dagblog - Comments for "People on Food Stamps Make Healthier Grocery Decisions Than Most of Us"

The poor don't eat out. That

trkingmomoe — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 06:49:08 +0000

The poor don't eat out. That takes money. Eating out is treating the family to the dollar menu at the McDonalds drive through because you have already bought the soda's at the Dollar store for a $1 and will take it to the park picnic area. When you are a kid growing up poor you learn to cook at a early age because that is how you get fed with parents always working. TV come over the air so you just have a small one attached to an antenna. But you do scrape up the money for internet because you have kids and they need it for school. Computers are cheap now. You can pick a lab top for a couple of hundred dollars. Metro PC has a good program for cell phones and some states have a free cell phone for the poor that gives you 60 minutes for emergency calls a month. You can add minutes if needed. We don't it only for if you leave the house.

Lobster would seem to be

rmrd0000 — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 00:41:10 +0000

In reply to These stories started with

Lobster would seem to be something that people consume at restaurants rather than the hassle of preparing it at home. I think this is like the stories of poor people with huge wide screen televisions that can magically fit into cramped apartments. More likely the flatscreen television is second hand or the person is paying 3x or more of the actual cost from a rent-to-own scam. The lobster and wide screen television stories make it easy for us to believe that people living on the edge or in poverty don't have hard lives. Both stereotypes are lies.

Hey Momoe, not like you have

Richard Day — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 22:55:03 +0000

In reply to Thanks for your comment.

Hey Momoe, not like you have done before, turn this into a blog.

It is important.

It really is and it is your forte.

I have not read a food blog here, like this for a long time.

These stories started with

trkingmomoe — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 22:35:03 +0000

In reply to Some poor people/ lobster

These stories started with Regan's "welfare queen" meme. It is only the old white ladies that are retired that like to snoop in your grocery cart in the check out lines. I end up late at night a couple of times a month at Walmart for milk and breakfast items. After midnight I see EBT shoppers with large orders. The allotments get posted after midnight. They do this so they don't have to put up with the embarrassment of comments. They come several to a car so that tells me this is a planned trip and bulk buying that is shared. I have had them tell me from time to time when they offer to let me go first that they do this at night because it is easier. They do what they can to stretch their food buying dollars.

Regions are all different

trkingmomoe — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 22:23:49 +0000

In reply to I live by choice on a pretty

Regions are all different with food. Shrimp is less expensive here in Florida and is a good option when it is on sale. We also have some fresh fish options that can be bought when on sale. There is very little beef in stores around here and ground pork is used as a sub for ground beef. Florida is a big producer of beef but who knows were it is being shipped to. I am seeing more lamb now but it is spring and that is when you see it the most. I have some ground lamb in the freezer for Greek Gyros. I don't imagine lobster would be a big deal on the New England coast and can be found at affordable prices in season.

Thanks for your comment.

trkingmomoe — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 22:09:56 +0000

In reply to When I was on real food

Thanks for your comment.

The truth is people on food stamps don't have the option to waste the stamps on junk. Junk food are for special occasions. Many of them that have access to a good market become very smart shoppers. There is poverty in food desserts and the only thing they have is a quick mart or corner store that don't carry fresh foods. Also it depends on their kitchen equipment that they have on how well they can put together meals. The worst areas for this is in the rural areas. Urban poor has the option of buses to get to the market. One of the inexpensive markets I go to once or twice a month is on a bus line and that market sells two wheel wire folding carts for their customers. My local General Dollar Store has a produce and small meat section. One whole wall of frozen foods and dairy lines one side of the grocery section. The rest of the store is the usual Dollar store stuff. It is located very close to the Bus exchange terminal. You can shop while in the process of changing buses on your way home from work.

There is a misconception that only minorities collect assistance. The reality is that most of the recipients are white and former middle class. I see this with my own eyes at the Food Pantries. Some of them drive nice cars and have nice shoes, but these people don't qualify for food stamps because of assets. They simply are struggling from job loss or health issues that keep them from being able to make ends meet. There is a financial form that has to be filled out and proper ID's for each member of the family. They are obsessed with ID;s in Florida. And since these programs are now run by churches locally, we get saved each time we go. LOL..It is embarrassing enough without having to sit in a room with that. I don't think any of us care and that is the hoop we have to jump through to keep food on the table and bills paid.

When I was on real food

Richard Day — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:12:12 +0000

In reply to People on Food Stamps Make Healthier Grocery Decisions Than Most of Us

When I was on real food stamps, I do not think colas were okay.

I never purchased them anyway because they added to the weight of taking my bundles home.

The reason I think they were verboten was that there are certain 'foods' that were taxed.

And I do not think that taxed items were covered under an EBT.

Now sugar free kool ade (like) dry drinks are not taxed.

