Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn't Buy a Lot of Groceries

[OneTimeSBX]

**blowing kisses at squirrly...

thank you!

milk in VA is 3.50 a gallon. on 21 bucks a week, that leaves 16.50.
eggs run you a buck, 15.50.
juice, even your cheapy store brand? 1.50 a half gallon? 1 gallon worth leaves 12.50
bread runs 1.50 or so? 11.00
a pack of bologna, another 1.50... 9.50
cheese anyone? 2 bucks, 7.50.
a few cans of vegetables at 50 cents 5.50
of course the ever popular ramen noodles (smile!) 10cents a pack, another buck for 10 packs...4.50.
and hell, lets splurge. a box of CORN FLAKES for the milk. 2.50 for those..

you have a grand total of $2.00 left. that goes towards taxes.

now does any of that seem healthy to you? the milk and eggs and veggies are ok, the cereal will cover a few meals, but i know i personally would be starving on this much food! god forbid you need some of that extra money for gas/bus fare...youre doomed!

a bag of greasy, salty, fattening potato chips can cost as little as 99 cents, while a bag of your brand name, baked, low sodium, trans fat free chips are almost $3.00!! that is why the poor can still end up obese!

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by OneTimeSBX

**blowing kisses at squirrly...

thank you!

milk in VA is 3.50 a gallon. on 21 bucks a week, that leaves 16.50.
eggs run you a buck, 15.50.
juice, even your cheapy store brand? 1.50 a half gallon? 1 gallon worth leaves 12.50
bread runs 1.50 or so? 11.00
a pack of bologna, another 1.50... 9.50
cheese anyone? 2 bucks, 7.50.
a few cans of vegetables at 50 cents 5.50
of course the ever popular ramen noodles (smile!) 10cents a pack, another buck for 10 packs...4.50.
and hell, lets splurge. a box of CORN FLAKES for the milk. 2.50 for those..

you have a grand total of $2.00 left. that goes towards taxes.

now does any of that seem healthy to you? the milk and eggs and veggies are ok, the cereal will cover a few meals, but i know i personally would be starving on this much food! god forbid you need some of that extra money for gas/bus fare...youre doomed!

a bag of greasy, salty, fattening potato chips can cost as little as 99 cents, while a bag of your brand name, baked, low sodium, trans fat free chips are almost $3.00!! that is why the poor can still end up obese!

Hole up, thure...u gotta say what kinda Corn Flakes you referring to!!! YA KNOW...Kellogs and the generics are 2 different flavors!!!

and what the heck are we drinking??? You cant splurge unless you get a few packs of koll aid (red) or a bottle of the 1.99 juice and then whatever change u got left...then u can splurge

[OneTimeSBX]

lmao my bad!

get the generic corn flakes (which sometimes taste better), forget the juice and get 10 packs of red (not cherry, RED!) kool-aid and 2 5-pound bags of sugar lol...hell we may even have enough for a can or two of tuna!

point is, you are gonna be one hungry, irritable person at the end of the day.

and another point, i think that is also why some of these kids get labeled as ADHD when their a**es are HUNGRY! you'd be staring into space and acting out too!

[Tom Earp]

I am amazed how many people think they can live on $21.00 a week for food.

I am single and pinch pennies when buying food.

Try owning a smal business and not making much out of it.

If you own a business, you cannot get on food stamps/now vision cards and amazing how many people ahve them and try to buy not approved food items!

Or "Mothers Day" when welfare checks come out and they drive up to one of the infamous liquor stores in their Cadillacs to buy booze and cash them!

Kevin, YOU are a disgrace to man kind for coming from a Mid USA State going to a State School and working to get through and graduating and then going to Law School! How can you be so crass?

Oh, Vision cards will not work in ATMs as I have had some try and get made at me!

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

I am amazed how many people think they can live on $21.00 a week for food.

I am single and pinch pennies when buying food.

Try owning a smal business and not making much out of it.

If you own a business, you cannot get on food stamps/now vision cards and amazing how many people ahve them and try to buy not approved food items!

Or "Mothers Day" when welfare checks come out and they drive up to one of the infamous liquor stores in their Cadillacs to buy booze and cash them!

