Hello everyone! There seems to be some confusion about the cost breakdown on this video. I did not include the cost of the box items from the food pantry because they would have been free for anyone picking up the box. I shopped at Walmart in order to recreate the box. Although the additional items I added to make the meals I already had in the house, I did add the cost of those ingredients to my total spent - which was $37 total. So if you had $37 to add to the items in the box, you could make these same exact meals. All that being said, every food pantry is different and there is no guarantee that this is what you will end up with. After speaking with Jessica, who runs the food pantry, she said so many times people get the box and have no idea how to cook with beans or a bag of potatoes or a whole turkey. My whole goal is to help people learn how to incorporate these services and foods and how to put together inexpensive meals that taste good. Thank you!
Hey Christine, thank you for all your budget videos its helped me come along way to feeding my small family of 4.😁 I wanted to ask if maybe someday you could help us people who are lactose intolerant with some budget meals, please. Thank you again!
This was a great video! The stuff you can get from food pantries can be a bit odd ball. When my dad lost his job a couple of times when I was a kid we just ran out of money for food. We had to use the food pantry a couple of times. We lived in a nice house and had cell phones and not new cars but not hoopties. This video is going to help a lot of people.
Thank you so much for this. Since my hubby's stroke 4 yrs ago we've been struggling financially and rely on food pantries a fair amount now. The box you had is pretty representive of the one's we get - though I'd love to get a turkey since our protein is usually limited to a couple cans of tuna and occasionally a jar of peanut butter. It's learning how to make a variety of meals with limited types of ingredients that I've have the biggest problem with, so thanks for all of the ideas. *NOTE* : the really large cans/containers are probably coming from institutional kitchens or restaurants. We received *huge* containers of oatmeal when a seniors home in our area re-located and giant-size containers of salsa when a restaurant closed hahaha Fortunately we love both and both are pretty versatile.
If you know that potatoes, pasta and beans go in every box, perhaps you could come up with some easy to do recipes they can make, in a small hand out. Offer recipes that have add-ons that are inexpensive. Also put in tips and suggestions for ways to build their own pantry with little money. You could even talk to your local churches to see if they could do a "spice" drive to help.
It is very VERY important that we check our biases on how things look. When my mother escaped her severely abusive husband with my younger sister and Me we had a brand new car and nice clothes and literally NOTHING else. I’m glad you added that clip in.
Also especially this past year with so many losing their jobs. They probably do have nice things because they were able to afford them with their prior income.
Absolutely true, I am glad you guys made it out safely! Some people might also take their only good jeans to give themselves a bit of dignity when out in public, you never know.
I watched an interview from someone in the system, forster child and now a foster mom, and she talked about how even as a poor person who lives paycheck to paycheck and uses foodbanks, poor people are allowed to have nice things. Poor people still get gifts, so they may have a gucci bag or a nicer car or nice makeup. Poor people dont have to look like trash, and I say poor people like people who are struggling.
When I was at my poorest if someone I knew was tone deaf enough to gift me a Gucci bag, I’d sell it. I don’t judge people on assistance who have nice clothes, cars, etc, but when you’re truly down and out frivolous luxury items are a months rent or a car payment. Choices....
@@jasmineleopard7593 I guess they mean it’s good she didn’t take a box she doesn’t need just for a video. So that the box can go to someone who will really benefit
@@FrugalFitMom Christine, this is my favorite of your extreme budget challenges because it was hilarious to see you try and make a meal out of some pretty absurd ingredient combinations. I hope you'll continue to do these!
Thank you for all you do. You have given me alot of great additional ideas for stretching our food. I already stretch the food, but it is so nice to have new recipes.
I actually went to this food bank and got this food, extremely grateful. Going through some tough times, which is why I found your channel in the first place
Did you know: Cut potatoes like steak fries or french fries. On a cookie sheet (I use parchment paper because my cookie sheets are old) put two tablespoons or so of oil and "toss" the taters once you cut them. 375 degrees, about half hour, turn them over, bake another half hour (your oven may vary). If you get bored with that, I like taking seasoning salt, pepper and garlic powder on them. Cook them the same way. Dirt cheap, filling and yummy.
I LOVE that you included that part about wondering about the woman's fancy car. Years ago, I overheard 2 thrift shop employees muttering a comment about an older woman who was shopping for cheap, used clothes. The customer had pulled up in a supernice car. One employee muttered to the other, "Why does she shop here if she can drive a car like that?" They didn't count on the old woman having good hearing. She called them out, "I shop here so I can drive a car like that." I got a wicked cackle out of that comeback!
I love this video! Your attitude is so refreshing and down to earth. What the director said about not judging people who come for food is so true. You have NO idea what other people are going through. People who have nice cars may have lost jobs and the pantry is helping them get through a tough time (should they get rid of their car they ruin their chances of getting back on their feet). Don’t judge, you may some day be in the same situation.
I knew a woman who drove a Mercedes to the food stamp office-she and her husband had fallen on really hard times, the car was older but in great condition, and yes, definitely their way of getting a new job and training. It would have been stupid to get rid of it. Wasn't worth that much, at its age. People need to thank God they're not walking through the same things others are, because you never know how bad it really is. They also need to trust that most places make you present your SSN and paperwork, pay stubs, and you have to answer an extensive set of questions to get food stamps. Every step you take is investigated.
People just love to comment no matter what. I recently got a used luxury car (paid cash) and my neighbor asked my husband why he didn't get me a new car. Ugh, cuz I don't want to stay up at night worrying about car payments. And this is a big upgrade from my typical used Honda civics. You can never keep up with Jones's, lol.
That's so true! We have many people picking up for other people in our food pantries, and our drive-thru you may or may not have nice brand new cars or old beaters. I'd say it's easier for the volunteers to load the new cars, bcz sometimes the older cars stall while they are waiting for the food, we've had some that needed a jump!
Absolutely! Been there. We needed help after my husband lost his job. I was so insecure and embarrassed the first trip, but everyone was so kind and there were no judgements. It did a lot to lift my spirits.
If your celery is limp, cut off the top and bottom, lay in a dish covered in water. It rejuvenates and gets its crunch back! If romaine lettuce goes soft, cut off the end, and place in a cup of with 1 inch of water, it rejuvenates and gets its crunch back! =) (kind of like putting cut flowers in water, same idea)
What an amazing place. It’s nice they don’t question people. I remember when I needed food help, my local pantry made me do an hour long interview, and told me because I didn’t have kids, they didn’t understand why I was struggling so much. It really hurt. You are an amazing lady and teaching people how to stretch money , when they may feel hopeless, and not judging people for not eating crazy healthy meals.
oh man, can I relate! Here, if you have anything worth any money, vehicle cpmputer etc, it is an asset & counts against you. Sell it to pay the bills, now you don't qualify because you sold it. Aweful humiliating, infuriating experiences. So I live on $800 ssi a month (disabled) & qualify for no assistance, since I am a single female. It is too much to find a ride & bring all the paperwork & interviews just to get a couple cans of whatever & a head of cabbage which I cannot stand, at the food pantry. This was an awesome box.
That's crazy, I've been to many Food Banks and have never been asked why I need food! I had to apply at the Salvation Army but that was it. I even received help to pay a bill from Catholic Charities, they understood we needed help.
I bet that made them feel so superior... everyone has had slim times. Some people just had help in other places...they may not have even been aware of it.
I was laid off. Renter so no Save Your Home program for me. Worked 2 part-time jobs cuz I couldn't find a full-time. Could barely make rent and utilities. Working 7 days and still trying to find a full-time job with insurance. Decided to apply for foodstamps. No kids. I qualified for $16 a month and I had to fight for that. Apparently my sister was obligated to feed me as I had no living parents.
Hi from México! With the refried beans you can make "molletes"... Thats Just like the pizzas you made , but instead of tomato sauce you put the refried beans and the cheese on top, then to the oven... You eat it with salsa and or avocado 🤤🤤 Super Easy and delicious
Love love love mexican molletes - i cant eat tomatoes or tomato products. Thanks for sharing this recipe.!!😍😍😍 God bless you from grandma Katie in Oregon
I love these Extreme Grocery Hauls, especially this one regarding Food Pantries. I know some young people/single parents, trying to feed kids from the local Food Pantries, and I'll get a call "How do I feed my kids with _____?"...Now I've started sending them to your channel, because your attitude is so down-to-earth and not Judging....You are a blessing.
