Could You Live On A Food Stamp Budget?

2-09-2009 @4:19PM Sarah said... All depends on how and where one shops. It is NOT hard to do it well either. I grew up in a family that had hard times every winter due to the nature of my dad's job.

You have to shop at grocery stores that are economical. You can eat well if you go veggie and invest into beans, rice and other grains. Don't waste your dollars on commercially prepared foods nor junk items.

Meat is a luxury - and should never be forgotten that we can live without it if needed. As well, we can live without $15 a lb olives, imported cheese and other items.
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2-09-2009 @5:19PM Gobo said... I'd rather see him get by on the government-provided foods sent to low-income food-stamp subscribers, such as flour, cheese, and pasta.

My next-door neighbor mistakenly received deliveries of government foods for years, and wow, that stuff is terrible, especially the infamous "government cheese". It tastes like the lowest-quality American cheese you can find and doesn't melt.
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2-09-2009 @5:41PM Maddie said... lets also not forget that many of those on food stamps live in areas that are (at least in the Chicago area) called food deserts. Supermarkets have moved out of the area so the only places that take the food stamps are convenience stores with high markups and a lot of high calorie/low nutrition foods. There is a poor city near me that doesn't have a single grocery store at all. They have a street with a McDonalds, Popeyes, KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, Pizza Hut, White Castle, Dunkin Donuts, and a couple other local type fast food joints, all within 3 blocks of each other, but no actual grocery store selling fresh produce. Per City-Data.com, 15.1% of the population in this city were living below the poverty line in 2006.

So I guess my point is that it is likely much easier for someone with access to a grocery store to live on that food budget then those who actually are forced to.
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2-09-2009 @6:10PM Amber said... When I was a little kid, about 25 years ago, my grandparents received the "government cheese" due to their income. I loved it! And they ate well, and very healthily as well. Of course, my grandma baked all of the bread, and they had a huge garden. She would always splurge on turkey hotdogs when I would come to visit. I never had the heart to tell her that they tasted terrible though. I did love those cheese sandwiches though.
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2-09-2009 @7:41PM Kassie said... To add on to what Maddie was saying, many food stamp recipients are homeless or don't have access to kitchens. To try and live off food stamps without being able to cook or keep things cold is near impossible.

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2-09-2009 @10:48PM rockphiler said... FYI-- "Government Cheese" is made by the same company who makes cheese for Walmart, many other grocery store brands as well as Burger King, Wendy's and other fast food restaurants. Furthermore, receiving government commodities "for years" is not a "mistake", it is fraud, which is why our food stamp and commodity system is faulty to begin with.
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2-09-2009 @11:55PM Dr. Electro said... My wife and I do fine on food stamps in a HUD Section 8 apartment. Rent is based on income so it will never be a burden.

We are both disabled and still manage to make the tiny kitchen here work for us. We would love a larger refrigerator but that will never happen unless we strike gold.

We are well-fed and we eat healthy foods prepared from scratch. The prepared foods with all the junk and crap thrown into them are beyond our food budget. We can and do buy meats each month and they always stretch to fill the calendar for us.

Yes, it can be done. Having a little common sense about food shopping is a big help. So is having a place to live. But, I am here to tell you that even the most seriously handicapped can find what they need if they are persistent enough. My hat's off to anyone else who has the fortitude to keep at it like we did.
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2-12-2009 @6:04PM Samme said... I worked in a management company for a section-8 apartment complex. The residents were mainly disabled, elderly, or single minority mothers with children. Tips and tricks for stretching the budget was a frequent topic of discussion and I never tired of it.

The older residents who had lived through the 40's war shortages and had parents who lived during the depression were pretty handy about finding ways to put good food on the table regardless of how much money they had.

Shopping for sales on canned and/or frozen fruits and vegetables is probably the best way to have a constant supply in the off season. Getting to know local gardeners who are willing to sell or give away some extra produce is good for veggies in season.

Meat is a complete luxury and can easily be replaced with beans/legumes. However, there are ways of getting less expensive meats and working with that as well. Whole chickens can go on sale for very cheap and make some of the best dishes I can think of. Hams too.

I have just always enjoyed the fact that whenever this topic comes up there are always people willing to help other people save money and eat well.
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2-10-2009 @10:02AM goodness_gracie said... I would really be surprised if the "average" food stamp recipient worked two jobs.
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2-10-2009 @10:28AM mj said... You can work 2 jobs and still need food help. You wont be able to get food stamps. Does anyone know where you can get food help? Know several people who work hard and cant afford to buy food monthly! Forget weekly
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2-10-2009 @12:00PM Spoonman said... I would be surprised, goodness_gracie, if even were you to meet them, you'd still believe it. The "system" portrayed by the conservative media is the extremes and worst cases of those receiving assistance. There isn't as much fraud and deceit as they'd like you to believe, because without it their arguments are bogus. Is there fraud? Absolutely, but as a taxpayer, I'm more than happy to ignore it since the greater good is served.