Kevin, YOU are a disgrace to man kind for coming from a Mid USA State going to a State School and working to get through and graduating and then going to Law School! How can you be so crass?

Oh, Vision cards will not work in ATMs as I have had some try and get made at me!

And some of those people that own thier businesses have a helluva time paying for insurance....if they have insurance

[squirrely girl]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Or "Mothers Day" when welfare checks come out and they drive up to one of the infamous liquor stores in their Cadillacs to buy booze and cash them!

Kevin, YOU are a disgrace to man kind for coming from a Mid USA State going to a State School and working to get through and graduating and then going to Law School! How can you be so crass?

oh dear lord. i won't even get started on the terms you choose to use.

however, tom, i come from a mid usa state and went to a state school, in addition to working the midnight shift all four years while double majoring. oh yah. i've since gone on to get a masters and start work on my phd. i have funded everything on my own through loans and work. but that is NOTHING SPECIAL. i'm still a lucky bastard for the opportunities i've been afforded in my life. not everybody is that lucky. but situation and circumstance don't excuse you from caring or being firmly grounded in reality.

i'm sincere when i say that pinching pennies while food shopping sucks and i fully empathize with you. but then you could always take kevin's earlier advice and get a different job... but i don't think that fixes a SOCIETAL issue.

- m

[squirrely girl]

on a side note, i just wanna throw it out there that i usually don't post a whole lot on GC in general, let alone a single thread. but i'm REALLY passionate about the topics of eating patterns and obesity and particularly how environment and situation effect them. i'm not trying to rant or pick on anybody. really. its just hard to spend my time studying and researching these phenomenon and have uninformed people saying *what i personally perceive to be* cruel and ignorant things.

i apologize if anybody is offended but that's just how it is.

- m

[OneTimeSBX]

@ squirrely...

there is an article on CNN's blogspot about how childhood obesity is being blamed on WOMEN, and the fact that we are working now and not staying home with the kids...very interesting...

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/pagi...ity-among.html

[susan314]

Just to clarify - when I made my comment above about people not knowing how to maximize their grocery shopping, I think it goes across all income levels. I'm not trying to say that "people on food stamps just need to learn how to shop better" by any means. Most people could learn to shop better...I used to spend $700 a month to get essentially the same stuff I now get for $300. We weren't in dire need of getting our grocery spending down, but honestly...why give that extra $400 to the grocery store when it could stay in our pockets instead?

(An added perk is that by learning how to manage my grocery spending, I'm able to pick up extra on some of the great deals and donate it. There are many organizations always in need of personal hygiene products, etc. By maximizing the money I spend, I'm also able to maximize the volume of stuff I can donate. )

I definitely understand that not everyone is able to just "get another job." (Yes, I think there are people who abuse the system and that irks me. But I don't think its the majority of people.) For those of you who think otherwise, I'd highly recommend reading the book "Nickled and Dimed" if you haven't already. Even if you don't completely agree with the author's premise, it will get you thinking about issues in a whole new light.

[Kevlar281]

No one is starving in America.

21 dollars a week means that they choose to not to supplement their government aid.

A person soliciting donations on a street corner IMO would earn a minimum of a dollar an hour. If they solicit for eight hours a day they would earn an extra eight dollars per day.

So let’s see here. $21.00 + $56.00 = $77.00 for food per week.

[JWithers]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

No one is starving in America.

21 dollars a week means that they choose to not to supplement their government aid.

A person soliciting donations on a street corner IMO would earn a minimum of a dollar an hour. If they solicit for eight hours a day they would earn an extra eight dollars per day.

So let’s see here. $21.00 + $56.00 = $77.00 for food per week.

I DO think there are children who are starving in America, b/c of the bad choices their parents/caregivers have made. Children should be assisted by being removed from the homes of negligent parents who abuse drugs, alcohol and their own children. My sister and her husband ,today in fact, officially adopted TWO children, siblings , 9 and 4 who were in a home just like that. Big day for our whole family!

However, these parents do not deserve one thin dime of the money my family works hard to earn. The parents of THESE children are both in jail for running a meth lab.