$13.30 for three days of food
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Do you mean for the OP, or for people on assistance? The OP, if that's who you meant, probably can't afford those, given the restriction on "bulk" purchases.Don't forget spices, you are going to want salt and pepper if nothing else. Also oil, margarine or butter to fry your eggs, salad dressing or vinegar for dressing. Ketchup? Mustard? Mayo? All those little "extras" add bucks to a grocery trip
Ketchup, mustard, mayo, salt and pepper can be swiped from the condiment area of your local gas station. Does that count as a restaurant, though?
But this is a good point, too...because you need more than just the food.
You also need things like pots, pans, a working stove/microwave/hotplate, fridge, freezer, washing up facilities, and the like. For a person living out of a car this is problematic. If your electricity is turned off you may not be able to cook pasta. People in dire straits may lack the facilities others take as given. It's more than just food.5 -
I was reading an article written by a local food pantry and one of the thigns they said they often ask for in donations is spices - salt/pepper/garlic powder because it can make normally dull food, more paletable - dollar store/shoppers tend to have spices in the .50c to $1 range4
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I had to do this just to live , hence why I gained all my weight back but how I did it was many runs to dollar tree.
PBJ , loaf of bread, PB , Jelly 3 bucks , lasts all week for lunches.
tuna is 2 /$1 , box of cookies $1 , 4 pack cup of soup $1 , they also have frozen section for pizza bagels , fries , chicken nuggets. the more fat content the more filling the meal.1 -
deannalfisher wrote: »I was reading an article written by a local food pantry and one of the thigns they said they often ask for in donations is spices - salt/pepper/garlic powder because it can make normally dull food, more paletable - dollar store/shoppers tend to have spices in the .50c to $1 range
Not to mention, with a few spices you can make the same food taste differently. Meaning that the same tomato sauce can be made spicy one day, garlic the next and with oregano on the third. It gives variety in taste when you don't have variety in the foods themselves.
I'll have to remember that next time they make a donation drive for non-perishable foods. I usually buy tuna, tomato, salt and pasta. It sadly never crossed my mind to buy spices to donate.2 -
We're doing a charity drive at work for the local food bank for March and April. I'll have to make sure to pick up some spices. I've never thought of that either.5
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Here is what I buy when I'm on a budget- bananas, oatmeal, rice, beans and hot sauce4
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deannalfisher wrote: »I was reading an article written by a local food pantry and one of the thigns they said they often ask for in donations is spices - salt/pepper/garlic powder because it can make normally dull food, more paletable - dollar store/shoppers tend to have spices in the .50c to $1 range
Ya, I have donated spices to the local food pantry.
The woman at my church who coordinates the monthly food drive sometimes lets us know items the food pantry is especially in need of. I find this helpful - knowing they could really use canned fruit or spices is more of an incentive for me to pick up extras of these than just the generic "need food."1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »I was reading an article written by a local food pantry and one of the thigns they said they often ask for in donations is spices - salt/pepper/garlic powder because it can make normally dull food, more paletable - dollar store/shoppers tend to have spices in the .50c to $1 range
Ya, I have donated spices to the local food pantry.
The woman at my church who coordinates the monthly food drive sometimes lets us know items the food pantry is especially in need of. I find this helpful - knowing they could really use canned fruit or spices is more of an incentive for me to pick up extras of these than just the generic "need food."
I often see the lists of stuff that they ask for - I need to get better about donating on a regular basis2 -
Not going to read through all the replies, but it occurred to me the easiest barometer of whether this is appropriate research is if the OP is willing to turn the thread in with the rest of her assignment? And if she's read through all the replies, she actually spent *far* more time on the assignment than would have been necessary.
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kenyonhaff wrote: »But this is a good point, too...because you need more than just the food.
You also need things like pots, pans, a working stove/microwave/hotplate, fridge, freezer, washing up facilities, and the like. For a person living out of a car this is problematic. If your electricity is turned off you may not be able to cook pasta. People in dire straits may lack the facilities others take as given. It's more than just food.
