Eat Out or In?

[WileERobby]

I was answering the question asked by the person posting before me: "How do poor people feed their families?"

The answer was, even though we are led to believe that the poor are also hungry, the actual situation is that there is so much food America that we are all becoming obese, and even more so of low income people who require food assistance. The free food is everywhere between federal food stamps, local assistance, churches, community food banks, free school lunches, etc.

They're getting all the help they need and then some.

Exactly. And that's why i'm wondering where we need to "help" anyone before they get to the point of starvation. You've correctly enumerated multiple assistance sources. Don't see skin-and-bones in these areas, but big booty-asses certainly abound.

 

[Sahara]

Elk. Two bucks a pound all in, licence, bullet, gas,

professionally cut and wrapped. Cut it with a fork.
I saw beef steaks in our supermarket a while ago, forty dollars EACH!

 

[Triplegreen500]

The main problem with obesity isn't lack of food, it's lack of GOOD food.

As a mental exercise, next time you're in the grocery, compare pricing. Look at how much it costs to buy GOOD food - meat, vegetables, dairy, vitamin water, juices, healthy foods - then look at how much it costs to buy CRAP - chips, candy, sugars, pastries, sodas. Don't worry about "organic" - personally, I think that's a scam - just look at regular old "good" foods.

THAT, is why we're obese as a nation. We eat CRAP. Now, the flipside of that argument is, we as a nation could NEVER starve, simply because we have so much crap on the market. If we were truly a third-world nation, there wouldn't be doritos; there wouldn't be Coke and Pepsi; there wouldn't be ANYTHING on the shelves, and we'd be fighting for what we could produce on farms (THAT, by the way, would absolutely cure obesity!).

If we really cared about "the poor" with food stamps, we'd limit WHAT they could buy with them. NO ice cream; NO sodas; NO junk food. You can redeem food stamps for HEALTHY food - grains, dairy, beef, chicken, pork, seafood.

Better yet, we'd limit food stamps period - you get them for a max of 3 months, while you are actively looking for a J-O-B. End of 3 months? End of stamps. Period.

 

[dodgedifferent2]

The wife and I have been doing a garden together for about 7 years now.
We have 5 kids to feed so the majority of our veggies come from our garden then froze or canned.
We buy a cow from a local farmer and have it butchered about twice a year. It is cheaper.
We do the same with chickens and a pig.
We have 3 freezers filled. One is dedicated to veggies.
We do eat out once and awhile but it's usually a pizza and those are the nights where we are super busy.

As a farmer here in Canada we are not supplemented by the government, so with the rising cost of fuel, pesticides, fertilizers and seed, the price of the raw product has to increase which in turn increases at the grocery stores. I don't think the consumers want China food. With the majority of the population so far removed from the farm, they don't understand how the farm works or where their food comes from. Most turn their nose up at it and don't appreciate the farmers unless they glorify it as ranching or some sort of reality show.

In this area there does seem to be a trend right now where people are starting to want their food direct from the farm and take out the middle man. Yes, you can usually get it cheaper and fresher, but don't complain about their price because they are only trying to make a living like everyone else.

 

[YY1]

10 years ago it was hard to beat Taco Bell on price.

I could eat 2-3 tacos with beef, lettuce and cheese, plus a bean burrito, for under $5.

That's very hard to do at home.
Of course you have to dollar/cost average the ingredients, but also factor in spoilage if you don't eat the same thing basically every night until it goes bad.

My point is, you need to do some math.
Sometimes you CAN do it cheaper at home, other times you can't.

 

[Triplegreen500]

I could eat 2-3 tacos with beef, lettuce and cheese, plus a bean burrito, for under $5.

My point exactly, about cheap food being crap.

Sorry...but Taco Bell (and ANY 'fast food joint') IS crap. It's all full of preservatives, chemicals, and - quite frankly - FAT. Fat is cheap weight - an easy way for producers to increase mass, and therefore perceived value (you get a "bigger portion" for the same, or less, money).

That said...we used to (this is late 80s) have $5 races at Taco Bell to see who COULD eat $5 worth. This was in the days of 25 cent tacos...that was a LOT of food, even as a teenager. Nowadays? You can't get out the door for less than $6 or $8.

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

[Garceau]

I will say that with my lifestyle (especially in the summer) between working OT, traveling for work, golf league, archery league, enjoying my 66..... I have a LOT of spoilage. I buy stuff and then dont get back to it in time and its not cost savings on most ends. I do need to do better than that.

Fall and Winter time I seem to cook almost exclusively out of a crock pot. Throw a roast in there in the morning and have it for supper and lunch the next day. Day or two later throw another roast and fixings in...... mmmmm making me hungry.

 

[YY1]

One of the few peeves I have with my wife-

If I buy enough deli meat for me and one extra sandwich, she complains that I eat it all and she doesn't get any.

If I buy enough for me and four extra sandwiches, four sandwiches worth goes bad.

 

[MarPar]

One of the few peeves I have with my wife-

If I buy enough deli meat for me and one extra sandwich, she complains that I eat it all and she doesn't get any.

If I buy enough for me and four extra sandwiches, four sandwiches worth goes bad.

Ha! The exact same **** happens with me! And Boar's Head turkey ain't cheap!!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I love eating out. Personally, I could eat out every day of the week, and then some.

 

[1967coronet]

One of my Grandaughters is a assistant manager for a Texas Roadhouse location.
coupons
We take care of that kid at Christmas!

 

[Sahara]

I love eating out. Personally, I could eat out every day of the week, and then some.

I would if I could, but Taylor Swift got that darn restraining order…

 

[Detective D]

The main problem with obesity isn't lack of food, it's lack of GOOD food.