Kitten Lyric how is it fake? She explained that it’s for the extra stuff. Most people aren’t eating just from the food pantry, they are using it to supplement their groceries
I grew up poor, received food boxes from our church on occasion. We ate everything on rice! We never knew we were poor, we always had what we needed! In college I fell back on how my mom stretched food - My husband and I are retired in our 50’s partly due to the lessons learned from growing up very frugal! These videos are fantastic!! Love your channel
I remember when my family hit hard times whilst i was in high school. My mom was ashamed to go to a food bank but a lovely neighbor went on their own and surprised us with boxes. I'd get so happy to receive fresh vegetables 🤗. This is a great video ❤
I love that they don't have to prove they don't have the means to afford food. Sometimes people have to make a choice between food and a bill. It's sad. You are all amazing!!! Thanks for doing your part.
Right?!?! I think it keeps some people away too. Folks have their pride, why force them to admit they need help. It's nobody's business. Could you imagine turning someone away?
I love how real you are. It is refreshing to see relatable content instead of glamorous/expensive foods catered for social media. I am thankful to have found your channel. Keep up the good work :)
I love this idea! I'm graduating this May as a Dietetics major. Last semester I had to complete a community project and volunteered at my local food pantry. I made balanced meals only using ingredients found at the pantry. I restricted myself because all the families there were different, so no outside ingredients, but I encouraged them to be creative if they had the means to. My Mac n cheese soup with cabbage salad was a great hit. Boxed Mac n cheese, canned veggies and canned chicken with milk and spices. Cabbage salad mixed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard as the dressing. For dessert, I let everyone pick whatever fruit was given that day. I want to say thank you for doing this challenge because it brings awareness to food insecurity, using what you have, food waste, and those with food insecurity, their nutriton intake. It is possible to have adequate nutriton intake without buying only organic, or the fancy "fake" trendy foods. This project meant a lot to me and changed my views on food insecurity that I will carry throughout my career. 😁
Bless you for teaching them! I so want to be able to do that at my food pantry. Many people don’t know how to mix things and make a good, well balanced meal. It’s intimidating to them.
Great idea with teh macaroni soup -- sounds tasty. And important that you planned an easy and accessible meal. Some families don't have funds for extra ingredients and may not have the kitchen "gadgets" that many of us take for granted like instant pots, food processors etc that make it easier to make things from scratch and stretch the budget.
My grandma who was a professional cook when she made mashed potatoes she would use instant and mash up one real potato so it would have lumps. It stretched out the real potatoes for other dishes. But she was embarrassed about using instant so she hid the box in her bedside table so one would find it. My mom did when she was over her house doing the heavy cleaning but knew how her mom is so just put them back and never said anything about it.
You can also break some of the potatoes your cooking with the back of a spoon and stir. That's how my mom would thicken her beans when she was making rice and beans.
@@alexisdandrea7576 That one I knew. The problem was that for the recipe I saw it on, it was WAYYY too watery for even that. I would have had to break all the potatoes
I benefitted from a program like this many years ago as a dv survivor leaving with my 4 kids. I will forever be grateful to the kindness I was shown. ❤
I grew up depending on the food box. Even in my adult life I had have to rely on it a few times. I started crying as soon as you explained what you are doing. Thank you.
Wrap refried beans up in a tortilla and its a bean burrito. When you are hungry and your wallet or pantry is empty a bowl of refried beans (with a curl of cheese if available) eaten with a spoon is food in your belly.
When I was growing up, we had to utilize food banks. I remember it being the most exciting time of the month. Some food banks let us "choose" food using a point system, which was exciting. Depending on the amount of people in the family and the ages, you were allotted a certain amount of "points" and each item of food "cost" a certain amount of "points" (ie a canned good would cost 1pt etc). It kind of maintained a regular "shopping experience". My mom used to let my sister and I pick out an item when we went to that program. I'm glad you did this video.
One our local pantries has "point shelves", and ONE "free" shelf. My church volunteered to fill the free shelf with "random" items that some recipients had asked about, simply because SOMETIMES, hope can be found in a can of milk tripe. ❤
@@ywLDSforever I used Google this came up mannafoodbank.ca/get-support/how-it-works/ "The Point System You will be assigned a number of points based on the number of people in your family. You will then be given a grocery list in which items have a point value. Peanut butter is worth 3 points, and canned pasta is worth 1 point, for example."
My local food pantry does something similar. Meats, dairy and frozen is handed out based on family size but breads and vege are what you can fit in the grocery bags alloted to that section. Canned was also limited by family size but most people didn't take all that they could there. Lots of Mac and cheese.
Really respect you for deciding to buy the items on your own and not just taking from the food pantry. Thank you for saving that food for someone in need!
I (as an old, fat, retired fart) often like to eat on a budget even though I don't really have to. I like to grow some of my "easy" veggies. Example: I buy a bunch of green onions (scallions), eat them down close to the root, then plant them. Rather than pulling them out when mature (a month or two later) I just cut them off at ground level, eat the harvest and let them grow over and over again. I do this with other foods too. Also cool to harvest "FREE" foods like weeds: dandelions, etc. Thanks for your excellent videos. I'm a new subscriber.
My food budget is always super high and watching you prepare all of these affordable meals is helping me get it under control so I can save more money for a rainy day. Thank you!
My mom had 4 kids...when we left and had our own places my favorite Christmas gift was a special food box from mom. One year my husband and I literally spent our entire paychecks on Christmas presents because he always got a money gift from his boss. What a shock when his boss gave him a gift and not money that year. I was so panicked. My lerally got down on my knees and thanked God when I opened my mom's food box and my grampy gave me $20. That's what we lived on for the next 2 weeks til we got paid.
In my area people get the boxes only once a month. This is helpful to give me ideas of pantry staples I can buy people in my church who get these to help them stretch the box and food stamps for the month. Also gives me great ideas because we are right on that line that we don’t qualify but we get tired of some of our frugal meals. Just a little change makes a big difference in a meal! 🙏🏼💕
Consider substituting plain yogurt for sour cream. Growing up one night was chili, next chili-macaroni, chili on hot dogs. In summer many pantries include jelly, at the end of the jar you ended either water to make popsicles or milk to make “ purple cows” or “strawberry cows”. Apples cored and add bitter and brown sugar makes delicious desserts. Only had apples in winter, oven only used in winter.
I think you did an amazing job explaining! Without going to the food pantry it should be about 95.40+37=132.70 if you bought all the ingridents yourself. This is awesome, definitely for someone like me that is in college. If it was 132.70 for 6 people for about 2 weeks, that could last me 2 months or more for all lunches and dinners And most breakfast. For 132.70, that’s amazing!! Thank you so much! 🖤😍
if she can spend $37 on a family of 6, I can spend $20 a week rather than burn my money of fast food because I'm lazy. Lazy is making me broke lol (I could even do $10 but I live in WA)
Take it from me fast food is also killing you 4 heart attacks and 9 stents later from eating fast food most of my adult life...make your own and have a healthy life.
@@DaveS1969 ah, I didnt make it clear when I had wrote the fast food hahah I only got fast food once a week back then because I was in a wheelchair at the time. Definently cook at home :) I was more so ordering from the sushi place down the street every couple days hurtin my wallet
I took actual notes on your last video like this. When this popped up I was like “How does she do it?!” You are amazing! God has used you to help so many people. Jesus bless you
I've been on the receiving end of a good pantry box. Many of the times there were a lot of random things put into the box. Lol made some strange meals but husband and kids were fed. I absolutely love this video. Lots of ideas
I talked to my local food bank about the items in boxes and they said it's intended as a supplement, not a replacement and they assume you are still spending 10-20 on food a week to flesh out the boxes.
Christine, I just started watching your videos and It's so evident that you have a heart for ensuring people are fed. Food insecurity is very real in the US and even more prevalent across the world. Keep up the great videos!
What an amazing thing to do for people. I cannot lie I teared up a lil watching this. So many people who struggle and sometimes people who don't struggle as much forget this! I can't lie I was a very... say ignorant as a young adult. Grew up doing ok. Didn't eat caviar but don't remember being "hungry." I didn't realize until I was 18 and moved to a VERY SMALL TOWN in the northeast part of AZ. Many many kind amazing people there but there was also alot of extreme poverty. Please remember to be kind and also that just because your table may be full does not mean your neighbors table is! Happy side note... team chunky! 😉
We receive food boxes for holidays and during school breaks. Sometimes I am at a loss for how to use some of the ingredients. Watching your videos have been so amazing. Your last extreme budget haul was a life saver and got my family of 6 through the last week of a tight month. Thank you for making these videos! I have been learning so much, and as I teacher I always love learning something new.
When you have ingredients you don't know what to do with just Google them together and you would be surprised how many ideas are out there. You can even substitute some of the rest of the stuff and make it work. Good luck !