That's true - I'm reminded of a school friend who was one of four kids in a single-parent family, and her dad was very poor. I know that they never had any hot water because their electricity was cut off, so I guess they must have lived off cold food too (or maybe they had a gas camping stove or something). As a child it never crossed my mind to wonder how they ate, but now I find it hard to imagine living that way. We're going through some rough times right now, but I realise that we still have a lot of advantages that some people don't have - including a roof over our heads, light and heat.4 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »Wynterbourne wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Wynterbourne wrote: »
Do you mean for the OP, or for people on assistance? The OP, if that's who you meant, probably can't afford those, given the restriction on "bulk" purchases.Don't forget spices, you are going to want salt and pepper if nothing else. Also oil, margarine or butter to fry your eggs, salad dressing or vinegar for dressing. Ketchup? Mustard? Mayo? All those little "extras" add bucks to a grocery trip
I think the original post said nothing could be used that you already had, in other words all the food and any ingredients used would have to be purchased with the $13. So cooking the eggs, unless you boil them, is going to require some sort of oil or butter. A salad would be dry unless she purchased a dressing or some oil and vinegar. Etc.
If they have a non-stick pan, they can do more than just boil the eggs. I know that my pan works with eggs by themselves. Granted, it is newer. An older one might not be so kind.
You can also bake whole eggs.
Muffin pans to the rescue!
Indeed!
Just don't try and microwave them.
not that I ever tried that....
Can microwave eggs in the shell. In fact many older microwave manuals had instructions to do just that.
Eggs do quite well in the microwave. It's my preferred method of cooking egg whites.0 -
In AUD you get a bit more than $17 to spend.Alatariel75 wrote: »$13 for 3 days for me is completely doable, and I'm in Australia (everything is a lot more expensive here, dollar for dollar).
Hell, when I was in Uni, a 500g bag of pasta ($1), a tin of tuna ($1.50), a can of cream of mushroom soup ($2) and a cup of milk ($1) made a casserole which would feed me and the cat for 5 days. And often did.
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Eggs, sliced bread and a bag of frozen vegetables. You might be able to squeeze in some frozen veg that would be good for 3 lunches and dinners0
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I'm not sure where you live, but pork has been trending really cheap where I live. The Hormel 12 link packs of sausage have been showing up on sale for $0.99 and can be combined with a carton of eggs pretty easily for a meal of sausage and eggs. Or just eat the sausages... about 1,000 calories per pack, so for $13, you get 13K calories. That's more than many of us need over 3 days time.0
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And then, for educational purposes, there's this:
http://www.fourpoundsflour.com/how-to-cook-a-wolf-week-sludge/
(The whole MFK Fisher book "How to Cook a Wolf" is a really good read, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in home economics and/or history).“How to Keep Alive” is the chapter title, and it begins “There are times when helpful hints about turning off the gas when not in use are foolish, because the gas has been turned off permanently, or until you can pay the bill.
Let us take for granted that the situation, while uncomfortable, is definitely impermanent and can be coped with. The first thing to do, if you have absolutely no money, is to borrow some…As soon as you have procured fifty cents, find some kind soul who will let you use a stove…buy about fifteen cents’ worth ground beef from a reputable butcher…about ten cents’ worth of whole grain cereal…(and) spend the rest of your money on vegetables.
Get one bunch of carrots, two onions, some celery, and either a small head of cabbage or the coarse outer leaves from some heads that should be trimmed a bit anyway. It does not matter if they be slightly battered: you will wash them and grind them into an odorous but unrecognizable sludge.
Fisher recommends any remaining money be spent on additional vegetables, like squash and zucchini. This recipe, she says, will feed you for about four days once cooked into Sludge.0 -
I live a US state where groceries are high!
I'm thinking of challenging myself to try this.
Since there are two of us do I get 26.60?0 -
And then, for educational purposes, there's this:
http://www.fourpoundsflour.com/how-to-cook-a-wolf-week-sludge/
(The whole MFK Fisher book "How to Cook a Wolf" is a really good read, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in home economics and/or history).“How to Keep Alive” is the chapter title, and it begins “There are times when helpful hints about turning off the gas when not in use are foolish, because the gas has been turned off permanently, or until you can pay the bill.
Let us take for granted that the situation, while uncomfortable, is definitely impermanent and can be coped with. The first thing to do, if you have absolutely no money, is to borrow some…As soon as you have procured fifty cents, find some kind soul who will let you use a stove…buy about fifteen cents’ worth ground beef from a reputable butcher…about ten cents’ worth of whole grain cereal…(and) spend the rest of your money on vegetables.
