Living on food stamps

[pocomom]

I homeschool. Typically this time of year we start a unit on nutrition (coinciding with mommy needing to lose vaca and holiday weight and one of the lessons my kids and I have talked about working on is the Food Stamp Challenge. You may have heard Mario Battelli (sp) and Cory Booker have done it recently. Basically you commit to living on a food budget of a typical food stamp recipent for a week or in our case a month. We are adding to it the need for it to be healthy meals, not just ramen Our budget for our family of five is up for debate.... average is $4 a person per day but in our area I looked up our max benefits which would be almost 200 more a month .... so still deciding on that...
We'll be making most of our own household cleaners, and ditching a lot of paper goods. Although food stamps wouldn't pay for regular cleaners, vinegar, baking soda and what not would be covered since they are edible. I already coupon like crazy for personal care items so we probably have enough to just not buy any for the month.
In additon, we won't be spending anything for extra entertainment, no toys at the store, etc. no buying the kids new googles when they forget them for swim team, I was going to ok one fill up at the gas station a week, pet food, and medications and they would continue outside lessons, but no extra field trips etc. We will be working up to it all the next week and a half and then offically starting for February. If you are wondering how this is homeschooling (question my mom asked) we'll be working a lot of math in, journalling and using to to springboard discussions on poverty, relating it to history (great depression- we're even starting a victory garden)Lots of writing practice, computers. Also, we'll be using the time we have not going out to actually play with some of the things we have here! And of course it doesn't hurt to save some money post christmas /vacation! Anyone want to join us?
Obviously, our regular bills will get paid. The kids and I will be making up the official rules the next day or two... Anything else I 'm not thinking of?

 

[dancin Disney style]

Right before Christmas I was suddenly off work for 2 weeks(without pay). As a result I decided to use that free time to take inventory of my kitchen. So since then we have been living very lean. I have spent less than half of what I normally spend on groceries and have planned every meal way in advance.....not something I really do. We have not so much as bought a coffee outside of the house. I'm actually really loving this but I know it will get old soon. The plan is to carry on through the end of February and if I stick to it I should have saved approx $800.

 

[DawnM]

We spend less than what we would be allowed on food stamps. For our family of 5, NC says we can get $793/mo.

We not only eat on less but we include dog food, all paper goods, and all cleaning supplies in with that.

So, it wouldn't be much of a challenge.

You could make your own laundry soap from the Duggar's website.

You could also look up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Family-Month-...1358775687&sr=8-6&keywords=feed+family+frugal

I think ultimately, a great challenge would be to live as frugally as possible for a month and see how much you can save. Eat all homemade foods, make a food price chart, and see how frugally you can eat and live.

Dawn

 

[undertheradar]

I homeschool. Typically this time of year we start a unit on nutrition (coinciding with mommy needing to lose vaca and holiday weight and one of the lessons my kids and I have talked about working on is the Food Stamp Challenge. You may have heard Mario Battelli (sp) and Cory Booker have done it recently. Basically you commit to living on a food budget of a typical food stamp recipent for a week or in our case a month. We are adding to it the need for it to be healthy meals, not just ramen Our budget for our family of five is up for debate.... average is $4 a person per day but in our area I looked up our max benefits which would be almost 200 more a month .... so still deciding on that...
We'll be making most of our own household cleaners, and ditching a lot of paper goods. Although food stamps wouldn't pay for regular cleaners, vinegar, baking soda and what not would be covered since they are edible. I already coupon like crazy for personal care items so we probably have enough to just not buy any for the month.
In additon, we won't be spending anything for extra entertainment, no toys at the store, etc. no buying the kids new googles when they forget them for swim team, I was going to ok one fill up at the gas station a week, pet food, and medications and they would continue outside lessons, but no extra field trips etc. We will be working up to it all the next week and a half and then offically starting for February. If you are wondering how this is homeschooling (question my mom asked) we'll be working a lot of math in, journalling and using to to springboard discussions on poverty, relating it to history (great depression- we're even starting a victory garden)Lots of writing practice, computers. Also, we'll be using the time we have not going out to actually play with some of the things we have here! And of course it doesn't hurt to save some money post christmas /vacation! Anyone want to join us?
Obviously, our regular bills will get paid. The kids and I will be making up the official rules the next day or two... Anything else I 'm not thinking of?

