Mother Strives for Healthful Meals on a Budget

Omaha World Herald ^ | August 7, 2007 | Omaha World Herald

[NEMDF]

This just disgusts me. If it was meant to illicit sympathy for this family, it did not work. So many people who work full time and do not receive free breakfasts and lunches at school can not come CLOSE to having $125 per week to spend on food alone, plus all day to be creative in food preparation.

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS

[Clam Digger]

So the old lady is sucking off my packeck and bitches about it? Can’t eed ‘em, don’t breed ‘em.

I have 4 kids and rarely spend $500 a month for groceries. And i work for a living!

[Dilbert San Diego]

Yep, why is this news? Most of us are on a budget and budget for groceries along with everything else. Most of us look for sales, stock up when we can when there are items on sale, etc.

So why is this worthy of news coverage? Heck, you may as well do a story about how most people go to work everyday and earn a living. And how most people drive to work. And do a story about how many office workers get a lunch hour, though for some it’s a 30 minute break. This story just describes everyday life for many people, so what is the reason for running this type of story?

[P-40]

"Those Bing cherries did me in," she concludes.

Then why did she buy them?

[Madeleine Ward]

Shrimp cocktail?

I’m sorry, but expensive items like that should be off limits for food stamp purchase.

I spend maybe $10 a day to feed my husband and myself. But, I could feed us very well for a lot less than that.

$500 for 5 people, I’m sure I could do that easily. . .EASILY.

[Doctor Raoul]

Wonder if she smokes?

[Xenalyte]

Maybe she could try getting a job.

That would probably help her get a car.

And it might have been smart of her not to have five kids without a husband.

Sheesh.

[wideawake]

Why does she have to feed a family of five on food stamps?

At least one of her children is 24 years old, and one is 18.

There is a 15 year old, who certainly is capable of working: I had working papers at 14 and worked off the books before that age.

Only the 13 year old and the 10 year old can reasonably be expected to get fed without earning their keep.

And she is taking 8 months out of the work force because she partied too hard in December?

Amazing.

We didn't have much growing up, but there is no way my mother would ever have taken a dime in assistance when she was capable of working.

[Larry Lucido]

1) Where is the father (or, where are the fathers)?

2) If dad is dead, where is the life insurance?

3) If dad isn’t dead, why can’t he/they help?

4) If dad didn’t hang around after #1, why did she have #2, 3 and 4?

[LIConFem]

"Nationwide, roughly 26 million people receive food stamps on debit-type plastic cards..."

Nearly 9% of this nation is on food stamps?? Boy, that welfare state thingie is great, ain't it? Kinda makes me want to quit my job, and spend the rest of my life sittin' on my tush while the checks roll in.

[P-40]

At least one of her children is 24 years old, and one is 18.

And supposedly farmers have no one to pick their crops. Sounds like it is time to cut welfare.

[keepitreal]

Oh come on. I feed my family for less than that.

The 10-pound pack of ground beef will make four meals: spaghetti, sloppy Joes, tacos and hamburgers.

2-1/2 lbs per meal for spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes and tacos for a family of 5? 2-1/2 pounds will make about 25 tacos.

[Squawk 8888]

Stories like this pop up all the time and they invariably backfire. Back in 1999 a Toronto rag ran a series of sob stories about welfare moms in an effort to swing an election but they had the opposite effect; one of the stories featured a welfare mom who had cable TV, spent $100 a month on phone calls and spent $25 to cash her welfare cheque at a Money Mart when the banks cash them for free. Another story featured a welfare mom who had five kids by four different fathers and never bothered to make sure they went to school.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

Dominic lobbies for his favorite: weenie and bean casserole topped with cornbread. Low in nutrients, but tasty and cheap Wrong! This is full of protein and fibre. Someone needs to check out the food labels a bit better before reporting.

[MEGoody]

As usual, the author of this article fails to mention the free breakfast and lunch program at the school as well as the additional food she can receive from various food pantries. (There may be other sources of free eats for this family, but those are two I thought of off the top of my head.)

[Vor Lady]

I agree with you in principal, but it is almost impossible for a 15 year old to get any type of paying job in Omaha (where the woman in the this article and I live). The two older ones should definetly be working though.

It obviously was a slow news day at the Weird-Herald.

[I still care]

If I had $500 per month to spend for food for my family I would feel like I won the lottery.

I fed them last month for $200 and change. Granted, there are only 3 of us, but still...

[LaineyDee]

So many people who work full time and do not receive free breakfasts and lunches at school can not come CLOSE to having $125 per week to spend on food alone, plus all day to be creative in food preparation.

I agree. I just noticed a sign out in front of one of our middle schools which is advertising free breakfasts and lunches for the summertime. Ages 18 and under. Courtesy of our taxes, no doubt.

[Sybeck1]

Rice, beans, and potatoes.....

[keepitreal]

“They remove all frozen items from boxes so more fits in the refrigerator-freezer.

They store meat and cheese in the deep freezer, which Shepard bought for $80 with her Earned Income Tax Credit. She calls it her salvation because it lets her stock up on sale items.”

They make this sound like some sort of hardship. Many of us live this way, buying in bulk, cooking in bulk, freezing meal-sized batches to save money at the store. But, we don’t get a puff piece in the paper about the effect of rising grocery prices on the middle class - we just do it and make it do.