yep. learned this way back when i was a single mom who wanted to eat well and raise healthy kids. bonus: you can grow some of your food, even just herbs on a widowsill. you won't be raising livestock.
i grew random veggies i liked in my side yard in the suburbs back when i was raising kids. i dug, i spread chicken manure (smell was gone in a few days, thank heavens), i watered and voila! ate free veggies for months. the mixed squashes even grew into the winter. it was awesome and delicious and so plentiful we gave stuff away. i've never done the herb thing myself because loads of folks do around here and they share. some stuff (rosemary, for one) even just grows on its own around town. i'm pretty lucky.
so my advice is just this: grow what you like, if your windows and /or yard have the right light for it. google can quickly tell you what, where, and when. so can those online grow-zone maps.
> When scientists like me advocate for healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, it’s often said we’re sitting in our ivory towers promoting something financially out of reach for most people. This study shows it’s quite the opposite. - Dr Marco Springmann
I understand that the average American (or westerner) doesn't want to change how they eat or what they buy. But I went veg and never looked back, and I can spend a lot or a little on food, it is not impossible and does not require fancy substitute foods.
Yup. Grains, legumes, and seasonal fruits and veggies are cheap af for people who know how to shop.
Where people go wrong is thinking you need to buy all the exotic stuff, processed fake meats, etc.
Also, based on reddit comments I've seen over the years, there are a lot of dumb people who don't understand that $100 on groceries will go much further than $100 worth of food from a restaurant. Dozens of meals compared to maybe 5-10.
Marco Springmann is a vegan activist, even if he is a professor, and his talking points don't universally hold true. For instance, he gives global figures for agriculture's contribution to greenhouse gases of 25%, whereas here in the UK it's about 10% even given that 97% consume animal products.
With veg, I'm conflicted. Most of what everyone eats is vegetables and I grow my own, but as crops they fail easily and can't be grown everywhere. Modern farming also doesn't favour nutrient density but does love to use forever chemicals like PFAS to adhere pesticides to the crop, which don't wash off.
I do agree with not trying to make veg-based meat substitutes. Play to their strengths instead and figure out how to overcome the weaknesses of the most vital foods from a dietary perspective (in context of your own gut microbiome).
if you’re worried about pfas and all those pesticides meat is espcially a no go, those get stored in fat tissue and concentrate there and guess what meat is made out of
Carefully raised meat has none of those things. And meat is not made out of vegetables alone. Note I didn't say 'organically raised' because that could mean a few things, but where is the veg standard of clean food?
Just a heads up pesticides do wash (or soak) off with a solution of baking soda and water: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/2075-can-baking-soda-remove-pesticides-from-produce
Before I start reading this I'm going to predict it does what these things always do and omit the up front costs that Middle Class people never think about for poverty. Quick read and it seems to confirm my suspicions though also the link reads more like a sly ad for some book that I'm not gonna pay to read.
Every time I talk on Reddit to Middle Class people or read things written by Middle Class people they assume you're starting from a fully stocked kitchen; meaning you have a dozen herbs and seasoning jars along with tubs for storage of prepared meals and sometimes even a rice cooker or other niche device. Buying these things costs a full weeks food shop or more so you gotta magic up money or go without eating properly.
I've lived in poverty. I know where hidden costs catch you out. Starting at nothing is far harder than starting with something. Lacking the proper pots, pans and even plates at first fucking hurts.
I don't own a rice cooker, a lot of herbs, or any niche devices. Anyone can cook rice in a normal pot. You are fooling yourself if you think you need all that shit to do something as basic as cooking. Buy cast iron - it will be your last purchase of a few pots and pans (and check FB Market). Get some plates at a thrift store or rummage sale. Buy a cookbook at a yard sale or library sale. You don't have to imitate YouTubers who are monetizing their time and need something to set them apart (like a fucking rice cooker). That is not what cooking is about. Don't be taken in by them.