So are you only going to "exist" on what you can buy with that dollar amount? No reserve pantry, no items bought before hand? While the intent to learn about doing with less is admirable, not every food stamp recipient lives in poverty. I'm not saying that they live like kings but they don't all live in filth. You should limit your computer access to the public library, pretending that you don't have such items as pcs, video game systems, etc. I think it would be much tougher to live without all of the amenities that we take for granted, perhaps even using public transit for the month to further understand how hard living with less can be. In regards to your victory garden, is that part of your food stamp experience? Not trying to attack you, just wondering how the whole learning about poverty lesson comes about when you are already providing yourself a cushion of some amenities?

 

[pocomom]

We spend less than what we would be allowed on food stamps. For our family of 5, NC says we can get $793/mo.

We not only eat on less but we include dog food, all paper goods, and all cleaning supplies in with that.

So, it wouldn't be much of a challenge.

You could make your own laundry soap from the Duggar's website.

You could also look up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Family-Month-...1358775687&sr=8-6&keywords=feed+family+frugal

I think ultimately, a great challenge would be to live as frugally as possible for a month and see how much you can save. Eat all homemade foods, make a food price chart, and see how frugally you can eat and live.

Dawn

Dawn that's where I was debating - if the average is $4 a person - that would be a challenge to still eat healthy in our area- $140 a week for us. I mean I spend more than $15 a week in milk alone. The Max amount is similar to the figure you quoted and I think not too far from what we do naturally with organics and fresh foods... at least minus the non-food items. The idea is for it to be a challenge, but also for us to live well... and ultimately sort of figuring out where that number is. Plus giving the kids some needed skills for the college and post college years! Hubs is actually getting into the idea and we just got rid of cable! I think it helped that I off handedly mentioned that couples without a tv in the bedroom have more sex ,

 

[pigletto]

Frankly I think this is exactly the kind of lesson on budgeting and practicality that our traditional schools don't give our kids enough of. I applaud the effort because at the end of the day, it is an opportunity for learning across several subjects and applies to real life as well.
I would love to hear how this goes as you move along! Please keep us updated.

 

[pocomom]

Dawn[/QUOTE]

So are you only going to "exist" on what you can buy with that dollar amount? No reserve pantry, no items bought before hand? While the intent to learn about doing with less is admirable, not every food stamp recipient lives in poverty. I'm not saying that they live like kings but they don't all live in filth. You should limit your computer access to the public library, pretending that you don't have such items as pcs, video game systems, etc. I think it would be much tougher to live without all of the amenities that we take for granted, perhaps even using public transit for the month to further understand how hard living with less can be. In regards to your victory garden, is that part of your food stamp experience? Not trying to attack you, just wondering how the whole learning about poverty lesson comes about when you are already providing yourself a cushion of some amenities?

I wasn't really making a statement about food stamp recipients, just using the figures as a guideline as where to start, and using it as a springboard to discuss poverty with my kids. Personally, I was really poor a few years back two young kids, my now ex-husband left, and I had no job for a couple of months. No interest in actually revisiting that stress and I think that is the REAL challenge in true poverty. The feeling of wondering how you are going to feed your kids is not something my kids at 3,7, and 11 are gonna "get" regardless. But I don't think I need to have them live in a cardboard box for a month to get a discussion going about the homeless...And the conversation will probably have some more meaning if we aren't having it over lunch at Panera The garden is actually something we are doing for studying WW2, and science, but it certainly relates to living more frugally.

 

[ilovemk76]

Those families would also get free or reduced school lunches as well as SNAP.

 

[hsmamato2]

I think it's an interesting concept, but it would be very skewed b/c you are using the well stocked reserves you already have to go forward.... not that you want the kids to be miserable, but for the sake of really 'understanding' the feel of that amount of money,wouldn't it be closer to the reality to try it without the reserves? Could you REALLY do a budget built on one tank of gas,and buying what you need weekly without using all the stuff you already have? I've done this numerous times also when the kids were younger (hs too) but we usually skew our perceptions by using what we already have on hand,which is plenty.
I think lessons like this are so important for all of us, our consumer culture we all live in is so unrealistic.....

 

[momof3ds]

Why would there be a need to limit themselves from computers and video games? People living on welfare can have those things and more. It all depends on the situation.

To the OP, maybe look at what you have in stock and deduct a small amount from your weekly budget as if you bought them at the grocery store?