Get one bunch of carrots, two onions, some celery, and either a small head of cabbage or the coarse outer leaves from some heads that should be trimmed a bit anyway. It does not matter if they be slightly battered: you will wash them and grind them into an odorous but unrecognizable sludge.
Fisher recommends any remaining money be spent on additional vegetables, like squash and zucchini. This recipe, she says, will feed you for about four days once cooked into Sludge.
That sounds like an interesting read. I'll have to put it on my wish list for my birthday 0 -
leanjogreen18 wrote: »I live a US state where groceries are high!
I'm thinking of challenging myself to try this.
Since there are two of us do I get 26.60?
I assume so. It should also make it a whole lot easier to you as you should be able to squeeze in quite a few more things than the theoretically I calculated for myself.
Good luck with that!0 -
As someone that lived poor for an extended period of time and fed myself on less than $2 a day, I will say that this is really not that hard. If you buy smart and keep your eyes open for clearance items, you could easily accomplish this.
I think "doing research" was more of a thing to say, research sales, find articles about eating on a budget. Isn't there a possibility that they will ask for any sources used? Saying "A forum on MFP" is probably not going to suffice. Generally speaking, this would not be a cite-able source, whereas an interview with someone in your life that has real experience would be a cite-able source. I don't see the people saying this isn't really the point of the exercise are offended, so much as saying that they think you've misunderstood the assignment.
Everything is cite-able. You just need to know your style guide.
As someone who has taught at the University level, for this type of project I would consider this an acceptable peer group to ask for ideas. Ultimately the OP will have to make his own decisions and experience the consequences of his dietary choices ; I don't see this as cheating at all.5 -
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It's definitely doable (I've done it). But the parameters of the exercise are unrealistic and seem skewed to maximize rate of failure. The premise is flawed: it's "assistance" not "subsistence." It's an important distinction and I would include that in my report.
Also don't forget to deduct sales taxes.
^^^ Yes, the exercise is designed for failure. Nearly impossible to do for a couple days but easy if buy food for a week or more.
Eggs and oatmeal will keep you full, with some salsa.3 -
That's what I was thinking here in the UK, I don't spend much more the the equivalent of $13.30 for our meals for an entire weekend, homemade veggie soups, cereal and milk, chicken and rice, tomato based sauces ( with red lentils for protein) and pasta, there are 3 of us toobrandi8484 wrote: »My family of 3 survives on $10/day for our meals. Total. For all 3 of us.
Chicken, beans, eggs, and veggies are a way of life for us now. lol.
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In AUD you get a bit more than $17 to spend.Alatariel75 wrote: »$13 for 3 days for me is completely doable, and I'm in Australia (everything is a lot more expensive here, dollar for dollar).
Hell, when I was in Uni, a 500g bag of pasta ($1), a tin of tuna ($1.50), a can of cream of mushroom soup ($2) and a cup of milk ($1) made a casserole which would feed me and the cat for 5 days. And often did.
Hell, $17 for 3 days food is low, but totally doable. It wouldn't be a big stretch at all.1 -
mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
Didn't get through the whole thread, but several pages without a key link (and embedded link therein) on why this post seems to make so much sense on a casual reading, but is actually so, so wrong: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-07-24/everyone-wins-when-you-buy-a-rotisserie-chicken1 -
mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
I take it you've never heard of the term 'Loss Leader'? A loss leader is an item sold at a loss to attract customers. There are articles all over the internet about how Costco sells their $4.99 rotisserie chickens at a loss because they know that most people will buy other things while they are in there grabbing that chicken. If you already have access to Costco, grabbing a chicken there is in no way awful advice.
fortune.com/2015/05/29/costco-chicken-prices/2 -
sarahaflood wrote: »Hi everyone!
I'm a college student and I am currently in a class that addresses all different types of inequality. For an upcoming project, I have $13.30 (around $4.43 per day) to use to eat for three days (mirrors average assistance in my area).
I cannot use any food I already have, I cannot eat any free food (from friends, promotions, etc.), and I cannot buy from any restaurants. Unfortunately, I am also not allowed to buy in bulk (even though it would equal out to the correct cost for day).
For this time period, I will not be too worried about my calorie count or my particular fitness/health goals. I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas or sample meal plans for me?
Thank you in advance!
