Week One Groceries, Purchased 7/13/10
So far, we have used probably 2/3 of these items; none of the corn, half the cheese, most of the eggs, all the milk, all of the peas, the enchilada sauce, 1/4 of the cottage cheese, all of the scallions, none of the garlic, 3/4 of the red onion, all of the salad and ground beef, 1/4 of the ham, all of the hot dogs, all of the grapes, english muffins…you get the idea. It was all used to round out what we already had and were not using, but which we began using after the pantry and freezer inventory.
Groceries, Week 2: Purchased 7/19/10
By the way, Susan, in the upper left corner you will see what I meant by “a box dinner of chicken and biscuits for $3″ from last night’s post. We’ve been eating lots of eggs, lots of fresh fruit…we ran out of our previous supply of carrots and celery so I got more. The potatoes are for baking at lunch time. A lot of this is for lunches, as we are still able to make dinners from our existing supply.
I presume that in a couple of months, if we can afford it, we’ll do a big shopping to lay in a supply of meat for the deep freeze and some canned goods for the lean winter months. Then again, if we put the money aside, we can get meat fresh and stick with our weekly budget.
Tonight I made tacos with a pound of thawed ground beef from our freezer and tortillas I purchased last week (I had used the first half of the tortillas for chicken enchiladas last week). Tomorrow, I’m taking the skin from chicken leg quarters and will season them up and slow cook them in the crock pot, then shred the meat, season it, and serve it on buns for sandwiches – pulled chicken instead of pulled pork.
I heard a thing on NPR tonight where people were responding to a story they had aired the night before about hunger in America, where there was a family who struggled to make ends meet. Apparently listeners had very specific solutions, including one recurring thought: why didn’t this family just cook instead of buying convenience food?
Now I didn’t hear the original interview, but I’ve seen time and again where vast sums of money can be squandered on processed, pre-prepared foods, convenience items and fast/junk food. We’ve all done it, and we all have our splurges. But when your family is struggling to make ends meet and you are going to be interviewed by NPR….seriously? Corn dogs?* (That was one item of contention from listeners).
I love good food. I love food that makes me happy. Part of a food making me happy is that I can prepare it with the knowledge that its cost has not jeopardized my ability to meet other financial obligations. Would I rather be eating fewer casseroles, less soup, more expensive cuts of meat, the occasional dinner out? Of course! But right now, that’s a luxury we choose not to indulge in, so that we can make our house payment and pay our bills.
I’m so not here to pass judgment on people for their choices – unless their choices are putting their family in financial jeopardy. Eat all the corn dogs and convenience food you want, but don’t then make a sweeping declaration that you’ve done all you can and still are scraping by to feed your family. I’m sorry, but there comes a point when you have to make sacrifices, be creative and resourceful, and not complain about having to give up unnecessary things in your grocery basket. Learn to cook a few simple meals, decide you can take leftovers to work for lunch, stop eating takeout every midday.
That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
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*Yes, there are hot dogs in each picture. I acknowledge that this is a splurge in many respects, but some days there aren’t leftovers. And they are not CORN DOGS.
Oh, and then? I read an overview of the report from NPR and got a little more pissy. HERE is the article; the family has $600/month to spend on food, goes to a food bank, and has a garden. But the mom says at one point: “A gallon of milk is over $3. A bottle of orange soda is $0.89. You do the math.” Oh, I did the math. That 89 cents worth of orange soda is half a gallon, if that. PLUS – your overweight child is learning unhealthy food preferences and will likely be obese or diabetic and unable to make wise food choices. HUNGRY on $600/month? Give me a freaking break. The kid admits he’s not hungry -he just doesn’t like what they’re serving and would rather have chocolate than vegetables. No sh*t? Hello, parents. Don’t let your kids eat chocolate instead of vegetables.
Maybe I’m being unfair. But good grief. What a joke.
Dude, don’t even get me started on people not being able to “afford” decent food for their children. I saw a young woman buying Red Bull and beef jerkey the other day with her EBT (food stamp) card. PISSED me off. um, I don’t want to be mean, but maybe their should be some sort of limitation on the amount of crap that food stamps can buy?? And they lady NPR interviewed and is giving her child orange soda instead of milk because it is cheaper? Give me a freaking break! What the heck is wrong with people? Anyway, I am proud of your food budget Mary!
Agree with Emily. There should be a list of what is and what is not allowed to be purchased with food stamps/cards. Do these people NOT KNOW how to cook? Soda rots the teeth and enough sugar,salt and starch and BOOM… you have diabetes. No wonder our emergency rooms are full of people with high health risk related crap. I was born and raised in the midwest and learned that fresh foods were the healthy way to eat and was also taught how to cook those fresh foods… enough of pre-packaged crap!
Ok, it was fast food. But I found out today is 99 cent special today at “Pope Yes” chicken, where they sell two pieces for 99 cents. It’s usually a leg and a thigh, but for some reason they were out of regular chicken and substituted spicy chicken…a thigh and a BREAST. Had that, and a cup of water (no charge for water)…THEN went over to McD’s (half a block away) and got a free fruit smoothie with a coupon from Sunday’s paper. So for a $1 plus pennies I got what I consider a fairly decent lunch. It was all delicious.
PS, the Tuesday 99c special isn’t advertised. You have to ask for it.
Oh, and re Di: food stamps should be regulated like WIC, where only basic nutritious foods can be purchased, and those foods are clearly marked on the shelf.
Most FS recipients consider it an “entitlement”, and don’t use the funds available to purchase basic foodstuffs that require a recipe and/or cooking. I can make a week’s worth of meals out of one chicken, half a bag of rice and frozen veggies. They spend that much on one frozen pizza.
I have a son who is eight and given a choice between milk and orange soda, I imagine he’ll pick the orange soda. Brussel sprouts or chocolate – no doubt the chocolate.
I want to give him choices. I don’t enjoy being the mean mom. But I want *more* for him to be happy and energetic and healthy.
Our family is lucky – we have jobs and we have food. We have plenty. I can’t imagine what it’s like to try to raise three children while living under the poverty line. At the same time…soda? Corn dogs? Puhleez. I feel for anyone struggling with money but at the same time let’s get real here. Sure the kids want convenience food but wah. Who gets what they want all the time?
I agree, is what I’m trying to say. Great post!
Here in NZ there’s a lot of dairy farms about – often people who have a large freezer will buy and take a whole cow to the butcher and then freeze the meat. It usually costs them about $1200 NZD ($854USD) all up and lasts them a whole year. Don’t suppose that’s an option where you are?
I completely agree with you on your soapbox. :) Maybe if they see people buying stuff like that with their foodstamps they should have them taken away until they attend a basic cooking and shopping class. ;) heh but I guess that’s too big brother.
And the milk vs. soda thing? That’s a math FAIL. Not to mention that water is free – you can save the 89 cents completely!!
We’re scouting around for someplace where we can have part of a beef or half a hog processed to put in the deep freeze. In the western part of the state, it wouldn’t be a problem, but here it’s harder to find someone who doesn’t charge a small fortune.
Some of the folks who receive food stamps are in a terrible position because they have limited cooking options; a few live in rented hotel rooms with just a microwave for cooking. But this is the exception rather than the rule. I can see how someone with three or four kids who doesn’t have a working stove or a deep freeze could feel limited in their options. But I do think a class on making the most of your food dollar would be a valuable option. Hell, I’d volunteer to teach it.
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