wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I listened to this segment and was aghast. While $28 is indeed a strict weekly budget, the councilman could not have made worse food choices. I am a healthy vegan and eat on a weekly budget of easily under $35. Here is this week's grocery receipt:

30 oz peanuts 4.39
8 oz almonds 3.29
4 lbs valencia oranges 4.50
2 5lb packages carrots 4.00
5 lbs whole wheat flour 3.50
.6 lbs fresh spinach .85
1 lb red bell peppers 3.80
bag granny smith apples 4.00

total: $28.33

From this I can make 6 loaves of whole wheat bread, 4-5 cups of homemade nut butters, 4 cups fresh OJ (I drink 1 cup a day, but not every day), 4 cups fresh carrot juice (I drink 1-2 cups a day, again not every day), and I make nut butter spinach wraps (rolled like sushi), and do a few other creative things with the apples and bell peppers.

The staples required to make these items: salt, 2 tbs oil (for the nut butters) and 3 tsp (labout 1 packet, but I buy in bulk) yeast.

You might notice that this list is sugar free. And while it is a vegan list (by choice), chicken parts and a tub of yogurt could be substituted for the nuts and peppers. My list contains plenty of fresh produce (what foodstamps supposedly preclude). I am never hungry and I am perfectly healthy. Nor do I spend hours cooking; I use an easy, no-knead bread recipe that requires maybe 15 minutes of hands-on preparation.

Sure, more money should be given to the food stamp programs, but it looks like we all, including the councilman, could use some education about budgeting, nutrition, and food preparation.

I have never lived on foodstamps, as an adult or as a child. But My parents had to scrimp and economize to pay a mortgage and everything. What Councilman Gioia is buying is NOT what a budgeting, COOKING person would buy. Yes you DO go to the meat section-- you just don't buy STEAK. You buy the cheapest meat-- CHICKEN. BEEF is for once in a while. You DON'T buy fruits-- they are a luxury. You buy LARGE staples: RICE, FLOUR, etc. You learn to cook and dress a PLAIN meal into something tasty. You learn PORTION control. You use FROZEN VEGETABLES-- Most people cannot afford FRESH. And on and on.
The ugly fact is-- people on Food Stamps are POOR. They do NOT have the same choices Middle class people have. And the more children they have, the worse they make it for themselves. They should learn self-control and work their way up out of poverty. It is not my problem that their child does not have steak every week. When I was growing up, I did not have steak every week. Or even hamburger. It was chicken, liver, turkey wings, rice, stringbeans. I had a balanced meal and grew up healthy. It is enough that they can eat. Period.

Work. Save. Budget. Stop having children you cannot afford.