Posted on 06/01/2007 5:27:07 PM PDT by Huntress
Can you eat for $5.54 a day?
Stop off for just one fancy latte on your way to work or grab a burger and fries for lunch and you’re likely to blow through that amount, the maximum food stamp benefit for a single person, and go hungry for the rest of the day.
I’ve never been on food stamps, so I don’t really know what it’s like to be hungry. Nor do assorted members of Congress and governors, so hunger relief advocates across the country are challenging us to step up to the plate. They want us to feel, if just for a week, what it’s like to be hungry.
When Harvesters, Kansas City’s local food network, asked me to take its Food Stamp Challenge, I was immediately intrigued. But I wasn’t sure I could stay on budget. Even worse, what if my kids really did go hungry?
But the goal of the challenge was actually to get us beyond the growling in the pit of our stomachs. It’s the hidden emotional and social stresses of a bare pantry that can take a toll.
Loath to be a short order cook, I quickly decided that if I was going to be the menu planner, shopper and cook for an entire week (a duty I typically share with my husband), I needed the whole family to sign on for the challenge.
André, 13, was my first ally. He likes social studies and politics, so this was just the kind of social experiment I figured I could get him interested in. He didn’t take much convincing, although his idea for staying on budget was to eat off the dollar menu at a fast-food restaurant.
This was, of course, not only not allowable on food stamps but also not the way I want him to eat. Besides, food stamp recipients do not have the same convenience foods available to them. When you’re on food stamps you are not allowed to buy prepared items: no fast food, deli sandwiches — not even a rotisserie chicken. Accepting food stamps forces you to cook.
Daniela, 8, took a bit more convincing. She was willing to join in the challenge only if she could continue to buy school lunch. She loves school lunch. I’m not sure what that says about my cooking.
As a family, my husband, Otavio, and I talked with the kids over several dinners about the changes that would be necessary in our diet: No more hormone-free local milk in a glass bottle. No more artisan breads at nearly $3 a loaf. No lunches out. No pizza Friday night. And, for the adults, no more wine with dinner.
Shopping strategies
A refrigerator cook most nights of the week, I tend to open the door, look inside and begin to put together a meal from what we have on hand. But with a budget of $129.50 per week — the maximum amount a family of four can receive on food stamps — I knew I would need to sit down and carefully plan out every meal.
A few nights before starting the challenge and André was at trumpet lessons, Daniela and I sat in a nearby pizza parlor and went through the stack of recipes that Harvesters dietitian Stephanie Ziebert had shared with me after a class I attended with real-life food stamp recipients. As I called out dishes, Daniela gave me a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. There were more yucks than yums, but by the end of the hour we had agreed on a week’s worth of meals.
With the menu planned, I divided the yellow legal paper into the sections of the store and made a list of ingredients I would need for the week. Practically speaking, I wanted to shop close to my home, but I also wanted to shop at stores that were typical of the average food stamp recipient.
The vast majority of Harvesters clients shop at supermarkets, grocery stores or discount stores (90 percent), not convenience stores (2.8 percent) as some obesity experts had led me to believe. Price clubs like Costco were out because of the fee required to join.
I chose to do most of my shopping at Aldi on 67th Street in Shawnee. I had never shopped at Aldi before, but when I called Mark Bersted, vice president of the Olathe division, he was ready to fill me in on what I had been missing. The German-based discount chain stocks 1,300 items, as opposed to the 40,000 stocked in a typical supermarket.
The store keeps overhead low by charging a quarter for a shopping cart (refundable when you reharness the cart in a corral), charging for bags (and you bag your own) and not accepting checks (the store does accept debit cards and, for a 25-cent charge, Missouri shoppers can use Discover). Recipients can use their food stamp debit cards at the store. Food stamp recipients also do not pay tax.
Bersted admits Aldi has a reputation as “the food stamp store,” but that image may be changing. A home economist I work with told me at Christmas her foodie friends were buzzing about the store’s $35 French Champagne, which Aldi sold for $8. Bersted says plenty of Aldi customers just like to save money.
I found nearly everything on my list at Aldi, but I was holding out for a whole chicken and some bakery bread. After André’s tae kwon do class, we headed to Wal-Mart, where the majority of Americans are reported to shop.
