The $10 meal challenge

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How about free meals during Stampede week? I know of some people who just do that for fun.
 
With hungry people is there a stampede as good as a boarding house reach? Thus the eternal hunger of A' Sop ... lead line into sophistry?
 
This question becomes very challenging as I force myself to NOT add items from my accumulated store cupboard. The cheapest meals I can think of involve dried vegetables. Pea soup, lentils and rice, no meat chilli etc. - but they would be tastier with some spices (that are expensive). As a privileged person I always have a selection of herbs and spices, flour, potatoes and staples like rice and macaroni at my fingertips,
 
And that's one of the reasons that I always put a bag or two of spices in my food bank donations.
 
Given the quandary, let's have two scenarios.
1. the person is couch surfing, really doesn't have a place to live, is likely to eat the meal on a park bench.
2. the person has a home, but has been down on their luck for a long time, pans, etc are present, but staples are pretty meagre.
 
Pinga said:
Given the quandary, let's have two scenarios.
1. the person is couch surfing, really doesn't have a place to live, is likely to eat the meal on a park bench.
2. the person has a home, but has been down on their luck for a long time, pans, etc are present, but staples are pretty meagre.
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My response above was to your second scenario. I was imagining a single person, perhaps in poor health unable to work full time but not handicapped enough to receive assistance (one of the working poor), living in subsidized housing with a small kitchen, a stove andd fridge, limited cupboard space.

The other scenario - no place to store food or to cook - or even dishes to eat from. (perhapss he has a travel mug in his backpack - a swiss army knife would be too much to hope for but maybe he has a knife and fork in a plastic bag).
$10.00 - quart of milk, loaf of bread, cheese, bag of apples - maybe some carrots to eat raw - a can of sardines with a pull-top (no can opener).
I have a feeling even this small amount of food might go over the $10 limit.
 
(Ate for free today - hotdogs, chips, watermelon, cookie, timbits and soda. All courtesy of friends of my church's.)
 
That is, of course, one of the problems with 'free' food. Mystery meat, vegetable oil, white flour, high fructose corn syrup. Calories, yes. Empty calories, also yes.
 
I was referring specifically to Jae's choices, except, perhaps, for the watermelon.

Our church dinners, which are not free, comprise real food made by real people with real ingredients. (But the community lunches, which are by "suggested donation" and the baskets are forgotten half the time, are made of the same things. Mind you, sometimes hot dogs show up...sometimes, it depends what you pick.)
 
BetteTheRed said:
I was referring specifically to Jae's choices, except, perhaps, for the watermelon.

Our church dinners, which are not free, comprise real food made by real people with real ingredients. (But the community lunches, which are by "suggested donation" and the baskets are forgotten half the time, are made of the same things. Mind you, sometimes hot dogs show up...sometimes, it depends what you pick.)
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We have a wonderful variety of foods. Today's lunch was clearly on the fun side. Other times, we have free suppers whose nutritive content is higher. We also serve a Christmas supper with turkey, ham, and traditional Christmas trimmings. On the last Sunday of each month we have delightful potlucks at which, of course, a wide variety of foods can be enjoyed. We never charge people for any of our meals; we give them for free because we love serving.
 
Pinga said:
Mrs. Anteater. Curious, what is the idea behind the $10 amount. Do you have a food bank or shelter in your vicinity?

I ask because I know that our church quit giving them out and instead refer people to those two locations. Both are within 2 blocks of our church. The reason ws that it was identified that people were hitting multiple churches / ministers for funds in the core. Selling cards is pretty easy.
The church did hae standing accounts with certain places, and would get referrals for things like shoes for families -- and pay for them at a local shoe store.
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Yes, we do have a food bank, actually, three of them within a 20 km radius (you have to live in the area though). People still contact the church. Some don't bother coming to pick up the $10 card. Our outreach committee is trying to find a rule for dealing with requests. Not sure who came up with the $10- but maybe the idea was- if you really need food, you will bother to pick up the card.
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
Our benevolent fund is often giving out $10 grocery gift cards to people who ask for food.
Here the challenge:
How for can you stretch $10 for one person? What do you buy (and for what price) to make the most out of it?
What do you buy to make it as healthy as you can?
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Mrs. A., How often do you and your church get together with these people who ask for food to actually cook and enjoy meals together?
 
And the food bank has rules about how often you can get food; if you run out before you're due for your next package, you're SOL.
 
Pr. Jae said:
Mrs. A., How often do you and your church get together with these people who ask for food to actually cook and enjoy meals together?
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That idea came up. There are many people who can't cook. It is something to consider as a change from the traditional charity giving.
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
That idea came up. There are many people who can't cook. It is something to consider as a change from the traditional charity giving.
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That's great to hear Mrs.A.. I really feel that it's the way to go. Compassion is done best when it's lived out with others. Far too often people will just toss a trinket or two down at a poorer person without truly getting to know and love them, and do life among them. As Christ came to us on a self-lowering path, we should continually strive to live lives of service with others. Rich blessings.
 
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