As a mental exercise, next time you're in the grocery, compare pricing. Look at how much it costs to buy GOOD food - meat, vegetables, dairy, vitamin water, juices, healthy foods - then look at how much it costs to buy CRAP - chips, candy, sugars, pastries, sodas. Don't worry about "organic" - personally, I think that's a scam - just look at regular old "good" foods.

THAT, is why we're obese as a nation. We eat CRAP. Now, the flipside of that argument is, we as a nation could NEVER starve, simply because we have so much crap on the market. If we were truly a third-world nation, there wouldn't be doritos; there wouldn't be Coke and Pepsi; there wouldn't be ANYTHING on the shelves, and we'd be fighting for what we could produce on farms (THAT, by the way, would absolutely cure obesity!).

If we really cared about "the poor" with food stamps, we'd limit WHAT they could buy with them. NO ice cream; NO sodas; NO junk food. You can redeem food stamps for HEALTHY food - grains, dairy, beef, chicken, pork, seafood.

Better yet, we'd limit food stamps period - you get them for a max of 3 months, while you are actively looking for a J-O-B. End of 3 months? End of stamps. Period.

lol
In WI, there are two types with the stamps program
Single moms that had 6 kids so they could max out tax refunds and assistance programs
Grifters
The moms tend to buy crap with the stamps. Stuff to keep the kids happy, meaning junk and sugar.
Grifters though, hey now, they know how to do it. They go in and buy New York strips and other top shelf items. Why? because they don;t actually need the stamps, they just use them to buy stuff every working Joe has to save for a month to get. Then they take a chunk of their welfare/unemployment money and buy a 1.75 of Crown and leave.

The concept of a social net is good. The application and end result of it only actually works on paper and in utopian's minds. For every few people it works as intended, there are at least as many that use it because "they are smart enough not to work".

The counter is usually "they need more people to administrate the program". Really? The answer to taking my money (taxes) and giving it to other people for free is to take more of my money so they can hire more people to make sure that my original money isn't being "wasted" on grifter's buying 2lb steaks and a bottle of Crown? How about we just stop taking my money and giving it to other people instead. I bet if the lefty cities that get 45%+ of their income taken away actually had that money back in their pocket their community would have plenty of donations to build one hell of a help center for their neighbors in need. Of course, then the government wouldn't have an excuse to ask for more and more money. Remember, the social programs have been "going broke" for a couple decades now! OMG! We need to pass this budget that requires another .5% tax increase! Otherwise the gov't might shut down! Who will distribute the money to the people so they can go buy a 1.75 and some pop tarts to shut the kids up?

I apologize if this edges political, but it is the truth and people keep making excuses to make things worse regarding all this crap.

 

[MarPar]

 

[Pops1967GTX]

I also like to go out to eat, but I have simple taste.

But when it came to Mamma food, you stay home for the best.​

 

[kiwigtx]

I would if I could, but Taylor Swift got that darn restraining order…

I see Mr Cranium is rubbing off on you .....

I don't habve the luxury of being able to hunt for food like some of you guys....and I don't have a farm, so I rely on my local Butcher for quality cuts. Yes I pay a bit more, but I would rather pay for quality than regular supermarket slops. I bought beef cheeks recently....they're classified as offal apparently....but after the way I cooked them, the make Rib-Eye taste like crap.

I'm booked in for another 20 cheeks to freeze for later - the season is closing soon on 'winter cuts'. BBQ weather has started, so it's no more casseroles and slow cookers for a few months now...maybe not till July next year.

 

[Sahara]

I see Mr Cranium is rubbing off on you .....

I don't habve the luxury of being able to hunt for food like some of you guys....and I don't have a farm, so I rely on my local Butcher for quality cuts. Yes I pay a bit more, but I would rather pay for quality than regular supermarket slops. I bought beef cheeks recently....they're classified as offal apparently....but after the way I cooked them, the make Rib-Eye taste like crap.

I'm booked in for another 20 cheeks to freeze for later - the season is closing soon on 'winter cuts'. BBQ weather has started, so it's no more casseroles and slow cookers for a few months now...maybe not till July next year.

I was fortunate enough to buy land when it was cheap thirty five years ago. I paid just under ten thousand for one hundred and sixty acres. Because it was cheap I don’t have to clear it and generate income from it. It is now worth over $200k and at that price people have to farm it to make it pay for itself.
So every year I shoot an elk or a couple of deer on it to feed my family. Our daughter is also a hunter and I will leave the land to her as family treasure. We haven’t really eaten beef for over thirty years, my guts are so used to game that I have a difficult time digesting fatty beef.
Picture of an elk we saw on my land last week. Hunting season opens on the 17th. He appears to be bigger then the one I shot last year and that one was 450 pounds of actual meat, around 900 pounds live weight.

 

[MarPar]

So I rely on my local Butcher for quality cuts.

As everyone should

I bought beef cheeks recently....they're classified as offal apparently....but after the way I cooked them, the make Rib-Eye taste like crap.

Indeed cheeks are offal. Now...

Rog, you know Im a yuge fan of cheek meat, but that's bold assertion...

Prime Peeled Outer Skirts and Prime Rib Eyes (between the 7th & 12th bone) are at the top of the Meat Man's list...

 

[demonram]

One of my Grandaughters is a assistant manager for a Texas Roadhouse location.
coupons
We take care of that kid at Christmas!

I do work for a guy who owns a Texas Roadhouse. Last Sunday, we went to eat there, with our neighbors, not thinking of the line. I called him, he said no problem. We were in, in 5 minutes, seated and the waitress was taking our drink orders. It’s good to have connections.