I was surprised to find that all the chicken was precut into pieces, mostly boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Not wanting to head for yet another store at dinner time, I settled for six breasts.
By the end of the day I had spent three hours grocery shopping for a grand total of $99.23.
I was relieved: I did not have to put food back on the shelves like the governor of Oregon, who was followed by a camera crew.
The nutrition challenge
The first meal was Thai Peanut Noodles, a tasty vegetarian dish. Even though he is a big fan of peanut butter and eats it straight from the jar with a spoon, André immediately wanted to know where the meat was. It was a refrain I heard throughout the week.
I made six chicken breasts last for three meals. We had a vegetarian and a near-vegetarian pasta (Do slices of pepperoni count?) dish, but we also had salmon fillets and turkey burgers. Clearly, we were not starving.
And in some ways the kids were eating a more kid-friendly diet than I usually serve. For instance, I always buy artisan-baked breads. But frequently they mold before we eat them.
Not surprisingly, André argued for spongy, no-nutrition white bread — the kind he really liked — by insisting that it was more typical of what a food stamp recipient might be able to afford.
But for a food writer, nutrition was not a totally negotiable point, even if money was tight. We compromised on a honey-wheat loaf, which both kids wolfed down in record time. I picked up some whole-grain tortillas and whole-wheat pita pockets and ate them instead.
“See, don’t buy the kids the good bread,” Thrifty Soccer Mom told me when I saw her at our daughters’ soccer game.From the get-go Thrifty Soccer Mom had been offering advice on how to get through the challenge. This friend, who e-mails me when San Marzano tomatoes are on sale at Costco, routinely feeds her family of four for less than $129.50 a week.
She likes the challenge, she enjoys cooking and she likes saving money for home décor. She became an invaluable resource throughout the week as I began to feel stressed and lose focus. My friend admits that not working outside the home makes it easier to shop and cook this way for her family.
On the nights when I stayed up cooking until 10:30 p.m. to have food ready for the dash between softball practice and dance class, I wondered how anyone who works a full-time job could actually pull off this kind of planning week after week.
The time investment
As the week progressed, I realized that I hadn’t really given enough thought to our lunches. Otavio and I often take a lunch to work, but probably just as often if we can’t get it together in the morning we eat out instead.
I could tell Otavio really hated the bean burrito I had made for lunch on Thursday. “It wasn’t my favorite lunch,” he said diplomatically. “I don’t really like any burrito.”
By the end of the week we were running out of protein sources. I think a dietitian would have said our meat intake was about right, more like a condiment than a main dish, but it was making André a wee bit cranky.
“Hey, I’m a carnivore. I can’t help it if I like meat,” he kept telling anyone who would listen.
It was time to spend the rest of our money, but I wasn’t thrilled about heading out to the supermarket for a third trip in one week. Usually I make a list and send Otavio to the store, but that is always risky in terms of budget. If the sushi looks good, he’ll probably buy it.
By Sunday night’s dinner, I was in a mood to splurge. We had wild salmon fillets, roasted potatoes, a gourmet bean salad made of leftover beans, spinach, green beans and cherry tomatoes and red onions in a vinaigrette, steamed broccoli and the pièce de résistance: strawberry shortcake.
We had skim milk on hand, and I didn’t think I had enough money to buy heavy cream, which seemed perhaps too indulgent. I decided to see whether I could turn a truly decadent recipe into a thriftier production.
The shortcakes turned out to be flatter and not quite as rich, but they worked. Instead of topping them with whipped cream, a dollop of vanilla yogurt worked just fine.
By now I had spent $123.54. Tired but satisfied, I could see the home stretch, but I can only imagine what it feels like to run out of food before the end of the week. And I hope I never have to worry that my kids are truly hungry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•The maximum benefit for one person on food stamps is $38.75 a week — that’s $5.54 per day or
just $1.85 per meal.
•Harvesters clients who receive benefits say their monthly allotment lasts just 2 1/2 weeks.
•65.4 percent of Harvesters clients shop at supermarkets or grocery stores. 25.4 percent shop at discount stores such as Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart.
