Sluggy and I eat donuts for breakfast. Me loves a donut.
I was able to get both dresses done in less than an hour all while having grandkids interrupt me. Yes, I am that good. Anyway, after I realized the time, it took and the price, I was charging I felt a bit of guilt making that much money in such a short time. So, I thought about lowering the price. I never think what I am worth.
Then Anne's voice came to me... it was a little scary, I might add. "If these people can afford to buy a special dress for a charity gala, then they can afford to pay and have it altered. Are you going to the charity gala? " (No, I am the charity) SO I charged the price and went and played with my grandkids.
I went to Albertsons yesterday and bought loss leaders. I have not seen any real loss leaders for a long long time. But they had a limit 1 ground beef special, 8 oz. packs of sliced cheese for .97 a pack limit 6, then 1.97 boxes of crackers limit 3. I often have crackers and cheese for lunch. They also had tortillas for .77 a package limit 3, and tortilla chips .77 limit 3. Then in the marked down meat section I found a package of the good expensive thick cut bacon 1/2 off and two packages of sausage patties no preservatives 1/2 off. Left store with 4 bags for $28.00. Haven't been to a sale like that in forever. Apples are .77 a pound at another store no limit so I will run there today. I will eat an apple almost every day if they are available.
That is how I shop. Now I have a question, and I don't want to start an internet row, but with food stamps likely being cut off November 1st for many, all the food banks are scrambling to get people to contribute for the influx of starving children.
I raised my kids at or below the poverty line. We always qualified for free hot lunch which I never allowed them to get, as I thought it was a stigma. My kids did not starve. We did not always have convenience foods, we rarely had premade mixes, but I felt they ate well. We could do a McDonald's run once in a while when we had a busy night. I know times have changed.
I just can't think of any person I know that if food stamps are cut off, won't have enough food in the house to make at least some kind of meal. Maybe no fresh fruit or milk? But no food? I mean no macaroni. NO soup? No ramen? Nothing in the fridge but a bottle of ketchup or an onion for the children's dinner. Am I being naive? I am serious here. I am more than willing to contribute but I just don't think that all those poor children will immediately not be fed.
I remember having to get creative right before payday. Heck groceries were always bought with a kited check the Thursday before payday. But come Nov 1st in this country everyone who receives SNAP benefits will suddenly be without any food. Parents are going to have to let the children go hungry. Because none of these households will have any food at all?
Don't most of you have food for at least a couple of months' worth of necessities if you had no way to get to a store. Now I am not talking what you want, but enough to eat something? Now I know our church teaches food storage, but I know plenty who are not associated with our church and their homes seem to have food for a while.
Correct me if I am wrong, am I just sheltered? I want to believe we as a nation are smarter than the news is making us out to be. I want to think that most parents can come up with some sort of meal. Rice, with sugar and powder milk for breakfast? Hotdogs and scrambled eggs? Fried potatoes, onions and eggs? Is it the eggs? Fried potatoes?
I am just curious how long can you go without buying groceries and could you serve a meal say in a month without going to the store?
I don't want people hungry; I don't want children hungry.
God is good
People are not
People can be stupid
Kim
I know that here the food bank is being used more and more as people can not afford the costs. There have been a few people asking on our city's Facebook page for help as they could not go to the food bank (here you are only allowed to go twice in a month) and were out of food. They usually ask for bread, milk and perhaps some kind of canned meat. We do not have food stamps here in Canada and most people who ask for help are on welfare, or disability which is a pittance.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I just had a similar 'food' conversation with my husband about an hour ago. So many people all over social media (none of whom are starving... cough cough) are going off on 'warnings' they are going to loot and steal from grocery stores this weekend and load up their carts and walk right out without paying and don't 'anyone try to stop me or I'll knock you out" - in other words, yet ANOTHER excuse for the looting and stealing we've been seeing constantly over the past 4 years. Just excuses to do so.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part these are not people with kids either... just sayin.
We've been as poor as you can be without living under a bridge in a box (and never, ever had any help from anyone in any way) and we said similar to you - most people HAVE some foods in the house and if you don't it's something you easily could have planned for. The bottom line is the government is not required to care for you - it's not their job and never been their job. These programs to 'help' were started in the Depression and during WW2 when women and children and families needed a little help for a while during hard times and was never meant to be a lifestyle choice. (There are people on social media proud to say they are 35 years old, healthy, have never worked a job in their life and have no idea 'how' to go to a job as they've been more than happy to live off the government their whole life and they shouldn't be expected to work.... yep. Crazy).
Anyway! Ha ha. So many states and counties are stepping up to pay, plus any money on your EBT SNAP WIC that you haven't spent is still there and available to use and there are thousands of churches and Blessing Boxes, etc. that are giving to those who need. If only the Dems would give up holding out to give taxpayer money to people here illegally while Americans and legal immigrants struggle pay premiums and copays and medical bills because we can't get free or discounted healthcare... this whole thing would be over. There's the sticking point.
