Just guess how much money our family of four would have available to spend on food if we were getting food stamp benefits (which by the way has been renamed to SNAP)? $167/week. Yep, that is $42 more a week than what we are currently spending during this little 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget project. In all fairness we are also allowing ourselves to spend $20/week on eating out. But, even if we included that additional money (which we’ve barely used so far) it would still mean we fall $22 short of a family on food stamps. An extra 20 bucks or more a week would feel like a lot of money right now! I am by no means trying to diminish the difficult reality of truly living on a SNAP budget (we are practicing a self-imposed budget for only 100 days, after all), rather I am just patting myself on the back a bit for sticking to a tight budget.
So back to what I’ve been buying on this super tight budget… As I mentioned the other day I got some items from Trader Joe’s, but I was not able to buy everything on my list. So I went to Earth Fare yesterday and tried to spend the least amount of money possible, which turned out to be $12.33. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. And here is what I got…
- 0.79 lbs dried garbanzo beans $1.73
- Heavy cream $2.99
- Bananas $0.70
- Fruit cup honeydew melon $1.58
- Head of garlic $0.50
- Mango $1.25
- Potatoes $3.09
- Shallot $0.25
- 3 lb Bag of apples – FREE!! Thanks to an Earth Fare coupon!
Here are the things I wanted to buy, but didn’t…
- Soy sauce – We are just low…not out completely so I will wait another week.
- Unsweetened coconut – We love having this in our granola recipe, but we can still eat it without the coconut so it had to be skipped.
- Frozen berries – I’ve unfortunately gone from fresh berries in my granola to mediocre frozen berries to now eating whatever fruit we have on hand (apples, bananas) in the morning.
- Tahini – Um, how could I have never noticed that this cost more than $7 a jar! Luckily, I could wait on this one too.
We just keep making sacrifices on this budget and some of them are of course a bigger deal than others. For example I can totally live without the coconut in my granola…but I still really miss my berries in the morning! One new thing I just noticed (since I now am documenting my shopping so nicely!) is that my husband asked me to buy coffee beans at Trader Joe’s earlier this week, and I had just bought him a ($9) bag when we first started this budget, which was only a few weeks ago. So I told him if we are going to limit everyone else’s milk consumption to save money he is definitely going to have to cut back on coffee. I don’t drink coffee myself (only a mocha with 1 small shot of espresso), and he didn’t used to drink coffee either up until a year or two ago. If he doesn’t start drinking less he might have to give it up all together…just like the old days!
There’s been a lot of discussion around here about the impending candy holiday that is coming up this weekend. I of course want my kids to participate in all of the Halloween fun, but I am trying not to let the junk overwhelm me along the way. Kids obviously get excited about trick-or-treating (which I wholeheartedly accept), but what about all of the other treats, school parties, and spider crafts made out of Oreos that lead up to the big event? I honestly don’t know what to do with all of the stuff they are bringing home, and that is if they even bring it home from school before they eat it. One of the few things I do feel like I have under my control is the night of trick-or-treating. We are absolutely going to let our girls trick-or-treat their little hearts out, it is just what we are going to do with all of the candy that will be different this year. After hearing this advice from several parents we’ve decided to let them keep 5 pieces of candy (of their choice!) and then we will “buy” the rest of the candy from them. Our kids are still little so we don’t expect them to get a ton. So we are thinking we will give them either one nickel or one dime per piece (oh, I need to go to the bank!), which they can then use to buy a toy with from the store. I have to say that my girls, who have both been given very limited candy over the last few months, are pretty darn excited about getting FIVE whole pieces of candy AND a new toy of their choice! I am not sure how many years this will work out for us so nicely, but at least for this Halloween we have a plan.
PS – For all those located in the Charlotte area…Earth Fare is offering a $5 off coupon (with $25 purchase) for all 100 Days readers! Here is the deal: 1. The offer is good at the Ballantyne and SouthPark locations, 2. Must pick up coupon before Nov. 10, 3. To get coupon you need to mention that you read this post: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/10/15/budget-day-12-a-real-happy-meal/ Yay! I can’t wait to get $5 off myself :)
That is such a wonderful idea!
Thanks for sharing!!!!!!
So, we had a Halloween fairy visit our house!
They could pick 5 pieces ,but had to leave the rest of the candy on the table. The next day in exchage for the candy they got a one of the bigger sized nerf guns. They loved it!! The next year while out trick or treating they asked if the holloween fairy would visit again. Done no more dealing with loads of candy again and they still enjoyed trick or treating!!
Hi,
While I have had friends post some of your recipes on social media, I haven’t really checked out your blog until now. My husband and I are both disabled and receive social security benefits. We are in the process of renewing our food stamps, of which we received $179/month for the two of us. First, I will point out that we recognize SNAP benefits as supplementary financial assistance, but that doesn’t lessen the benefit of this assistance. We are both college students, and with my husband in his Masters, he has been trying desperately to find work in his field since before he graduated with his Bachelors this past Dec. One thing to keep in mind is that while some do certainly take advantage of the systems put in place to help those in need, there are those of us who truly need the help and are thankful for it. Moreover, not everyone receiving the help (including my husband and myself) plans to continue doing so for the remainder of our lives. There are those of us who are actually trying to better ourselves and be contributing members of society, even if society doesn’t recognize those of us with disabilities as such.