•9.1 percent of food-stamp eligible recipients who have not applied for the benefits say they associate a social stigma with food stamps.
•42.5 percent of those eligible who have not applied think others need the benefits more.
•Among households with at least one child younger than 18, 57.5 percent benefit from the school lunch program and 36.8 percent benefit from the school breakfast program.
•National studies show the average application process for food stamps takes 5 hours of client time and includes multiple trips to the local office.
Source: Local results from Hunger in America 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take the Food Stamp Challenge As part of Hunger Awareness Week (June 2-10), Harvesters is issuing a challenge to the community: Learn about the economic, physical, emotional and social difficulties of poverty and food insecurity by living on a food stamp budget for just one week, as I did.
•To read Tuesday’s A1 food stamp story by FYI reporter Lisa Gutierrez, go to www.KansasCity.com.
•Today, tune in to KCUR’s “Up to Date With Steve Kraske” (89.3 FM) as Karen Haren, executive director of Harvesters, and I discuss the challenge, food stamps and the Farm Bill.
•To join the Harvesters Food Stamp Challenge, go to www.KansasCity.com. On Sunday I’ll begin posting a daily online diary entry of my family’s experiences and video-logs, as well as menus and recipes.
Social impact •A family friend invited us to a birthday dinner at a restaurant, but we declined because it was not in our food budget for the week and entertaining them in our home was out of the question.
•It’s easy to see how people on food stamps might turn down social invitations such as a birthday party or a potluck because it may be difficult to reciprocate.
•We passed up two school-related events that had an additional food cost involved, including a “family dinner” night at Daniela’s school.
Emotional/ physical impact •Although I did not suffer hunger pangs, but I did feel light-headed one night during yoga.
•The challenge felt like a diet. I spent nearly every moment I was not at work thinking about or preparing food.
•It was exhausting to shop three times in one week to get the best deals.
•I feared I would run out of food.
Economic impact •I stayed on budget, but the entire family lost the freedom to choose what to eat and when.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Making ends meet The key to stretching your food dollars? Make a plan and stick to it.
•Plan a week’s worth of meals and snacks. Gather recipes you will use for the week. Make a menu that takes into consideration nutritional value, seasonal items and family preferences. Check the weekly food ads for sale items and use any food you already have on hand.
•Make a shopping list, and stick to it. Organize your list by grouping items according to the sections in the grocery store. Avoid shopping when you’re hungry, tired or rushed. Leave the children at home, if possible. Deviate from the list only when there is a better buy or unadvertised special that fits the meal plan.
•Be a smart shopper. To save time, familiarize yourself with the layout of several stores. Take a calculator to the store and keep a running total as you put items in the cart. Compare price and size to find the best bargains. Consider selecting generic or store brand products. Buy just what you can use before it spoils; spoiled food is wasted money.
•Strive to make healthful choices. Read nutrition labels and choose energy-dense foods, a choice that means you actually get more for your money. Buying foods with lower nutritional value, even if they are less expensive, may be more expensive in the long run.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A global perspective What does a week’s worth of groceries look like in other parts of the world?
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (Material World Books, 10 Speed Press, $40) by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio is an eye-opening look at what 300 families in 24 countries eat each week.
As you might expect, a refugee family of six in Chad eats sparsely, on just $1.23 a week, while a French family of four spends $419.95 a week at the local hypermart.
As my family and I flipped through the pages, we were spellbound. We surveyed the groceries I had piled on the counter; they paled in comparison to the foods purchased by most of the families in the book.
But aren’t we one of the richest countries in the world, my children wanted to know?
Yes, but it appears that bounty does not extend to those who must rely on food stamps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai peanut noodles Makes 4 servings
3 cups (8 ounces) dried whole-grain spaghetti or fettuccine
2 large carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/2 -inch thick half moons (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into thin, 1-inch long strips (about 1 cup)
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon dried ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 green onions, sliced (optional garnish)
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the pasta and carrots and cook according to pasta package directions. Add the bell pepper and snow peas 3 minutes before pasta is done. Drain and return to pan.
While pasta is cooking, whisk together the peanut butter, boiling water, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, ginger and garlic powder in a medium bowl until well blended.