As usual, a republican got it wrong. The republicans have the house, the senate and the prez. They are the ones who’ve only ‘worked’ about twenty days in the past several months. LOOK IT UP. It’s time to be the grown-up and accept responsibility for what YOU have done to this country. You didn’t like the Dems so you voted republican. NOW WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? You can’t have it both ways. You can’t blame the Dems for what your party is doing.
DeleteThank you Anon or is it Scrooge? Perhaps you need to examine your own heart?
Delete"Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?"
Everything you say may be perfectly true and people can get creative and have something to put in their children's belly. But as a supposedly first world and spouted "Christian" nation, should we be ok with sugar on white bread as meals for that same nations children? Yes, there's political propaganda to create outrage, and there will be some children and elderly going hungry or without their medication. Both can be true. And anonymous above, sleep well in your self righteousness and spoonfed sound bites swirling in your head.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sam.
DeleteAmen Sam!
DeleteDo people realize that many of our military are so poorly paid that they qualify for SNAP? Many parents work multiple minimum wage jobs to cover bills and still qualify for SNAP? Or make $20/month too much to get a single penny? Seniors? Disabled? We have a neighborhood Mom with 2 children under 10. Dad walked out. The 10yo girl is ADHD but able to attend school. The 6yo boy? Severely Autistic and requires 24/7 supervision. How can Mom get/keep a job, find care for her son, care for her family? They are in a 400sf 2bedroom apartment. (I met them because her daughter wanted to learn to crochet and coming to my home worried the Mom because of her son).
So no, not everyone has the means or the skills to build a 3-6 month pantry/freezer food supply. Idaho has 38% children qualified to the ALICE scale. It's unlikely that they have a big food supply.
I'm lucky. I'm a farm kid. Food on hand was a lifestyle I was taught and had to work in the garden/kitchen starting at age 10. How many city kids get these skills?
Yes, I will support local shelters and the Foodbank. I don't care of 5% goes to "undeserving" or "undocumented" folks. They are humans. "As ye do unto others, ye do unto me".
No child should go hungry no matter who their parents voted for. The elderly are ‘usually’ women who made less than their husband or didn’t work much at all. Living on less than 1,000.00 a month is not easy in the best of times. My Dad would be 92 and retired in the early nineties. His monthly SS was under 900.00 a month. He died with 100.00 in savings. My Mother had less. One day i walked into the kitchen to see my Mother eating a slice of bread with bacon grease on it. There was no olio. There’s not enough extra to buy months worth of food to store away. Being the child of parents with food insecurity, i have a full pantry. I and my husband could eat for months without too much worry. I’ve eaten popcorn for dinner for many days in the past. All this to say, sitting on months worth of food can make us look differently at people who don’t have the luxury.
ReplyDeleteWe had this conversation the other day over dinner. I think a lot of people reading this blog know how to cook and do so. We’ve also learned how to stretch our grocery dollars and know the difference between wants and needs. I’ve worked full time for 44 years and always brought a lunch from home. My kids also had bag lunches at school. I also have stock up on sale items and could probably go a couple months without going to the grocery store. Would I enjoy every meal, no, but I would not be hungry. Again, the difference between wants and needs is practiced in my home.
ReplyDeleteSome people don’t understand/ care how much more expensive convenience foods can be.
Sue in MN
Well to answer your question, I think we have enough food for a few months. I have wheat berries, rice, dried beans and meats and veggies and fruits. We would run out of milk and eggs, but we would survive.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with old and disabled people though, and those food stamps did mean the difference between eating and going hungry. And it wasn't that much, one disabled woman only got about $30/month in food stamps. But after paying her rent and utilities etc, she didn't have much left to buy food. So I feel sorry for the old people and the disabled people and the veterans, and the children who depend on food stamps. No one should have to go hungry in this country.
We probably have enough food to get by for a month without starving but I do know people who live on or below the poverty line and they can't afford to have much of anything in storage. They barely have enough to pay bills and eating means not much to store. If they bought eggs they would eat eggs until they were gone and many need to go to food banks to get enough to keep up. Most I know are single moms who work more than one job and don't have much time to cook from scratch even though they can. I feel privileged that going hungry is not something I or may family has to contend with.
ReplyDeleteI’ve wondered the same thing about people having no food in their homes. We have enough to last us a good long while, it may not be what we want to eat, but we won’t go hungry. And I love beans and enjoy rice and oatmeal and would eat both everyday if I could. We loved and ate rice and cheese regularly and it is inexpensive to make. I can recall once growing up we were about out of food, but Mom still managed to make us tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and it was delicious. I’ve always been an advocate of the pantry principle, so we always have food here. Not having enough food and/or worrying where our next meal is coming from is not how I want to live my life, so I plan for that.
