Feeding a Family E4H On a Budget

[KellyT]

I need advice for what may be an extreme situation... Any takers?? My oldest sister has six children... all boys in middle school and high school!!

A book I like is

"How to Feed a Teenage Boy: Recipes and Strategies" by Georgia Orcutt (2007)

[JasmineS]

This is the best thread! I moved out of my parents' house in January to move to Berkeley and go to Bauman College. Budgeting and buying groceries has proven to be a huge challenge! I love to cook and I often buy more at the Farmers Market and grocery store than what i really need. I probably spend what a family of 4 would be spending, but i'm only feeding myself and one little kitty!   I've never actually taken the time to sit down and add up all of my food costs, and I think I am going to start. Maybe this can help me to save a little money and plan my meals better. Thank you so much for making me think about this before I end up broke!

[MinoriaF]

"Ditto" to the other comments thanking you for the timeliness of this post, and it's relevance to our economic times.  In follow up to KathrynW's repost of CathyC's intention to reach out to low income communities with this information... has anyone heard of any more movement to get Farmer's Market vendors part of the WIC Foodstamp program?

My cooking group Feast or Famine: Food for Thought regularly meets and provides meals for a community of people, where the participants contribute the ingredients of the meal, and we prepare it for them. 

It would be fantastic to expand the scope of this program to include people who cannot currently participate because of their income level. There are many people on foodstamps who'd like to (and need to) eat more healthfully.

I had recently heard that some of the vendors participating in the SF Ferry Building Farmer's Market were onboard to accept foodstamps.  But that may have been a rumor...

Many thanks and yours in health,
~ minoria

[AmyS]

What a fascinating discussion.  Joining a CSA has helped me quite a bit.  However, I would love to learn how to prioritize what choices to make, both both the environment and for my family's health, in order to stick within my budget. 

Thanks for addressing the subject of local, organic food on a budget.


 

[ChristineBr]

Amanda, I am so impressed by your monthly food budget.  We are a family of 5 and I also shop at T. J.'s (no whole foods near us).  I try to keep it to 120.00 a week but our problem is we go out too much.  That's my hubby's main vice.  I will definitely look at your blog but if ever you do workshops on budgeting and meal planning, I would love to attend.  I live in Folsom so not too far from you.  Thanks for all the great info.

Christine

[AmandaL]

Hi Christine, yes I teach several classes around town.  check out my website for local classes www.eatyourroots.org. 

Its not on there yet, but I will also be teaching a 5 week class here in Gold River in September.

[KathrynW]

Hello Amanda!

I have been following this thread since beginning the Spring NE course here in Boulder, having stumbled upon it as I explored the forum and searched for Baumanites who might be involved in educating underprivileged populations.   

Budgeting and economics are key components in this arena and you seem to do a nice job of making Eating for Health a viable option for those who might have limited resources.   The NE program focuses on using local and organic ingredients whenever possible (a rule I live by, from both health and environmental perspectives) and I notice that you don’t necessarily emphasize the use of organics on your website.   Thank you for providing the link in your Daily Diner blog to www.localforage.com  which focuses on “Beyond Organic”.  Brilliant!  The July 10, 2008 posting discussed Organic vs. Sustainable which served to remind me that we don’t need to be married to organics in order to educate people about nourishment and nutrition.   

Re:  Organic vs. non-organic, in teaching your classes and working with individual clients, how do you approach the subject? 

Thanks!
Kathryn

[AmandaL]

Hi there, I define sustainable (or as I like to call it traditional methods of farming).  Then I explain that some organic is sustainable and some is not.  Some farmers practice sustainable methods and for a variety of reasons (costs, taxes, principle) don't get certified organic.   It's important to get to know the people who are growing/raising your food.  One of my most popular classes is a "tour" of the local farmers market where I teach people how to open a dialogue with the local farmers. 

[JessicaBa]

Wow. All of this is truly great.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm the new Community Outreach Admin here at Bauman College. Completely in this vein, we've actually been developing our own E4H-based program for low-income residents called Transitional Nutrition. Currently we're focusing on those ex-homeless residents in transitional housing who are getting ready to reemerge into society. Our main tenet is building oh-so-important budgeting, portioning, shopping and cooking skills to enable them to practice a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Talk about budget: some of them get by on $100/month for food. Try eating organic with that.

We're gearing to roll out the official program over all the BC locations sometime in the next year. For those interested in working with such a disadvantaged population, I encourage all of you to stay on the lookout for that: We're definitely going to need some strong and passionate people. The program itself is a thank you from Bauman College to the community, and (with the new Dept) a whole new direction for Bauman College. As the Community Outreach Department grows, we hope to develop more Nutrition Intervention programs like this for those that need it the most while providing funded opportunities for our students and grads that might not otherwise be available. It's still being developed, and we're mostly in the volunteer stage. But, if you want to get involved, or if you just have some great ideas, don't hesitate to email me: Jessica.Bauman@baumancollege.org. We can always use more good people.

[KathrynW]

Thank you, Amanda, for sharing this.   I so appreciate your perspective and approach.

And Jessica, I am thrilled to learn about the Community Outreach piece that Bauman is now introducing.  With such need, I am sure the program will be embraced.  I, for one, will look forward to hearing more and will be among those contacting you.

Best to you both,

Kathryn

[AnnettaD]

  I read many of the interesting posts in this thread and would like to add some of my own suggestions.  I live outside of Los Angeles and there is a group of healthy eaters in our neighborhood that started a weekly club. There is a monthly contribution and once a week an early morning run is made down to an organic farmers market in L.A.. The fresh harvest is then split into baskets for each members family to enjoy at a fraction of the price of individual shopping.
  I go to our weekly Redlands, CA farmers market with a friend so we can buy the larger quantities that are cheaper and both of us then have enough produce to share.  Not only is it cheaper but the excess does not spoil as it did when I shopped alone.

[LaurieN]

How do you do it?  I look for bargins however I spend an easily $50 by myself during one week and that is not getting everything.  Being a student it's more important than ever.  Any tips?

[AmandaL]

Hi LaurieN, start reading this thread from the beginning...there are a lot of tips!  Let me know if you have any questions. I spent 140 this week on our groceries and have more than enough.

[Lee]

This discussion has been most enjoyable to peruse!  Thanks to Amanda for the tip (introduced earlier in the thread) to plan meals AFTER shopping sales- great idea!  I also love the concept of cleaning out the cupboards by the end of the shopping week (with the exception of my 25 lb. quinoa and millet bags). 

[DebraV]

I frequently talk to members of my Girl Scout troop ages 12-18, who are convinced that eating healthy is too expensive.  Thank you for the great info and shaing blogs and etc that I can guide them to to help them see that this is not true.   One of the big expenses I have found is all of the eating outside of the home.   People need to take a few minutes to carry fresh items with them.   I understand that soda may be cheaper than bottled water but a refillable water bottle is cheaper still.   So we all need to just look an see where we want to spend our dollars and our time.   I have always cooked meals at home and find the time spent is very enjoyable and the little bit of tv I am missing is not an issue.  I will follow along on the posting to see what other great ideas you all present.