Rep. Courtney To Live On $32.59 Food Budget

[jackmann]

Basically, it's a challenge proposed by Food Research and Action Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to wiping out hunger. It's called the SNAP challenge after the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which, for a lot of people, represents their entire food budget. He's doing this to get some attention to the challenge, and hopefully show more people what it's like having to live off of such a small amount of food money (which is to say, it sucks).

It's not so much to say "I understand what it's like to be poor," so much as "Why don't you try understanding what it's like to be poor?"

[Vene]

So, 7 days on $32.59 with 3 meals a day is $1.55/meal. That's not hard. I eat many meals that are less than a dollar.

[Aqualung]

You can get a lot of stuff at a dollar store. Ours finally has the frozen food now! *_*

[Vene]

Pasta, bread, eggs, and tomato sauce are some of my favorite things.

[priestling]

@ Deadpan: have a recipe? I'm always looking for new stuff to try.

Also: Eggs, beans, rice, pasta. So cheap, so filling <3

[syaoranvee]

I work in a supermarket setting so I generally see how much people buy depending our their circumstances, for example it's quite possible for a single person to live off of about 30 dollars a week, as I generally see single persons come in and about 40 to 50 dollars on weekly groceries, however they could cut it back by a fifth or even a quarter off sometimes if they took of seasonings, junk food, and switching to generic instead of brand things. (For example, a single brand name bag of chips will set you back 3.50 to 4.50 depending on what you buy.)

Generally couples will buy around 70 to 80 and couples with children will easily go pass a 100.

Alot of wives have become "extreme couponers" because of this. The folders of coupons I've seen.... *shudders*

[priestling]

my local store actually has a standing policy that they won't put up with extreme couponers. After $30 of coupons, the register 'maxes out', so it's pretty pointless.

[syaoranvee]

Oct 20, 2011 20:23:36 GMT -5 VirtualStranger said:

How the fuck is a refrigerator not a necessity? I've heard some dumbasses actually use that as a serious example.

Next thing you know, they'll tell us that we couldn't possibly be suffering because we have the wonderful luxury of indoor plumbing.

It's possible to live with only food that doesn't need to be heated or frozen, or food that can be cooked over an open fire. The majority of people however, no longer do this.

[DeadpanDoubter]

Oct 20, 2011 22:34:34 GMT -5 priestling said:

@ Deadpan: have a recipe? I'm always looking for new stuff to try.

Also: Eggs, beans, rice, pasta. So cheap, so filling <3

Not as such...my mom's old school, hardcore. Maybe this will help, but keep in mind that it's all based off of my mom's philosophy of "do it until it 'looks' right".

• You boil the noodles, drain them, and put them in the high-edged pan.
  
• Use a stick of butter/margarine for a full size pan, proportionally less for smaller pans, cut it into small slices, and try to get the butter all through the noodles.
  
• Whisk some eggs with a little milk (depending on how thick you want it to set; I think she uses 3 or 4 eggs for a full sheet sized pan and it typically sets up thick enough to slice) and pour among the noodle. After you do that, pour more milk in until the milk line is just below the top level of noodles (you can see it through the noodles).
  
• Depending on how cheesy you like it, shred some cheddar (mozzarella also works nicely, not sure about other cheeses) and mix the shredded bits into the noodles thoroughly; two 16-oz bags make a full sheet pan mildly cheesy, so they'd make half a sheet pan nicely cheesy. Sprinkle more cheese over the top for a gooey, slightly chewy crust.
  
• Bake for around 45 minutes (not sure at all for smaller, average sized pans, but it'll be close to 30-35 minutes at minimum; you basically don't want to see any milk runniness, as it means the egg likely isn't cooked fully) until there's a fairly thick, dark crust of cheese on top.

[dasfuchs]

For a week? Must be nice, I had to live off less than that per two weeks during my seasonal year at work.
50 cent boxes of mac and cheese were my staples

[Thejebusfire]

Oct 20, 2011 22:46:09 GMT -5 priestling said:

my local store actually has a standing policy that they won't put up with extreme couponers. After $30 of coupons, the register 'maxes out', so it's pretty pointless.

Our town's Homelad had to get really strict on their coupon policy.

[syaoranvee]

Markets started seeing this show and went "lolnope" and changed their coupon policy.

[Vene]

Oct 20, 2011 23:10:17 GMT -5 syaoranvee said:

Oct 20, 2011 20:23:36 GMT -5 VirtualStranger said:

How the fuck is a refrigerator not a necessity? I've heard some dumbasses actually use that as a serious example.

Next thing you know, they'll tell us that we couldn't possibly be suffering because we have the wonderful luxury of indoor plumbing.

It's possible to live with only food that doesn't need to be heated or frozen, or food that can be cooked over an open fire. The majority of people however, no longer do this.

I live in a city, it's a bit easier to get a fridge (that comes with the apartment) than it is to get a fire burning.

[worlder]

Oct 20, 2011 23:30:51 GMT -5 Vene said:

Oct 20, 2011 23:10:17 GMT -5 syaoranvee said:

It's possible to live with only food that doesn't need to be heated or frozen, or food that can be cooked over an open fire. The majority of people however, no longer do this.

I live in a city, it's a bit easier to get a fridge (that comes with the apartment) than it is to get a fire burning.

Not just fridge.

A stove as well.

"Why, you even have a stove!"

[priestling]

@ Deadpan: Thanks! *yoinks and puts into recipie text file*