I still don't own a rice cooker, just know it is frequently recommended by out of touch people. The entire part where healthy cooking becomes cheaper is batch cooking which does require buying tubs to store it in. And while you say you don't need a lot of herbs, having more than salt and pepper still drains your limited pay. Every pound, every dollar, it adds up and can be the difference between extra bag of chicken nuggets or something shitty like that which is a tangible meal.
A few tubs for storing food in the freezer will pay for themselves immediately. No one does this stuff at a huge scale unless they are a prepper or live in a very rural area where they can't drive places in the winter or are Amish. Save old glass jars too.
If you are buying chicken nuggets, that's where you are going wrong. That kind of food is low in nutrition, high in salt, and full of preservatives I can't even pronounce. Buy some chicken on sale or at Costco or a discount grocery, and cook it. Per unit of nutrition chicken nuggets and other highly processef foods are very expensive. Highly processed foods come up more and more often as unhealthy in nutrition research.
Buy large containers of spices (not that overpriced mini-size in the grocery store). On Amazon you can buy 18 oz of paprika for $10.95 and it's SNAP EBT eligible. It will last forever. Buy one herb or spice every month and soon you'll have what you need. Figure out the flavors you like. I personally use paprika, chili powder, cumin, celery seed, oregano, poultry seasoning, and cinnamon. That vastly expands what I can do with food. If you have poor friends, do some trading - 18oz is a lot.
But they literally don't pay for themselves immediately and that's the problem. That's money you can't afford to spend. If you're looking at buying food or buying a tub then you are looking at needing to skip a day of food to hopefully eat better next pay day. This is what privileged people don't understand.
Again, $11 for JUST paprika could be food for two days but you're wasting it on something that can't be eaten alone so $11 needs you to spend it on top of other costs for a real meal. You listed 7 different flavour additions that make good food but if they're all similar price you're needing to find an entire extra week food shopping to pay for it. The entire problem with poverty is NOT having the money to spend on things like this which in the long run save money. It is a micro version of how you lose all your money on rent rather than paying a mortgage.
No one can think chicken nuggets are healthy but you can buy a bag of them for less than real chicken plus the stuff to give it flavour. Buying the bulk frozen chicken breasts makes the price more competitive but you're still needing things like herbs oil or anything to make it more than just a plain breast. The salts and injected junk is what makes the nuggets cheap and not taste like cardboard. You don't have to do anything but heat them up so it saves time and money in the short term. Poverty is perpetually living in the short term, you cannot afford to genuinely plan ahead beyond your own means without sacrificing.
I'm not saying it is impossible. You can absolutely find bargains to get items and slowly add seasonings to expand your kitchen potential. But you're starting at zero and these are expenses that you could have spent on things to actually eat. It is why Middle Class people suck at helping with these pompous cook books and condescending guides where they assume your cupboards are stocked. About 10 years ago or so one TV chef even assumed his "poor" audience would have Saffron to hand for his quick cheap meals.
Real cook books and guides by genuine Working Class people exist that are far better at understanding you don't have these things laying around. There are ways to improve the situation but when you're in poverty you're not playing with a lot of leg room to try these things and that's what privilege makes people miss when talking about it.
These guys don't understand buying groceries at all. They've either never been poor, or are disingenuous.
My 2 week grocery bill is probably more than most people make on average in a whole month, and they down voted me for saying this article is horse crap.
There's always someone like the person you are replying to that tries to pretend eating simple and healthy is some upper class thing, like the person you're relying to. I suspect it's usually because they spend all their money on uber eats and can't admit it's lazy and expensive.
FTA:
>‘When scientists like me advocate for healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, it’s often said we’re sitting in our ivory towers promoting something financially out of reach for most people. This study shows it’s quite the opposite. These diets could be better for your bank balance as well as for your health and...the planet.’
This is so true. Cooking requires good ingredients - and they don't have to be expensive -- and some time. That's it. There is no need for plates that can't be bought at a thrift store. Cast iron is cheap for pots and pans and will last literally one's lifetime if taken care of. I have been using the same knift since time immemorial.
even without all of that, you could just say buying a cheap thing of meat, spices, all of this is going to cost more than a pack of hot dogs&buns or corndogs. It's goofy.
