Comments on: June — A Food Stamp Challenge

By: teri

teri — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:50:23 +0000

the average of 250.00 per month is because they have an income that should allow them to buy some of their own. so $250 is just to supplement their grocery budget. 668. is a good amount for a family of 4. with no income i guess. a single homeless person no income gets $200 per month. now where do you get toilet paper soap toothpaste etc.????

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:50:42 +0000

Thanks for the great tips – I will check out our farmers market, and also the cookbook.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:49:32 +0000

Sorry, but I take issue with rice and beans for every meal “getting them what they need” – especially for a growing child. If I lived somewhere that this was all that was available, well then that’s a different story. But I don’t.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:37:10 +0000

Good concept. From my experiences the difference is in what you eat for food. If you eat the cheap, unhealthy, highly processed foods, candy, soda, that most Americans eat, then the food stamp limits will work well. If you eat the healthy, whole foods, fresh foods, chemical free foods, then it is a tough road. We were on FS recently and had the full limit of $668 but we eat a healthy diet hence it was tough. Farmers and farmers markets don’t take food stamps. Because we had a freezer full of meat, cheese, veggies,ect. we were able to stay under the $600; barely. Now that we found employment (working 4 jobs) we are just barely over the income limit. The stress and time away from the kids make us wonder if killing ourselves off is worth it. Easy to see why people stay unemployed to get benefits… Realistically for those who eat healthy food, it is almost impossible. Those who eat the processed (crap) foods the amount works well.

By: My Roman Apartment

My Roman Apartment — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:59:14 +0000

Wow! What a great challenge Katy! Count me in. I’m going to try and convince Mr. Foxypants to do this with me.

I don’t know if this is cheating, but can you glean produce from public areas or do some urban foraging as part of sticking to the food bank budget? Here in sunny Los Angeles, I haven’t had to pay for fruit since the beginning of the year, since there is so much fruit to be legally picked from city property and I’m a member of a backyard produce co-op. (May is loquat and artichoke month).

By: Eating on a Budget | TechnoEarthMama

Eating on a Budget | TechnoEarthMama — Sun, 23 May 2010 04:30:03 +0000

[...] at The Non-Consumer Advocate is hosting a June Food Stamp Challenge, in which participants pledge to eat on a food stamp budget for the month. Don't forget to [...]

By: araskiss

araskiss — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:43:18 +0000

Since my job is to process food stamp applications in the state of AZ I find articles like interesting.

Very, very rarely do we get households where people are actually employed and really NEED help. 99% of my clients live rent free with relatives or friends or are under the age of 25 and still live with their parents. They feel they are entitled to food stamps.

Food stamps are supposed to be a supplement not the entire food budget. You can use food stamp at Whole Foods and can buy custom bakery cakes and prime cuts of meat at the butcher counter.

Food stamps is a federal program and the income guidelines are set by the feds. Be sure to remember that selling your food stamps on criagslist is a crime but that WIC and food stamps generally go for about 90 cents on the dollar. If you are trading them for drugs or sex they are worth about 50 cent on the dollar.

Judging by the comments here I think you will all do well with the challenge. Intelligent and self sufficient people rarely need more than a quick hand up from a major set back.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:41:29 +0000

Actually, you can have a small pantry stacked with staples, esp with loss leaders and double coupons. We do, and it is those items that help us get through the month. Also, we use our deep freezer to stock up on meats and cheese when it gets really cheap. Right now I have about 10 lbs of cheese in the freezer, it was $2 a lb.

By: Monroe on a Budget

Monroe on a Budget — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:45:32 +0000

I would have suggested Angel Food Ministries, but you’ve answered that. AF now allows you to buy any box from its selections instead of a “mandatory” box, so that may give you more options.

A similar program with a different menu is Great Food for All but I don’t know what states that’s available in.

Another tip: check with your county extension service for cookbooks or recipe web sites they recommend to clients who are on low budget / food stamps / commodity programs.

By: Jenn H

Jenn H — Fri, 21 May 2010 11:16:34 +0000

Heather-You should look around for a farmer who has goats. I have no idea where you are obviously, but you would be surprised how many people have goats with extra milk. I met a lady who I get goat’s milk from for free. I make cheese & give her half of what I make. It’s a win-win situation for us. No way I’m giving you my goat lady (lol) but I just met her at a farmer’s market and asked so you never know. Even if you don’t get it for free maybe set up a “goat share” program. If that term means nothing to you Google “cow share”. It’s how people get around selling raw milk.

The goat’s milk yogurt needs to be made differently than cow’s milk yogurt. I would recommend the book “Goats Produce Too! The Udder Real Thing Vol2″ for lots of good goat milk recipes.