The food pantry helped me out so much when I first became a single mom. I only went once but when I did I couldn’t help but cry my eyes out with my little one the entire time LOL! I couldn’t believe how much they gave. It was typically a lot of about to expire fresh food. So those premade salads, or the discounted breads that you see at Walmart. Even cakes! I’m still too cheap to splurge my money on that stuff, It was truly a wonderful experience in a horrible time.
Churches also have food pantries. i bring food all the time and they tell you what is needed. They can be a blessing to many who loose a job, or become ill etc. I grew up in a family of 8 and only dad worked outside the home. Mom could turn things into masterpieces with basic ingredients. I am grateful she taught me how to cook and stretch ingredients and I keep a stocked pantry when things are on sale. I enjoyed your video. Potatoes, pasta, eggs-and rice were a staple and still always on hand.
A few years ago, I started making cornbread waffles and putting my homemade chili on top with all the usual fixings I would use for tacos. It was a huge hit with my family. We also like to do a baked potato bar with chili with the toppings. Cheap and filling plus it stretches really well.
I think distribution has gotten a lot better than in past decades, at least judged by my conversations with a local food bank admin. A lot more food that would have been wasted is making it into donation boxes instead and they've been working to make a lot of corporate partnerships to collect things like packaged goods the machines spat out that weren't the right weight. Still edible but not saleable. The company can take the tax write off for the donation and save on expenses for pitching it.
I agree with you..I had to get food boxes when my son was young and they weren't even close to what they give there. We made it work and I was thankful to be able to feed my son. To this day our local food bank makes you go thru an interview and they check your income, and how much you get depends on your family size.
I absolutely LOVE that the group you volunteer for makes it a point not to judge, that program sounds amazing! Far too often I see hungry people denied because of their appearance but looks can always be deceiving. You guys are great! Keep up the good work!
I think it is so humble that you shop frugally while also donating your time at the food pantry to help others. Not surprised that's thanks to being raised in a family that needed to be frugal. The people I meet, a lot of times they don't do this unless theyve experienced it themselves growing up and really know what a privilege it is to have food/financial security. Anyways, love your videos! Just subbed and can't stop watching at the remarkable work you do!
Idea for using apples in an easy, multi-purpose way: I make what I call 'skinny apple pie' -- slice up apples like you would for a pie, dump them on a pie plate or pan, and top with maple syrup (I use SF syrup), then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and a bit of pumpkin pie spice, stir. Bake for 45 min at 350. These are amazing on top of oatmeal, great low-cal dessert just in a bowl with a squirt of whipped cream and chopped walnuts, or a spoonful on canned croissant, roll up and bake, then drizzle with a little sugar glaze.
Another thing you can do is apple butter that is amazing on top of oatmeal and yogurt. It's just sliced apples water and cinnamon in a crockpot on low. Bonus makes you house smell amazing 😊
Refried Beans: With eggs in the morning. OR: Amazing breakfast tacos: Diced potatoes - about a quarter of a inch Diced Tomatoes - same as above Garlic Serrano Pepper to taste Eggs Salt Cook potatoes in a bit of oil till mid way soft, add all your ingredients except eggs. Once they are soft add eggs and mix. Heat your tortilla, put refried beans, your egg and potato mixture. Add salsa or Cholula. Youre Welcome!
As someone that has been blessed by food boxes many times through the years, thank you so much for all the help you give to your local food pantry. And thank you to any of your viewers that volunteer or donate at food pantries!
Longest and best video. Please don’t ever stop. You are a saint giving hope to so many people. Because of you they can survive with limited resources. You are an angel
"Split pea soup eww"?! OMG... it's soooo goood! 🤣 Also, I LOVE this video. What a great way to 1. Bring awareness to food insecurity in our country, and 2. Give everyone some great ideas on how to get creative with meal prep. I would love to see a plant-based version of one of these "x # of meals for $xxx" videos since my family and I don't eat any animal products.
What a great idea to help inspire the families that receive these boxes to make use of what they have been given. I am gonna try several of these recipes and you always inspire me to use the food that I have.
Yeah, I wish she had pointed out that those would have been decent nights to skip trying to find an extra protein source, if people wanted to stretch their potentially more expensive animal products further. Still a fun and engaging video, though!
Im glad she learned not to question people . that was really nice to hear someone speak of something they thought was a mistake and learn from it and not judge Great video
Volunteering is always such an eye-opening experience. My food pantry (for my fairly well-to-do town...I'm a townie, so the fact that it's so expensive now is odd for me) is two blocks from my house, and it was shocking (at first) how many people you wouldn't expect needed help who truly do, and it's great to see so many volunteers there!
I love your videos so much!! So eye opening! Would you ever consider doing a frugal week vegan? That would be quite the challenge and very eye opening!
Absolutely would love to see this too. I often watch videos that I can still enjoy like this one and the previous one and then just think of an alternative vegan way to do it, but if the whole thing is already vegan that makes it so much easier. They do eat beans happily so they're already partly there with being open to a meal that doesn't contain meat.
Often in dishes with sausage or ground hamburger, reconstitute TVP, fry up with some bouillon or Worcester sauce or soy sauce and your veggies and it's a good sub. Add crushed red peppers, some powdered fennel for the sausage version.
This is a great video! We’ve been in the position of getting help from our church for awhile. I’ve always been grateful but seeing that box it really reminded me how lucky we’ve been and how generous our church is! To clarify all food systems are incredibly generous. Being a Latter Day Saint we received A LOT of food anytime we’ve needed it and very cohesive ingredients to put together meals. A huge blessing the times my husband has been out of work and last year they cut hours drastically for several months and a couple trips to Bishop storehouse provided plenty!
I've been getting help from the church, too. How do you turn the humiliation of needing that help into gratitude? While I'm thankful for the option to be helped in taking care of myself, it really hurts my pride. ... I'm working on it.
vanessa noakes my husband really struggled with it at first. We had( still have) 5 kids to feed and we’ve always been active and involved and willing to serve in return. That alone is very empowering. To know that we’re cleaning the church or baking a cake or something for someone or my husband and older kids helping someone move gives it a feeling of contributing back. Also knowing we were doing our best. Our bishop actually encouraged my husband to stop working so much overtime when he started working to still be available for church and family. When my husband started working he felt the need to go into over drive and work 70 hours to not need help, and he still falls into that. Our bishop sweetly and gently reminds him its more important to see you and give your family some groceries than to risk the estrangement of your testimonies ( we only have 1 car so if he’s working we all don’t get to go). Now he’s been working long enough that we can make it except on a couple of occasions where major things have happened ( last year my husband had kidney stones and missed a full week of work 😳). The loving reminders of charity and grace help. And we continuously seek out lessons to improve our self reliance. This channel has been huge for me. Just remember that Heavenly Father loves us no matter what state our finances are in and he will guide us to the people and areas we need to gain knowledge and power to improve! 😘 Good luck and hang in there, it’s a season of life and it will change!
Family favorite is bean enchiladas! Corn tortillas filled with refried beans and cheese. Fill a 9x13 pan then pour a can of enchilada sauce over them all and top with cheese. Bake until hot. I make one pan with green sauce and one with red sauce. We have them a few times a week. Quick and easy and meatless!
This week was the first week I've had to go to my food pantry and put my hand up for help when just 3 months ago I was the one 'helping where I could' I was extremely embarrassed but I'd rather be embarrassed than my kiddos to go hungry. Life happens 😞
There is no shame in needing help. The shame is in the attitudes of people that think needing help is a failure. Taking care of your family is job 1, no matter what it takes. Another time, you'll be back to the other side of the table, and have even more empathy for your experiences.
Wow. Real tears. I’m so blessed to never have experienced hunger and this video was such an inspiration!! We never know the struggle someone else is experiencing. Thanks for sharing!!
I haven’t watched this yet, but wow!! Love how you are highlighting how important food banks are to some people and giving them and us ideas on what to do with it all. Great job x
I love what this food bank woman said about not judging others even if they pull up in a fancy car wearing expensive clothes. Truer words were never spoken . She's absolutely right! This is a true story , my new neighbors moved from half mile up street from a fancy country club . Him and his wife were literally starving . They'd go to bed hungry & wake up hungry . No money ,no food in their house , credit card debt , credit score busted . But they were both driving fancy leased cars ,wearing thousand dollar clothing. Phony ,fake for appearance. They lived directly across the street from us . He told me on the sidewalk one day how hungry he was and how they'd never starve again just to pretend to be rich ! People will do anything to show wealth to keep up with the jones. Even starve themselves . Happy ending, they turned in their leased cars for mid size used regular cars and rented a house for $1,000a month instead of $5,000 monthly at the phony country club . Now the couple have food in the house and bills paid. . I saw them daily they looked normal but none of us ever knew they were hungry . You got to check on your neighbors. Ask . Love on them
You added apples to your chicken salad sandwiches. Well my favorite tuna salad sandwich combines 2 parts apple to 1 part onion to the tuna and mayo and it's wonderful!