ReplyDeleteBut I also know that we’ve had it easier than other people in ways they don’t have and there is a real struggle out there. A huge car repair or unexpected expense can wipe out an income for the month and then families struggle to make it to the next payday. And poor people sometimes rely on payday loans to make it through, ugh! Those should be outlawed! The interest rate on some of those is close to 300%!
So, I do what I can to help others who struggle to feed themselves and count my blessings. I have loved seeing people wanting to help during this time of need. People in my own community and across the nation are asking the question, “what can I do to help?” And that is a beautiful thing to see.
There are many reasons that people get caught in the cycle of poverty, and not everyone had an upbringing that taught them how to cook or plan meals at home. I am blessed that I did, but I consider it a privilege. If you wonder how this happens to people, I learned a lot reading Nickled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and also Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.
ReplyDeletePeople have complex backgrounds and situations, often involving a challenging upbringing, generations with addictions and/or mental illness, etc.
As SAM said, no one in this country should be going hungry. It’s shameful.
I remember having this same thought during our covid lockdown. I am going to take a couple older people as examples of people who just don't stock up. My next door neighbor is an elderly man in his 80s. His wife passed over 10 years ago. During her lifetime she did all of the cooking and cleaning and had a part time job working less than 15 hours a week so also gardened and canned. He does none of these things. (Truly he would have W-mart bring his groceries if we didn't live so far out.)
ReplyDeleteHe has very little food in the house. Goes to church lunches and dinners and takes home leftovers. But the actual food in his home is coffee, creamer, eggs and bacon. We are helping him.
We have another neighbor who is part of a small family of 3 (1 adult, 2 children) She doesn't drive. Her parents take them to appointments and to the store. She also lives fairly close to DG so walks there. She buys what she can, but usually by the end of the month has very little. She is on SS, but the SNAP helps. We are helping her.
I could go on, I live in an area that has been in a permenant recession for over 40 years. The people I know on SNAP are many. I consider myself lucky. I have a good job. I am resourceful. I don't have a dibilitating illness that prevents me from working. I am not of retirement age and not used to learning new skills. I don't have small children that need me at home. I have lived away from my community and moved back because of family. I know that you don't have as much of an issue with poverty. Our main side hustle was farming and many do not do that anymore. Houses don't go on sale here, people inherit them and they need work so many are abandoned. They move in with other family members. All of these things cause me to believe we are in trouble way before this shut down. No, I don't know how to improve it. I will say telling people with no skills, and no way to get skills to go to work, doesn't work. Our politicians have already told them that. I think that is why part of high school curriculum here includes job seeking, budgeting and check writing.
Yes, I have enough food (including frozen meats) to last more than a month without shopping, but there are many people who don't have an extra refrigerator in their basement like I do. They don't own a car so they can't drive around for loss leaders; they're limited because they have to carry groceries home on the bus. They live paycheck to paycheck so they can't afford to stock up.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend whose neighbor works full-time to support her two kids (both on the spectrum). My friend will often go to the bi-weekly mobile food share truck to pick up seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables to bring to her neighbor. Often she'll overhear the people in line talking about how they don't even know what some of their produce that they are receiving even is - so my friend will share a quick recipe for cabbage or kohlrabi or whatever.
The saddest part of this whole government shutdown is there are contingency funds available to continue funding SNAP but our current administration is withholding them out of cruelty and spite.
I think the message is ALL recipients of SNAP are not in a critical place. There are major amounts who are using the system to their benefit of never needing to be frugal or work. If SNAP was truly for the needy I would not have a problem with it. As is I resent funding SNAP for the undeserving.
ReplyDeleteHow did you come by these "statistics", Lisa? And how would propose policing the people who need SNAP? I'm sure there are people who are scamming the system, but unless you have a method (and the staff) to monitor it more closely, I'm not sure why we should let the deserving go hungry in an attempt to find the few who scam the system. Do tell.
DeleteCutting SNAP is just wrong, no matter what anyone says! And not everyone is as smart and frugal about cooking as you and many others. I wish there were classes offered for those who need food stamps- to teach them how to cook nutritious foods without having to spend a lot of money!
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of my local groups, in the past three years. a lot of folks asking for food and the folks have jobs. These are some two parent homes and some single parent homes . I have noticed lately a lot of the dual income families with both parents working are simply running out of money and don’t qualify for food stamps. It has increased in the past two years and is really bad the last week of the month. In a lot of cases it appears to be more month than money. They are asking for actual food, not money to buy food. I believe the rent increases that keep happening have contributed to to it. I have rentals and have tried to keep the rent stable as much as possible despite the HOA fee increases and the huge tax increases on rentals even in this cheap state. But it is hard and most landlords have really increased rents. Also, car insurance has sky rocketed. I think that is why the dual income families are having more month than money issues. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteOh, to answer your question I keep a years supply of dried beans and about three months supply of of everything else. Lots of folks don’t know how to cook dried beans though. Many times I have to add a little baking soda to them to cook and soften them up. I cooked dried lima beans, cornbread, turnip greens, and potatoes this week. Cindy in the South
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