They're out of their mind.
When you add all the other things, it's even more preposterous.
places i've gotten those things (and more): buynothing groups, thrift shops, people giving stuff away, yard sales, catholic charities, and just walking around with a backpack and finding stuff. i've lived well below the poverty line my entire adult life and had to set up from scratch multiple times, so gradually i came to know the various ways and means to get what's needed to eat well and eat cheap.
it's not fast but with time, what you need can be acquired. i especially love buynothing for its infinite variety, including foods, seeds, plants, spices, dishes, tools, cookbooks, gandgets, and so on. (some localities are more active than others). plus those groups are specifically 0gift economies" not charities, and you can ask for and offer gifts of time, talent, and knowledge as well as material goods.
As someone in middle class, I've tried to give away almost every single thing you just mentioned. Multiple times, people contacted me on FB marketplace or Kijiji, and then either didn't respond to messages, or never showed up to pick them up. Now, I just recycle or donate this stuff, because it's not worth putting any extra amount of effort into giving away something for free.
I get that living in poverty is hard, but there are people offering help, and a lot of that help is being actively rejected.
What i find is you give away stuff but it really goes to other thrifty middle class people who have the time and lack of stress to search for free cheap stuff and the idea
Its nice that you at least try. I know without donations and charities and food banks there has been times in my life I'd be far worse off than I was. It can be hard to swallow your pride and accept help sometimes.
I'm trying to understand your complaint. The problem you're describing sounds like it would be an issue for anyone who is not ordering takeout. Like, no rice cooker? Just use a pot. No pot. Then eat canned beans as your carb. No microwave? Well now, just how far are we going, because I think we're simply reaching a point that isn't a realistic issue for most people? Although, even then, I could say eat peanut butter sandwiches.
The point is that these people are creating "cheap" Healthy meals from an advantaged position. Even if they cap themselves to spend X per meal they're doing it without acquiring the needed equipment to realise the full potential.
When you lack herbs and tubs and other such items for bulk storage and better flavour foods it is extra spending to get these little bits. It is the same old story of lacking the upfront funds to invest into yourself to get the better results. Just like buying cheap shoes because you can't afford better means you replace them sooner.
Your idea of an advantaged position is kind of silly though, at least in the US. You don't need a rice cooker. You don't have to choose fresh herbs. You don't need storage tubs. You're acting like not having pots and plates is the norm and thus the article is silly, but that's just not the case.
Are some people lacking essentials? Yes. Is that an excuse most people can hide behind? No.
The rice cooker is just a random example of something I've seen mentioned multiple times when talking about healthy being cheaper when people ignorant of struggle talk down to those who live it. I personally think they're not a necessity for the kitchen at all but it is more the idea of them being a slight time saver which allows the healthy meals to be made with less prep so the labour costs of healthy eating are lower; which itself is a major part of the problem for Working Class people as there is not enough energy per day and hours per day to make a nice meal after a 12 hour shift.
I'm not even saying fresh for herbs. Just jars of seasonings is still an upfront cost you don't see if you're not poor. Just like how you don't see the hidden costs as a child when your parents buy everything, privilege hides the truth of poverty.
I've lived on £50 a week to cover everything after rent. That had to cover eating and bills. Buying clothes was always a nightmare and I mostly lived in secondhand stuff until it fell apart. Army surplus for trousers was great for price and practical, cheap shirts and vests would get ruined faster though. Some days I would have to skip eating. I was living in house run by a charity as a teenager, they had their own food bank I could occasionally use and my Support Worker one year managed to get a grant so I could buy some clothes for my birthday, I actually got to buy things brand new from a shop not a charity shop which was nice.
Unless you empty your cupboard before you set your budget, you're not truly proving what's more affordable when you buy things for these kinds of cooking. You might not be able to imagine living without your plates and pans already being there but I lost a friendship because someone stole my large saucepan. They didn't have one and I had already managed to get one as I mainly lived on pasta/rice with something thrown on it.
