Info provided by USDA about the costs of feeding a family

[Kaleva]

Provides info on various food budget plans: thrifty, low cost, moderate and liberal.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2012/CostofFoodApr2012.pdf

[cbayer]

1. Good stuff.

Really makes you wonder how people who only get social security or disability survive.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I can tell you how it ends up being done.

You either starve, or you eat all the wrong things---and end up getting fatter and fatter. (Don't ask how fat or I'll knock you on the head). Cheap and filling foods---pasta, rice, breads. Few fresh fruits and veggies except when they are in season and on sale. I can give you all kinds of meals that are cheap and horrible for us. I have a friend who eats a lot of ketchup sandwiches---just ketchup on bread because lunch meats are even too expensive. It is hard to eat cheap and well at the same time.

[cbayer]

3. I believe you. My mother also lives on Social Security, and I honestly

don't know how she does it at times. My expenses are very, very low, but I have no medical copays, deductibles or medicines. She does.

I think she tends to make relatively big meals (a pot roast or roast chicken, say) and then uses it to make many meals. Also, she doesn't drink at all, so that helps.

She always has nuts, though. While a big initial expense, they are filling, good for you and she loves them.

And she is fortunate to live in an area with lots of fresh produce in the summer at relatively good prices.

Still, I don't know how she does it.

[Flaxbee]

4. The first time I saw a ketchup sandwich was in Moscow

A good friend of ours loves them, with, of course, a nice glass or two or three of vodka

But - his reason was taste, not affordability.

I remember my assistant one day telling me how hard it was to lose weight and feed her kids well - she pointed out that a single apple could cost $.79, whereas she could often buy mac-n-cheese for the same amount - a meal, or an apple. So she'd go for processed crap foods because they're cheaper.

Don't forget, the heavier you are because of those cheap and filling foods, the more health problems you'll have, which is a boon to the health care system! Hooray! A perfect circle. That is, of course, if you can afford health care in this free and just land of ours.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. It is true that cheap food and obesity go hand in hand.

And it is true that obesity will cause more health problems....in the future. Sadly, people have to worry about filling their stomach today, and the health issues may or may not come. It is really difficult to eat the right foods, especially with a family. I can see the point the assistant made...you have to keep your children from going hungry.

Give me $5 and I could eat for a week, but it will not be a varied diet and it will not be healthy. A couple of pounds of macaroni and a couple of cans of tomatoes will do it.

[TheCruces]

6. I have to disagree on that

I don't spend much on food and I eat pretty healthy. Quesadillas are a staple, but that's just because I like quesadillas. Tonight for dinner, I made garlic lemon angel hair pasta with wilted greens and lemon garlic swai...that's a pretty well-balanced meal and I have leftovers.

Although, I am lucky enough to live in an area of the country that has cheap produce, even though I'm in one of the most poverty-stricken counties in the country.

[Kaleva]

7. Most of my meals recently include dried beans and long grain brown rice.

Cabbage is cheap and I buy 10 lb. bags of potatoes when they go on sale.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. You are lucky if produce is consistently cheap there.

Right now, it is cheap here and plentiful. But that isn't the case here in the north. I guess I look at things through what I see here. If people have the time and ability, canning at this time is great. But many people don't have the time or energy for that.

But you are right, it is possible to find inexpensive foods that are also healthy. I don't disagree there. It just isn't as easy.

[TheCruces]

9. I'm originally from NJ, so I know how produce prices jump.

But yeah, I even get avocados like 4/$1.