Welfare diet, food banks & food budgeting

[katherine]

For all its egalitarian talk, American society is incredibly stratified by class. Most people who've never received public assistance have no idea what survival is like at that level. People our age, even those who were poor as children, don't necessarily appreciate how the welfare repeal of the '90s changed the landscape of poor people's lives.

True Story.

We used to have meat every night, but now usually only twice a week and seafood once. We also have been very lucky with our veggies. We found an organic co-op near our house. The cost was $25 every two weeks for a big tub of fruits and veggies. We have since started helping sort the veggies at the co-op and now we get free veggies and 2 dozen free range organic eggs

.
I manage to feed a family of four on about $100 a week, we rarely eat processed foods(I have two small kids and go to school full time, sometimes allowances are made for chicken nuggets). We do something similar, I often include a little bit of meat in a dish, but rarely is meat the center of the meal. We eat a lot of beans and lentils, which are cheap, easy, nutricious, and when done well delicious. I also figure it's helpful to teach the kids how to prepare cheap, healthy food so that when they leave for college they have no excuses to starve or eat junk! We purchase fresh eggs from a friend, and eat a lot of them. Those who help at our CSA are rewarded with veggies (excellent, organic, fresh ones!) but for those who wouldn't have time to help we also reserve a few "shares" for those who cannot afford them.

[shootingstar]

We eat a lot of beans and lentils, which are cheap, easy, nutricious, and when done well delicious. I also figure it's helpful to teach the kids how to prepare cheap, healthy food so that when they leave for college they have no excuses to starve or eat junk! We purchase fresh eggs from a friend, and eat a lot of them.

Very true, katherine. Children can learn. Whatever Asian dishes I cook, at least 75% is borrowed technique and childhood memory from my mother ..whole food cooking where she had to get abit creative because in the 1960's to 1970's there was hardly the choice of fresh Asian produce in supermarkets in small-medium size Canadian cities, as found now. (I was stunned a few years ago in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, we were moving my household across Canada: one could buy over 1 gallon of soy sauce from a national chain grocery store there. Ok. Obviously for the rural areas to bulk purchase.... This would have been unheard of where I grew up.)

Alot of my style of Chinese home cooking is genuinely what peasants prepare and...eat in rural areas. Some of the stuff is not common in Chinese restaurants (unless one asks to have it specially prepared..if the cook will oblige), because it's not visually elegant/dynamic or too 'simple' in technique to serve to paying restaurant customers...but it's darn healthy food!

I used to eat alot more meat...but simply due to laziness and cost-savings, I only eat meat once or twice per wk. or even less. Only seafood, chicken breast and an occasional gourmet sauage as part of supper, not breakfast. With nice veggie on side.

Later it may well be I may have to cut back even more on daily coffee, snack but have not bought any dressy/fashion clothing for past few months except for cycling clothing if there's a deal/something got worn out. I've cut my personal pleasures right down to the bone. So these snacks..I justify ...as left to enjoy and it's transportation fuel after all, since we don't have a car. Well, that's my rationale.

Really my fashion, right now..is literally my fitness/good health..because a reasonably healthy, fit body is always in "fashion".

I agree Oak, that time is a serious matter for any parent(s) with child(ren). However for some meals, I sincerely hope people throw out their boxes of Minute Rice in the garbage can, and buy a rice cooker. Buy rice. So simple these....days with some of our appliances to help us. Making rice from scratch is just brainless with an electric rice cooker.

And am also thinking of the recipes that TE members have mentioned about using slow cookers that don't require babysitting food while it cooks.

So tv dinners and processed foods only happen here and there during a month. Doesn't need dominate a family's regular eating repetoire.