Thread: why do folks care about what the poor buy with food stamps?

ahoy all,

i stated earlier that it be perfectly plausible that the poor be able to afford a treat here and thar by huntin' and trappin' thar food, instead 'o buyin' it at the grocery store.

i think the recent posts kinda amplify the validity 'o that point, too.

maybe the poor that ye see buyin' them cans 'o coke and an occasional candy bar fer thar youngins are just huntin' and fishin' to save monies. as ye can see, 'tis not that far fetched.

aye.

- MeadHallPirate

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

ahoy all,

i stated earlier that it be perfectly plausible that the poor be able to afford a treat here and thar by huntin' and trappin' thar food, instead 'o buyin' it at the grocery store.

i think the recent posts kinda amplify the validity 'o that point, too.

maybe the poor that ye see buyin' them cans 'o coke and an occasional candy bar fer thar youngins are just huntin' and fishin' to save monies. as ye can see, 'tis not that far fetched.

aye.

- MeadHallPirate

I was raised in a home which ate wild meat as a choice, then when we lived in India it was out of necessity because it was before the era of super markets with edible meat. We subsisted on deer, antelope, wild hogs, wild chickens, grouse, pea fowl and an occasional trip to the Embassy Commissary (every 3 months or so). What I missed the most was drinkable milk and fresh salad vegetables as all vegetables had to be cooked back then.

But except for in India, I am not sure hunting paid for itself for most people, and actually cost more in some cases. In 1974 I killed a nice sized white tail buck in NC and it supplied most of our meat for the winter. Had I not butchered it myself the cost would have been higher than buying meat. He was in rut and had just mated when he died happy, but meat was tough and very wild. Since then I only shoot female in hornless season.

JOURNEY TO WALMART - PT 1

ahoy DNSmith,

well, first off, i didn't see no Escalades at Walmart. no BMWs, no Lexus, no Infiniti, no Audi....nothin' like that. maybe the poor only drive thar really nice cars to the welfare office?

i just gotta say i find the idear 'o the poor drivin' luxury cars vastly o'erstated.

1.jpg

i sailed into Walmart after perusin' the parkin' lot and started makin' me purchases, workin' closely off yer list...

2.jpg

i used a scale fer the first time to measure somethin' other than an ounce 'o herb and had fun! i bought only one apple, to exercise thrift, aye. i also bought meats and other stuffs...

3.jpg

i wanted to buy kosher salt, yet i adhered to the dogma 'o poverty and bought the no-name brand with the unfun packagin'.

- MeadHallPirate

JOURNEY TO WALMART - PT2

aye, so here be the results;

4.jpg

and the price? 'twas 22 dollars and a bit 'o change! look at all them "great values"!

5.jpg

i figure thar be around maybe ten meals here, perhaps a bit more. so i agree it be entirely possible to eat okies dokies on the food stamps. i coulda used a bit more starches, but i bet i could manage alrighty.

me conclusion be that it be not only possible to eat well on food stamps, but its also possible to buy some treats. so, to return to me OP....why do folks get so vexed when the poor eat well, or can afford a candy bar?

aye?

- MeadHallPirate

ps - i still kinda doubt the lobster anecdote, though.

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

JOURNEY TO WALMART - PT2

aye, so here be the results;

4.jpg

and the price? 'twas 22 dollars and a bit 'o change! look at all them "great values"!

5.jpg

i figure thar be around maybe ten meals here, perhaps a bit more. so i agree it be entirely possible to eat okies dokies on the food stamps. i coulda used a bit more starches, but i bet i could manage alrighty.

me conclusion be that it be not only possible to eat well on food stamps, but its also possible to buy some treats. so, to return to me OP....why do folks get so vexed when the poor eat well, or can afford a candy bar?

aye?

- MeadHallPirate

ps - i still kinda doubt the lobster anecdote, though.

Good for you. More carbs from homemade bread, beans for protein and carbs. The lobster I buy run about $5 or $6 a lb for gulf lobsters. Fitting in a slightly higher priced dinner in between a couple of cheapies of rice and beans or pork stew.

I don't begrudge some goodies once in a while for people on stamps. I do begrudge them selling the goods at $.50 on the dollar to buy cigarettes or worse. I don't think that's the rule, but it does happen, and not just with minorities. A young Mexican I know and his wife can make a ground beef and bean chili last for 3 or 4 meals. That would get boring to me, unless I could freeze the left overs and spread them out over a longer period of time.

Another thing, lately I have enjoyed more vegetarian meals though I do eat meat without even a twinge of guilt. I particularly like a potato, cauliflower, cabbage curry made with a base of onions and sweet pepper. Aloo Ghobi Masala is a treat for me, even a couple of times a week. Towards the end of a pot over a few days I may add some minced koftas made with spiced ground goat meat for a change.
Grind 1lb meat
Moisten and mix in about a cup the inside of French bread, a tsp garlic, a tsp ground red pepper and 1 raw egg. Make 1 inch meat balls, rolling tightly. Fry or bake meat balls to set and add to the curry. Great food and not expensive.