Indeed. The food bank near me specifically doesn't want foods like potatoes, various types of bean like kidney bean and soybean because cooking is necessary and the cooking costs are much higher than, say, steak.
If you think cooking some basic beans and rice is "labour intensive" you probably spend all your money on uber eats. Meal prep for the entire week can be like 2 hours of work, tops.
This is my issue. I'm not cool enough to do all of that with the current life I live; I work too much, my partner works too much. We cook a few healthy meals a week and that's about all we can manage. We've got a mortgage and bills to pay, y'know?
Final-Handle-7117 | a day ago
yep. learned this way back when i was a single mom who wanted to eat well and raise healthy kids. bonus: you can grow some of your food, even just herbs on a widowsill. you won't be raising livestock.
-Lige | 21 hours ago
Any recommendations for that? I started growing some green onions and they’ve been great.
Final-Handle-7117 | 21 hours ago
i grew random veggies i liked in my side yard in the suburbs back when i was raising kids. i dug, i spread chicken manure (smell was gone in a few days, thank heavens), i watered and voila! ate free veggies for months. the mixed squashes even grew into the winter. it was awesome and delicious and so plentiful we gave stuff away. i've never done the herb thing myself because loads of folks do around here and they share. some stuff (rosemary, for one) even just grows on its own around town. i'm pretty lucky.
so my advice is just this: grow what you like, if your windows and /or yard have the right light for it. google can quickly tell you what, where, and when. so can those online grow-zone maps.
green opinions are one of my faves! good for you.
just_peepin | a day ago
> When scientists like me advocate for healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, it’s often said we’re sitting in our ivory towers promoting something financially out of reach for most people. This study shows it’s quite the opposite. - Dr Marco Springmann
I understand that the average American (or westerner) doesn't want to change how they eat or what they buy. But I went veg and never looked back, and I can spend a lot or a little on food, it is not impossible and does not require fancy substitute foods.
SwordfishOk504 | 18 hours ago
Yup. Grains, legumes, and seasonal fruits and veggies are cheap af for people who know how to shop.
Where people go wrong is thinking you need to buy all the exotic stuff, processed fake meats, etc.
Also, based on reddit comments I've seen over the years, there are a lot of dumb people who don't understand that $100 on groceries will go much further than $100 worth of food from a restaurant. Dozens of meals compared to maybe 5-10.
towerhil | 22 hours ago
Marco Springmann is a vegan activist, even if he is a professor, and his talking points don't universally hold true. For instance, he gives global figures for agriculture's contribution to greenhouse gases of 25%, whereas here in the UK it's about 10% even given that 97% consume animal products.
With veg, I'm conflicted. Most of what everyone eats is vegetables and I grow my own, but as crops they fail easily and can't be grown everywhere. Modern farming also doesn't favour nutrient density but does love to use forever chemicals like PFAS to adhere pesticides to the crop, which don't wash off.
I do agree with not trying to make veg-based meat substitutes. Play to their strengths instead and figure out how to overcome the weaknesses of the most vital foods from a dietary perspective (in context of your own gut microbiome).
Glattsnacker | 20 hours ago
if you’re worried about pfas and all those pesticides meat is espcially a no go, those get stored in fat tissue and concentrate there and guess what meat is made out of
towerhil | 20 hours ago
Carefully raised meat has none of those things. And meat is not made out of vegetables alone. Note I didn't say 'organically raised' because that could mean a few things, but where is the veg standard of clean food?
Chekonjak | 5 hours ago
Just a heads up pesticides do wash (or soak) off with a solution of baking soda and water: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/2075-can-baking-soda-remove-pesticides-from-produce
4thphantom | 47 minutes ago
Yeah you understand wrong; no worries though.
VagueSomething | a day ago
Before I start reading this I'm going to predict it does what these things always do and omit the up front costs that Middle Class people never think about for poverty. Quick read and it seems to confirm my suspicions though also the link reads more like a sly ad for some book that I'm not gonna pay to read.