Add the peanut butter mixture to the pasta and stir to combine. Reheat if necessary.
Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with peanuts.
Challenge notes: I made an executive decision and used whole-grain pasta for added nutrition, although it is an added expense. I chose reduced sodium soy sauce for the same reason.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pizza pasta salad Makes 8 servings
1 pound spiral shaped pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1/2 package turkey pepperoni (about 3 ounces)
2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 cup light Italian dressing (or make your own vinaigrette, see note)
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Black pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Combine cooked pasta, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, pepperoni and mozzarella in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients, whisking with a fork to combine. Toss dressing with pasta to coat evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Challenge notes: To up the nutrition content, I substituted whole-wheat pasta for regular. I couldn’t find turkey pepperoni at the stores I shopped at so I opted for regular. I also substituted my own vinaigrette because I needed olive oil and vinegar for other recipes. (Use a 4:1 oil to vinegar ratio.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 foods to stretch your budget 1.Dry beans: Canned beans are certainly convenient when you’re time pressed, but dry beans are a more economical choice. Soak them the night before and plan several hours of simmering time on the stove.
2.Rice: Rice and beans are a staple food around the world. Switch your family to brown rice and you’ve upped the nutrient and fiber content over plain white rice. Even discount stores are stocking exotic rices, including brown, basmati and jasmine.
3. Whole chicken: The boneless, skinless chicken breast has become ubiquitous at most supermarkets, many of which no longer employ meat cutters on the premises. But if you buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll also get a more chicken-y flavor. Throw the carcass in a soup pot with diced carrots, celery, onions and parsley and let it simmer on the stove to make homemade soup stock.
4.Greens: Collard greens, beet greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard and kale are among the least expensive vegetables in the produce section, but they provide a big nutritional bang for your buck. Greens are easy to prepare; wash leaves well to remove any grit, remove tough stems and chop. Steam or sauté and serve, no added fat required.
5. Peanut butter: A kid-friendly favorite, peanut butter is a versatile protein source that spans the gamut from main dishes (such as Thai Peanut Noodles) to desserts. But there’s no need to get fancy. Spread on bread it’s a great way to keep hunger pangs at bay.
6.Eggs: In moderation, eggs are a healthy and inexpensive protein choice.
7. Cheese: Fight the urge to buy pre-shredded cheese. Chunk cheese is usually cheaper and stays fresher longer. Individually wrapped cheese slices are also more expensive per ounce than unsliced.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicken noodle soup Makes 8 (1-cup) servings
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped potato
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (about 2 cans)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles (about 4 ounces)
1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot, potato and celery; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in flour. Gradually add broth, water, salt and pepper, stirring with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add noodles and chicken, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.
Challenge’s Notes: Daniela liked this soup so much she asked if I would make it after the Food Stamp Challenge. She also reveled in the joys of something as simple and forgotten as bread and butter. The whole family was so enthusiastic about the soup that we ate it all in one sitting. No leftovers as I had planned.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honey-glazed chicken stir-fry Makes 4 servings
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooking oil
4 cups cut-up vegetables, such as broccoli, sweet pepper, onion and/or mushrooms
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
2 cups hot-cooked brown rice
Cut chicken into bite-size strips; set aside. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce and cornstarch; set aside.
Pour oil into a wok or large skillet. (If necessary, add more oil during cooking.) Heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken to wok; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink; remove chicken from wok and set aside. Add vegetables to wok; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Add chicken back to the wok. Push meat and vegetables to the side and pour sauce in the center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add pineapple chunks and stir about 1 minute or until heated through. Serve over rice.
Source: Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
To reach Jill Wendholt Silva, food editor, call 816-234-4395 or e-mail jsilva@kcstar.com.
This is what happens when you depend on others for food.
I’m waiting for someone who wants to make cheap eating look GOOD to do the experiment. It’s always the morons who want to make it look sympathetic who “struggle” through the process.
Give them more for doing less. Move to europe.
“the author’s condescending tone makes me want to vomit.”
the author is condescending because he is truly superior as one of the saviours of mankind. (sarcasm off)
(i meant no blasphemy but apparently they truly think they will save mankind.)