Prior to reading this post, I was going to consider emailing you privately to ask for any tips to begin eating more “real food”. We don’t have a Trader Joes, ETC in our area, and Walmart has been the most helpful store for receiving sighted assistance in shopping. However, since you have chosen to make your misconceptions about SNAP public, I don’t believe you would truly understand a situation such as the one we (and others) face. I certainly won’t take the time to detail all of our financial woes, but I might suggest walking a few miles in someone else’s shoes before assuming that their situation would be better than your own. You chose to be on a budget, and while I certainly commend (and agree with) this decision, some of us truly cannot afford the organic items and can easily believe that a “real food” lifestyle, while physically beneficial, couldn’t really be financially possible. For some of us, a budget isn’t a choice, but a necessity, and “budgeting” advice is laughable when a budget means you pay the minimal living expenses, and thank the Lord you were able to make it for another month.
I totally agree with you Mandy. The tone of this article was horrible. I myself have been in your shoes before and thank God things are better now. However, I have a child who has not one, but two disabilities with one being Crohns Disease. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to budget on foods because she cannot eat processed ones. With that being said, I have tried to get SNAP benefits for her but I make too much money (they say, I didn’t realize I was rolling in money) but the state has tighten its reigns due to so many people who misuse the benefits. The Blessing is that I have been able to become a small business owner while working a fulltime job (in Finance) and in school for Psychology. I have had some hard times in my life but I have never taken advantage of anything so to read an article like this is just in very poor taste and clearly Lisa Leake is not here to help everyone. I have seen many websites before that claim to help meal planning but I have never seen such a judgmental one.
Hi Casie – This article is 8 years old, so I went back and read it again after seeing your comment. I can see how it could easily be misinterpreted from our true views, so have updated the intro paragraph with this statement:
“I am by no means trying to diminish the difficult reality of truly living on a SNAP budget (we are practicing a self-imposed budget for only 100 days, after all), rather I am just patting myself on the back a bit for sticking to a tight budget.”
I hope that clarifies things. – Jason
Mandy, my family of 5 is on SNAP for the same exact reasons you’ve laid out here, and I have noticed that we need to be careful not to buy into the very same shameful assumptions about food benefits that we are trying to cure others of. I think that if you look again at Lisa’s post, she isn’t maligning people who receive SNAP at all, but rather patting herself on the back for managing to scrape by on a budget that, unbeknownst to her, is even lower than the state finds to be sufficient to provide to those of limited income. I will admit that she is ever-so-slightly offensive when she says “must be nice…” but that isn’t the same as assuming that people on SNAP are layabouts taking the state for a free ride. I think some of us who are temporarily on SNAP are rev’d up to defend our right to take this state assistance. I know my husband makes the argument about once a month (to me, alone) that he gave his 8 years to the military and needs the additional assistance if he’s going to be able to take advantage of the GI Bill, bla bla bla… No one is actually accusing him of being a leech, but the very act of asking for help makes him ashamed. It shouldn’t. The state is investing in us, and gets a great return on its investment. I’m sorry this subject is a sensitive one for you, but I hope that you can (almost a year later, albeit) take a second look at this situation and see that you’re not being judged. There is no reason to reject the possibility of eating whole and healthy foods on SNAP. I’ve personally never eaten so many fresh fruits and vegetables as we have on benefits. However, I don’t stick to an all-organic diet. (Sorry, Lisa, not the perfect defense, I know! That’s up to you!)
Agree with you Mandy 100%
This might just be the most ignorant post ever
So glad to see you were taken to task on your elitist misunderstanding of how SNAP benefits work and how much families can receive! Disgraceful: “Must be nice…an extra 20 bucks or more a week would feel like a lot of money right now!”
It’s very easy and a lot cheaper to make tahini at home. Get sesame seeds in bulk, toast them lightly, then blend in a food processor with a touch of EVOO: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-tahini-73859
You probably already know this, but maximum food stamp benefits are $167 a MONTH, not a week. I know this from experience and from looking at the website today.
I resent the comment about assuming people on foodstamps(snap) have more $ to spend on food.On the contrary,most don’t.I t depend on your worker and other aspects and I’m sure(actually I know) some people get an unfair amount bc they find a way to cheat they system but us who don’t also struggle with food bills and making it through the month,especially when trying to eat healthier bc healthier foods seem to be more expensive. I can say I may have taken my $525/month for granted when they kids(2) were younger but then as they got older they began to eat more and making it threw the month became much harder and there were months we didn’t make it through the month with the $525.After my daughter moved out last summer it dropped to $325 and I still had trouble making it through the month and now we were cut again to $259 and idk how my son and I will make it through the month and trying to eat healthy seems like an almost impossible task.Plus he is 14 almost 15,and weighs under 80lbs and trying to put “meat on his bones” is a stressful feat.I can’t buy ensure or anything like that with foodstamps and I am at a lost at hope to feed him healthy stuff to help him gain weight and fit it into my budget.
