My $29 Food Stamps Menu

So... I've seen some things about Gwyneth Paltrow and how she failed at the Food Stamp challenge.  I needed a little diversion, so I used Walmart's new online ordering page to make my own $29 menu.

There are a couple of caveats, of course.  First of all, Alabama's average payout is $29.66, and the average in the US is actually $30.71, according to KFF.org.  So, I'm shooting for the Alabama amounts because I have to pick a zip code for the Walmart prices and I have information about Alabama's sales tax (and yes, it does apply to food).

Next, there's the idea that lots of people on food stamps are not cooking for 1.  And I think we all know how difficult it is to cook for 1 on a budget, mainly because the most budget friendly meals are ones that you make with ingredients and you often need to buy in larger portions.  For example, I did my weekly shopping today and spent $126, which is just $11 over the average payout for a family of 4.  We'll have a different meal every night.  But when you want to cook for one, you often have to choose between eating the same thing every single day or going over budget.  Since going over budget isn't an option for food stamp recipients, there will be a lot of repetition in our menu here.

To me, this isn't really that big of a problem.  I mean, if I were literally depending on the government for my groceries, then I think lack of variety in my foods would be the least of my worries.  However, I decided that I do like variety, and I would try to find ways to add in some options.

Another issue that comes when you're talking about families is that while kids are in school, the children are given a free meal (or two if the school provides breakfast, which many do) every week day.  So, when you talk about the per person rates, these really are not intended to cover for every single meal unless you're talking about individual adults.

Limited to $29.66, it's hard to get a balance of healthy and cheap.  So, what I ended up with is certainly not an ideal diet that we should all follow.

Fortunately, though, there is pretty much no one in the country that is completely dependent on food stamps.  There are churches on every corner in America, and they pretty much all have resources for people who are hungry.  In all actuality, as soon as someone moves from 1 person of food stamps, I would suggest an organization like One Harvest.  They have great prices and good quality foods.

My last disclaimer is that this list is based on a zero-pantry starting point.  The next week, however, I wouldn't have to buy bread or peanut butter, so I could add something different in... maybe some tuna, for example.

Regardless, here's my list of food, which adds up to $27.83 (I'm not sure if states are allowed to charge sales tax on food stamps, so for those states that charge sales tax, this could be problematic. Huntsville's sales tax would take this up another $2.50, putting the total at $30.33.  I will readily admit that I am having trouble getting it down below that, but I'm also having trouble believing that a person couldn't scrounge up 67 cents a week just by asking the person behind them in line if they had any change.  So, we'll call that one even.)

Mahatma Long Grain Rice and Beans w/ Seasoning (2) - 3.28
Weight Watchers Smart Ones Classics (7) - 13.16
1/2 Gallon 2% Milk (1) - 1.88
Frozen Mixed Veggies 32 oz. (1) - 1.98
Bananas (2 lbs) - 1.04
Imperial Margarine (1 lb) - 0.68
Smucker's Natural PB (1) - 2.78
Eggs (1 dozen) - $1.55
Whole Wheat bread (16oz) - $1.48


Here's what a typical day will look like for this person:

Breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled - made with margarine
1 piece of toast with margarine and peanut butter
1 cup milk

Lunch:
Beans, Rice, and mixed veggies
Water

Snack:
Banana

Dinner:
Healthy Choice meal - one of several varieties
Water

Nutritional Info
Calories: 1221
Carbs:  175g
Protein:  64g
Fat: 37g
Fiber: 18g

So, as you can see...

Yes, it's boring; yes, I will be hungry if I eat this and only this; no, it's not the perfect healthy menu, but still it's doable.









  

My 3 Things

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend Kara wrote about 5 things that are super meaningful to her.  It was at a time when we were just finding out the details of moving to San Francisco, and I knew for sure that I would be going through all my possessions to decide what truly mattered enough to move them across the country.

I was later challenged by a friend as to why we don't just sell everything and start fresh, and I spent a lot of time mulling it over.  As many of you know, I'm pretty passionate about simplicity.... I even used to write for the 100 Thing Challenge blog about how fleeting our stuff is and how much deeper meaning we find when we let go of material possessions in order to focus on the lasting impact our lives can make.  So, it was a little strange to find myself wrestling so intensely with the concept of that release.

When it comes down to it, I found there were really only a handful of things that I feel deeply connected to.  Sure, we'll still keep some of our stuff when we move... mostly because it just takes too much time and energy to start fresh and because the one most meaningful possession that I have isn't something that I can just replace.

1. My piano

There's a story behind this piano.  And perhaps if I didn't use it daily, I could get over the story and move away from keeping a large item simply for sentimental purposes.  But the truth is that this piano was meaningful to my mom and it was important to her that one of her children play piano.  Fortunately for me, I was the youngest, and therefore, it fell on me after the other two kids wanted to stop taking lessons.  I learned to play the piano on this instrument - one that she prayed for as a young mom.  Many hours of my young life were seated here with fingers gliding, stumbling, sometimes running across the solid, heavy keys.  I learned the famous classical pieces, which I rarely play these days.  These days, it's the songs that I wish I'd written - Rich Mullins, Sarah McLachlan, Ben Folds, even Jimmy Eats World... acoustic versions of whatever song pulls on my emotions allowing me a retreat from the stress of existence.  I can undoubtedly say that this piano is the sole reason that we are hiring a moving company to go ahead and ship some of our belongings instead of starting from scratch.  Smaller things can be mailed.  Everything else can be replaced, but there is no substitute for this piano.

2.  My pictures

Another, much smaller item that is significant to me is the photo album of my wedding and anniversary photos.  Somewhere we might have backups, but if we do, it was at least 3 computers ago, and who knows if they're stuck on the hard drive that I didn't get to clean off before our last machine bit the dust.  So, these pictures by Jordan Barclay are incredibly meaningful to me.  

3.  This portrait 

I'm a word person.  But sometimes, words aren't enough to really express something.  When The Passion of the Christ first came out, it was a burden on my heart.  There were a lot of thoughts that went through my mind.... a lot of pain and a lot of gratefulness.  And try as I may I couldn't craft a response that did justice for the layers of contemplation happening within me.  So, I busted out (and dusted off) the art supplies to create this contour drawing of Jesus.  I look at it and remember that there's a God that loves me enough to suffer for my sake, and also that somewhere underneath all the momhood, there's an artist in me.