I completely agree. As a single mom of 4 I have to budget very carefully. The cost of living in Denver is definitely not cheap.
The biggest thing I do though is cruise the sale ads of the grocery stores within a 5 mile radius and see what their sales are. Making a list can be time consuming but I literally save hundreds of dollars every month. They insist on loading my mailbox up with their crap every week .. well I damn well use it.

Not all cheap food is high in carbs:
Tuna
Eggs (can get for $.99 sometimes for 18)
Cucumbers
Head of lettuce
Frozen bags of veggies
Cheese sticks (sometimes 5 for $1)
Water is free !

I also look for the deli items that are due to expire that have been marked down and freeze what I don't need. This goes for any meat being marked down in the market.
Ever been to a farmers market ? Wow the deals you can find at those for fresh veggies and fruits.

We don't have much but I always make sure the kids are fed properly. You can make a good chili in the crock pot for less than $5 or chicken legs and thighs for cheap on sale and cook up some veggies (sometimes canned are 2/$1) and add in a single startch like rice or potatoes (which btw are extremely cheap ! $4 for a 10 pound bag).
Kids still need some carbs in their diet even when we don't. I could go on and on with foods you can buy for very dirt cheap prices but that's for another time and place.

I just can't accept that societies poor can't be more selective in their choices of food all the time. Food stamps will buy every single thing I listed above.

When I was young, I took a third job at a local 7-11. My buddy Bob (a former psychologist) had bought it as an investment, and one day talking about how my job was so unchallenging I'd gotten a second one and still, seldom was around others and was really bored. He convinced me that I should work one weekend day or night a week for him and I'd be around people.

I sure was. I checked people out over the body of the guy trying to strangle my coworker one night, while on the phone with 911; I threw pumpkins at the boneheads walking out with whole cases of beer; and I got to know the welfare neighborhood that frequented the store.

It was more education than I needed frankly. Bob once told me that when I began I was a bleeding heart social liberal and by the time I left I was more like a retired Army General LOL!

I seriously believe that malnutrition is at crisis level in inner city communities. People have whole childhoods based on nachos and cheap hot dogs and chips and cokes, and at home, top ramen and mac and cheese. I can't believe the diabetes percentage isn't twice its ratio. You can hardly expect anybody raised on this crap to have a mind/body with power. Suddenly the school issues and others become more clear.

The nearest grocery store (only one) was about a 20 minute walk. Forget cars, the few people with cars in this neighborhood were considered rich. Forget the bus, most of these people can't afford bus fare. And after living on nothing but that kind of food and bad TV for the majority of the time, they are hardly inspired to want to go exercise by walking 20 minutes each way and carrying groceries from the store.

If they'd been raised to appreciate good food and related issues they might. But most of them were raised the same way. I got very close to a young girl as a sort of ad-hoc big sister, and her family by extension, and it was frustrating for me.

I came from a miserable childhood where I strove to accomplish everything of interest 'despite' my environment, to make the best of myself, to learn everything. But in her world, education is BS, and not being able to even read decently or do math (how do people get to 5th grade with this skill, let alone 10th like her sister, I wondered??) is almost expected, like some kind of rebellion against "the man" that "makes" them go to school. (Rather like the poles who made sucking at Russian, which they were forced to learn in school, an actual art form LOL.)

I could not understand why their mother and others hanging around did not find things like decent reading and basic math important. I once asked how anybody could hold down a good job and teach themselves things you need to, if they didn't have good skills in reading at least. (And just as big an issue, their self esteem was in the toilet because they kinda felt stupid and incompetent, a side effect of that.)

The reality was that none of them expected a good job anyway. You lived on welfare like everybody you know does, you have a baby, maybe someone works at fast food or does hair. There was no expectation of better so nobody bothered planning for it.

All and all it was kinda depressing. But the thing that really stuck with me was the whole food issue. It would have been cheaper at the grocery and vastly healthier (maybe) but the grocery wasn't close enough for people who had to walk.

Besides whether or not it is a cheaper way of eating there is also the convenience factor. How hard is it to boli up Ramen noodles and add a seasoning packet? Or boil up macaroni and add a cheese packet?

It's education. You were smart enoght to question the food pyramid and the media propaganda around carbohydrates. The poor generally come from areas with crappy schools and ancient text books. My best friend was a teacher in rural Alabama, and many of the health and biology text books were decades old. So if you think everyone is starting out with the same academic advantages, think again. You know why states like Connecticut and Massachusetts have low rates of obesity, even among the poor? Education and access to fresh food. My local convenience store carries fresh fruit and vegetables. Granted some of them are a little past their prime, but they're an option.