Adding the $40 worth of items you had on hand only added $.95/person/day - I love 💓 love these changes which make me think more creatively about cooking, storing, buying food and other items. Great video !
I’m laughing so hard bc this is how I felt with my 17 cans of red beans I got from my food pantry so the red bean recipe you gave us in the other video made me soooo grateful!!! So nice to use what you have!
I recently made a comment that 'if you were back in the depression you'd be a superstar', well I take that back, You are! Your subscribers are blessed to have found you. There are so many people that do not have your creativity at cooking and shopping savvy and they are going to need it.
Great video. I always wanted to see how the big food pantries operate. My church food pantry is on a very small scale but does a wonderful job helping the community. Love your recipes.
trying to make healthy meals on bare minimum resources is hard and people dont realize that dont judge people please anyone i work with super poor children at my schools im the crossing guard and reading buddy and some dont even have the proper clothes for weather, if you are struggling just ask the schools or a local church there are weekend backpack meals and several charitys if you are new to the area find your local red cross and ask
katrina lynn My childhood/adulthood is this. I was grateful when a teacher, who ironically fellow classmates thought was a tough and mean woman, called me aside and offered me clothes. A school I went to would do weekend drop offs of a sacked lunch too. They closed long ago. I wish I could have said thank you. I know schools do food drives, but I wish they did food drives for the students and staff. A few of my friends were at one point homeless, in high school and/or in college. I can only imagine teachers have it bad too.
Cooking from scratch is how we feed 7 on one income cheap, buying whole foods is key. We eat much healthier than I did growing up with 2 parents working and only 1 sibling. If I got this food basket 4x/month my food bill would be $0 literally. My kids would kill for those macnchz and cliff bars.
One of the scary things about schools closing temporarily due to the Covid 19 crisis is the number of kids who rely on the free lunches and/or breakfasts for the bulk of their meals for the day. From what I hear, some of the schools don't have a plan in place to keep the kids fed while the schools are closed down to stop the virus transmission.
The govt increased the SNAP food allowance for families with kids under 18 till June 2021 to cover the increased costs. They also raised the food stamp allowance till Mar 2021 for every SNAP recipient, kids or not. Some districts have pick up lunch sack meals for homeless & school families. Check out your local resources every few weeks.
I love this, Christine! I have been on the receiving end of pantry boxes. Thanks for bringing awareness to this subject and showing how you can adapt the food pantry items to make meals with very little out of pocket expenses.
I love these videos. Not because I need them because I’m just a party of one and I just snack all day and drink all night. But, I love them because they are just super wholesome and genuine. And I think in this world we all need somewhere to get out of our own head and just watch someone who has such good energy. So; thank you from Florida.
What a great video idea! This definitely deserves to go "viral". I'm so glad you are bringing food banks to the forefront and showing how to recreate meals using low priced ingredients. Love love love! ❤
That food pantry is fantastic!! I volunteer at our local pantry. You have to have everything but your underwear size to get so much as a grain of corn!! I know there are people that take and take and don't need. But there are MANY that are in terrible need. Some people just can't get all the paperwork together before the food is gone. It's ridiculous!!!!
I agree theres a food pantry nearby my work place and i feel a certain way bcuz i see ppl coming out of there with huge boxes of food and placing them into luxury cars and suv and i feel that theyre taking away from ppl who truly need it
@@letrice2892 I used to think the same way. My hubby became very, very ill and it turned our life upside down within two months. We didn't have a luxury car, but we did have a car that some might have judged us on that a family member helped us get with a personal loan. He needed it to get to his treatment in the city since our work truck wouldn't fit in the garage. The only reason we were able to hold it together was because we had 0 credit card debt before, and people were very kind donating to our family. It's two years and we are finally gaining traction in recovering financially. Hubby is doing wonderfully health wise! But it was really eye opening. Lots of people are upside down on their car loans and it would be worse to get an unreliable beater than to give their car back that they're paying on, if they aren't handy. And when you don't have much to work with, you can't really buy a beater anyway. 😞
@Lisa Kaye, that's sad. A lot of people don't even know how to go about getting all the necessary paperwork. I think all pantries should operate as this one did in the video. It isn't anyone's place to judge another. If they are taking food when they don't truly need it I believe karma will catch up to them one day. I couldn't turn anyone away that I felt may be hungry or have hungry kids at home.
I have been treated pretty badly at some food pantries around my area... some places, the workers have become very jaded and treat everyone there like a leech.
This is so great! My mom and I relied on food stamps and our church’s food pantry for a season. You’d be surprised at how many people need help for even a short time. I can’t imagine how many your video will help. THANK YOU!
Right, the entire video I was like, "taco pizza to use those beans" and she finally did! I would have used a whole can of the beans on burritos alone, but I buy the large burrito sized tortillas at Walmart or Aldi (aldi ones are softer, IMO) and I make 24 burritos and freeze them. I add ground beef, taco seasoning, and cheese and you just cook them on the griddle like she did. I roll mine burrito style though, so closed ends. The more beans you use, the creamier the burrito. and you can use less cheese this way because the creamy beans makes it seem like there is more cheese.
I would have made taco quesadillas. I used to work at a restaurant that made refried beans and bacon quesadillas. It was one of my favorite things. I still make them at home on occasion.
This is such a good video - I wish you would have updated the title to include Volunteering in the food pantry and making meals with this or something so folks would really see all this goodness
These videos are a LIFE SAVER. My family is just my mom, my two brothers and I and my mom is always looking to me to help out with dinner ideas. I love these videos because they give us so many ideas and ways to use up food that we would generally have no idea what to do with. You're amazing!
So true. I've had friends over the years that have replied on hampers, and they would complain they got 2 carrots. I'm thinking, "Good! Take these other scraps and make soup!" but using up bits and bobs is a skill like any other. If they haven't learned (I learned on the farm from my Nana), it's hard for them to be creative and think like that.
I grew up needing the food pantry, and then after we would level out, my mom would go buy a bunch of extra groceries and donate them to our local food pantry. I lived in a small town and they didn't have a big drive-up area, you just parked and went inside, you grabbed a list of what you could grab (separated by proteins, legumes, cereals, etc - kinda like WIC), a pen, and a cart. I've needed food stamps and the food pantry as an adult, but I'm much more able to buy all of my groceries from hard earned money (a blessing), and know that I'm able to help someone if they need it at this season in my life. I'm glad you do these videos, they really can help people learn how to be able to get the help they need or if they're on an extremely tight budget - they can work with what they have. Thank you for doing this type thing ❤️
Hello everyone! There seems to be some confusion about the cost breakdown on this video. I did not include the cost of the box items from the food pantry because they would have been free for anyone picking up the box. I shopped at Walmart in order to recreate the box. Although the additional items I added to make the meals I already had in the house, I did add the cost of those ingredients to my total spent - which was $37 total. So if you had $37 to add to the items in the box, you could make these same exact meals.
All that being said, every food pantry is different and there is no guarantee that this is what you will end up with. After speaking with Jessica, who runs the food pantry, she said so many times people get the box and have no idea how to cook with beans or a bag of potatoes or a whole turkey. My whole goal is to help people learn how to incorporate these services and foods and how to put together inexpensive meals that taste good.
Thank you!
God bless you 😇. Such a good video
Hey Christine, thank you for all your budget videos its helped me come along way to feeding my small family of 4.😁 I wanted to ask if maybe someday you could help us people who are lactose intolerant with some budget meals, please. Thank you again!
This was a great video! The stuff you can get from food pantries can be a bit odd ball. When my dad lost his job a couple of times when I was a kid we just ran out of money for food. We had to use the food pantry a couple of times. We lived in a nice house and had cell phones and not new cars but not hoopties. This video is going to help a lot of people.
Thank you so much for this. Since my hubby's stroke 4 yrs ago we've been struggling financially and rely on food pantries a fair amount now. The box you had is pretty representive of the one's we get - though I'd love to get a turkey since our protein is usually limited to a couple cans of tuna and occasionally a jar of peanut butter.
It's learning how to make a variety of meals with limited types of ingredients that I've have the biggest problem with, so thanks for all of the ideas.
*NOTE* : the really large cans/containers are probably coming from institutional kitchens or restaurants. We received *huge* containers of oatmeal when a seniors home in our area re-located and giant-size containers of salsa when a restaurant closed hahaha Fortunately we love both and both are pretty versatile.