Every time I talk on Reddit to Middle Class people or read things written by Middle Class people they assume you're starting from a fully stocked kitchen; meaning you have a dozen herbs and seasoning jars along with tubs for storage of prepared meals and sometimes even a rice cooker or other niche device. Buying these things costs a full weeks food shop or more so you gotta magic up money or go without eating properly.
I've lived in poverty. I know where hidden costs catch you out. Starting at nothing is far harder than starting with something. Lacking the proper pots, pans and even plates at first fucking hurts.
PinkOxalis | 20 hours ago
I don't own a rice cooker, a lot of herbs, or any niche devices. Anyone can cook rice in a normal pot. You are fooling yourself if you think you need all that shit to do something as basic as cooking. Buy cast iron - it will be your last purchase of a few pots and pans (and check FB Market). Get some plates at a thrift store or rummage sale. Buy a cookbook at a yard sale or library sale. You don't have to imitate YouTubers who are monetizing their time and need something to set them apart (like a fucking rice cooker). That is not what cooking is about. Don't be taken in by them.
VagueSomething | 20 hours ago
I still don't own a rice cooker, just know it is frequently recommended by out of touch people. The entire part where healthy cooking becomes cheaper is batch cooking which does require buying tubs to store it in. And while you say you don't need a lot of herbs, having more than salt and pepper still drains your limited pay. Every pound, every dollar, it adds up and can be the difference between extra bag of chicken nuggets or something shitty like that which is a tangible meal.
PinkOxalis | 18 hours ago
A few tubs for storing food in the freezer will pay for themselves immediately. No one does this stuff at a huge scale unless they are a prepper or live in a very rural area where they can't drive places in the winter or are Amish. Save old glass jars too.
If you are buying chicken nuggets, that's where you are going wrong. That kind of food is low in nutrition, high in salt, and full of preservatives I can't even pronounce. Buy some chicken on sale or at Costco or a discount grocery, and cook it. Per unit of nutrition chicken nuggets and other highly processef foods are very expensive. Highly processed foods come up more and more often as unhealthy in nutrition research.
Buy large containers of spices (not that overpriced mini-size in the grocery store). On Amazon you can buy 18 oz of paprika for $10.95 and it's SNAP EBT eligible. It will last forever. Buy one herb or spice every month and soon you'll have what you need. Figure out the flavors you like. I personally use paprika, chili powder, cumin, celery seed, oregano, poultry seasoning, and cinnamon. That vastly expands what I can do with food. If you have poor friends, do some trading - 18oz is a lot.
VagueSomething | 15 hours ago
But they literally don't pay for themselves immediately and that's the problem. That's money you can't afford to spend. If you're looking at buying food or buying a tub then you are looking at needing to skip a day of food to hopefully eat better next pay day. This is what privileged people don't understand.
Again, $11 for JUST paprika could be food for two days but you're wasting it on something that can't be eaten alone so $11 needs you to spend it on top of other costs for a real meal. You listed 7 different flavour additions that make good food but if they're all similar price you're needing to find an entire extra week food shopping to pay for it. The entire problem with poverty is NOT having the money to spend on things like this which in the long run save money. It is a micro version of how you lose all your money on rent rather than paying a mortgage.
No one can think chicken nuggets are healthy but you can buy a bag of them for less than real chicken plus the stuff to give it flavour. Buying the bulk frozen chicken breasts makes the price more competitive but you're still needing things like herbs oil or anything to make it more than just a plain breast. The salts and injected junk is what makes the nuggets cheap and not taste like cardboard. You don't have to do anything but heat them up so it saves time and money in the short term. Poverty is perpetually living in the short term, you cannot afford to genuinely plan ahead beyond your own means without sacrificing.
I'm not saying it is impossible. You can absolutely find bargains to get items and slowly add seasonings to expand your kitchen potential. But you're starting at zero and these are expenses that you could have spent on things to actually eat. It is why Middle Class people suck at helping with these pompous cook books and condescending guides where they assume your cupboards are stocked. About 10 years ago or so one TV chef even assumed his "poor" audience would have Saffron to hand for his quick cheap meals.
