tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post5861258930229523829..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: The "Food Stamp Diet" and How It's Different From Being PoorDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-72280785252928423762012-02-20T23:48:31.075-05:002012-02-20T23:48:31.075-05:00Wow I am wondering where you are shopping in naple...Wow I am wondering where you are shopping in naples? Naples is a rich community in the first place but all around southwest florida you can find super walmarts where things are much cheaper. Also you shop publix and winn dixie for sale items and your dollar ahould go far. I am speaking from experience. First I grew up in naples and second I live in punta gorda. Believe me the food prices down here are much cheaper than other states. I have lived in ohio and indiana and I travel a lot. Anyway food budget definately changes depending on where you live.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-57858321902853816422012-02-11T14:11:24.906-05:002012-02-11T14:11:24.906-05:00One other thing to take into account: many of the...One other thing to take into account: many of the poor live in an "urban food desert." My older son attends a university in such a location. When he's home, we load him up on groceries because stuff costs so much more in his part of the 'hood. But the residents of the area are a captive audience, mostly without cars--and therefore without access to cheaper supermarkets with a wider selection. So in areas like that, your food dollar cannot stretch nearly as far.Barb Szyszkiewiczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00329184613713551475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-33330142552608975612012-02-10T16:46:09.539-05:002012-02-10T16:46:09.539-05:00Also, you know, I have to say one more thing about...Also, you know, I have to say one more thing about food stamps. When we were on them I didn't feel the same crushing worry and near financial terror that I do now. Our salary was so small as to be essentially non-existent. Ends did not meet. They were never going to meet. They did not even know where the other could be found. And yet, I didn't worry about food for my family. The kids were on Medicaid, so I didn't worry about money for medicine or the hospital if they got really sick. Now, I really understand what it's like to be poor. To really have to stretch to make ends meet, because the government isn't going to catch us when we fall. Honestly, I never want to go back on government assistance again because as stressful as it is and as much as I worry that my children's health is actually going to suffer because of our strict budget, I feel like I never actually understood true financial responsibility before, nor what it was like to be poor. When we were first married, we had enough money. Then grad school came and we had no money, so little that it was impossible to consider living on it. Now we have very, very little money. I mean, the paychecks seem like a fortune to us, but when we budget it out it's barely enough to live on and still pay tuition, since the Ogre is writing his dissertation and all. And now I know what it is like to be poor. And there's some small satisfaction that comes from being thrifty, from making up a meal with things that I normally would consider a bare pantry, from getting to the end of the month and sighing in relief, saying, well we did it. I think part of the reason that government assistance is quite insidious in it's current incarnation is that it provides enough for people not just to scrape by, but to be, in fact, comfortable. That was my experience, at least. And when you try to get off of it you start to realize how hard it actually is to make your own way. That's why I think so many people just stay on government assistance, forever, and never try to take themselves off. When a program that's meant to be temporary assistance makes people more comfortable than they were before, and more comfortable than they'll be again until they spend years pinching and scraping and saving, it becomes a permanent solution.Calahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632005486245515873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-90201073871160171072012-02-10T16:23:42.586-05:002012-02-10T16:23:42.586-05:00When we were actually on foodstamps in Vegas I was...When we were actually on foodstamps in Vegas I was able to make it work fairly easily, including organic meat, milk, cage-free eggs and plenty of fruit and vegetables. I felt, actually, that it was quite a generous allowance. Now we are trying to be very strict about our budget and I give myself nearly $80 less per week than we had on foodstamps, with one extra person in the household. It is extremely difficult here in Naples. Organic milk here is close to $6 for a half-gallon, where 6 months ago I paid $3.49 for a full gallon. Eggs are $4 a dozen and that's only cage-free and not organic; in Vegas it was $2.49 for cage-free organic. Produce is so outrageous we can rarely afford more than I feel we must eat for nutrition...and even then, we might get two servings of vegetables and fruit per day. Meat is a luxury of the past. The most we get is a chicken a week, from which I use the bones