You do realize with 6 children (4 when I was drafted during the Berlin crisis) we had to be thrifty but still fed our children nutritious meals. We used a lot of chicken, non-fat dry milk, a lot of peanut butter, and my wife baked a loaf of bread for every day of the week. My wife didn't like hamburger so we bought sirloin steak, which surprisingly, when you consider the shrinkage didn't cost that much more than ground beef. I did a lot of the cooking while she took care of the kids.

Originally Posted by dnsmith

Good for you. More carbs from homemade bread, beans for protein and carbs. The lobster I buy run about $5 or $6 a lb for gulf lobsters. Fitting in a slightly higher priced dinner in between a couple of cheapies of rice and beans or pork stew.

I don't begrudge some goodies once in a while for people on stamps. I do begrudge them selling the goods at $.50 on the dollar to buy cigarettes or worse. I don't think that's the rule, but it does happen, and not just with minorities. A young Mexican I know and his wife can make a ground beef and bean chili last for 3 or 4 meals. That would get boring to me, unless I could freeze the left overs and spread them out over a longer period of time.

Another thing, lately I have enjoyed more vegetarian meals though I do eat meat without even a twinge of guilt. I particularly like a potato, cauliflower, cabbage curry made with a base of onions and sweet pepper. Aloo Ghobi Masala is a treat for me, even a couple of times a week. Towards the end of a pot over a few days I may add some minced koftas made with spiced ground goat meat for a change.
Grind 1lb meat
Moisten and mix in about a cup the inside of French bread, a tsp garlic, a tsp ground red pepper and 1 raw egg. Make 1 inch meat balls, rolling tightly. Fry or bake meat balls to set and add to the curry. Great food and not expensive.

You do realize with 6 children (4 when I was drafted during the Berlin crisis) we had to be thrifty but still fed our children nutritious meals. We used a lot of chicken, non-fat dry milk, a lot of peanut butter, and my wife baked a loaf of bread for every day of the week. My wife didn't like hamburger so we bought sirloin steak, which surprisingly, when you consider the shrinkage didn't cost that much more than ground beef. I did a lot of the cooking while she took care of the kids.

ahoy DNSmith,

ye made me a believer, matey. a swabby with both wit and patience can easily eat very well on a food stamp allowance, and if one has, as ye put it, a couple 'o "cheapie" meals, then even lobster or an occasional treat be possible.

all 'o this, though, brings me back to me OP; if ye recall, thar be post upon post that be rich in outrage that the poor could afford the foods yer talkin' about...i mean, how dare they! it must be some kinda shennanigans!!! yet 'tis not some kinda underhanded skullduggery, all it takes is to use yer noodle and buy wisely.

so (aside from cases 'o fraud, which no one approves of, left or right), why do ye think thar be such anger o'er the poor buyin' roast beef, a coke, a piece 'o candy, or lobster? thar seems to be an inference that the poor who are able to manage such a nice diet be up to some kinda criminal activity, aye?

just 'bout all the folks in this thread claimed to be middle class...so why do the middle class have such ill will to the poor?

- MeadHallPirate

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

ahoy DNSmith,

ye made me a believer, matey. a swabby with both wit and patience can easily eat very well on a food stamp allowance, and if one has, as ye put it, a couple 'o "cheapie" meals, then even lobster or an occasional treat be possible.

all 'o this, though, brings me back to me OP; if ye recall, thar be post upon post that be rich in outrage that the poor could afford the foods yer talkin' about...i mean, how dare they! it must be some kinda shennanigans!!! yet 'tis not some kinda underhanded skullduggery, all it takes is to use yer noodle and buy wisely.

so (aside from cases 'o fraud, which no one approves of, left or right), why do ye think thar be such anger o'er the poor buyin' roast beef, a coke, a piece 'o candy, or lobster? thar seems to be an inference that the poor who are able to manage such a nice diet be up to some kinda criminal activity, aye?

just 'bout all the folks in this thread claimed to be middle class...so why do the middle class have such ill will to the poor?

- MeadHallPirate

I think that many people don't believe the poor can eat well within their budget and that it is OK. And nothing will change in that respect. In the old days commodities were handed out weekly at what is now DHR. My mother volunteered and though the items varied from week to week, there was usually milk, butter, generic cereal, cheese, beans, bacon and some other meats depending on what was being subsidized by the government.

I don't think you're going to get anywhere near ten meals out of that. Let us know how far it stretches.

