Hello ! I need some help with a project

[lifetimelearner]

Hello everyone !

I recently took a break from the forums to concentrate on my job,BF and kids
and I realized today how much I miss the interaction here so I stopped by to say hello

so at my job-
I have been teaching some health classes to the homeless and realized just how much I didn't really know about how poor our health is here in the USA

today as I did research on the poverty level in the USA I realized that obesity is so entwined with poverty because of three reasons

1) cheap food is always nutritiously poor food
2) the poor and homeless populations are less educated about nutrition and health
2)and access to quality healthcare is scarce

so my goal is to educate these people so they can be their own personal advocates when it comes to their health

but I have run into a blockade and need help

help me to come up with a food plan that these people can afford

I have been reading some blogs about how to live on a dollar a day and I also saw where one of the governors here in the USA actually tried to live off of $5.73 per day -that's a lot more then some of these people have at this time

anyway - if you have any ideas please throw them my way
I would appreciate it greatly !

[st33med]

Hey!!! I missed you a lot!

Dumpster diving is one thing. Grocery stores throw out food past expiration date when they are still good. It's completely legal, just a lot of FUD surrounding it. Fruit, precooked lunch meats, etc, all good.

I can't think of anything else. Foodstamps, maybe, but then they have to be looking for a job.

[ZephyrusX]

Hey LTL Nice to see you again.

We discussed something similar on the health section. Someone asked how they could motivated their family to eat healthier when they come from a lower socio-economic conditions. I'll find the link for you and post it.

Just to clarify though: are we talking about low income people or homeless people? I have no idea where homeless people get their food

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

Hello everyone !

I recently took a break from the forums to concentrate on my job,BF and kids
and I realized today how much I miss the interaction here so I stopped by to say hello

so at my job-
I have been teaching some health classes to the homeless and realized just how much I didn't really know about how poor our health is here in the USA

today as I did research on the poverty level in the USA I realized that obesity is so entwined with poverty because of three reasons

1) cheap food is always nutritiously poor food
2) the poor and homeless populations are less educated about nutrition and health
2)and access to quality healthcare is scarce

so my goal is to educate these people so they can be their own personal advocates when it comes to their health

but I have run into a blockade and need help

help me to come up with a food plan that these people can afford

I have been reading some blogs about how to live on a dollar a day and I also saw where one of the governors here in the USA actually tried to live off of $5.73 per day -that's a lot more then some of these people have at this time

anyway - if you have any ideas please throw them my way
I would appreciate it greatly !

[ZephyrusX]

Here is the link:

I'm food-dependent

Let us know more specifically how we can help and I'll do what I can.

[lifetimelearner]

I guess what I am asking is how to eat healthy cheaply and wondered if any of you guys have done this

ZephyrusX I saw that you had posted this and wondered if you could give me some more insight into this -
"You can eat really cheap if you go vegetarian. I did it for three or four years and my weekly grocery bill was often around $30 (though I lived by my self). "

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by st33med

Hey!!! I missed you a lot!

Dumpster diving is one thing. Grocery stores throw out food past expiration date when they are still good. It's completely legal, just a lot of FUD surrounding it. Fruit, precooked lunch meats, etc, all good.

I can't think of anything else. Foodstamps, maybe, but then they have to be looking for a job.

hey missed you too !
yes these people are applying for foodstamps and housing
that is part of our job here
but my job specifically is to teach them how to eat healthy with the little bit of foodstamps or income that they do get
a lot of them just buy junk because it is cheap

[Lynn 007]

Hi LTL

Does the facility where you're teaching have access to a rooftop or perhaps a rooftop of a homeless shelter?

Could you receive financial assistance or donations and create a community garden so they can grow their own food or herbs.

[lifetimelearner]

wow I didn't even think about that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great idea !
I will ask my boss tomorrow !

thanks !

[Lynn 007]

You're welome; good Luck and hopefully they go for it.

[lifetimelearner]

I hope so -thanks again !

[shasah]

Hey LTL Welcome back.

I don't have a whole food plan, but a few items that are cheap but good for you are bananas, yogurt and cantaloupe. A banana is about $0.19, yogurt is about $0.50-$0.75 and you can buy a cantaloupe for $1.00. Buying veggies and fruits at a roadside fruitstand is usually cheaper than going to a grocery store.