So are you only going to "exist" on what you can buy with that dollar amount? No reserve pantry, no items bought before hand? While the intent to learn about doing with less is admirable, not every food stamp recipient lives in poverty. I'm not saying that they live like kings but they don't all live in filth. You should limit your computer access to the public library, pretending that you don't have such items as pcs, video game systems, etc. I think it would be much tougher to live without all of the amenities that we take for granted, perhaps even using public transit for the month to further understand how hard living with less can be. In regards to your victory garden, is that part of your food stamp experience? Not trying to attack you, just wondering how the whole learning about poverty lesson comes about when you are already providing yourself a cushion of some amenities?

 

[pocomom]

Right before Christmas I was suddenly off work for 2 weeks(without pay). As a result I decided to use that free time to take inventory of my kitchen. So since then we have been living very lean. I have spent less than half of what I normally spend on groceries and have planned every meal way in advance.....not something I really do. We have not so much as bought a coffee outside of the house. I'm actually really loving this but I know it will get old soon. The plan is to carry on through the end of February and if I stick to it I should have saved approx $800.

Awesome savings! I go through that with couponing... I get all into it , save a bunch of money then get tired of the planning etc. and slip back into just buying what I want in the store. Now I plan on doing it twice a year for a month or so, so I don't burn out, but still can stock up on good deals for things like shampoo and laundry soap.

 

[undertheradar]

My point was that it is much easier trying to teach about living with less. It is a very different lesson to try and teach the experience of poverty if you have a stocked pantry and full supply of personal care supplies that don't come out of the same limited dollars. I grew up very poor and wouldn't wish those days upon anyone. The meals of mayonaise or ketchup bread for a meal are too vivid to forget. We were fortunate, we had a roof over our heads and clean clothes. My kids are 22, 16 and 14 and face the biggest challenge when I send them to the store with a list and $200.00 and tell them that they may spend $40.00 on "luxury" stuff. They come home the majority of the time with that $40.00. Lucky for them, my kids have not had to do without. I think that living as if you don't have pcs and other amenities will enhance the experience of doing with less for the 11 year-old and possibly the 7 year-old. As for the 3 year-old, too young for this lesson to make an impact. Good luck, should be fun.

 

[pocomom]

Interesting points about using items we have on hand already, although realistically the situation where living like this would be necessary would be a job loss and we would still have these things then at least the first few months .... and using items you have on hand before they expire is part of living frugually. And frankly if I had to buy us all new toothpaste, shampoo etc. for the month without planning I could go through a whole weeks budget...I like the idea of deducting an amount from the budget or maybe just including replacing any items useed in the time... We'll have to think about it!

 

[lady9]

My family spends less on food than what food stamps would allow us because I coupon and buy on sale and stock pile. I think maybe a better lesson would be to volunteer at a food and clothing pantry. Many people there do not qualify for food stamps because they make barely above the limit but struggle to feed their families. Even some people on food stamps can't make ends meet so they are there as well to make it to the end of the month. Depending on the ages of your children, this may be a worthwhile project. I know at our food pantry, we are always looking for volunteers!

 

[undertheradar]

Why would there be a need to limit themselves from computers and video games? People living on welfare can have those things and more. It all depends on the situation.

To the OP, maybe look at what you have in stock and deduct a small amount from your weekly budget as if you bought them at the grocery store?

Hard to experience poverty if you escape to your normal, everyday life. No not everyone on food stamps does without a pc or video game systems, yet the experience of being impoverished would be enhanced by doing without those amenities. I suggested the use of public transit so that they could experience how other lives are controlled by bus/train/trolley schedules. Not as easy to get somewhere if you need to depend upon public transit to get there. Again, everybody has a different idea of poverty.

 

[nunzia]