I could not purchase cooked foods like chicken from the deli.

Every state has its own rules.

You learn to purchase fresh fruits in season, otherwise there is the frozen section of the grocery store.

Canned veggies like spinach and sweet potatoes (not yams) are so damned cheap! And if you check nutrition amounts listed on the cans and do a little google checking, anyone can find nutritional foods.

Potatoes are cheap, if you shop correctly and heed the coupon shelf.

Frozen potatoes are really cheap, as long as you shop for generics. And if you oven roast them, the fat content is very low compared to McDonald's. 3 grams of fat is not going to hurt anyone.

Fresh carrots and broccoli are cheap all year round. For a buck you get a pound of carrots and, although the broccoli might be three bucks plus, one can have broccoli four times a week. AND I HATE THE TASTE OF BROCCOLI AND CARROTS! hahahahah But I need them to prevent an onset of gout.

Plumb tomatoes are always, always cheap.

Bread, good whole wheat bread, is 'expensive' but you do not need this every day. And a loaf can easily last a week. (I put the loaf in the fridge)

Oatmeal, real oatmeal and not quick oatmeal (when it takes 2 minutes to microwave whole real oatmeal, what the hell do you need quick oats for?)

Whole wheat pasta is a buck for a pound. Jeeeeeeeeeeeez And you will never know the difference. Left over Hamburger or sausage works just fine with diced tomato and paste if its available. And of course throw in spices (at a buck apiece) and a plum tomato.

A touch of Ramano or other cheese just makes a pasta dish fine.

A pancake batter box might cost two bucks, complete. And it is fun and dangerous. hahahah

Jams are fun and generic jams cost 2 bucks and last weeks, unless you have problems. hahaha

Meat is expensive and bad for you. hahahaha

So you cut down on meats and the types of meats. It used to be three bucks for a small chicken and now it is more like five; but the bird will last four meals, easy. Including sandwiches.

Bacon is way toooo much and way toooo bad for you.

Ham is fun. I will splurge every other month and purchase three nice pounds of ham and it lasts a long time and is very available for the munchies in a sandwich.

I am sinful and grab a frozen pizza on sale and for four bucks, I can eat pizza for two days as long as I agree (with my own rules) to add a dish of broccoli and carrots. I mean that is three bucks for two days of food.

Fish is tough, when one has limited resources and all my readings tell me that corporate fish is not that good for you. I love egg and tuna salad once in awhile. a can of tuna and one egg makes three or four good sandwiches.

There is a way to handle a food stamp budget.

I do not have to anymore, and yet I kind of stick to the old diet.

I have to for the fear of gout.

Sometimes pork is on sale and I cannot help myself, I check on Momoe's blogs for recipes in my slow cooker.

I like frozen Chinese for fun sometimes.

If you do not order out, all sorts of food is available FOR A LOT LESS.

Ice cream once a month lasts weeks.

There are 70cent pies that last two days.

I sin all the time.

I jot these things down, because Momoe brought up the subject and I have lived these rules for years.

THE POOR ARE STUPID IF THEY EAT CRABS.

hahahaha

AND THEY DON'T.

I don't know what all this means, except for me.

Just remember that tissue and cleaning products and mops and sponges and garbage bags and other necessities of life have nothing to do with food stamps.

We all have to work hard, study hard and figure out our finances.

Hell, my son and his wife all shop at Cub Foods.

hahahah

God I went on and on again.

It was easy.

I live by choice on a pretty

ocean-kat — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:48:58 +0000

In reply to I remember hearing a

I live by choice on a pretty austere budget. I don't know about lobster since I don't want it. I hate to cook and it's too difficult to cook and process. Now shrimp, easy to cook and I love it. When I lived in Gainesville a few times a year the local store would have these incredible sales on shrimp. I could actually get it for less than hamburger. Not only would I buy shrimp but I'd buy as much as they'd let me, six or even ten pounds. I could imagine people being upset if I was on food stamps. But sometimes shrimp is a rare treat that's also a wise budget decision.

It might be a rare treat for some people but no one is regularly buying shrimp, lobster, or even pricey steaks on food stamps. It's simple math. If someone is paying 15 dollars a pound for meat or seafood their monthly food stamp allotment would be gone in less than a week.

Some poor people/ lobster

rmrd0000 — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:21:20 +0000

In reply to I remember hearing a

Some poor people/ lobster stories may be urban legend or it could actually be a pack containing imitation lobster meat

I remember hearing a

Aaron Carine — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 13:56:49 +0000

In reply to People on Food Stamps Make Healthier Grocery Decisions Than Most of Us

I remember hearing a conservative complain that she saw someone buying lobster with food stamps. I don't know if the poor should never eat lobster, or whether buying lobster proves that they are cheating on food stamps.