DianeS
Lovin' The Homestead
I volunteer at a food bank near where I live, and have for about 6 months now. When I started doing that I learned a LOT. Of course not everything I've learned applies to everyone, but if even one or two things applies to a family, then suddenly it gets very hard to provide good food for your family at a reasonable cost.
For one thing, I have been startled at the number of families that come in to the food bank who simply don't know how to cook. Nobody ever taught them, and it's a new idea to some of them. You'll put a bag of rice in their box and they'll say "how do you cook that?" They're willing to learn, but at the moment that they need food, they don't know and have no way to learn.
I have learned that many families have no access to cooking facilities other than a microwave. Maybe they're living in their camper. Or they are renting a room from someone who doesn't want them using the kitchen. Or the stove broke and they can't afford a replacement. Whatever the reason, if it can't be eaten raw or cooked in a microwave, they can't eat it. So they stock up on lots of pasta, rice, bread, canned veggies - and single-serve meats. Prepackaged beef stew. Ravioli. Spaghetti-Os. Sometimes fish sticks. Prepackaged meat at every meal adds up quickly.
Then there is the other side of it, where a family does not have any way to keep food cold. Their refrigerator died and they can't afford another one. Or they're living out of their car. Costs add up when you have to buy milk every other day by the quart, instead of being able to buy once a week by the gallon. Or when you have to purchase things in smaller packs, rather than family style. Not to mention having to throw away leftovers instead of saving them for the next day.
Another thing I had to realize is how transient many of these people have to live their lives. They live in the cheapest apartments, or with friends or family. Often in places where they may be asked to leave with very little notice. While someone stable can live on the amount given by food stamps, it is not so easy to do when you have to keep starting over. If you've been sharing a house (and expenses) with your cousin for a few months, and he kicks you out, it seems nobody thinks to go through the kitchen cabinets and say "I brought this can of beans, and you brought that one". So many things get left behind.
Distance is a factor, too. Not everyone lives in an area with a decent-sized grocery store. And not everyone has a car to use for a grocery run. If your grocery store is the corner convenience store because that is all you can reach on foot or on bicycle, or your tiny grocery store doesn't carry a variety, you get pretty stuck.
Starting with the things we already have in our refrigerators makes it easy. We can cook up some ground beef and put ketchup on it. Some chicken and put salt and pepper on it. A head of lettuce and put salad dressing on it. Some bread and put butter on it. I can - and do - have less than $35 per person per week in my grocery budget.
But what choices would we have to make if we were starting without the stores we already have? Forget about the garden and such, but ALSO forget about the things already in your fridge or cabinets. Start from zero, with $35 per person in your pocket. Could you feed everyone for a week with that, assuming you either had to buy condiments or do without them? A gallon of milk, a pound of butter, a bottle of salad dressing, salt, pepper, maybe some other spices - THEN start picking actual food items. It's harder. And then what if one of those problems applied to you - like lack of refrigeration? Would you buy 5 lbs of ice to use in a cooler (that will last for 3-4 days until it needs purchased again) or would you buy smaller and more expensive items?
For one thing, I have been startled at the number of families that come in to the food bank who simply don't know how to cook. Nobody ever taught them, and it's a new idea to some of them. You'll put a bag of rice in their box and they'll say "how do you cook that?" They're willing to learn, but at the moment that they need food, they don't know and have no way to learn.
I have learned that many families have no access to cooking facilities other than a microwave. Maybe they're living in their camper. Or they are renting a room from someone who doesn't want them using the kitchen. Or the stove broke and they can't afford a replacement. Whatever the reason, if it can't be eaten raw or cooked in a microwave, they can't eat it. So they stock up on lots of pasta, rice, bread, canned veggies - and single-serve meats. Prepackaged beef stew. Ravioli. Spaghetti-Os. Sometimes fish sticks. Prepackaged meat at every meal adds up quickly.
Then there is the other side of it, where a family does not have any way to keep food cold. Their refrigerator died and they can't afford another one. Or they're living out of their car. Costs add up when you have to buy milk every other day by the quart, instead of being able to buy once a week by the gallon. Or when you have to purchase things in smaller packs, rather than family style. Not to mention having to throw away leftovers instead of saving them for the next day.
Another thing I had to realize is how transient many of these people have to live their lives. They live in the cheapest apartments, or with friends or family. Often in places where they may be asked to leave with very little notice. While someone stable can live on the amount given by food stamps, it is not so easy to do when you have to keep starting over. If you've been sharing a house (and expenses) with your cousin for a few months, and he kicks you out, it seems nobody thinks to go through the kitchen cabinets and say "I brought this can of beans, and you brought that one". So many things get left behind.
Distance is a factor, too. Not everyone lives in an area with a decent-sized grocery store. And not everyone has a car to use for a grocery run. If your grocery store is the corner convenience store because that is all you can reach on foot or on bicycle, or your tiny grocery store doesn't carry a variety, you get pretty stuck.
Starting with the things we already have in our refrigerators makes it easy. We can cook up some ground beef and put ketchup on it. Some chicken and put salt and pepper on it. A head of lettuce and put salad dressing on it. Some bread and put butter on it. I can - and do - have less than $35 per person per week in my grocery budget.
But what choices would we have to make if we were starting without the stores we already have? Forget about the garden and such, but ALSO forget about the things already in your fridge or cabinets. Start from zero, with $35 per person in your pocket. Could you feed everyone for a week with that, assuming you either had to buy condiments or do without them? A gallon of milk, a pound of butter, a bottle of salad dressing, salt, pepper, maybe some other spices - THEN start picking actual food items. It's harder. And then what if one of those problems applied to you - like lack of refrigeration? Would you buy 5 lbs of ice to use in a cooler (that will last for 3-4 days until it needs purchased again) or would you buy smaller and more expensive items?
