How do you stretch your food dollars?

November 18th, 2013

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/11/18/how-do-you-stretch-your-food-dollars/?iref=allsearch

Summary:  

In this article they talk about making the most of your food stamps since the recent cuts to the program.  One tip is just to go along the outer aisles of the grocery stores because that usually where they have cheaper items.  Another helpful hint is to grow your own veggies even if you only have a small area to do so in.  Cut meats are more expensive so buy the whole thing and also do as much scratch cooking as possible because premade foods costs more. Along with that cook, it's cheaper then going out to dinner. Another thing to consider is eat more foods that are high in protein because the keep you fuller longer. Also make a budget so you know how much to spend on food.  

My opinion:

I really think these are some good money saving tips even for people who aren't on food stamps.  This really helps to show that even with limited resources you can still stretch what you do have.  I know that it will be hard with the lack of money now due to the food stamps cut  but this way could be a little helpful.  The impact if the cut was much bigger then most people probably thought.  But I would also like to offer my own advise for money saving when in the grocery store: cut coupons because they're free money (but only for things you use) and for these people with cut benefits check out the local food bank.  These tips are usual for anyone trying to save a buck.  

Brooklyn Pantry Struggling to Help Fill Gap Left by Federal Cuts to Food Stamps

By Patrick McGeehan  Published: November 25, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/nyregion/brooklyn-pantry-struggling-to-help-fill-gap-left-by-federal-cuts-to-food-stamps.html?ref=welfareus&_r=0

Summary:

 Since $5 billion dollars were cut from food stamps, many New Yorkers had to turn to the local food pantries.  Because of this the Brooklyn pantry was running low on food so they needed to call in help. 19 skids come to stock up the pantry over night. They handed out over 1000 turkeys for Thanksgiving but they ran out, leaving chicken and ham as substitutes. Many people in the area are very thankful for the pantry.

Opinion:

 I know that if we want to make a dent in our debt programs need to be cut but it's really hard to hear about all these people suffering for this reason.  But now that there  has been a cut made to food stamps these people need to get their food from somewhere because they don't have the money to pay for it. The food pantry is the obvious answer. Now the items at the food pantry are in such high demand that the pantry almost ran out of supply.  The staples are going fastest which shows how inelastic core foods are because there aren't really substitutes for them.  I hope that people keep reaching out and donating to the food pantry to help all of these people.