Real cook books and guides by genuine Working Class people exist that are far better at understanding you don't have these things laying around. There are ways to improve the situation but when you're in poverty you're not playing with a lot of leg room to try these things and that's what privilege makes people miss when talking about it.
4thphantom | 45 minutes ago
These guys don't understand buying groceries at all. They've either never been poor, or are disingenuous.
My 2 week grocery bill is probably more than most people make on average in a whole month, and they down voted me for saying this article is horse crap.
AltruisticCoelacanth | 22 minutes ago
Your monthly grocery bill is more than double the monthly salary of most people?
SwordfishOk504 | 18 hours ago
There's always someone like the person you are replying to that tries to pretend eating simple and healthy is some upper class thing, like the person you're relying to. I suspect it's usually because they spend all their money on uber eats and can't admit it's lazy and expensive.
FTA:
>‘When scientists like me advocate for healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, it’s often said we’re sitting in our ivory towers promoting something financially out of reach for most people. This study shows it’s quite the opposite. These diets could be better for your bank balance as well as for your health and...the planet.’
Altostratus | 22 hours ago
All of those are optional gadgets. The majority of my plant-based cooking requires: knife, cutting board, baking sheet or frying pan, salt, oil.
PinkOxalis | 20 hours ago
This is so true. Cooking requires good ingredients - and they don't have to be expensive -- and some time. That's it. There is no need for plates that can't be bought at a thrift store. Cast iron is cheap for pots and pans and will last literally one's lifetime if taken care of. I have been using the same knift since time immemorial.
4thphantom | 44 minutes ago
even without all of that, you could just say buying a cheap thing of meat, spices, all of this is going to cost more than a pack of hot dogs&buns or corndogs. It's goofy.
They're out of their mind.
When you add all the other things, it's even more preposterous.
Final-Handle-7117 | 20 hours ago
places i've gotten those things (and more): buynothing groups, thrift shops, people giving stuff away, yard sales, catholic charities, and just walking around with a backpack and finding stuff. i've lived well below the poverty line my entire adult life and had to set up from scratch multiple times, so gradually i came to know the various ways and means to get what's needed to eat well and eat cheap.
it's not fast but with time, what you need can be acquired. i especially love buynothing for its infinite variety, including foods, seeds, plants, spices, dishes, tools, cookbooks, gandgets, and so on. (some localities are more active than others). plus those groups are specifically 0gift economies" not charities, and you can ask for and offer gifts of time, talent, and knowledge as well as material goods.
hhssspphhhrrriiivver | 23 hours ago
As someone in middle class, I've tried to give away almost every single thing you just mentioned. Multiple times, people contacted me on FB marketplace or Kijiji, and then either didn't respond to messages, or never showed up to pick them up. Now, I just recycle or donate this stuff, because it's not worth putting any extra amount of effort into giving away something for free.
I get that living in poverty is hard, but there are people offering help, and a lot of that help is being actively rejected.
dispose135 | 19 hours ago
What i find is you give away stuff but it really goes to other thrifty middle class people who have the time and lack of stress to search for free cheap stuff and the idea
Still
VagueSomething | 22 hours ago
Its nice that you at least try. I know without donations and charities and food banks there has been times in my life I'd be far worse off than I was. It can be hard to swallow your pride and accept help sometimes.
gymleader_michael | 20 hours ago
I'm trying to understand your complaint. The problem you're describing sounds like it would be an issue for anyone who is not ordering takeout. Like, no rice cooker? Just use a pot. No pot. Then eat canned beans as your carb. No microwave? Well now, just how far are we going, because I think we're simply reaching a point that isn't a realistic issue for most people? Although, even then, I could say eat peanut butter sandwiches.
VagueSomething | 15 hours ago
The point is that these people are creating "cheap" Healthy meals from an advantaged position. Even if they cap themselves to spend X per meal they're doing it without acquiring the needed equipment to realise the full potential.