Another idea is to buy items when they are on sale 2 for 1. You can buy non-perishable items, use one and save the other for a later date.

Good luck and as always, wishing you the best!!

[ssandra]

I'm not sure how healthy it is, but whenever I'm on a temp budget I buy lots of beans and pasta.

pasta (made yourself with tomato's is cheaper then a can) fills a lot, and so do beans.

Rice is another one of those things that really fill things up.

Banana's as well.

Cantaloups might be cheap (they aren't so much here) but they are not very nutritious as far as I know (mainly water) and you'd need to eat LOTS of it for it to fill you.


Another tip I would give is to eat together. Cooking, cleaning, and buying groceries for 1 person is always more expensive then it is for 4 or 5 or more persons. (if 1 persons spends 5 dollars a day, 6 persons might spend 15 dollars a day, for example).

A good way to fill up any meal is to cook some simple vegetable soup to serve as an appetizer. It makes the main meal look a lot more, and can be used for a healthy snack later in the day.

Good luck!!

[ZephyrusX]

You can eat really cheap if you eat vegetarian and cook in bulk. Usually, I made soups, stews, bean dishes, 'lentil mush' (bascally dhal I guess), pastas. Some of them are better for cooking in bulk than others. It can be some what expensive buying all the spices (though if you buy it in bulk, they are cheaper) and what not at first, but once you have those ingrediants that last a long time, you can make meals for as cheaply as $1 to $2.00 a day. The soups and stews kept well when frozen. I could get a good 5 or 6 meals out of them and they wouldn't taste too funny when thawed. Freezing them is good portion control too. I find if I make a lot of food and just let it sit out in th open, I'll eat more than I usually do. It is convenient as well. The last thing I wanted to do after coming home from work was cook.

The garden thing sounds really interesting. Let us know what your boss says. Also, I feel like what I wrote was really vague. If you were looking for something more specific, feel free to ask.

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

I guess what I am asking is how to eat healthy cheaply and wondered if any of you guys have done this

ZephyrusX I saw that you had posted this and wondered if you could give me some more insight into this -
"You can eat really cheap if you go vegetarian. I did it for three or four years and my weekly grocery bill was often around $30 (though I lived by my self). "

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by shasah

Hey LTL Welcome back.

I don't have a whole food plan, but a few items that are cheap but good for you are bananas, yogurt and cantaloupe. A banana is about $0.19, yogurt is about $0.50-$0.75 and you can buy a cantaloupe for $1.00. Buying veggies and fruits at a roadside fruitstand is usually cheaper than going to a grocery store.

Another idea is to buy items when they are on sale 2 for 1. You can buy non-perishable items, use one and save the other for a later date.

Good luck and as always, wishing you the best!!

thanks shasah !good to see you too !

my clients at work have a limited income and barely any transportation
so I am trying to figure out where they can go to buy cheaply

i think i am going to research fruit stands tomorrow

thanks again !

[lifetimelearner]

[QUOTE=ssandra;930641]I'm not sure how healthy it is, but whenever I'm on a temp budget I buy lots of beans and pasta.

pasta (made yourself with tomato's is cheaper then a can) fills a lot, and so do beans.

Rice is another one of those things that really fill things up.

Banana's as well.

Cantaloups might be cheap (they aren't so much here) but they are not very nutritious as far as I know (mainly water) and you'd need to eat LOTS of it for it to fill you.


Another tip I would give is to eat together. Cooking, cleaning, and buying groceries for 1 person is always more expensive then it is for 4 or 5 or more persons. (if 1 persons spends 5 dollars a day, 6 persons might spend 15 dollars a day, for example).

A good way to fill up any meal is to cook some simple vegetable soup to serve as an appetizer. It makes the main meal look a lot more, and can be used for a healthy snack later in the day.


Thank you ssandra you guys have given me some great ideas !