It really never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there so ignorant as to believe that there are people willing to live on some $15,000/year in government subsidies and that they're also somehow "living it up". The malice and dishonesty in your own heart comes through quite clearly when you try to project your own inadequacies on others like that.

My in-laws live in a depressed area in downstate, NY. An area where there are more cows than job opportunities, yet every person I've met who gets subsidies ARE working 2-3 part time jobs, because that's all they can get. I would also like to see this reporter from CNN get any healthy cooking done on that $176/month at the local Big M there.
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2-10-2009 @2:04PM Taylor said... Interesting article. I just turned 37 and 2 weeks there after I had a stroke and can no longer work.
Cooking alone is difficult. I only moved here to Seattle recently and I really dont have any friends or family to help with things, but thankfully there are a few people at the grocery store across the street that are willing to carry my groceries home for me and sometimes help me shop. I get about 180$ in food stamps a month, and there is a "Food not Bombs" group meet that I could try and go to, they hand out free veggies and i have found some pretty good stuff there, some times I can find some one who can give me a ride if I can chip in a buck or two for gas. I think I survive pretty well on what I get. I eat alot of sammiches and stay away from junk pretty much completely.except for my current addiction to gummy worms.
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2-11-2009 @6:16PM trish said... It amazes me how people cant afford food, but they can afford a computer to complain about it on!
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2-12-2009 @3:53PM Sarah said... Trish...as for the computer comment...you do realize most libraries these days have free computers?
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2-13-2009 @7:35AM Gobo said... rockphiler, my neighbors repeatedly contacted the government, asking them to please stop delivering food subsidies; this was a double-income-no-kids young couple living in an affluent suburb, and frankly, they were a little mortified when government cheese showed up on their doorstep. The government agreed that it was a silly mixup in their system... but the deliveries kept coming.

At first, it was a laugh -- we helped them eat it all, and used the flour to make cookies.

After that first month, they donated it to a local food bank.

I don't really think it's smart to imply that my family and my neighbors were intentionally committing fraud.
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3-05-2009 @12:22AM Angelica said... My parents just recently had to apply for food stamps as their only meads to support 4 teenagers and themselfs. My fathers income was a major part of the family income, until he become ill and unable to work at all. My mother has had to stay home to care for him, this meant no income coming in. I helped them a pply for food stamps and medical insurance this process was horrible, in order to get assistant immediatly you had living in the streets or else it takes about a month that's if your social worker process you paper work or does not loose it any my parents case. It took 3 months to get any answer from the social worker. Now they have been on food stamps since January of this year they first got $375 amount for themselfs and 4 teenagers. I know that my on family can not survive on that amount and we are only a samll family of 3. This last month they increase their benefits by $75 dollars.
As my mother says "Something is better then nothing".
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3-10-2009 @10:20PM Cajuns said... I see the pros and cons of it all. First of all, as a food stamp receiver many years ago, and yes I was working, had two kids to feed, the little bit of food stamps that was sent to us, was not even near enough to feed them, much less myself. I went hungry many times, just to make sure they had something to eat. As far as some people on here saying that someone can afford the internet, I agree with the earlier comment that someone else made. Internet is free in libraries, someone can be using a friend or a neighbors computer. Remember, judge not, least you be judged.

Yes, there are people taking advantage of the system, and I don't really see how they can get away with it. To get food stamps, you have to have tons of papers verifying your address, your SS number, income, and much more. They may as well want to take your unborn child!

Sure, years ago when your Grandparents were surviving, they could maybe make it by living off the land. Lots of that land they owned themselves...how many people own their own land today that can do that? Let's just all try and help each other, instead of putting blame on people and circumstances that you have no idea about, unless you have been there.

It's strange I just ran across this post, as I just posted about this very same thing about Can't Afford Food, much less buy food that is good for yu, at:
http://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com/cookingrecipes/2009/03/cant-afford-food-much-less-buy-food.html

Everyone, sit back and think about it...milk costs around 4 or five bucks a gallon...fruit juice???? Come on y'all we are in this together!

Thanks for reading
Peggy
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3-16-2009 @5:19PM Jenny R said... I know the last comment was a few days ago, but I'm a little amazed when people think that it's impossible (or at least very difficult) to eat well on this much money. My husband and I eat all healthy, organic food for less than $176/month/person. I do about 70% of my shopping at Whole Foods and 10% each at Trader Joe's, the Farmer's Market and Target (for cat litter, paper towels and the like).

It's not that hard. I mean, we don't eat meat or poultry every day, but we also aren't vegetarians. We make use of rice and beans. Oh, and soups. Both of us work, so I do use some convenience foods, but I don't buy a lot of treats. I don't hardly ever use coupons. Instead I try to buy healthy, whole foods. You just make it work. I feel like I spend a lot of money on food, but I guess it's not very much considering it's less than food stamps.
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4-02-2009 @8:06AM maile said... i would go to a food bank just when i really needed it but if not others are in more of a need then my family i find it sad that people i live around go from church to church getting free food i think its wrong when each person in the family goes in & says they have 4 or 5 people in the house that means a family of 5 would receive enough food to feed 25 people.... sad but true
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