Many people are too busy working two and three jobs just to make ends meet and worrying about how they're going to pay for their kids' clothes and pay rent. Most of the poor work, either on the books or under the table. A good book that addresses this is 'Nickel and Dimed' by Barbara Ehrenreich. She went undercover as an unskilled, low-wage worker and found she could barely survive, and the food she could afford offered less than optimal nutrition.

i can give ya'll a total bottom line on some of the thought process going on for cheap food, and that was a big involved argument in another forum on how healthy spaghettios and boxed macoroni and cheese are because you can get them with wic? food stamps? it was one of those. two of the folks that were buying this stuff for their kids were arguing strenuously on these products being a health food because it is an approved food of whatever kind of goverment aid it is they are getting for their children and everyone knows those programs only allow healthy foods.

hello sublime

i have been to both ramona and julian. i love julian. it is a sad old thing to be stuck up here in northern california. i regret never having actually gone apple picking as i always wanted to. one of our favorite drives was to go down the highway to ocotillo, and then the back way up to julian, have a stop off for coffee in julian and a sweet at dudley's, then home again to where ever we were at the time. the last place we lived was the dehesa valley, before that alpine, el cajon, and firstly, lakeside. spent my whole life there up until six years ago, my husband too. we both miss it dreadfully. we moved for a good paying job though, which helped to establish our family and to buy our home. we'd love to go back, but there is just no good way to do it. i think eventually we will move out of state to get ahead. gotta find a job first though. we get so homesick too, i feel for ya. so, what is north carolina like? how did you end up there?

Supermomm, you're as good as your name! Feeding a family good food on a budget IS possible--but it takes planning, resourcefulness, educated choices--and something else many poor parents don't have a lot of: Time. You've listed some good ideas.

My husband and I aren't on a tight budget, but he clips coupons while he's watching football, and we save big bucks every trip to the store for groceries, cleaning products, and cosmetics.

It's hard to get food from the food bank or from donations that isn't high carb. Not because there aren't any low-carb non-perishables (canned meat and veg) but because people generally tend to donate stuff like cereals, pasta, canned ravioli etc. They go further.

I remember Xmas 1989 getting a food donation from my high school. It was pretty much all Cornflakes and Kraft Dinner. We also had a constant donation of bread and buns, which we froze. I lived on Chef Boyardee, and whatever food I ate at whatever restaurant job I had at the time (pizza slices and pop, for example). Dinners were stuff that stretched - lots of spaghetti, with meat sauce at least, and beef stew with lots of potatoes. Frozen convenience foods as well, family-sized (lasagnes, etc)

Please...donate tuna, salmon and veggies to your local food bank! Some families use them a lot.

*Go Supermomm!

Thanks for pointing that out Waywardsis. I always donate stuff that does not get eaten in my pantry which tends to be macaroni,rice etc. I feel guilty for that and it is wrong that a low carber pawns this off to greatful people who don't know any better. However, during the Toys For Tots season donation, I buy new toys. I have a budget and buy the toys out of that budget. I should do the same for Food Pantries. Next time I am going to purchase canned chicken, tuna and salmon and some canned low carb vegetables rather if the poor like it or not.

OHHHHHHH Dudleys, did you have to mention that place At least 2X a month, usually more, we would drive up to Julian and stop there for bread. Then we went to Mom's Apple Pie Shop for coffee and pie. I've stayed at the Old Julian Hotel a few times, and I miss walking around to the different antique shops there. Have you ever camped at Green Valley Falls? I used to every year as a child. I'm guessing you've been to Santee Lakes? I think I spent half my childhood there. That was the spot for Easter morning unless it was raining. We used to go to that big lake in LakeSide also, I just can't remember the name of it. How I got out here, hmm, good question . My now ex-husband and I decided we needed to move because cost of living was sooo high and we were barely making it. He knew some people in North Carolina, so away we went. We ended up divorced but decided to stay out here. Cost of living is so much cheaper, and it is a pretty nice place to raise kids. I used to fly home at least 2 or 3 times a year before my Dad died, and it was like the best of both worlds. If I had the money I would LOVE to move back, but my husband is from here and he would never move there. He flew back there with me 1 time, and although he had fun, he was just lost. Anyway, I'm rambling, forgive me. I do miss it terribly though.

i can so agree, mac and cheese is like 3 for a dollar, vermicelli is like 25 cents a box, spagetti is like 1.50, but avocados are like a dollar each, meat is about 9 bucks for my family size. so so true