If you know that potatoes, pasta and beans go in every box, perhaps you could come up with some easy to do recipes they can make, in a small hand out. Offer recipes that have add-ons that are inexpensive. Also put in tips and suggestions for ways to build their own pantry with little money. You could even talk to your local churches to see if they could do a "spice" drive to help.
It is very VERY important that we check our biases on how things look. When my mother escaped her severely abusive husband with my younger sister and Me we had a brand new car and nice clothes and literally NOTHING else. I’m glad you added that clip in.
Also especially this past year with so many losing their jobs. They probably do have nice things because they were able to afford them with their prior income.
Absolutely true, I am glad you guys made it out safely!
Some people might also take their only good jeans to give themselves a bit of dignity when out in public, you never know.
I watched an interview from someone in the system, forster child and now a foster mom, and she talked about how even as a poor person who lives paycheck to paycheck and uses foodbanks, poor people are allowed to have nice things. Poor people still get gifts, so they may have a gucci bag or a nicer car or nice makeup. Poor people dont have to look like trash, and I say poor people like people who are struggling.
When I was at my poorest if someone I knew was tone deaf enough to gift me a Gucci bag, I’d sell it. I don’t judge people on assistance who have nice clothes, cars, etc, but when you’re truly down and out frivolous luxury items are a months rent or a car payment. Choices....
❤
i love that you recreated the box instead of taking a box
There would have been nothing wrong with her taking a box. Didn’t we just hear why it’s important not to judge
@@jasmineleopard7593 I guess they mean it’s good she didn’t take a box she doesn’t need just for a video. So that the box can go to someone who will really benefit
@@BecksVegs that is exactly what I meant. But per usual, it is the internet and I was judged by being told not to judge.... lol
@@jasmineleopard7593 No it’s not good to take a box if you don’t need it. I’d judge someone for that lol
@@heatherlynsey5438 my point was that maybe she DOES need it, we shouldn't assume or judge
Christine, I know these kind of videos take you forever to make, edit, and post. I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate you. Thank you!
Thank you! They really do take forever. I couldn't believe I worked on this one for almost 3 weeks
Amen, appreciate your work.
Yes, thank you!! Very helpful! You are great at budgeting for food!!!!
@@FrugalFitMom Christine, this is my favorite of your extreme budget challenges because it was hilarious to see you try and make a meal out of some pretty absurd ingredient combinations. I hope you'll continue to do these!
Thank you for all you do. You have given me alot of great additional ideas for stretching our food. I already stretch the food, but it is so nice to have new recipes.
I actually went to this food bank and got this food, extremely grateful. Going through some tough times, which is why I found your channel in the first place
Did you know: Cut potatoes like steak fries or french fries. On a cookie sheet (I use parchment paper because my cookie sheets are old) put two tablespoons or so of oil and "toss" the taters once you cut them. 375 degrees, about half hour, turn them over, bake another half hour (your oven may vary). If you get bored with that, I like taking seasoning salt, pepper and garlic powder on them. Cook them the same way. Dirt cheap, filling and yummy.
I hope things are better for you ❤
@@sandymac7153 they actually are thank you!!
@@kaydeebug24 so awesome thanks for the update
I LOVE that you included that part about wondering about the woman's fancy car.
Years ago, I overheard 2 thrift shop employees muttering a comment about an older woman who was shopping for cheap, used clothes. The customer had pulled up in a supernice car. One employee muttered to the other, "Why does she shop here if she can drive a car like that?" They didn't count on the old woman having good hearing. She called them out, "I shop here so I can drive a car like that." I got a wicked cackle out of that comeback!
Hey if it works....
I love this video! Your attitude is so refreshing and down to earth. What the director said about not judging people who come for food is so true. You have NO idea what other people are going through. People who have nice cars may have lost jobs and the pantry is helping them get through a tough time (should they get rid of their car they ruin their chances of getting back on their feet). Don’t judge, you may some day be in the same situation.
I knew a woman who drove a Mercedes to the food stamp office-she and her husband had fallen on really hard times, the car was older but in great condition, and yes, definitely their way of getting a new job and training. It would have been stupid to get rid of it. Wasn't worth that much, at its age. People need to thank God they're not walking through the same things others are, because you never know how bad it really is. They also need to trust that most places make you present your SSN and paperwork, pay stubs, and you have to answer an extensive set of questions to get food stamps. Every step you take is investigated.
People just love to comment no matter what. I recently got a used luxury car (paid cash) and my neighbor asked my husband why he didn't get me a new car. Ugh, cuz I don't want to stay up at night worrying about car payments. And this is a big upgrade from my typical used Honda civics. You can never keep up with Jones's, lol.
Yes I had a very nice Mitsubishi Lancer that i just paid off when i had to go to the food pantry the first time.
That's so true! We have many people picking up for other people in our food pantries, and our drive-thru you may or may not have nice brand new cars or old beaters. I'd say it's easier for the volunteers to load the new cars, bcz sometimes the older cars stall while they are waiting for the food, we've had some that needed a jump!
Absolutely! Been there. We needed help after my husband lost his job. I was so insecure and embarrassed the first trip, but everyone was so kind and there were no judgements. It did a lot to lift my spirits.
If your celery is limp, cut off the top and bottom, lay in a dish covered in water. It rejuvenates and gets its crunch back!
If romaine lettuce goes soft, cut off the end, and place in a cup of with 1 inch of water, it rejuvenates and gets its crunch back! =) (kind of like putting cut flowers in water, same idea)
.mushrooms can be saved too. never leave them in plastic because they'll rot but if they dry out they can just be put in water to make them usable
Cool!! I'm gonna try this!
Thank you for this tip! I always wind up tossing limp celery!
Candle Duck wowwww! Thank YOU!
If your celery is too bitter, after you wash and cut it, put it in a bowl with water. Crisps it up beautifully and draws out a lot of the bitterness.
What an amazing place. It’s nice they don’t question people. I remember when I needed food help, my local pantry made me do an hour long interview, and told me because I didn’t have kids, they didn’t understand why I was struggling so much. It really hurt. You are an amazing lady and teaching people how to stretch money , when they may feel hopeless, and not judging people for not eating crazy healthy meals.
😢that sucks! Judgy people shouldn't be helping in that capacity, then!
oh man, can I relate! Here, if you have anything worth any money, vehicle cpmputer etc, it is an asset & counts against you. Sell it to pay the bills, now you don't qualify because you sold it. Aweful humiliating, infuriating experiences. So I live on $800 ssi a month (disabled) & qualify for no assistance, since I am a single female. It is too much to find a ride & bring all the paperwork & interviews just to get a couple cans of whatever & a head of cabbage which I cannot stand, at the food pantry. This was an awesome box.
That's crazy, I've been to many Food Banks and have never been asked why I need food! I had to apply at the Salvation Army but that was it. I even received help to pay a bill from Catholic Charities, they understood we needed help.
I bet that made them feel so superior...
everyone has had slim times. Some people just had help in other places...they may not have even been aware of it.
I was laid off. Renter so no Save Your Home program for me. Worked 2 part-time jobs cuz I couldn't find a full-time. Could barely make rent and utilities. Working 7 days and still trying to find a full-time job with insurance. Decided to apply for foodstamps. No kids. I qualified for $16 a month and I had to fight for that. Apparently my sister was obligated to feed me as I had no living parents.
Hi from México! With the refried beans you can make "molletes"... Thats Just like the pizzas you made , but instead of tomato sauce you put the refried beans and the cheese on top, then to the oven... You eat it with salsa and or avocado 🤤🤤
Super Easy and delicious
Oh that sounds good. I love refried beans and also would love to use them in more dishes.
Love love love mexican molletes - i cant eat tomatoes or tomato products. Thanks for sharing this recipe.!!😍😍😍 God bless you from grandma Katie in Oregon
@@katievdbshsh757 grandma Katie Im so glad You tried and enjoy them 🤗 love from Monterrey, México 💕
🤤🤤 I will have to try that
That sounds amazing and I shall absolutely be making this!
I love these Extreme Grocery Hauls, especially this one regarding Food Pantries. I know some young people/single parents, trying to feed kids from the local Food Pantries, and I'll get a call "How do I feed my kids with _____?"...Now I've started sending them to your channel, because your attitude is so down-to-earth and not Judging....You are a blessing.
@Kitten Lyric Why is this a "fake lying video"?