I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering your website, but I must say I am very disturbed of your mentioning of food stamps when you do not appear to understand how they work. The number you mentioned is the maximum you could get, and the only way you get the maximum is if you had absolutely no income. I would like to believe that the idea if having no income but $167 a week in food stamps would not be “nice” to you, because there would be so much more you would have to sacrifice on no income but a family of four. The higher your income is beyond $0, the less in food stamps you’d qualify for, so a family who just barely met the income guidelines would get next to nothing in food stamps. I do hope you understand that now and your mentioning of this was merely a misunderstanding.
I couldn’t have said it any better. The whole comment of “must be nice…” came off kind of rude. My family does receive SNAP. My husband is a full-time college student who also works, and I babysit from my home so I can stay home and homeschool our four kids (all 9 and under). We are just able to make ends meet and are extremely thankful to have help while my husband finishes school and can find a better paying job. And we also had our kids before having an income drop due to the economy in our area (so no, we aren’t irresponsible for having four kids). Also, I wanted to bring up the idea that we do not send our kids to school and this in effect saves our local school district approximately $36,000 per school year that they would receive from the government in funding. Just something to think about.
PS- Not on food stamps by the way. To those that truly need the food stamps/help I have no problem with you. To the ones that sit on their asses and don’t even try to find a job and keep having kids grow up!
Good for you, the world needs to know you are not on food stamps? I am not on food stamps either but I would not post disparaging overgeneralized remarks on a public forum either. Maybe you need to grow up? Food for thought.
My original comment, which I can’t find, was in support of people that truly need the food stamps and are still just squeezing by. Since most of the people that have commented on here are ones on food stamps I thought I’d give the opinion of someone not on food stamps. Do you even know how many people I have known that abuse their food stamps or welfare? No you don’t! I also work in a grocery store so at the beginning of every month I see the people that use food stamps. I see them there at 1am, 2am and later with 2 or 3 kids under 4 with one usually a newborn or under 1. I also work with one woman that she works, has 3 kids, and her boyfriend sits at home on his rear and won’t look for work because their car broke down instead of looking for a place nearby that he could walk to. They get food stamps every month and we paid for her to have all 3 of her kids. Do you think it’s fair that my taxes are going up every year to support the ones who are abusing it? My remarks are facts.
Your remarks are conjecture, not facts. And they are also as appalling as your grammar. Possibly more so.
So you believe that every single person on food stamps or welfare are on it legitimately? That there are not people that abuse it?
Sorry for the terrible spelling errors in previous post……grammar left with the income
Our family of 6 receives $212 a week of fid stamps in arizona. My freezer and pantry are overflowing. My gas tank is empty, our vehicle repossessed, our rent/utilities over do, kids shoes have holes, you get the idea. Yes it’s quite nice to have so much food benefits, food shopping is our entertainment since the grocery store is 20 miles away and that requires gas. Gifts to anyone require it to be food. When we both had $20-$25/hr jobs, food budget was smaller and realistic, but we could do more. Just please consider statements made regarding your SNAP readers. We are very blessed to have food stamps and family helping us. The good thing about unemployment is getting to be with our kids instead work.
The amount of food stamp money you receive is based on your income and family size. They use a sliding scale and award you benefits accordingly. You may receive $400/month and then get a promotion at work and have your benefits reduced to $60/month because your income has gone up. That’s how it works – in every state.
Your state must give SNAP benefits a whole lot more than mine. When my family and I were on it for six months during the no-one-is-hiring-and-everywhere-is-firing (AKA 2010), we had no one that was employed, we didn’t collect any type of unemployment, lived completely off savings (which was 3 months of rent and that’s it) while desperately seeking employment, and we only qualified for $200/month. We managed, but I think saying that every family of four qualifies for $167/week is really off.
Completely inaccurate food stamp budget for WI. And how does this have anything to do with eating healthy? I LOVE your blog, but Lets leave the politics out, eh?
That is not a set amount for every family of four, your income is taken into effect and your housing and utilities. I manage myself and 4 kids, my 7th set of kids I am raising for deceased family members. We get $1100 a month in total income, rent alone is $800, not including utilities. And we receive $276 a MONTH in SNAP. That is it so don’t post something you have no actual knowledge about. In Missouri.
I think your comments about “I wish I had that much to spend” comparing yourself to people on food stamps is rude and insensitive. I like your site — but think the comment was out of line.
Hi,
Just came across your site via facebook. I have to read your blog more thoroughly, but my son and I get food stamps and it is not enough. We do not eat junk food, I cook from scratch, and use very little of what I would consider processed food. We are in a northeast metropolitan area. Ezekiel sprouted bread sells for $7.00 a loaf. Organic whole oats are $1.49 a pound. I can not shop at the Amish bulk stores since they do not take SNAP. We eat very simply. I will be looking at your SNAP meal planning.