Food banks

[Arch]

What is missing in this thread is the ability of the posters to put themselves into the shoes of the folk who don't have the wherewithal to identify the range of ingredients, create an interesting and appealing menu and go ahead and cook it. It's all very well for seasoned, educated practitioners of frugality to condemn the apparent lack of effort of others to make ends meet and/or shop and cook wisely but honestly, who would inflict their own monotonous diet on others and claim that it is the solution to the food bank alternative?

There's a whole range of issues involved for families who have to resort to using food banks. There's no silver bullet solution and to suggest otherwise is an act of folly.

Oi. I think you'll find I've mentioned the lack of knowledge, and questioned why it's happened! I've never said there is one solution - I pointed out the case of the lad left with no wage and no benefits for a fortnight.

As for monotonous, how is me using more or less the same ingredients to make 3 or 4 different meals different to a diet of breaded things with chips?

The fact remains that some people have been left, for whatever reason, without the ability to cook on a budget, an ability that could save them money for ever, no matter what their circumstances.

And that the food bank I saw on telly reckoned that a bag of sugar was an essential item. I suppose they have to give out what is donated, though.

 

[vernon]

You're a bit touchy Arch.

Have a hug.

 

[mcshroom]

For the OP - around here at least, before you are given food by the bank you are referred there by social services. It isn't just an excuse for people to get free stuff.

 

[Arch]

[QUOTE 1827970, member: 45"]So we've had one example of cheap sandwiches that aren't just cheddar on white. Any more ideas?[/quote]

We have a Mr £wich shop here in York, any flavour for a quid, with a huge choice!

More seriously, just making sandwiches at home instead of buying ready made is probably the hugest economy. Lots of fillings can add up to pence, as opposed to pounds. Also, a whole tin of corned beef is cheaper than a few ready cut slices, etc. (and thick home cut slices are much more satisfying anyway!) Buy a whole lettuce, not a bag of ready washed.

Also, buy cooked meat like ham or chicken when it's reduced, and freeze in smaller portions, so that each one portion can be got through before it goes off.

Stuff like this needs to be taught in school!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Don't know anything about food banks, but I know about cooking A LOT , me being of the foreign kinda person that emigrated to add some flavor to the UK cuisine . Arch is right, feeding yourself on a budget is a know how lost to many, imo. Shame, because the home cooked alternative to the ready meal is always more tasty and nutritious.
Arch, if you buy bread flour, dried yeast, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some garlic, seasoning probably already in your kitchen, topping to your taste, you can make pizza much cheaper than the supermarket's. Home made bread also does not take much effort to make, tastes great, is more filling than a bought loaf
Accountant Pete: you must be very skinny!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

My daughter tried freeganism when she was a teenager. She and her then boyfriend found unopened boxes of chocolate in the skip round the back of a Waitrose store in Suffolk. Before they had gone 100 yards up the road with their booty a police car pulled up and she was arrested on suspician of theft. End result, no choccys and a police caution.

Sudbury or Bury?

The little Waitrose in Ipswich sells off baked good very cheap at the end of the day, I got a giant doughnut for 4p!

 

[MisterStan]

I'm sorry, but you can't turn the telly on nowadays without Jamie, Hugh or Gordon demonstrating the most simple and often frugal recipes from start to finish. There's no excuse for not being able to cook. I started off with scrambled eggs on toast years ago and am now a competent chef who can cook a full Sunday roast including homemade yorkies from scratch. Cooking in bulk is great as using the microwave to reheat means a night off from cooking or if you don't want the same food two or three nights on the trot then freeze a few portions. SWMBO uses veg peelings and chicken carcasses to make stock or the base for soup, we even get free bones from the butcher to do this. Practice makes perfect.

 

[MisterStan]

I've been trying to get my packed lunches under a quid but still want something that feels luxurious, is low calorie and high fibre. I currently take six ryveta crispbreads, an entire ball of value range mozzarella and a sliced tomato. I put it together at lunchtime and sprinkle it with the pepper grinder. It's lovely and easily costs well under a quid per meal.

You could try roasting a chicken at the weekend and using the leftovers to make a nice Caesar salad (go easy on the dressing if you're watching the calories) you could also put this in a wrap. Home made pesto (which is really simple to make) with pasta and some peppers is another easy one.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Sudbury or Bury?

The little Waitrose in Ipswich sells off baked good very cheap at the end of the day, I got a giant doughnut for 4p!

Are you supposed to eat doughnuts?

 

[accountantpete]

Accountant Pete: you must be very skinny!

14 stone skinny

 

[Pat "5mph"]

You could try roasting a chicken at the weekend and using the leftovers to make a nice Caesar salad (go easy on the dressing if you're watching the calories) you could also put this in a wrap. Home made pesto (which is really simple to make) with pasta and some peppers is another easy one.

Yes, you could try a lot of things, shame that many won't eat vegetables at all.

 

[compo]

The food banks are not meant to keep people in food for very long. Most food packs are for 3 days to give people in dire need time to try and sort things out. I don't care how many of you awfully clever people who sneer at those less fortunate can cook for a family of four on half a crown a fortnight, but if you haven't any money at all then you can't get any cheap food. I can think of a number of reasons why people should be totally without money. Quite a common one is when a partner walks out of a relationship without making any provision for his deserted family. If he is the breadwinner many wives will be destitute. It takes a couple of weeks to even get an appointment with our wonderful Social Security, then at minimum two weeks to get any money, probably quite longer. In the meatime bills have to be paid, rent or mortgage, council tax, and when you are at rock bottom you suddenly find out just how unsympathetic these bodies are. Following marital breakdown a few years ago I spent time living on the streets, firstly in London then in Ipswich. When I moved to Ipswich and had to change benefit offices my benefits stopped, and I was left without a penny for 6 weeks. I was living at the Salvation Army hostel and they evicted me because I couldn't pay my rent contribution. As a point of interested I was evicted on Christmans Eve with nowhere to go and no money. I didn't eat from Christmas Eve until the day after Boxing Day when the soup kitchen resumed operations. I slept rough for a while until my benefits were sorted, and I lived on a few sandwiches and tea each evening given out by these good people. I eventually got a place in a decent hostel, found work and began to rebuild my life. I only relate this to explain that I do know about poverty, and I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of destitution. This is why I prefer not to get on a pedestal and stand in judgement on people. You don't have to be an addict or mentally ill or idle to fall on bad times.

 

[Arch]

Blimey, use some line breaks!

No one is sneering, we're just saying that an art, an everyday skill, has been lost. Yes, there will always be acute cases.

But knowing how to make the best of what you've got has to be a good life skill!

Pat "5mph": yes, I could make pizza, I know. But I tend to have pizza as a lazy cop-out option, and a bit of a treat!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

A couple of replies to make here, so...

Nope, I don't tend to eat donoughts but I was playing and had ten minutes between get-in and Soundcheck to find food once I had discovered the rider contained only beer

I love using leftovers for lunches, in fact they steer evening meals quite often. Yum.

 

[lukesdad]

Most cuisine is based on frugalism ( is that a real word ? ).