Kitten Lyric how is it fake? She explained that it’s for the extra stuff. Most people aren’t eating just from the food pantry, they are using it to supplement their groceries
Kitten Lyric she says in the video that the $37 was for the extras, since the other ingredients would have been free from the food pantry
I grew up poor, received food boxes from our church on occasion. We ate everything on rice! We never knew we were poor, we always had what we needed! In college I fell back on how my mom stretched food - My husband and I are retired in our 50’s partly due to the lessons learned from growing up very frugal! These videos are fantastic!! Love your channel
I remember when my family hit hard times whilst i was in high school. My mom was ashamed to go to a food bank but a lovely neighbor went on their own and surprised us with boxes. I'd get so happy to receive fresh vegetables 🤗. This is a great video ❤
What a fantastic attitude! Such an amazing human
I love that they don't have to prove they don't have the means to afford food. Sometimes people have to make a choice between food and a bill. It's sad. You are all amazing!!! Thanks for doing your part.
Right?!?! I think it keeps some people away too. Folks have their pride, why force them to admit they need help. It's nobody's business. Could you imagine turning someone away?
@@kristinas998 seriously. It boggle my mind that anyone thinks it’s ok to turn people away from food that’ll just go to waste otherwise
I love how real you are. It is refreshing to see relatable content instead of glamorous/expensive foods catered for social media. I am thankful to have found your channel. Keep up the good work :)
I love this idea! I'm graduating this May as a Dietetics major. Last semester I had to complete a community project and volunteered at my local food pantry. I made balanced meals only using ingredients found at the pantry. I restricted myself because all the families there were different, so no outside ingredients, but I encouraged them to be creative if they had the means to. My Mac n cheese soup with cabbage salad was a great hit. Boxed Mac n cheese, canned veggies and canned chicken with milk and spices. Cabbage salad mixed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard as the dressing. For dessert, I let everyone pick whatever fruit was given that day.
I want to say thank you for doing this challenge because it brings awareness to food insecurity, using what you have, food waste, and those with food insecurity, their nutriton intake. It is possible to have adequate nutriton intake without buying only organic, or the fancy "fake" trendy foods. This project meant a lot to me and changed my views on food insecurity that I will carry throughout my career. 😁
Bless you for teaching them! I so want to be able to do that at my food pantry. Many people don’t know how to mix things and make a good, well balanced meal. It’s intimidating to them.
I love that term 'food insecure'. Amazing and kind way to phrase.
Thank you for sharing. You're going to do beautifully in your new career with such an open mind and heart 💓
@@LMCEK thank you so much for your kind words. 🤩
Great idea with teh macaroni soup -- sounds tasty. And important that you planned an easy and accessible meal. Some families don't have funds for extra ingredients and may not have the kitchen "gadgets" that many of us take for granted like instant pots, food processors etc that make it easier to make things from scratch and stretch the budget.
I'm 20 with no kids and still thoroughly enjoy your videos, am I weird?
I don't think so! I watch all kinds of people on TH-cam!
No you’re not weird at all, your very smart!
Heck no! I wish I watched these when I was 20! It's really help my family with our food budget and offers perspective I like to keep in mind.
Not weird at all!
You don't have to cook for 6 to get good food ideas.
i just learned about the mashed potato flakes to thicken up the soups! Such a great tip.
My grandma who was a professional cook when she made mashed potatoes she would use instant and mash up one real potato so it would have lumps. It stretched out the real potatoes for other dishes.
But she was embarrassed about using instant so she hid the box in her bedside table so one would find it. My mom did when she was over her house doing the heavy cleaning but knew how her mom is so just put them back and never said anything about it.
You can also break some of the potatoes your cooking with the back of a spoon and stir. That's how my mom would thicken her beans when she was making rice and beans.
@@alexisdandrea7576 That one I knew. The problem was that for the recipe I saw it on, it was WAYYY too watery for even that. I would have had to break all the potatoes
You can use potato starch, too.
@@aruano1982 no no don't do that lol 😂
I benefitted from a program like this many years ago as a dv survivor leaving with my 4 kids. I will forever be grateful to the kindness I was shown. ❤
I grew up depending on the food box. Even in my adult life I had have to rely on it a few times. I started crying as soon as you explained what you are doing. Thank you.
Mm hmmm yessss.... @veronica
To me, that many refried beans means lots of tostadas and enchiladas.
I was like: "you should see my 5 gallon buckets of beans..." 🤷
I was like : Christine needs a Mexican friend to show her the deliciousness you can make with that ... lol
angela ramirez Tacos dorados de frijoles, enfrijoladas too :)
Wrap refried beans up in a tortilla and its a bean burrito.
When you are hungry and your wallet or pantry is empty a bowl of refried beans (with a curl of cheese if available) eaten with a spoon is food in your belly.
Me and crew eat beans, cheese, corn
Tortillas and salsa everyday for lunch. Quick, healthy and cheap.
When I was growing up, we had to utilize food banks. I remember it being the most exciting time of the month.
Some food banks let us "choose" food using a point system, which was exciting. Depending on the amount of people in the family and the ages, you were allotted a certain amount of "points" and each item of food "cost" a certain amount of "points" (ie a canned good would cost 1pt etc). It kind of maintained a regular "shopping experience". My mom used to let my sister and I pick out an item when we went to that program. I'm glad you did this video.
One our local pantries has "point shelves", and ONE "free" shelf. My church volunteered to fill the free shelf with "random" items that some recipients had asked about, simply because SOMETIMES, hope can be found in a can of milk tripe. ❤
Can you share the name of the place that does that? I would like to utilize the concept.
@@ywLDSforever I used Google this came up mannafoodbank.ca/get-support/how-it-works/ "The Point System You will be assigned a number of points based on the number of people in your family. You will then be given a grocery list in which items have a point value. Peanut butter is worth 3 points, and canned pasta is worth 1 point, for example."
My local food pantry does something similar. Meats, dairy and frozen is handed out based on family size but breads and vege are what you can fit in the grocery bags alloted to that section. Canned was also limited by family size but most people didn't take all that they could there. Lots of Mac and cheese.
Refried beans in meatloaf is a good way to hide/use them. Makes the meatloaf a great texture too.
As a mom of a toddler... THANK YOU for this. 👏👏👏
What a good tip! Thank you!
I'm gonna try that, thanks!
what a great idea! stretches the meat out a lot too!
I’ll have to try this. Thanks!❤️
Really respect you for deciding to buy the items on your own and not just taking from the food pantry. Thank you for saving that food for someone in need!
I (as an old, fat, retired fart) often like to eat on a budget even though I don't really have to. I like to grow some of my "easy" veggies. Example: I buy a bunch of green onions (scallions), eat them down close to the root, then plant them. Rather than pulling them out when mature (a month or two later) I just cut them off at ground level, eat the harvest and let them grow over and over again. I do this with other foods too. Also cool to harvest "FREE" foods like weeds: dandelions, etc. Thanks for your excellent videos. I'm a new subscriber.
This was a great video - thank you for de-stigmatizing food insecurity. Everyone should be able to eat ❤️
Paused at 0:30 to immediately give a thumbs up for volunteering at the food pantry and the innovative video idea! Now back to the video. :)
Fantastic job! I’m so glad you’re using your platform to bring awareness to food insecurity. Much love, friend! ❤️
Thank you! I didn't know if you would have time to watch with your fun scrapbooking weekend trip. ;)
My food budget is always super high and watching you prepare all of these affordable meals is helping me get it under control so I can save more money for a rainy day. Thank you!
My mom had 4 kids...when we left and had our own places my favorite Christmas gift was a special food box from mom. One year my husband and I literally spent our entire paychecks on Christmas presents because he always got a money gift from his boss. What a shock when his boss gave him a gift and not money that year. I was so panicked. My lerally got down on my knees and thanked God when I opened my mom's food box and my grampy gave me $20. That's what we lived on for the next 2 weeks til we got paid.
I really admire the use of freezer burnt / scrap items. So many just throw them away because they think it's rotten or don't know what to do.
In my area people get the boxes only once a month. This is helpful to give me ideas of pantry staples I can buy people in my church who get these to help them stretch the box and food stamps for the month. Also gives me great ideas because we are right on that line that we don’t qualify but we get tired of some of our frugal meals. Just a little change makes a big difference in a meal! 🙏🏼💕
That is a great Idea !! You will be filling in the space that a low budget pantry may need.
Consider substituting plain yogurt for sour cream. Growing up one night was chili, next chili-macaroni, chili on hot dogs. In summer many pantries include jelly, at the end of the jar you ended either water to make popsicles or milk to make “ purple cows” or “strawberry cows”. Apples cored and add bitter and brown sugar makes delicious desserts. Only had apples in winter, oven only used in winter.
I love it! “Sandwiches cut in half taste better.” It’s so true though! Why is that?
i think because it's easier to eat!