to make stock for soup later in the week, occasional ground beef, and sometimes on payday we'll buy a steak to celebrate. This is a shocking change for my extremely carnivorous family. If we had foodstamps here in Naples, and the same allowance which we had in Vegas, I would still find it hard to manage. Not like I am now, but it would be tight, not luxurious like it was in Vegas. I didn't realize that food prices varied so greatly geographically, but they really do. I wonder if places like NYC and DC and San Francisco, where these stupid challenges are given to politicians, are more similar in food pricing to where we are now in Florida. That would explain a lot. If I saw a gallon of milk for $1.99 I would cry. Even the non-organic is at least $5 a gallon. At least.Calahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632005486245515873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-64103371857894916282012-02-08T18:54:19.737-05:002012-02-08T18:54:19.737-05:00I live in southwestern Ohio and my budget is $200 ...I live in southwestern Ohio and my budget is $200 a month for myself and my husband. (That translates to less than $50 a week on average, but I've spent everywhere from $125 to $17 in a given week, depending on what we need and what's on sale.) I've only been sticking to it for two months (because I've only been married two months), but it really isn't hard at all. We've had a few days at the end of the month where we have to get creative with what's left in the apartment, but that's mainly due to me not planning ahead. We eat a TON of meat and buy ice cream and everything. The only thing we don't do is buy convenience food. (Ice cream is probably the closest we get, actually.) And we shop at Aldi. I love Aldi because I can get all my staples for cheap in one place and then make quick stops at other stores to fill in the gaps. (I get lost in Wal-Mart. It's just too big.)The Sojournerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04559244806125834569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-46806498882525846252012-02-08T01:17:55.484-05:002012-02-08T01:17:55.484-05:00The advantage to being frugal rather than poor is ...The advantage to being frugal rather than poor is that when staples go on sale you can stockpile. Then you "shop" from your pantry until those items go on sale again. In effect, you need never pay the regular retail price for the things you use most frequently.<br /><br />If you're poor, you can't afford to do that and are stuck paying whatever price an item is when you need to buy it.<br /><br />That was one of our shopping philosophies when I still had a family to shop for.Catholic Bibliophagisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10697706672495544901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-81366199244480686632012-02-07T23:39:26.764-05:002012-02-07T23:39:26.764-05:00I agree with Mariana about the chickens - so long ...I agree with Mariana about the chickens - so long as you keep on top of the coop and there area, there really isn't a smell. But if you aren't diligent about it... Eww!<br /><br />Out here in semi-rural northern CA (where we don't have Walmart et al) regular milk runs 3.29 - 4.29, depending on where you shop. Organic isn't all that much more at 5.59-6.29, well worth it, I think. We don't let the kids drink it like water though and with mild rationing we go through about a gallon and a half a week. I do use it to make yogurt too.Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689104216675201913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-43747786758451980522012-02-07T22:51:50.890-05:002012-02-07T22:51:50.890-05:00I have to disagree that buying organic should be c...I have to disagree that buying organic should be considered a "luxury". Non-organic is only cheap because it doesn't include the massive costs of ecological and social degradation that industrial food production causes. <br /><br />I live in a community of 7 adults, and we have a budget of about $22/week per person (which we don't always use up, even). This includes buying local and organic whenever available - including humanely raised meat and dairy products. Granted, we do have our own chickens for eggs, and we grow all of our own vegetables, which not everybody can do. But perhaps more people can do it than think they can. <br /><br />I helped our neighbors man their produce stand at the farmers market this summer, and we did have senior citizens using their equivalent of food stamps. The organic produce we sold was also cheaper than the regular produce you'd get at the local Kroger.<br /><br />Re: the mess/smell of chickens. To quote Joel Salatin - "if you smell manure, you are smelling mismanagement!"Marianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978110502631939462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-29995393266115564872012-02-07T21:24:46.374-05:002012-02-07T21:24:46.374-05:00I'd defend the $5 milk thing as being regional...I'd defend the $5 milk thing as being regional, but they've been saying that since I was getting milk for under $2/gal, and it's gone up to $2.50 minimum in our area.<br /><br />Lifestyle seems to matter a <i>lot</i> for the "challenges"-- and most are done to prove a point. (Heck, even mine several years back was to prove a point-- though it was "you are nucking out of it, things aren't THAT expensive!")<br /><br />From the conversations I call to mind, the biggest difference is if people cook and are willing to <i>try</i> to cook. (Frozen veggies are a big plus, too.)<br /><br />One way to get around the bulk issue is those "cook and freeze" cookbooks, or just cooking stuff that can set in the fridge for half a week. Or trade off dinner nights with friends in similar circumstances-- it shocks me how many people are willing to trade off "watch the kids" days, but won't do the same for <i>cooking</i>.Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-67202833271583056572012-02-07T20:54:56.751-05:002012-02-07T20:54:56.751-05:00Serendipity & Mary,