That's exactly what we're raising in the publik skoolz....dependents, and a class of people who think the "rich bastards" should pay for my food, housing, car, entertainment, medical care, etc., etc.
The Hildabeast will merely "take from you, for the common good..."
Hey, I’ve been on food stamps, although about 25 years ago. Seasonal business with very little income during the winter. I qualified for about five months one year. Ate exceptionally well.
What the article doesn’t say is that food stamps were never intended to provide the entire food budget. They’re supposed to be a supplement.
BTW, although I probably qualified in several more winters, I never applied again. Just didn’t feel right taking the stamps when we didn’t really need them.
It is a SUPPLEMENT for buying food. Not the sole source of funds for buying food.
I just spent $30.00 taking my wife out on a date.
I like to dip my steak into the fried apples at the local stake house.
Anybody can live on $5 bucks of food, I do it everyday. Today I bought 10 pieces of chicken breast (with the bone) for $4.45 at the supermarket and I could only eat 5. I already had the vegetables, but you could but vegetables in a can for probably less than a buck. If you eat out or you`re Michael Moore, that`s another story, but here in Queens New York, food is cheap as hell. You can buy a bag of spaghetti for .49 cents and a big bottle of spaghetti sauce for 2 bucks, and about 4 potatoes for another 2 bucks. If anyone can eat all that in one sitting, or even a day, then they must be the size of Ted Kennedy.
the entire family lost the freedom to choose what to eat and when.
Twenty years ago I ate 79 cents frozen dinners ,drank store brand soft drinks, and cheap store cookies to stretch a limited income.No reason anyone else can't do the same.No one should be reduced to ramen noodles and water(except for dieters and violent prisoners)
Paying other people to prepare and serve the food is the most costly ingredient.
He reminds me of that anal retentive souding idiot who ate McDonalds everyday for a month and made that movie “Super size me”. That had to be the most annoying, the most idiotic movie I ever seen in my life. I mean what was the point? That he`s an idiot? What`s his next feature, eating ice cream for breakfast lunch and dinner everyday for a month? Wow, how brilliant!
But it is only the fiscal conservatives who live on $5.54 a day. The libertarians eat whatever they like, which costs them a pretty penny; the establishment Republicans are waited on by illegal immigrants; and the social conservatives have a lot to swallow in our society.
She could save money by dropping the nauseating yuppy ingredients from her recipes. Spaghetti is good, cheap, and requires no yogurt. 15 bean soup is delicious, and costs practically nothing. For a family of four, you can make two or three meals out of a cheap roast and some vegetables.
Her family wasn’t starving because of lack of food. The problem was her choice of ingredients. I wouldn’t eat that crap if you paid me.
I don't know what to say to such an idiotic statement.
Apparently not being able to afford something means that you've been denied the right to choose it.
Amazing.
I bet some of you know how to stretch a dollar until it squeals and still make something yummy. I admit to being jealous of women who have a family of 7 and can feed them on $50 a week.
That’s exactly what we’re raising in the publik skoolz....dependents, and a class of people who think the “rich bastards” should pay for my food, housing, car, entertainment, medical care, etc., etc.
I found the article to be very informative, the author has a proper tone as well, trying to live on Govt Assistance is no fun, and for a reason, the Govt wants the serfs to sing the praises of whomever gives the serfs another dime.
“Hildebeast really cares, look we got another 10 dollars in food stamps...”
And the author was missing one of the key points, if you are going to dine like that, then it should be for a reason, not as a choice, her friend used the money she saved for home decor for example.
And she was fortunate, most of the “poor” have to take public transport, which means hours of waiting for the bus or a ride from a friend.
All in all, it is a miserable way to live, depending on the Govt for food and transportation..damn..full body shudder I woudl do anything to keep my family from living like that, yet they want to make the cage a little more comfy for the inhabitants..that is just plain old stupid, and one more reason to despise liberals, to offer that as a way of life is not doing anyone any favors at all.
Fish see bait, not hook...
And she should have cooked more pasta...:)
Surely food stamps were intended as a supplement, not your entire food budget. If it’s your entire food budget, you can eat rice, beans, and cheese until your situation improves.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.