Hi, Sandy here, I always do triangles, so much better than the reg ole whole sandwich or even worse, the folded in half one (not so much).
I think you did an amazing job explaining! Without going to the food pantry it should be about 95.40+37=132.70 if you bought all the ingridents yourself. This is awesome, definitely for someone like me that is in college. If it was 132.70 for 6 people for about 2 weeks, that could last me 2 months or more for all lunches and dinners And most breakfast. For 132.70, that’s amazing!! Thank you so much! 🖤😍
if she can spend $37 on a family of 6, I can spend $20 a week rather than burn my money of fast food because I'm lazy. Lazy is making me broke lol (I could even do $10 but I live in WA)
Spend a day freezer batch cooking and you'll be sorted for one or two weeks
Absolutely! Chin up, you’re not the only one who that happens to 😀
Take it from me fast food is also killing you 4 heart attacks and 9 stents later from eating fast food most of my adult life...make your own and have a healthy life.
@@DaveS1969 ah, I didnt make it clear when I had wrote the fast food hahah I only got fast food once a week back then because I was in a wheelchair at the time. Definently cook at home :)
I was more so ordering from the sushi place down the street every couple days hurtin my wallet
I used to live in Tacoma and Winco would be my fav go-to spots. Eating out often was hurting my wallet as well.
I took actual notes on your last video like this. When this popped up I was like “How does she do it?!” You are amazing! God has used you to help so many people. Jesus bless you
You are so kind!
Christine: Oh, I just throw all these ingredients that I have on hand together and this meal comes out beautifully.
Me: *boils water* Is this dinner?
I'm dying! I can't!! :)
LOL! Omg, same.
Me too..
Candis Ellis exactly
This is pure gold. Hilarious!
I've been on the receiving end of a good pantry box. Many of the times there were a lot of random things put into the box. Lol made some strange meals but husband and kids were fed. I absolutely love this video. Lots of ideas
annika nygaard I wonder if that’s how they came up with the tv show Chopped.
I talked to my local food bank about the items in boxes and they said it's intended as a supplement, not a replacement and they assume you are still spending 10-20 on food a week to flesh out the boxes.
Christine, I just started watching your videos and It's so evident that you have a heart for ensuring people are fed. Food insecurity is very real in the US and even more prevalent across the world. Keep up the great videos!
What an amazing thing to do for people. I cannot lie I teared up a lil watching this. So many people who struggle and sometimes people who don't struggle as much forget this! I can't lie I was a very... say ignorant as a young adult. Grew up doing ok. Didn't eat caviar but don't remember being "hungry." I didn't realize until I was 18 and moved to a VERY SMALL TOWN in the northeast part of AZ. Many many kind amazing people there but there was also alot of extreme poverty. Please remember to be kind and also that just because your table may be full does not mean your neighbors table is! Happy side note... team chunky! 😉
Instant potatoes to thicken...brilliant! Why did I never think of that?! Great video! Love that you take your kids when you volunteer as well.
My mother does this when she makes her potato soup
i made the same mistake when volunteering...Never Judge that is Gods Job not ours
We receive food boxes for holidays and during school breaks. Sometimes I am at a loss for how to use some of the ingredients. Watching your videos have been so amazing. Your last extreme budget haul was a life saver and got my family of 6 through the last week of a tight month. Thank you for making these videos! I have been learning so much, and as I teacher I always love learning something new.
When you have ingredients you don't know what to do with just Google them together and you would be surprised how many ideas are out there. You can even substitute some of the rest of the stuff and make it work. Good luck !
The food pantry helped me out so much when I first became a single mom. I only went once but when I did I couldn’t help but cry my eyes out with my little one the entire time LOL! I couldn’t believe how much they gave. It was typically a lot of about to expire fresh food. So those premade salads, or the discounted breads that you see at Walmart. Even cakes! I’m still too cheap to splurge my money on that stuff, It was truly a wonderful experience in a horrible time.
Churches also have food pantries. i bring food all the time and they tell you what is needed. They can be a blessing to many who loose a job, or become ill etc. I grew up in a family of 8 and only dad worked outside the home. Mom could turn things into masterpieces with basic ingredients. I am grateful she taught me how to cook and stretch ingredients and I keep a stocked pantry when things are on sale. I enjoyed your video. Potatoes, pasta, eggs-and rice were a staple and still always on hand.
A few years ago, I started making cornbread waffles and putting my homemade chili on top with all the usual fixings I would use for tacos. It was a huge hit with my family. We also like to do a baked potato bar with chili with the toppings. Cheap and filling plus it stretches really well.
Our family loves chili over cornbread too - I usually do muffins so never tried to make waffles. Thanks for the idea!
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Great...now I want baked potatoes and they are completely gone in my area 😆😉
Love how you brought awareness to food insecurity and volunteer! You are amazing Christine!
I grew up with the only food we had was from food pantry. Those boxes look much better than the ones we usually had
I was amazed and happy to see so many good food but didn't expect it neither...
I think distribution has gotten a lot better than in past decades, at least judged by my conversations with a local food bank admin. A lot more food that would have been wasted is making it into donation boxes instead and they've been working to make a lot of corporate partnerships to collect things like packaged goods the machines spat out that weren't the right weight. Still edible but not saleable. The company can take the tax write off for the donation and save on expenses for pitching it.
I agree with you..I had to get food boxes when my son was young and they weren't even close to what they give there. We made it work and I was thankful to be able to feed my son. To this day our local food bank makes you go thru an interview and they check your income, and how much you get depends on your family size.
Katherine K wow that’s nice I never knew that!! I’m glad they don’t just throw it out if it’s not sellable.
I absolutely LOVE that the group you volunteer for makes it a point not to judge, that program sounds amazing! Far too often I see hungry people denied because of their appearance but looks can always be deceiving. You guys are great! Keep up the good work!
I think it is so humble that you shop frugally while also donating your time at the food pantry to help others. Not surprised that's thanks to being raised in a family that needed to be frugal. The people I meet, a lot of times they don't do this unless theyve experienced it themselves growing up and really know what a privilege it is to have food/financial security.
Anyways, love your videos! Just subbed and can't stop watching at the remarkable work you do!
Idea for using apples in an easy, multi-purpose way: I make what I call 'skinny apple pie' -- slice up apples like you would for a pie, dump them on a pie plate or pan, and top with maple syrup (I use SF syrup), then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and a bit of pumpkin pie spice, stir. Bake for 45 min at 350. These are amazing on top of oatmeal, great low-cal dessert just in a bowl with a squirt of whipped cream and chopped walnuts, or a spoonful on canned croissant, roll up and bake, then drizzle with a little sugar glaze.
That sounds amazing! Thank you, I'm going try it.
Another thing you can do is apple butter that is amazing on top of oatmeal and yogurt. It's just sliced apples water and cinnamon in a crockpot on low. Bonus makes you house smell amazing 😊
this is such a great idea! Thank you!
@@angieb9823 My kids love it too! Keeps in fridge for 7 days, and it freezes well also.
I do this with just the apple and cinnamon and it works too ^^ so good to just eat as is and healthier than eating a real pie =D
Refried Beans:
With eggs in the morning. OR:
Amazing breakfast tacos:
Diced potatoes - about a quarter of a inch
Diced Tomatoes - same as above
Garlic
Serrano Pepper to taste
Eggs
Salt
Cook potatoes in a bit of oil till mid way soft, add all your ingredients except eggs. Once they are soft add eggs and mix.
Heat your tortilla, put refried beans, your egg and potato mixture. Add salsa or Cholula.
Youre Welcome!
I was thinking there should be a way to make bean burgers from the refried beans. Spices, an egg, cheese, breadcrumbs, then fry. Mmmm.
As someone that has been blessed by food boxes many times through the years, thank you so much for all the help you give to your local food pantry. And thank you to any of your viewers that volunteer or donate at food pantries!
Cracked me an my s/o up.
"Some sketchy looking carrots"
"An some Sad Celery"
Yes! Spit out my coffee. She's adorable lol
Longest and best video. Please don’t ever stop. You are a saint giving hope to so many people. Because of you they can survive with limited resources. You are an angel
"Split pea soup eww"?! OMG... it's soooo goood! 🤣 Also, I LOVE this video. What a great way to 1. Bring awareness to food insecurity in our country, and 2. Give everyone some great ideas on how to get creative with meal prep. I would love to see a plant-based version of one of these "x # of meals for $xxx" videos since my family and I don't eat any animal products.
I love split pea soup too😊
Unnatural Vegan has a few videos that mention some of her favorite plant-based meals and stuff that her toddler loves.
