Eating Welll on $ 68.88 a Week? for a Family of Four?

[Stuart G]

MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36507576/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/



How well can a family of four eat on just $68.88 a week? For more than 38 million Americans, it's more than a matter of conjecture.

With job growth and the economy still only sputtering along, a record number of Americans have turned to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for federal food stamp program.

At the end of last year, roughly 1 in 8 Americans received food stamps, the highest rate ever, according to Lisa Pino, the program's deputy administrator. During the past two years alone, another nearly 12 million people enrolled in the program.

[maxsolomon]

1. Cheap Russet potatoes. Cheap ground beef.

only way to make that stretch.

[Warpy]

2. You can eat nutritious food on that

but you'll have a pretty boring diet and you'll have to know how to cook and you'll have to stop being particular about your choice of veggie.

The closer you get to the field, the cheaper food is.

The main thing I missed on a barebones diet was fruit. A splurge for me would be a bottle of applesauce, about the cheapest form of fruit I could get. That applesauce would be spread on home made bread as a snack or doled out a spoonful at a time as a dessert.

[zipplewrath]

4. Carb and veggie heavy

That's gonna be your diet. Rice, potatoes, flour and basic veggies (carrots, squash, leafy stuff, beets, etc)

[Warpy]

5. Not quite

Beans are an important part of a barebones diet and supply much if not all of the protein. They also supply vitamins, minerals, fibre and farts.

Dried beans are the most economical protein source out there and can be turned into loaves, burgers, soups and stews in addition to serving them cooked over rice.

Raw sunflower seeds can be sprouted and used in place of lettuce on sandwiches, although I found buckwheat sprouts even more suitable for that.

[Hestia]

11. Espazote, an herb, cooked with beans eliminates the gas & bloat factor in beans

[Warpy]

14. Changing soaking water several times

and dumping the cooking water if you're using the beans in loaves or patties will also cut the polysaccharides responsible for being jet propelled if you're poor enough to have to live on them.

Epazote, a truly foul smelling herb, does magical things to a pot of beans, but only eliminating the complex sugars we can't digest but the bacteria in our guts can will eliminate the gas.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. That takes all the fun out of it. nt

[JackintheGreen]

13. Where are you? Beets ain't cheap here. Sadness. n/t

[WestSeattle2]

17. I'm betting meals on a budget could be more interesting......

http://www.freelancebyu.com/thirtydollars_a_week.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Feasts-75-Week-Penny-wise/dp/0848732960

[JackintheGreen]

3. No pets? Then totally doable

It wouldn't be very interesting in the long-term, but possible. Cut out the meat, first. That crud is expensive. Make your own bread, eat a lot of beans, potatoes, and onions. Make your own simple cheese. This is all stuff I do, and I find it's the dog food (I foster) that kills me week after week.

I lived in India for a year, and while I will not even try to use cost as a comparison, I will say that I learned how to cook very simply and satisfyingly with few ingredients. It wouldn't be easy, and it would get boring after a few months (oh! does it get boring!), but it keeps your belly full.

[LisaM]

6. I could easily feed four people on that

If I had lots of time off (or no job), and a good freezer.

For lots of people, those two things are not available, not to mention that a lot of lower-income people cannot get to the grocery store easily.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. It'd be tough... but doable. Variety would be severely limited.

Plus there is typically another source of income or food. I'd look into hunting.
If my only food budget was the program, I'd look around for soup kitchens to get a meal or two per week.
If you "old school" and buy grains and staples you could certainly eat well for $69/wk.
But this involved grinding grains and alot of prep work. Mostly lots of homemade breads and soups.
For "normal" eating I'd try the menu below...

Week of breakfast (for 4 people):
--> 2eggs & 2 slices of toast (5 cartons of eggs, 3 loaves bread) = ~$10
(eggs here are about $1.50/carton and bread is $.99/loaf on sale)

Week of lunch (for 4 people):
--> lunchmeat/cheese sandwich with a yogurt/pudding cup (2# deli meat, 2# cheese, 3 laoves bread, 28 puddings/yogurts) = ~$35
(I guessed deli cheese/meat was ~$4/lb and pudding/yogurt cups are about $.50/ea)

Week of dinner (for 4 people):
--> Large pizza = $35 (there are a few places that do $5 pizzas)
or
--> Pasta and Sauce = $28 (2lb pasta/night)

[AnneD]

18. I miss...

government cheese :sigh:

[FBaggins]

8. A misleading title.

It's called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, not the "Everything-you-need-to-eat-well Program"

Food stamps aren't supposed to feed the family "well"... they're supposed to help.

And yes... if you're careful, know how to cook from scratch, and shop carefully... four peaople can eat a reasonably healthy diet for $300/month.

[customerserviceguy]

9. Agreed on all counts

You have to learn how to cook, you won't be able to get by on convenience foods.

[cutlassmama]

10. growing veggies from cheap seeds in your backyard or in pots by the window

help "cheap" foods become more nutritious.

[d_r]

12. yeah that'll be great in a few months

I felt like seeds weren't that cheap when I planted this spring.

Hopefully, a family with kids could also use WIC to get milk and stuff. Hopefully there is a food bank they can go to.

[D-Lee]

15. Need to add a low-carb diet for diabetics ... pasta and beans won't do it for them! nt