When you lack herbs and tubs and other such items for bulk storage and better flavour foods it is extra spending to get these little bits. It is the same old story of lacking the upfront funds to invest into yourself to get the better results. Just like buying cheap shoes because you can't afford better means you replace them sooner.
gymleader_michael | 15 hours ago
Your idea of an advantaged position is kind of silly though, at least in the US. You don't need a rice cooker. You don't have to choose fresh herbs. You don't need storage tubs. You're acting like not having pots and plates is the norm and thus the article is silly, but that's just not the case.
Are some people lacking essentials? Yes. Is that an excuse most people can hide behind? No.
VagueSomething | 15 hours ago
The rice cooker is just a random example of something I've seen mentioned multiple times when talking about healthy being cheaper when people ignorant of struggle talk down to those who live it. I personally think they're not a necessity for the kitchen at all but it is more the idea of them being a slight time saver which allows the healthy meals to be made with less prep so the labour costs of healthy eating are lower; which itself is a major part of the problem for Working Class people as there is not enough energy per day and hours per day to make a nice meal after a 12 hour shift.
I'm not even saying fresh for herbs. Just jars of seasonings is still an upfront cost you don't see if you're not poor. Just like how you don't see the hidden costs as a child when your parents buy everything, privilege hides the truth of poverty.
I've lived on £50 a week to cover everything after rent. That had to cover eating and bills. Buying clothes was always a nightmare and I mostly lived in secondhand stuff until it fell apart. Army surplus for trousers was great for price and practical, cheap shirts and vests would get ruined faster though. Some days I would have to skip eating. I was living in house run by a charity as a teenager, they had their own food bank I could occasionally use and my Support Worker one year managed to get a grant so I could buy some clothes for my birthday, I actually got to buy things brand new from a shop not a charity shop which was nice.
Unless you empty your cupboard before you set your budget, you're not truly proving what's more affordable when you buy things for these kinds of cooking. You might not be able to imagine living without your plates and pans already being there but I lost a friendship because someone stole my large saucepan. They didn't have one and I had already managed to get one as I mainly lived on pasta/rice with something thrown on it.
gymleader_michael | 14 hours ago
>Are some people lacking essentials? Yes. Is that an excuse most people can hide behind? No.
VagueSomething | 14 hours ago
I hope you continue to never live in a time where what I'm saying resonates with you.
gymleader_michael | 14 hours ago
Wouldn't matter if it did. My point would still be the same. And honestly, I can get by pretty well on stuff that need minimal storage and cookware.
towerhil | 21 hours ago
Indeed. The food bank near me specifically doesn't want foods like potatoes, various types of bean like kidney bean and soybean because cooking is necessary and the cooking costs are much higher than, say, steak.
grapescherries | a day ago
This is only true if you’re willing to cook everything and do labor intensive detailed meal planning.
SwordfishOk504 | 18 hours ago
If you think cooking some basic beans and rice is "labour intensive" you probably spend all your money on uber eats. Meal prep for the entire week can be like 2 hours of work, tops.
Nurofae | 7 hours ago
Yeah but to do mealprep for a whole week you need a huge fridge, which also costs a shit ton of money
dispose135 | 19 hours ago
As long as you like stews it's not bad but yeah
SilverMedal4Life | 11 hours ago
This is my issue. I'm not cool enough to do all of that with the current life I live; I work too much, my partner works too much. We cook a few healthy meals a week and that's about all we can manage. We've got a mortgage and bills to pay, y'know?
CommunityWitch6806 | 23 hours ago
And much more time consuming
4thphantom | 20 hours ago
Lol these things are always so goofy. I have a huge family and I live in a very affordable place. Ultra processed food is cheaper than healthy food.
Saying anything otherwise is a fabrication not in reality and honesty seems like a cheap attempt to shame poor people.
By the way I buy the good food because I can.
I have multiple families not as fortunate in family who can't that we've tried to help.
Doesn't matter if it's Walmart Costco Sam's club Aldi's.. same problem