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

You can eat really cheap if you eat vegetarian and cook in bulk. Usually, I made soups, stews, bean dishes, 'lentil mush' (bascally dhal I guess), pastas. Some of them are better for cooking in bulk than others. It can be some what expensive buying all the spices (though if you buy it in bulk, they are cheaper) and what not at first, but once you have those ingrediants that last a long time, you can make meals for as cheaply as $1 to $2.00 a day. The soups and stews kept well when frozen. I could get a good 5 or 6 meals out of them and they wouldn't taste too funny when thawed. Freezing them is good portion control too. I find if I make a lot of food and just let it sit out in th open, I'll eat more than I usually do. It is convenient as well. The last thing I wanted to do after coming home from work was cook.

The garden thing sounds really interesting. Let us know what your boss says. Also, I feel like what I wrote was really vague. If you were looking for something more specific, feel free to ask.

thanks ! I appreciate the response !
right now most of these folks are in shelters and need to eat 2 meals on their own -so I am thinking of ways for them to buy while out on the town but still eat healthy

it is frustrating because we have a large homeless population here and some of them are families

[ZephyrusX]

Is there a farmer's market near by? They have one in downtown Edmonton... sometime in the summer... They have very cheap veggies!

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

thanks shasah !good to see you too !

my clients at work have a limited income and barely any transportation
so I am trying to figure out where they can go to buy cheaply

i think i am going to research fruit stands tomorrow

thanks again !

[lifetimelearner]

thanks ZephyrusX
I found out that some local farmers sell their fruits and veggies in the park on saturday mornings so I am going to go check it out this saturday

also I learned in class ( from my homeless clients ) today that the meals available to the homeless are white and starchy with not much meat ,veggies or fruits

so my clients want me to go undercover at some of these soup kitchens around town and see what they see --they feel that if I go in with my credentials showing that I will not see the true picture

so that is my challenge -possibly a 30 day challenge

[lifetimelearner]

oh also an email was sent to the CEO of the company and she wants to get the soil tested in the back of the building and then I have the go ahead to plant a garden !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ssandra]

Great news LTL!!!

He, maybe some of the homeless / workless people can strike a deal at the farmers market? If they help out in the mornings and evenings with carrying stuff, in exchange for food?

And maybe you can strike a deal with them, that the center you work for gets the leftovers at the end of the day that they would otherwise throw away?

[Lynn 007]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

oh also an email was sent to the CEO of the company and she wants to get the soil tested in the back of the building and then I have the go ahead to plant a garden !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is wonderful news!!!!

I'm sure the homeless would love to help with planting food plus they are gaining a skill.

[Bradman]

Around here fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive, even from the farmers market. If the on-site garden doesn't work, maybe try to get a bunch of people together and rent a plot of land to grow some crops, I belive that can be done fairly cheaply and it's quite common around here, but reailze you will need a way of storing the produce by freezing, canning, or cellering depending on the produce.

If you are wondering why starchy foods are cheap it's because of the gov't subsidies that go to farmers for growing corn, wheat etc. as these are considesred staple foods and without them we would all starve

[ZephyrusX]

Do you mind reporting back here what you find out? I wouldn't mind hearing your stories. I've heard the same thing about soup kitchens and the food bank. There are very few fresh vegetables and fruit. And the number of people accessing the food bank and soup kitchens in Canada keeps getting higher and higher, so there is a very small amount to spread around a lot of people. Was it your plan to grow a garden in order to provide fresh vegetables to the soup kitchen? What are you using the vegetables for?

I wonder if there is something like this in Edmonton? I should look into it. Of course, it would only work for the summer

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

thanks ZephyrusX
I found out that some local farmers sell their fruits and veggies in the park on saturday mornings so I am going to go check it out this saturday

also I learned in class ( from my homeless clients ) today that the meals available to the homeless are white and starchy with not much meat ,veggies or fruits

so my clients want me to go undercover at some of these soup kitchens around town and see what they see --they feel that if I go in with my credentials showing that I will not see the true picture

so that is my challenge -possibly a 30 day challenge

[ZephyrusX]

Just in case you didn't see it, someone posted another similar topic. There are a few new points in there and someone posted a link.

Eating healthy with low budget

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

Just in case you didn't see it, someone posted another similar topic. There are a few new points in there and someone posted a link.

Eating healthy with low budget

thanks everyone and thanks for the link !

I will post next week after I find out more -if the soil looks like it's no good-industrial area -then we may just use pots