I'm a college professor. Your professor might not care as, obviously, I do not know the outcomes he or she is working to accomplish with you. But, my two cents, which I'm offering here. Consider it a free life lesson from your friendly neighborhood English professor. It drives me crazy when I assign things and students google what I am asking. The point of any class is to learn how to think in that particular discipline. It's not to get an answer, but figure out how to get the answer. So, my offer is to consider spending some time figuring out how you can figure it out. 7 -
I wish I could buy eggs for less than $1 per dozen! I'm in Alberta and the cheapest I've seen them locally (on sale) since I had to start worrying about costs was still over $2 (CDN).
I'm liking some of the ideas in this thread, though, so thanks everyone!
They're 62 cents a dozen here right now. It's causing a lot of trouble for the egg producing farms.0 -
Hello everyone, OP here!
I am sorry I haven't been around in a few days, I have been very busy with midterms and wanted to check with my professor about this forum (it's not a problem).
I have since begun the project and this is what I bought:
$0.97 Harris Teeter Thin Sandwich Bread
$0.57 Harris Teeter Rotini
$0.97 Harris Teeter Margarine
$0.98 Premium Hunt's Pasta Sauce: Traditional
$0.37 Harris Teeter Garbanzo Beans
$0.37 Harris Teeter Light Right Kidney Beans
$1.50 Harris Teeter Frozen Mixed Vegetables
$1.77 Jamestown Brand Mild Pork Sausage
$1.87 Highland Crest Sharp Cheddar Cheese
$1.25 Harris Teeter Grade A Extra Large White Eggs
$0.75 Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup: Chicken Flavor (3)
$1.00 Justin's Classic Peanut Butter Packets (2)
$12.37 Pre-tax Total
$12.62 Taxed Total (grocery tax is 2% in my area although, SNAP users do not pay sales tax)
While it is not a part of the assignment, I am also tracking the nutritional information and recording how I feel compared to my normal diet.
At the end of each day, I will be posting what I ate and the nutritional information information for each meal, if anyone is interested.
Thank you so much to everyone who commented suggestions and thank you to everyone for being respectful of each other's opinions!
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sarahaflood wrote: »Hello everyone, OP here!
I am sorry I haven't been around in a few days, I have been very busy with midterms and wanted to check with my professor about this forum (it's not a problem).
I have since begun the project and this is what I bought:
$0.97 Harris Teeter Thin Sandwich Bread
$0.57 Harris Teeter Rotini
$0.97 Harris Teeter Margarine
$0.98 Premium Hunt's Pasta Sauce: Traditional
$0.37 Harris Teeter Garbanzo Beans
$0.37 Harris Teeter Light Right Kidney Beans
$1.50 Harris Teeter Frozen Mixed Vegetables
$1.77 Jamestown Brand Mild Pork Sausage
$1.87 Highland Crest Sharp Cheddar Cheese
$1.25 Harris Teeter Grade A Extra Large White Eggs
$0.75 Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup: Chicken Flavor (3)
$1.00 Justin's Classic Peanut Butter Packets (2)
$12.37 Pre-tax Total
$12.62 Taxed Total (grocery tax is 2% in my area although, SNAP users do not pay sales tax)
While it is not a part of the assignment, I am also tracking the nutritional information and recording how I feel compared to my normal diet.
At the end of each day, I will be posting what I ate and the nutritional information information for each meal, if anyone is interested.
Thank you so much to everyone who commented suggestions and thank you to everyone for being respectful of each other's opinions!
That looks a lot like my grad school diet, except I don't eat pork much because it often triggers migraines.
I hope your teacher gives you credit for the extra tracking you are doing.4 -
mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
How so? I can get an entire chicken for $5 and it's already cooked (saves me $$ on my electricity bill) and seasoned. Not sure your logic is correct here.
If nothing else, this thread shows how insanely cheap food is in the US. Where I live, that rotisserie chicken would consume virtually the whole $13.30! (Less than $10/bird means it's on sale, and I've never seen one below $8.99.)
When I was a student, my weekly grocery budget was $25 (which included replenishing pantry staples, but there was an initial outlay of ~$50 to get those set up). I was pretty much living on rice and beans, pasta, homemade lentil soup, etc. shopping at the cheapest grocery store around. Very very little meat. So, it could be done twenty years ago. Given inflation, I doubt it could be done today (in Alberta, Canada; admittedly, the food prices here nearly gave me a heart attack when I first moved from Ontario - which was where I had the $25/week grocery budget).2
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