Originally Posted by Unique POV

I don't think you're going to get anywhere near ten meals out of that. Let us know how far it stretches.

ahoy Unique POV,

i don't know that i can sustain this project matey.

i had me an egg sandwich fer breakfeast, and used up 'round 1/8 'o the loaf 'o bread i bought. i had one egg in it, plus salt 'n pepper.

i think i can get 7 more breakfeasts outta me dozen eggs and the remainin' bread, so thats eight "meals". after that, i'd have no starches though. imma not really a chef, me cookin' skills be very rudemintary. i have this large piece 'o meat, its about the size 'o a nerf football, and im at a loss as to what imma supposed to do with it.

i ate a stalk 'o celery when i got home, i put some salt on it and ate it.

*muses*

if i were on food stamps, i'd have 'round 178 dollars left, and imma sure i could figure somethin' out. imma kind 'o anxious 'bout this evenin' when i hit me pipe. i feel, with great conviction, that in a slightly altered state i'd find the bounty i collected at Walmart on me limited allowance dispiritin'.

- MeadHallPirate

Aarrr me 'Pirate. Should be eatin' better an that. Goes to maintaining your health, which be impotant!

*stomps foot*

I be guessin' that the beef nerf is a roast. Perhaps this can help:

easy recipes for beef roast

Best and most sincerest wishes for a good appetite. Yarrr!

(Impersonation is the most sincerest form of flattery)

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

ahoy Unique POV,

i don't know that i can sustain this project matey.

i had me an egg sandwich fer breakfeast, and used up 'round 1/8 'o the loaf 'o bread i bought. i had one egg in it, plus salt 'n pepper.

i think i can get 7 more breakfeasts outta me dozen eggs and the remainin' bread, so thats eight "meals". after that, i'd have no starches though. imma not really a chef, me cookin' skills be very rudemintary. i have this large piece 'o meat, its about the size 'o a nerf football, and im at a loss as to what imma supposed to do with it.

i ate a stalk 'o celery when i got home, i put some salt on it and ate it.

*muses*

if i were on food stamps, i'd have 'round 178 dollars left, and imma sure i could figure somethin' out. imma kind 'o anxious 'bout this evenin' when i hit me pipe. i feel, with great conviction, that in a slightly altered state i'd find the bounty i collected at Walmart on me limited allowance dispiritin'.

- MeadHallPirate

My favorite way way to cook roast, make holes and stuff with garlic and salt and pepper, brown in dutch oven, cover and roast on 350 about 20 minutes a lb. Eat a serving with rice and the gravy, slice some for sandwiches, on the 3rd day stew what is left over with potatoes, onions and green peppers. A normal serving size is 3 to 4 oz so figure it out how many meals you can make. After you eat the stew freeze the rest until you are ready for some more stew.

Originally Posted by dnsmith

I think if I searched the town and waited until the most expensive rental became available I might find one renting for $1,000 a month. Even nice 3 br 2 bath homes tend to run from $550 to $700 a month and it is not difficult to find one for $350 suited to decent people. Utilities may run $250 for a 1,500sq ft home and with food for 8 costing no more than the food stamps available a family can live quite nicely on $38,000 a year.

Good lord, I want to have those kind of rates available. I've spent the past week looking at studio apartments that run $395-$550. The three bedroom places I've seen under $1000 a month haven't had the necessary space in the rooms to accomodate the foot print of two twin beds (making more than two beds to a room unviable).

Also, if you're assuming food stamps as part of the equation, you must be accepting that this is poverty level (the point I took issue with was your claim that this is too high to be considered poverty).

If I lived in a more expensive area I would move. As it is, just 10 miles to the north or north east are two small towns where the rent is typically 30% less.

I've always been under the impression that I lived in a notoriously inexpensive area. Apparently I've been wrong.

Why day care? Any self respecting mother in a two parent home should stay home with their children. Yeah, yeah, I don't believe mothers should work unless single and must to survive.

This requires the assumption that the father of this two parent home makes $19 an hour. Putting him in the 77th percentile for single income. Most people don't make that much.

Originally Posted by Porras

Good lord, I want to have those kind of rates available. I've spent the past week looking at studio apartments that run $395-$550. The three bedroom places I've seen under $1000 a month haven't had the necessary space in the rooms to accomodate the foot print of two twin beds (making more than two beds to a room unviable).



I've always been under the impression that I lived in a notoriously inexpensive area. Apparently I've been wrong.



This requires the assumption that the father of this two parent home makes $19 an hour. Putting him in the 77th percentile for single income. Most people don't make that much.

We live in a very nice small town of about 20,000 people. It is relatively prosperous even if the wages are not the highest in the nation. We occasionally have a homeless person come through here and we have several places which will put them up, feed them and help them either get a job or to move on to where they want to go. We are adjacent to a military post and the weekly paper has ads for jobs every issue. $760 a week is enough to take care of a wife and a couple of kids, but most women start working when their kids go to school. The wage you mentioned is just a little below the federal poverty level for a family of 8. I have to presume you live in a more expensive area.