I'm so glad you wrote this! I am so upset about this -that among so much else, the gap between rich and poor even affects the quality of foods we eat. I teach in a very poor area and as we've done some nutrition intitiatives/education there I've realized fully what the problem is to prevent families from eating the same fresh fruits and veggies I feed my family -expensive prices! For example if suggesting strawberries, I've come to realize they are like 4.00 for a medium sized container. These families I teach often have six kids and an adult or two - that might last a day, while some carb-rich junk food they can buy for 1 or 2 dollars will last the week. Strawberries don't fill you up as much as the carbs either. My own family grew up poor but at least bought frozen and canned veggies, I'm not sure how those compare in price these days but honestly the fresh fruits, veggies and meats are out of reach often. And don't even consider something like organic or free range.
You know what else? I teach in an inner city neighborhood and another problem that poor folks in the city face (not sure if it's the same in rural areas) is that there is a general lack of quality grocery stores available in the first place. There are many "corner stores" that sell a disproportionate amount of this junk with no fresh produce or meats; then there may be one semi-quality grocery store serving the area with in my humble opinion sub-par produce and meats (like a Save-a-Lot or IGA or AFA - bargain groceries but there is a price to pay with quality). They don't have a Super Fresh, Genaurdis, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc. like I do in my town. Then several blocks away in a central market area MAY be a Pathmark or Acme. So choices are very limited, especially if you also consider people not having cars, a few kids to take with them,etc. It is very unfair and if prices could somehow be more even for "good foods" as compared to "junk" I think we'd see less of an obesity epidemic among the poor.

I'm off the soapbox, but it's nice to finally hear someone else care, thanks for bringing it out.
:-)

I logged on for the first time in months after reading this thread. I was struck by the shared opinon. This was a topic me and my hubby was discussing just last night. We eat pretty good, not great mind you, but pretty good. And we spend about as much as our rent in food. I live in Oklahoma so my rent is not nearly as high as other areas of the country. When I started to add the numbers up (as I do to get an idea of exactly where our money is going every month..just to keep track for budgeting sake) I was bowled over by how much we spent on food. MY GOD! What was even more shocking, was the fact that we began looking at how we can cut back on the food budget and the decision was, "we can't" it's either spend this amount or start eating what my friends eat and they eat TERRIBLE! I love them dearly, but they do and thats nothing but the truth. I have no kids~and that makes this even more shocking. But it is nothing for just me and my hubby to spend upwards of 120 a week at the grocery store. Now if I ate the mac and cheese and all the other the processed stuff things would be alot cheaper. I could probably knock that budget down to about 50-60 a week. So I completely understand why the impoverished my area are overwieght, but then again so is most of the people I deal with and see on the city streets. (I am a social worker) I think it is in large part because people can't afford to eat healthy.

I had someone suggest to me that it was the portion size everyone eats and that if you divide things by portion size and divide the cost, then the healtier stuff is actually cheaper, price per portion. Bullcrap to that I say! Who when they cook measures out by portion size the amount of carrots, or meat in onces. No one I know anyway. I don't. (shrugs shoulders)

Even the farmers market in my area is not much of a bargin, the actual grocery store comes out cheaper in the final numbers. (People I know in other areas of the country are shocked to hear this, but it really is the case. I have lived in other areas of the country and the farmer's market is normally a better deal)

I have read the omivore's dilimma (sorry for the misspell) and considering the ideas put forth in the book all this makes sense. But D*M, my pocket book is hurting! Sorry for the long rant, but this topic really hit home for me......

oddly, i was at my market yesterday and some of these thoughts hit me.
i don't make sandwich's for my son nor myself.
i heat up protein and we eat it off a plate.
we never have fillers like rice and beans, or pasta and sauce on our plates.
we have protein and veggies.
salads are fresh.

when shopping for weekly food, i put into consideration 3 meals a day, 6 days a week. none of that entails plates of french fries, potatoes, pasta, beans and rice, garlic bread, croutons in my salad, and tons of cheese.

am i saving money by eating like this?

and the coupons in the papers..... are for mostly boxed, highly processed foods. I don't buy cheese in a can, or granola bars, or dog food.. i don't buy canned tuna, or canned veggies, or canned gravies. i don't buy canned or boxed soups. i don't own a bottle of catsup, and the only mayonaise in this house is made from scratch.

am i saving money by eating like this?

when i eat pure protein, i'm not hungry as often, and therefore, don't require snacks in the form of puddings or jello's or cookies.

am i saving money?

i think so.

i do have one question though.. why are the impoverished in other countries, not obese?

The impoverished in other countries probably aren't obese because they don't even have enough of the starchy "cheap" foods to sustain themselves, likely.

Even if you do have to scrimp and can't afford the meat, I think you could be eating a better class of starchy foods, like lentils, beans, brown rice. It isn't ideal but it is still very cheap and would probably do less damage to their endocrine system because they're pretty slow digesting and full of fiber. Its gotta be better than macaroni and cheese and bread.

But yeah, the availability of those things in poor neighborhoods isn't good. Another thing is you can get some great deals on meat at the supermarket if you shop early and get the stuff they're trying to clear out.