Tonight, The Girl and I are going to check out Food Stamped. It’s a documentary that attempts to show how to eat healthy on a food stamp budget. I’m not really watching it for the political view of food stamps and whether they are enough or not, but more for the ways they try to save money and still eat healthy. I think it is an interesting premise.
We always seem to hear about the “can’t” on eating healthy, I can’t wait to see the attempt at a “can” on a limited budget. It’s getting pretty good reviews on amazon, so I think it might actually be decent.
Let me know what you think if you decide to watch it–or if you have already seen it.
Peace out Girl Scouts & have yourself a great weekend,
~Mavis
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Nancy says
I’d love for you to come back and post a review of the movies that you watch. Some of these I’d like to watch, but I’d like to know more about them before I rent them. I’d love to see some kind of followup!
Julia says
I watched it and it was interesting, well made. The part where they sit in on people who are applying for assistance is depressing. I feel like they could have gotten more food for their money though. You can see their shopping list and prices here: http://www.foodstamped.com/images/FS_shopping_list.pdf
1/3 of a pound of spinach for $1.62? That’s about 3x what it costs for frozen.
Part of their food stamp diet is trying to buy organic foods, so that’s part of why they were short of food.
CathyB says
It looks interesting. I may have to watch it as well. $1 per person per meal sounds low until you multiply it out. Then a family of 4 comes in at just under $400 per month, which is pretty tight but, as you and your readers know, is doable. It seems like it would be a great thing if someone taught recipients how to eat healthy on a budget. Maybe this would be a great community service class. It is hard for people to change what they have never learned or seen modeled. I could totally imagine monthly recipe and shopping lists to help people, teaching them how to make homemade meals with a few staples, etc. Really, your site would be a great resource as well! Of course people have to want to eat healthy… which if my teenagers are any indication, could be the kicker.
Mavis Butterfield says
$1 for a pound of pasta, $1 for a jar of sauce on sale and $2 for a loaf of bakery french baguette $4. I know that is an easy meal but still I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it’s hard for people to change what they already know. I agree, I think it would be a great community service class.
gardenpat says
You really need to check out this blog: http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-on-a-food-stamp-budget-the-challenge-begins/
She wanted to see if it was possible to eat healthy, satisfying meals on a food stamp budget ($400/month) for a family of four. She started out with the assumption that you have NOTHING in your pantry, fridge or freezer- not even basic spices, etc. at the end of the first month, she writes up a complete menu plan for 3 meals a day, complete with grocery lists (with prices as well as stores) ,preparation instructions and recipes! She assumes that you are working and don’t have hours to spend prepping! She has now done 2 complete months and plans to continue until she has 6 complete months!
She buys organic and is nutritionally sound! I have tried many of her recipes on her blog and my family has been excited with the taste!
I’m not affiliated with her in any way, just happened to see her 6 month real food-food stamp challenge and was intrigued!
gardenpat says
I posted earlier in response to your blog but for the first time ever, it was “awaiting moderation”. That’s never happened before when I’ve posted a comment here before so I can only wonder if you were offended because I shared a link to wholesomemommy.com blog and her 6 month Real Food food stamp challenge. I don’t know her but have watched these first 2 months as she took a $400 food stamp budget and made actual menus, grocery lists with prices and recipes and have been impressed! I thought you would not mind the sharing of her ideas. So sorry if I offended. I don’t have a blog so maybe I crossed an etiquette line.
CathyB says
That sounds great! That is exactly what I was thinking that someone should do. I got to thinking that it is probably harder to do than just making your grocery budget work in a certain dollar amount. Some of the best prices might be at places that don’t accept food stamps (can you use food stamps at Costco? the bread store? the farmer’s market?) also I know that there are a lot of restrictions about the types of food you can or can’t buy, the brands, etc. Also I know that a big part of us making our budget work is due to the fact that I am able to spend more time making things homemade than I could if I had a full-time job or was a single mom. I just wanted to acknowledge that there are more challenges that I originally attributed to it. So I am happy to hear that there are some people taking on this challenge and helping other people. I think that Mavis’s blog would be a great resource also.
Mavis Butterfield says
Now that you mention it, I think Costco started accepting EBT cards a year or two ago and I have seen signs up before at various farmer’s markets that accept them as well. I will have to ask at the bread store the next time I am there. 🙂
Brenda says
gardenpat,
My guess is your first post was automatically marked for moderation because you included a link to another site. Many bloggers have this automatic setup to help prevent people spamming their posts. It doesn’t mean that Mavis won’t eventually post your comment, you just have to give her time to read it first.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Brenda. 🙂 You are right, I approve all links left in the comments because of spam. Thanks for helping out.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi gardenpat, you did not offend. 🙂 I took the day off to spend with my family and did not get online once yesterday to check and clear comments. Just so you know, if you leave a comment with a link in it the comment has to be manually approved. I get about 5,000, yes five thousand spam comments a day most of which are weeded out through my spam blocker. In order to catch the others, any comment left with a link has to be manually approved. 🙂
Stina says
I haven’t watched the movie but I have been chatting with our local grocery clerks about food stamp/WIC programs/etc and am amazed at how complicated it is. Depending on the program, certain brands are okay; other are not. Sometime orgranic is okay; sometimes not. Sometimes three versions of an item for a brand is okay but the fourth is not.
Sometimes a booklet is provided that’s supposed to be easy to navigate but it would take forever to go through for each item and I can only imagine what it would be like with little kids in tow. So I do think there’s a group of people who would like to do better regardless of how they were raised but hit so many roadblocks that make it seem impossible at times.
On a positive note, some of the programs here in Washington provide classes for shopping, cooking and healthy practices. Just don’t how know how accessible they are for the population they are targeting.
Candice says
I just watched it and have to agree with Julia that the part with those applying for food stamps is a bit depressing. The challenge of $1.00 per meal per person was interesting although trying to purchase items that are organic on a food stamp budget limits how far their money could go. I had been on food stamps for nearly a year and we ate quite well but you have to be able and willing to spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen preparing meals. I imagine it would be difficult if you have children underfoot, or were a single mom or had a job. Yes, some people qualify even if they work.I also have a huge vegetable garden and various fruits/berries. I preserve by canning or freezing and have a fruit cellar for potatoes, carrots etc. and keep the chest freezer well-stocked with whatever meats are marked for quick sale. They are fine, just close dated so you have to eat within a day or two or freeze. I freeze. We even make and pressure can broths and dry kale and fruits, and bake my own bread products. It can be done but it is time consuming and a way of life even though we aren’t on food stamps anymore. We eat well and I do not buy junk food. After all, the saying in my teens was, “you are what you eat”.
gardenpat says
Thanks to all of you who replied, including Mavis! Since I’m not a blogger, I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs of procedures! I have made it a goal for 2014 to diligently try not to waste any of the food that we have! It seems to be working because our refrigerator doesn’t look “overstuffed” with containers of dribs and drabs of leftovers! Leftovers are actually being eaten as they are or repurposed into other things! Yesterday’s two soft apples got peeled and chopped and put into apple fritters; the leftover bag of fresh cranberries went into the Wholesome mommy breakfast recipe of Cranberry Pecan muffins which gave us two dozen muffins to freeze and one dozen to eat right away!! (Who’d have guessed the muffins would be on a food stamp budget?) my family is definitely not turning up their noses at the “re-used” food!! Lol!!!