The #FoodBankNYCChallenge

[barkley]

I spend around $200 per week for 7 of us and that includes non-grocery items (toothpaste, toilet paper,etc). Last week I shopped at Aldi's, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Walmart. We are mostly vegetarians here and I like to rely on packaged stuff for the school lunches I pack. So its definitely doable to go cheaper especially if I relied on more beans, rice, and potatoes.

if you use any of the vegetarian products made by loma linda, worthington or cedar lakes you can get very good deals if you have an abc (adventist book center) store near you-they offer good prices and the one that was near us used to have a case sale a couple times a year that would save even more. vegefood is their website for food, and they have good prices on items and give a case discount as well (both are non profit businesses so you can save at least $1-$2 per item, more if purchased by the case). my kids went to vegetarian schools until they hit high school so I had to make plenty of school lunches, pot luck items and such.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Just a note - if you're starting from scratch (as I did in my list), there's no requirement you have to buy all your staples at once. Rather, buying 2-3 staples a week would probably get you where you'd want to be in a month. Just like my list bought salt and sugar the 1st week (the 2 most important to me), I'd probably buy pepper and flour in week 2, an herb (dried or plantable - like basil) and and a multi-use spice (like cinnamon) in week 3, and a vinegar and veggie oil in week 4. And, then I'd start rebuying the cycle as needed (and adding an additional staple need as I go if I haven't used my supply)...no one expects SNAP to instantly give everyone a full kitchen supply in one week - it's more an average of the cost to have a basic food supply over a period of time...

 

[5kidsmommy]

Just a note - if you're starting from scratch (as I did in my list), there's no requirement you have to buy all your staples at once. Rather, buying 2-3 staples a week would probably get you where you'd want to be in a month. Just like my list bought salt and sugar the 1st week (the 2 most important to me), I'd probably buy pepper and flour in week 2, an herb (dried or plantable - like basil) and and a multi-use spice (like cinnamon) in week 3, and a vinegar and veggie oil in week 4. And, then I'd start rebuying the cycle as needed (and adding an additional staple need as I go if I haven't used my supply)...no one expects SNAP to instantly give everyone a full kitchen supply in one week - it's more an average of the cost to have a basic food supply over a period of time...

Often though when one gets SNAP they get several back weeks which helps in the beginning.

We have a family of 6 at home now which is $174 a week, when our oldest child moved out I found I was spending less. I spend right around that. I mostly shop at ALDI and buy meat in bulk. I buy most supplies such as rice, sugar, flour, lentils and dried spices in bulk. I also can and freeze what's in my garden.

I had to learn to cook from scratch. I was raised by a single mother, she worked long hours and so I grew up on processed foods or casseroles. I think one thing that would help in the cities (I live in the city) would be for schools to bring back home ec classes. The district I live in does have a culinary program in the high school but it's not available to all students. Basic classes would be helpful.

 

[pryncess527]

Oh Gwyneth. http://www.thesuperficial.com/gwyne...brunch-jon-favreau-promotional-dinner-04-2015

 

[JanaDee]

Oh Gwyneth. http://www.thesuperficial.com/gwyne...brunch-jon-favreau-promotional-dinner-04-2015

Did anyone think there would be a different outcome?

 

[barkley]

Oh Gwyneth. http://www.thesuperficial.com/gwyneth-paltrow-food-stamps-brunch-jon-favreau-promotional-dinner-04-2015

she's now admitted that she only lasted 4 days on the challenge b/c she "just had to have chicken, vegetables and more". she gave herself a grade of C-, which tells me that she knows as much about grading as she does about eating on a budget. any place i/my kids have gone to a school a 57% is clearly an F.

 

[Kbee]

Maybe if she didn't buy so many limes she could have gotten herself some chicken. She's just an idiot and has no idea how to grocery shop.

 

[kymom99]

That's more than what our grocery budget is, but it's not easy to stick to that. We average between $300-$400 a month for a family of 4, mostly organic vegan. Most of what I cook is from scratch and I probably spend more time in the kitchen than most people. I'm also able to do that since I work from home and I know that time is not a luxury that all people have! I also have the luxury of knowing if we go over budget, we just have less money to go towards vacation or Christmas savings or my husband can even bring food home from the restaurant that he works at...either way my family won't be going hungry. That's so tough mentally/emotionally.

We commonly have lentils/quinoa/veggies, homemade burritos, soup, tofu & noodles, etc and those are super cheap meals. I don't feel like we are doing without...I'm sure that we eat better (for cheaper) than many others and we quite enjoy the food! We also eat plenty of more expensive fresh vegetables like mushrooms, avocado, artichokes, etc but stick to the basic fresh fruit like apples, mandarins, bananas. Things like organic blueberries, cherries, mixed berries are too expensive fresh, but a decent price in frozen form from Costco. That's another thing...I get a ton of things from Costco including most of the healthy oils that we cook with (coconut, avocado, olive). If it weren't for being able to spend several hundred dollars at once to stock up on things at Costco for a few months, we probably wouldn't be able to stick to our budget and eat the way that we do. Plus, many people don't have these types of stores nearby (I've certainly never seen one in the inner-city where I went to college or a very rural area like where I live now) or a way to get there. They're often relying on mini marts with a lot of processed foods and a very small selection of fresh produce. We have to take our Santa Fe when we go instead of the Veloster - there's not even enough room in a car, much less if I had to grab a bus or ride a bike to get there. I also end up going to all sorts of stores...Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Aldi, mostly. Again, I have the means to get to those places.

I also feel like more community education on cooking, nutrition, meal planning, etc would help the monetary assistance in programs like this go a lot further. I actually used to volunteer at an urban farm in Houston that let those in the neighborhood work the land in exchange for tons of fresh produce. It takes much more than throwing money at people to change things!

I grew up on assistance because my mom became disabled. I know what it was like to live the stigma.

There was a local news story here about a father in the inner city who rode a bike to the grocery to try to feed his kids. There was a Kroger that closed down and the story was pointing out the hardship it was causing the people who couldn't get to the grocery stores to get nutritious foods. It is a very real problem when people don't have access to quality food.