25 Foods You Can Grow From Scraps

a reply to: Iamthatbish

I was hoping there was a free internet like there used to be. It's too expensive anymore and will be something I will drop if things get worse.

We have only been able to get tomatoes, strawberries, and mint to grow outside, but inside you can regrow onions, lettuce, and celery.

a reply to: SubTruth

You have been saying this for some time now and it has been on my mind ever since.

I just went grocery shopping this weekend and realized my spending went from about $110 a week to about $140 a week within the last year or so.

My girl and I make about $28 an hour combined. We are doing fine as of now. Howver if things continue to inflate I believe that within the next couple of years we wil struggle.

a reply to: Aazadan

I saw that you purchased rice. I'm not sure where you live, but if there is an asian food store nearby you can get top grade rice for much cheaper. I buy 20-25lb bags of rice for $15-22 compared to the grocery store price of 3lbs @ $9.

I always shop early and look for the marked down meats or specials when I can find them. Throw them into the freezer or use them the day of purchase. Every little bit of savings helps.

Not sure where yall live, but search for a butcher or meat market.. the meat market will take food stamps and they typically are much cheaper on meats. plus the meat is much fresher not heavily saturated in preservatives and frozen before you get it.

You still wont get the prime cuts, but you can get enough variety to help break up the blandness of the food.

The one near me, does bacon (about 5 bucks a pound cheaper than the store 100 times tastier) whole chicken, or just chicken breasts at less than 2 bucks a pound, they make about 4 different kinds of sausage at less than 2 bucks a pound, every cut of beef I can think of, pork is probably the cheapest meat in the place.

Also found Tilapia in this place its like 7 bucks for 18-20 fillets.

depending on where you live it could be difficult to find something like this, but if you can it is worth it in my book... cheaper, tastier, and I would wager healthier than hitting the super market.

(I am moving to Germany and I am dreading loosing my fresh food supply)

a reply to: Aazadan

When I was a teen I had $20 a week for my food budget, so I learned quickly how best to use the money.

Spaghetti Bolognese is cheap and easy to make, you can get all the necessary ingredients for under ten dollars and it can be stretched out for a few days. And if you get sick of that, the ingredients for a stew are roughly the same price and is just as easy to make and It sure beats living off two minute noodles.

a reply to: Aazadan

Honestly, buying fresh vegetables and whatever protein you want to use is much better for you, fills you up more, and provides more meals. You would be surprised at how much you can actually buy. Onions, tomatoes, and peppers are all fairly inexpensive. You can also go to your local markets to get them even cheaper.

Frozen foods are the worst, and the most expensive.

a reply to: Aazadan

I understand getting sick of the same foods... but really that much free food to me is astounding. Especially considering the USA provides that to 47 million people.

Wow, lots to reply to and they weren't the responses I was expecting at all.

originally posted by: Snarl
Think about all the Asian people who eat rice as their main dish three meals/day 365/year.

I actually think about this very thing every single day. I happen to use a rice cooker which makes me think about it even more. I remember reading that when villages in Asia originally get electricity, the first item almost everyone saves up to purchase is a rice cooker.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
I admit it's not a lot but to be honest, I've seen people with foodstamps buy lobster, shrimp and big pork chops. So I don't know, is it your location?

For my birthday a few months back I saved up and bought two big steaks for a birthday dinner. It happens but it's certainly not the norm. If you know a location though where you can live off of lobster and pork chops on a food budget of just over $100/month feel free to share.

originally posted by: caterpillage
Yeah, that's why I work 55 hours a week. So I don't have to do that.

I'm disabled and goto school full time. I also work 20 hours/week, I would do more but I'm simply not physically capable of it, there's not enough time in the day. As is the work actually reduces my income. I get $159/week from work, but then have half of it taken out of disability and another 25% taken out in taxes which brings it down to $39.75/week. From there I lose about $30 in food stamps meaning 20 hour of work clears me $9.75. Throw in the cost of gas and such to get to work and I end up in the negative.

originally posted by: rickymouse
My wife and I allow 10 bucks a day for our foods. We easily can make it on that. That is three hundred bucks a month for two people, but we also have our granddaughter here once in a while and our daughter comes to stay when she is off work.

I've been on food stamps for a few years now. When I first got on them it was about $250/month and the price of food was less. I really did eat very very well, the stereotype of eating steaks all the time was true. I had $8.33/day in meals that was enough for some vegetables, a $5-$6 steak, something to drink, and still have enough left over for a breakfast or lunch. Fast forward a couple years though and it's down to $3.65/day while the price of food has doubled.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
If I was in that situation it would be best to be vegetarian. I'm already one so it's surprising how cheap veggies are compared to meats.

If you get tired of eating the same stuff, try preparing it differently. Or utilizing cheap spices and herbs like the dried ones.

I tried but I like meat too much. This is more meat than I usually buy, I typically forego the ground beef but my parents are coming up to visit for a couple days and I wanted to have a decent meal for them. My usual meat serving however is about 3 oz/day, so while I do eat meat it's not a whole lot either.

