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[Neonivek]

Psst..........

FoodEverything IS freakin' expensive in the United States.

Actually, compared to the EU, food and most other domestic gods are far cheaper in the US - partly down to taxation, partly down to how much cheap shit is allowed to be/be in food.

Depends what food as well.

A LOT of brand foods you buy in stores can up the costs to obscene levels.

[smeeprocket]

If you can pick up just a few more fresh raw ingredients cheap it's really easy to turn ramen into a variety of much healthier, much tastier soups. Additionally if you are willing to buy raw ingredients there are tons out there that are actually cheaper by the pound then many types of ramen are, often including things like potatoes, oranges, cabbage, and so on. Course that is the national average price, so it might be different where you are, but often times you can find at least some raw food that is within about +10% of the cost of ramen that can be mixed into larger batches of ramen to make it overall more healthier and more tasty. Ideally this would also let you pick up some more potassium to help balance the enormous amounts of extra salt that living on ramen is going to be pumping into your body.

yea I have done that, and there are actually even ramen cookbooks that have recipe for that.

It works out pretty well. I can only eat one type of regular ramen (oriental) so it still gets repetitive but some green onions, corn, etc, works nice.

Alternately, if you are particularly poor, frozen vegetables are what you are going to get, because trips to the grocery store cost gas money, and food has to be bought in bulk and last the entire month.

[pisskop]

I think one of the politicians that did the foodstamp challenge, the only one that insisted is was doable, ate ramen the whole time. He should have had to do it longer like that so the scurvy could set in and he could insist is was fine through a mouth without teeth.

I'm not interested in arguing this here and now, but its less about it not being enough money (and for some, it isn't enough), its about there not being available places to purchause decent product and the general public's own problems with austerity and awareness.

  A lot of poorer neighborhoods completely lack decent food markets, and many without cars have to pay for a bus (and the 3 hour hassles that can be) or shop a corner stores designed that price like gas station do (and carry the same quality stuff as they do).  Some of these stores offer hot meals, which is great, except people buy these more expensive meals instead of purchasing sustainable products and rationing out the food.  It gets harder the bigger a family is.

So yes, those who would have people provide for themselves are under the exaggerated idea that food stamps are
  -given to those who are fraudulently 'cheating' the system somehow (either by lying about income or by routinely using the  federal money in lieu of 'getting a job')
  -enabling the lower class to use a crutch and stay oppressed.
  -Not the purpose of the government (or not 'constitutional, w.e.)
  -Welfare state is unsustainable
  -etc

But the problem lies with the recipients and public as well.
  -product isn't reasonably available or what is is practically before it gets on the shelf.
  -Dietary awareness in America still sucks rocks.
  -The public is a self-indulgent and 'entitled'



- - -

  On that note I found that the Dollar Store carries 2$ v8, Monster, and almost-stale, and pop-tarts.  <3  I'm actually very impressed with that.

[smeeprocket]

I think one of the politicians that did the foodstamp challenge, the only one that insisted is was doable, ate ramen the whole time. He should have had to do it longer like that so the scurvy could set in and he could insist is was fine through a mouth without teeth.

I'm not interested in arguing this here and now, but its less about it not being enough money (and for some, it isn't enough), its about there not being available places to purchause decent product and the general public's own problems with austerity and awareness.

  A lot of poorer neighborhoods completely lack decent food markets, and many without cars have to pay for a bus (and the 3 hour hassles that can be) or shop a corner stores designed that price ike gas station do (and carry the same quality stuff as they do).  Some of these stores offer hot meals, which is great, except people buy these more expensive meals instead of purchasing sustainable products and rationing out the food.  It gets harder the bigger a family is.

So yes, those who would have people provide for themselves are under the exaggerated idea that food stamps are
  -given to those who are fraudulently 'cheating' the system somehow (either by lying about income or by routinely using the  federal money in lieu of 'getting a job')
  -enabling the lower class to use a crutch and stay oppressed.
  -Not the purpose of the government (or not 'constitutional, w.e.)
  -Welfare state is unsustainable
  -etc

But the problem lies with the recipients and public as well.
  -product isn't reasonably available or what is is practically before it gets on the shelf.
  -Dietary awareness in America still sucks rocks.
  -The public is a self-indulgent and 'entitled'



- - -

  On that note I found that the Dollar Store carries v8, Monster, and almost-stale, cheap pop-tarts.  <3

I don't think it's really the recipients that are the cause, though surely, yes the public.