We're just north of C...Serendipity & Mary,<br /><br />We're just north of Columbus, OH. Milk runs $2.50 to $3/gal in regular grocery stores (I'm not sure about Wal-Mart) but Aldi's consistently has it at $1.99. The had had butter at $1.90/lb for the last month, but today it was up to $2.29.<br /><br />I hadn't realized this was particularly unusual, since prices were pretty similar in Texas when we were there, but I guess it varies a lot more than I realized.<br /><br />Kelly,<br /><br />I'll have to look that up.<br /><br />Amber,<br /><br />Mmmm, wow. Back in TX I had a coworker you used to bring us eggs from his chickens at home and they were just amazing. We maybe just have room to have chickens someday in our new house, but I'm not sure about the mess/smell (though I am planning a bigger and better garden this year.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-59952171356383888142012-02-07T20:21:49.621-05:002012-02-07T20:21:49.621-05:00We spend about 600/mo (about $140/wk) for a family...We spend about 600/mo (about $140/wk) for a family of 6 - well, not exactly 6, the 4 mo old doesn't eat anything that I have to buy! And this includes organic milk and eggs, good quality cheese, and pasture raised pork, beef and chicken. A good portion of the fruits, veggies, beans and grains are organic too. Granted, this also includes a summer garden, canning tomato sauce and salsa and keeping our own small flock of chickens. (the monthly amount includes the costs of chicken feed, soil amendments, and vegetable starts and seeds). But it is also a fair amount of work and planning. If I had to work full time or lived somewhere where I couldn't garden and keep chickens it would be a lot harder, if not impossible to try to eat how we do for this amount. But as it is, I look at the USDA and have a hard time understanding it. I remember feeding our family on $250/mo (four eaters then) and that was hard and did not include organics. But also way, way less than the USDA thrifty plan.Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689104216675201913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-92013218853539431722012-02-07T19:51:43.308-05:002012-02-07T19:51:43.308-05:00You might be interested in the Food Stamp Challeng...You might be interested in the Food Stamp Challenge series at the Mama Says blog. She generally feeds a large family on half the food stamp budget and includes some organics and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />http://www.milehimama.com/real-food/food-stamp-challenge/Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16120027058653022897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-5941610581396910192012-02-07T19:33:31.193-05:002012-02-07T19:33:31.193-05:00In MA we have the MD prices like Serendipity. But....In MA we have the MD prices like Serendipity. But...Darwin makes a lot of sense. So many middle class folks I know blow tons of money on stupid things, like lunches out, lattes and expensive food.<br /><br />That said, fresh veggies and fruits are a must, and those are expensive.maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05613163382453563548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-3211192835532483402012-02-07T19:29:01.531-05:002012-02-07T19:29:01.531-05:00Don't know where the Darwins reside, but Wal-M...Don't know where the Darwins reside, but Wal-Mart, Aldis, Sam's Club etc all have about $4 a gallon for milk, and $5 and over for OJ (the real stuff, not frozen), here in MDSerendipityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16978369468735860836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-84778635316305979632012-02-07T18:51:39.484-05:002012-02-07T18:51:39.484-05:00When I saw the title of this post, I had a differe...When I saw the title of this post, I had a different idea about what it was going to be about. There was a period of time when we lived in an area where people regularly shopped with food stamps. What they bought was white bread, cheap peanut butter, ramen noodles, canned soup, cheap chips, Sunny Delite - mostly cheap foods with high fat, high sugar, high salt, high bad for you stuff. I never saw anyone buy fresh fruit with food stamps - or dried beans - although this is totally anecdotal. I wonder if they could come up with a food stamp program that would be based on nutritional allowances, like getting coupons for 5 fruit servings a day.Emily J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01132106976424535611noreply@blogger.com