When it comes to spice I do use them but I'm careful in which ones I buy. I stay away from the spices and seasonings that are mostly just salt. Lately I've been using some lemon pepper or garlic herb spices with the rice, and mixing up the flavors every now and then does help but it's still essentially the same thing day in and day out.

originally posted by: glend
If you have access to a bit of land try minimize your reliance on expensive western food by growing your own vegetables and fish at home using aquaponics. Also couple of chickens for eggs wouldn't hurt.

I have a back yard but crime in my town is very bad, anything that's not bolted down whether it's vegetables or a lawn chair will be stolen within a couple days. I also happen to have no time to do my own gardening between work, school and all the sleep my mediciations force. My downstairs neighbor who I share the yard with (duplex home) can't even leave her patio table out at night.

originally posted by: kelbtalfenek
I saw that you purchased rice. I'm not sure where you live, but if there is an asian food store nearby you can get top grade rice for much cheaper. I buy 20-25lb bags of rice for $15-22 compared to the grocery store price of 3lbs @ $9.

I'm in southern Ohio. The closest asian market is in Columbus about an hour and a half drive north. Given the gas mileage of my car it's not worth making the trip. This rice isn't that expensive, I believe it was $3 for a 2 pound bag. The money in those groceries is in the meats, the meat being $5/pound and the chicken being $6/bag. That's $22 right there.

originally posted by: Catacomb
Honestly, buying fresh vegetables and whatever protein you want to use is much better for you, fills you up more, and provides more meals. You would be surprised at how much you can actually buy. Onions, tomatoes, and peppers are all fairly inexpensive. You can also go to your local markets to get them even cheaper.

Frozen foods are the worst, and the most expensive.

Frozen vegetables aren't that bad, the bag of peppers and onions was $1 for example. I could have bought a fresh onion, green pepper, and yellow pepper and chopped them up instead and it would have been more expensive and time consuming. The chicken I totally agree with but freshness is a concern. I do biweekly grocery shopping so I don't want to buy chicken and then have it go bad. That's in addition to the time factor. I really don't have a whole lot of free time between work and school so getting something like precooked/precut chicken actually helps a lot because I can just take a handful and microwave a quesadilla or throw some in with some rice in my rice cooker (which also steams my vegetables for me).

a reply to: Aazadan

Don't see a problem here.

What do you expect when others are fronting your living expenses?

I see a lot of people complaining about stuff like this........when it cost you nothing to get it.

Kind of like going to Costco, and bitching that the samples they have for the day are not for your liking.

I gave up on stocking up my freezer. That was my backup for years. Then a few years ago power went out for two days due to a thunderstorm. Even the grocery stores had no power.

I think I actually cried there was so much wasted food. Now my freezer has about a weeks worth and I buy fresh or cabinet food.

My kids eat baked red potatoes for snack when they get home. And we are in the process of learning what we will all eat. This is much harder than I imagined.

That's a great link ty btw!! I'm waiting for the end of season sale at Lowes or Walmart too. I'm not buying full price summer supplies when they have Halloween out.

a reply to: redhorse

People are voicing their opinions and lots of them have been in the same situation. I am currently too. But I don't have food stamps, welfare, EBT because....I can't apply for them. I have no disability, my wages are "steady" even though they're minimum wage. I'm supporting three women on my horrid pay, struggling to get food for them and I'm doing it without the government's help.

I feel for these people because they're victims of government like you and I but how many times have we seen systems like this being abused? People need help, they need food, jobs, etc but our government and their peanut programs won't help anyone. All the wasted money, the military, food and aid for other countries, bringing in foreign workers, less jobs for us and they cna't even provide for their own citizens.

Your fellow citizens are angry and offended, not by you because you're on the internet and as anonymous and ineffective as everyone else here (including me) but by our governments that force people to work for nothing and subsist on garbage.

Lots of people who have jobs won't or can't understand the plight of not having enough so they figure everybody can pull themselves together and be "successful". In this economy? Nuff said.

A few like minded folks and I hold a little talk with others who are on foodstamps concerning how to make them go further and recipes.. you need variety in your diet and no one wants to eat the same ol junk every month. Its easier for us to do this in our own community because we know the stores and sources locally for food. Sure there are cheaper places sometimes, but that requires a vehicle to get to if its not on the bus line and its not feasible for some who come to the talks. VERY few come believe it or not. Peopel typically see FREE FOOD and spend like its a renewable resource.. a money font. :O The ones that come to the talks get a bunch of stuff including a recipe booklet, coupons, etc. They 9 times out of 10 have children and are concerned with health and making the circumstances they are in work. There are GOOD people who have fallen on hard times out there.. dont judge so quickly if you arent willing to do YOUR part in this mess we call a recovering economy These are people in your community.. your people. Do your part. Im not a lib or anything like that. You can be of any religion or political persuasion and still love your fellow Americans enough to put the time in.

I urge any of you with the means and ability to start this little program in your own community where you are familiar with your local resources. Winter is coming and its hard.