If you've got a family of four on foodstamps, you either are going to buy a lot of frozen stuff to last long and minimize trips, and if you do buy prepared meals (which are honestly not particularly easy to afford and 1 shopping trip a month makes it hard to do that) it's going to be because you work 3 jobs and literally have no time to cook.

That was one of the problems politicians had with the foodstamp challenge as well. They couldn't squeeze in cooking breakfast and such.

[Yoink]

My real question is that, creepy fetish or no, who the hell would eat a bathtub full of ramen?

Ramen reheats fine via microwave for... a while. Several days, at minimum. Especially if you drain it, first. They'd probably eat it bit by bit over a week or so.

That's sorta what I meant. Because I've done the Week of Ramen thing before. Once. It is not in any way, shape, or form good, even with a jar of vitamin supplements.

Hey, I'm still alive. Not sure how long it's been now... weeks and months just seem to blur together these days.

[Mr. Strange]

This one belongs here.


All this ramen discussion makes me glad I know how to cook.

[Baffler]

I normally limit my dietary sodium intake, and take ACE inhibitors, so a week of eating nothing but Ramen would probably put me in pretty bad shape indeed. A good alternative is cereal grains, which can be bought in enormous bulk for very little (a touch over a dollar per pound) and made into porridge with cinammon or diced fruits or whatever for flavor for a quick and filling breakfast. Potatoes are even cheaper and more versatile in cooking, and dried beans and rice can also be had for about a dollar a pound. It might be a trick to find these so cheaply (except perhaps the potatoes and rice) if there's no Costco around, but for those who can get them stuff like this is a good option.

[Kadzar]

I got an automated call that was like, "Hey, don't automated calls suck? Also, you can totally make money off of automated calls!"

What kind of sociopath would you have to be to actually go for something like that?

[pisskop]

I got an automated call that was like, "Hey, don't automated calls suck? Also, you can totally make money off of automated calls!"

What kind of sociopath would you have to be to actually go for something like that?

The '!!Work-From-Home!!  !!Get-Rich-Watching-TV!! kind

[Flying Dice]

Reading some stuff about the food-stamp challenge terrifies me for two reasons.

1. The obvious: that's not much money.
2. The less obvious, but more worrying to me: assuming those politicians/religios leaders aen't just incompetent shoppers, food is freking expensive in the US.

$2.39 for two apples? I can buy two kilograms of apples for that much money.

The U.S. is the reverse of what I've seen while abroad in Europe and Oz. Fresh food is extremely expensive, but junk and fast food is equally cheap. As was mentioned above, a lot of this is down to availability and a self-perpetuating cycle; poor people generally don't live near places which stock healthful food (and healthful food is predominantly catered to the middle and upper classes), large chains tend to push out Mom'n'Pop corner stores which used to cover a lot of those areas, and the low prices of the crappy food they peddle means that it's both easier and more convenient for the poor than healthful food. The sugar with which that sort of food is loaded is at least marginally addictive, which makes it even easier for people to keep relying on objectively bad food to feed themselves, which increases profits (and thus motivation) for the fast food &c. corporations to continue peddling it. The decreased demand for healthful food means that fewer places can afford to carry it, raising prices further. There's no real solid body of legislation protecting people from the practices which cause this issue, so it'll continue into the foreseeable future.

Or put another way: I found fresh fruit and vegetables in greater quantities and for better prices in Scotland than I can in my home city.

[Aseaheru]

Also, foodstamps (Atleast in NY state) have some just plain retarded restrictions on what you can get.

Also, the form to get them is larger than what you need to fill out to get a loan.

[smeeprocket]

Also, foodstamps (Atleast in NY state) have some just plain retarded restrictions on what you can get.

Also, the form to get them is larger than what you need to fill out to get a loan.

are you sure you are not thinking of wic checks? Foodstamps (I'm referring to SNAP) are a federal program afaik and I can get anything that is a food in any way. No booze, no restaurant stuff, but just about anything else.

And yes, I have used them to buy energy drinks. Because life sucks and sometimes you need to come up short a bit at the end of the month to be happy for a day.

[Lord Shonus]

Yeah, that sounds more like the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program rather than food stamps. The only restrictions on food stamps are that what you buy must be food, must not be alcohol, and cannot be prepared and served to you in an edible state (no restaurant food, in other words),

[Aseaheru]

Yah, Im talking about SNAP.

[Lord Shonus]

SNAP is just the new name for the food stamp program, and any restrictions beyond what I just mentioned are a violation of Federal law. The states have no authority over the program at all.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items