Is That a Challenge?

I read an on-line article and watched the video for a local article about raising awareness for the area food banks and raising funds. I have no problem with helping out so that isn't the issue. Things happen and change in the blink of an eye. I realize that there might be a time I need help.

What gets me is the article and attitudes expressed which is why I had to comment on the article. The article/video "$25 Challenge" comments how hard and near impossible it would be to live on $25 per person per week. I find it really realistic as I do that every single week for my family. I even blogged about living for under $100 a week for my family in my Cornbread & Cookies blog.

That isn't what I budget normally for food alone, but I wanted to find out if my family could make do on less if required. We can. It takes time and planning which is one problem I perceive with people not being able to make it for $25 a week per person. We are busy people. Forget the busy as a bee cliche. It needs be busy as a human. Society as a whole seems to have a I-want-it-now-I-can't-wait attitude.

What does that have to do with the article? People buy convienence. It may because we over-schedule ourselves. It may be we just don't know how to cook from scratch or plan a menu. Those all can create havoc with the food budget.

The reporter said she tried the challenge. The first two things I noticed that set her up for failure are (1) she went shopping without a plan (no menu, no list), and (2) she went shopping at one of the higher priced grocery chains in the area. There is an Aldi right across the street from that Kroger she used. I find some great loss leader prices at Kroger. Their brand chocolate milk is the best (when on sale). Their brand of milk also freezes well when I stock up on a good buy. So I do shop Kroger just not only Kroger.

Other things I have issues with (I got a lot of issues actually ;P) is the reporter's comment of having to buy store brand or generic. There is nothing wrong with that. There are some items I do buy name brands because of quality or whatnot. Some generics are gross and poor quality. I got that. Not all of them are though.

Another issue is the Food Bank Director saying how unrealistic $25 is. Yet when I watched the video I saw Chex Mix (love the stuff btw). It never struck me that was a staple and neccesity. No wonder the budget is shot. Junk food will eat the budget up fast. Do I have junk food? Yeah, sure I do. Sunday nights are for sundaes in my house so I have ice cream and toppings. I have pretzels in a jar on the counter for snacking along with animal crackers in another. Off-brand Honeycomb are in a third jar. My kids snack on those, and I don't have to answer the I'm-hungry-what-can-I-eat question seven times an hour. I do buy junk and snack foods. I just don't buy a lot for nutritious reasons as well as cost.

How do I cut costs? One is where I live. I live in the midwest in an area that has a lower cost of living than say the east or west coasts. I grow my own produce and herbs. I buy locally for things like produce and fresh meat. While meat might costs a little less at the store, I find the quality makes it far suberb in taste. We drink "clear kool-aid" for dinner. That is our nickname for water. I tell the kids it has no added sugars, colors or preservatives. It was funny until a wiseguy added flavor to list of don't haves. LOL! Almost a funny as the time we did really serve clear Kool-aid. The kids' reactions were hilarious when they took the first swallow.

I also don't generally cook meat and potatoes meals. A grilled steak or pork chop tastes good, and boy you gotta have it sometimes. I find that taking that same steak and making Fajitas or Broccoli-Beef are also yummy meals. I use up leftovers as a different dish. Oren says it is a leftover for a reason. Haha ... Leftover green beans and mashed potatoes become Shepherd's Pie. Leftover roast is shredded to make BBQ Beef Sandwiches. I use leftover scrambled eggs and bits of veggies to make Fried Rice.

I plan. That means I make a menu though some weeks are better than others. I check out the local ads. I can do that on-line even. I find what is on sale and plan my menu around it. Right now I have a freezer full of meat so I haven't had to buy too much meat lately. Then I check my pantry to see what I have and what I need. The shopping list is made and off I go. Another budget saver is using area programs like AngelFood Ministries. For the units I bought (3 of them this month for $90), I will get 14 dinners out of them for my family. I plan how I can best use what is included. With the leftover money in the food budget I supplement with fruits/vegetables and other perishables I might need. I also use SHARE foods which supplies me with 3-5 meats and fresh fruits/vegetables for $16 a unit.

There are classes offered at local churches, home extension offices, libraries to teach these things. You can find inforomation in books, magazines and the internet which are all offered for free at libraries. There is a wealth of information out there that can help living on $25 a week a bit easier and very realistic.