I homeschool. Typically this time of year we start a unit on nutrition (coinciding with mommy needing to lose vaca and holiday weight and one of the lessons my kids and I have talked about working on is the Food Stamp Challenge. You may have heard Mario Battelli (sp) and Cory Booker have done it recently. Basically you commit to living on a food budget of a typical food stamp recipent for a week or in our case a month. We are adding to it the need for it to be healthy meals, not just ramen Our budget for our family of five is up for debate.... average is $4 a person per day but in our area I looked up our max benefits which would be almost 200 more a month .... so still deciding on that...
We'll be making most of our own household cleaners, and ditching a lot of paper goods. Although food stamps wouldn't pay for regular cleaners, vinegar, baking soda and what not would be covered since they are edible. I already coupon like crazy for personal care items so we probably have enough to just not buy any for the month.
In additon, we won't be spending anything for extra entertainment, no toys at the store, etc. no buying the kids new googles when they forget them for swim team, I was going to ok one fill up at the gas station a week, pet food, and medications and they would continue outside lessons, but no extra field trips etc. We will be working up to it all the next week and a half and then offically starting for February. If you are wondering how this is homeschooling (question my mom asked) we'll be working a lot of math in, journalling and using to to springboard discussions on poverty, relating it to history (great depression- we're even starting a victory garden)Lots of writing practice, computers. Also, we'll be using the time we have not going out to actually play with some of the things we have here! And of course it doesn't hurt to save some money post christmas /vacation! Anyone want to join us?
Obviously, our regular bills will get paid. The kids and I will be making up the official rules the next day or two... Anything else I 'm not thinking of?

I think this is a GREAT homeschool project..can cover a large gamut of subjects..my DD is looking at homeschooling and this is a great idea. I understand the experiment and think it can be done, but food stamps were never meant to be the ENTIRE food budget of a family..it was meant to supplement not replace. That may be a good footnote subject..how a helping program is now seen as meant to provide an entire food budget.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Frankly I think this is exactly the kind of lesson on budgeting and practicality that our traditional schools don't give our kids enough of. I applaud the effort because at the end of the day, it is an opportunity for learning across several subjects and applies to real life as well.
I would love to hear how this goes as you move along! Please keep us updated.

ITA
Good luck with this and keep us updated! I love this idea for a lesson!

 

[crisi]

Sounds like fun

If you've never done sourdough bread it might work in well - its cheap, has the chemistry component, and you can talk about miners and pioneers using sourdough instead of yeast because you could keep the starter going.

You can use that to drive conversations about modern poverty in the U.S. Baking bread takes a lot of time at home - which if you are the working poor and take the bus to get around, is hard to find. Baking bread is something that you are taught to do - and few modern Americans learn to bake bread (and this isn't a poverty thing). Baking bread takes a working oven - something I didn't have when I lived near the poverty level - the landlord never fixed the oven. Bread, such a simple thing that has kept humanity alive for thousands of years, is more complex than we think it is, and has often been - in the Middle Ages bakers made bread because they had the ovens, and laws controlled the size of bread - bakers making their loaves to small could be put in the stocks or dipped in the river.

 

[pocomom]

Sounds like fun

If you've never done sourdough bread it might work in well - its cheap, has the chemistry component, and you can talk about miners and pioneers using sourdough instead of yeast because you could keep the starter going.

You can use that to drive conversations about modern poverty in the U.S. Baking bread takes a lot of time at home - which if you are the working poor and take the bus to get around, is hard to find. Baking bread is something that you are taught to do - and few modern Americans learn to bake bread (and this isn't a poverty thing). Baking bread takes a working oven - something I didn't have when I lived near the poverty level - the landlord never fixed the oven. Bread, such a simple thing that has kept humanity alive for thousands of years, is more complex than we think it is, and has often been - in the Middle Ages bakers made bread because they had the ovens, and laws controlled the size of bread - bakers making their loaves to small could be put in the stocks or dipped in the river.

We love doing bread as part of a lesson- great for my younger kid's hand strength for writing, measuring, nutrtion, and amazing history- we noticed from doing ancient cultures (egyptian's teeth were ground down due to sand in their bread) to revolutionary war how bread was a common theme. (Let them eat cake!)

 

[RitaE]

Well I remember reading Mayor Booker's blog over the week he did that and the only thing I came away with was the impression that the Mayor had never had to grocery shop on a budget before in his life.

Seriously, he bought bagged salad, some cans of beans rather than the dried and soak method, and some sweet potatoes and then spent the week remarking on how hungry he felt. There didn't seem to be any attempt to shop sales, find useable coupons, meal plan or anything. And he couldn't even cook, he burned his sweet potato.

There was another lady who did the challenge about at the same time and her menu was amazing. She was the complete opposite though, she had handmade croutons and completely from scratch soup. As she pointed out in her blog though, she also had a kitchen fully stocked with working equipment, she could drive to any store to get the sale items, and she had a degree in Operation Logistics so she knew how to plan and then execute a plan. She also had a work at home job so she wasn't getting off the city bus from work at 6pm and facing a houseful of hungry kids who wanted to eat by 6:20pm.

I think somewhere in the middle is probably the reality of what could be expected of most people.