@@EpwnaExeter I love UV, but would love to see a plant based format of this specific type of video. 😁
I love split bean soup as well my family not so much so I dont make it often.
I love split pea soup! Although I’ve only ever had my own homemade split pea soup so I would wonder if the canned stuff isn’t as good.
What a great idea to help inspire the families that receive these boxes to make use of what they have been given. I am gonna try several of these recipes and you always inspire me to use the food that I have.
Chick pea pasta is incredibly high in protein. Easily super filling without meat
Yeah, I wish she had pointed out that those would have been decent nights to skip trying to find an extra protein source, if people wanted to stretch their potentially more expensive animal products further. Still a fun and engaging video, though!
Im glad she learned not to question people . that was really nice to hear someone speak of something they thought was a mistake and learn from it and not judge
Great video
Volunteering is always such an eye-opening experience. My food pantry (for my fairly well-to-do town...I'm a townie, so the fact that it's so expensive now is odd for me) is two blocks from my house, and it was shocking (at first) how many people you wouldn't expect needed help who truly do, and it's great to see so many volunteers there!
I love your videos so much!! So eye opening! Would you ever consider doing a frugal week vegan? That would be quite the challenge and very eye opening!
Absolutely would love to see this too. I often watch videos that I can still enjoy like this one and the previous one and then just think of an alternative vegan way to do it, but if the whole thing is already vegan that makes it so much easier. They do eat beans happily so they're already partly there with being open to a meal that doesn't contain meat.
Madeline Olivia does some great budget vegan challenges if you're still looking for some 😊
Often in dishes with sausage or ground hamburger, reconstitute TVP, fry up with some bouillon or Worcester sauce or soy sauce and your veggies and it's a good sub. Add crushed red peppers, some powdered fennel for the sausage version.
This is a great video! We’ve been in the position of getting help from our church for awhile. I’ve always been grateful but seeing that box it really reminded me how lucky we’ve been and how generous our church is! To clarify all food systems are incredibly generous. Being a Latter Day Saint we received A LOT of food anytime we’ve needed it and very cohesive ingredients to put together meals. A huge blessing the times my husband has been out of work and last year they cut hours drastically for several months and a couple trips to Bishop storehouse provided plenty!
I've been getting help from the church, too. How do you turn the humiliation of needing that help into gratitude? While I'm thankful for the option to be helped in taking care of myself, it really hurts my pride. ... I'm working on it.
vanessa noakes my husband really struggled with it at first. We had( still have) 5 kids to feed and we’ve always been active and involved and willing to serve in return. That alone is very empowering. To know that we’re cleaning the church or baking a cake or something for someone or my husband and older kids helping someone move gives it a feeling of contributing back. Also knowing we were doing our best. Our bishop actually encouraged my husband to stop working so much overtime when he started working to still be available for church and family. When my husband started working he felt the need to go into over drive and work 70 hours to not need help, and he still falls into that. Our bishop sweetly and gently reminds him its more important to see you and give your family some groceries than to risk the estrangement of your testimonies ( we only have 1 car so if he’s working we all don’t get to go). Now he’s been working long enough that we can make it except on a couple of occasions where major things have happened ( last year my husband had kidney stones and missed a full week of work 😳). The loving reminders of charity and grace help. And we continuously seek out lessons to improve our self reliance. This channel has been huge for me. Just remember that Heavenly Father loves us no matter what state our finances are in and he will guide us to the people and areas we need to gain knowledge and power to improve! 😘 Good luck and hang in there, it’s a season of life and it will change!
Thank you for sharing your experience and encouragement. 💗 I hope I serve enough to make it worth the help I'm given.
You’re welcome! Just do your best and lean into God’s grace! He’s got you! 😘
Family favorite is bean enchiladas! Corn tortillas filled with refried beans and cheese. Fill a 9x13 pan then pour a can of enchilada sauce over them all and top with cheese. Bake until hot. I make one pan with green sauce and one with red sauce. We have them a few times a week. Quick and easy and meatless!
I yelled 7 layer bean dip with so much enthusiasm and excitement everytime you said refried beans.
This week was the first week I've had to go to my food pantry and put my hand up for help when just 3 months ago I was the one 'helping where I could' I was extremely embarrassed but I'd rather be embarrassed than my kiddos to go hungry. Life happens 😞
Good for you! That good karma you put out by donating/volunteering is there to help you in times of need. Hope your situation improves.
I'm so glad you got help! Yes feeding kiddos is more important than pride.
There is no shame in needing help. The shame is in the attitudes of people that think needing help is a failure. Taking care of your family is job 1, no matter what it takes. Another time, you'll be back to the other side of the table, and have even more empathy for your experiences.
I really enjoyed this video! I love that you’re teaching your children young to be awesome humans
Wow. Real tears. I’m so blessed to never have experienced hunger and this video was such an inspiration!! We never know the struggle someone else is experiencing. Thanks for sharing!!
I haven’t watched this yet, but wow!! Love how you are highlighting how important food banks are to some people and giving them and us ideas on what to do with it all. Great job x
I love what this food bank woman said about not judging others even if they pull up in a fancy car wearing expensive clothes.
Truer words were never spoken .
She's absolutely right!
This is a true story ,
my new neighbors moved from half mile up street from a fancy country club .
Him and his wife were literally starving .
They'd go to bed hungry & wake up hungry .
No money ,no food in their house ,
credit card debt ,
credit score busted .
But they were both driving fancy leased cars ,wearing thousand dollar clothing.
Phony ,fake for appearance.
They lived directly across the street from us .
He told me on the sidewalk one day how hungry he was and how they'd never starve again just to pretend to be rich !
People will do anything to show wealth to keep up with the jones.
Even starve themselves .
Happy ending,
they turned in their leased cars for mid size used regular cars and rented a house for $1,000a month instead of $5,000 monthly
at the phony country club .
Now the couple have food
in the house and bills paid. .
I saw them daily they looked normal but none of us ever knew they were hungry .
You got to check on your neighbors. Ask .
Love on them
You added apples to your chicken salad sandwiches. Well my favorite tuna salad sandwich combines 2 parts apple to 1 part onion to the tuna and mayo and it's wonderful!
Okay. The refried beans made me laugh. You gave them such an honest go. They are super filling though, so they are a good food pantry option.
This is a powerfully informative video! Hunger doesn’t discriminate!
Adding the $40 worth of items you had on hand only added $.95/person/day - I love 💓 love these changes which make me think more creatively about cooking, storing, buying food and other items. Great video !
I’m laughing so hard bc this is how I felt with my 17 cans of red beans I got from my food pantry so the red bean recipe you gave us in the other video made me soooo grateful!!! So nice to use what you have!
I recently made a comment that 'if you were back in the depression you'd be a superstar', well I take that back, You are! Your subscribers are blessed to have found you. There are so many people that do not have your creativity at cooking and shopping savvy and they are going to need it.
This video is an amazing resource for anyone that does utilize the food pantry. I love the idea behind this video.
It's also a great idea for people who donate to pantries. It gives ideas on what else to donate to help 'fill in the gaps".
You’re quite literally the most amazing woman on the planet!
I don't know about that, but thank you!
Christine, you are more of a pioneer woman than “the” Pioneer Woman.. lol ❤️
Bold words...
No kidding. The woman on that show is not a pioneer woman. I am more of a pioneer woman than that.
Michelle thank you!!! She irks me for this reason. Keep doing your real life pioneer gal stuff ☺️
I love how you show that with a few things and some staples and creativity you can make it all work out for several meals.
Great video. I always wanted to see how the big food pantries operate. My church food pantry is on a very small scale but does a wonderful job helping the community. Love your recipes.
This was one of my favorites because we recently had to get a box like this from the food pantry and I was totally lost on meals to cook. Thanks!! 💕
trying to make healthy meals on bare minimum resources is hard and people dont realize that dont judge people please anyone i work with super poor children at my schools im the crossing guard and reading buddy and some dont even have the proper clothes for weather, if you are struggling just ask the schools or a local church there are weekend backpack meals and several charitys if you are new to the area find your local red cross and ask
katrina lynn My childhood/adulthood is this. I was grateful when a teacher, who ironically fellow classmates thought was a tough and mean woman, called me aside and offered me clothes. A school I went to would do weekend drop offs of a sacked lunch too. They closed long ago. I wish I could have said thank you. I know schools do food drives, but I wish they did food drives for the students and staff. A few of my friends were at one point homeless, in high school and/or in college. I can only imagine teachers have it bad too.
Cooking from scratch is how we feed 7 on one income cheap, buying whole foods is key. We eat much healthier than I did growing up with 2 parents working and only 1 sibling. If I got this food basket 4x/month my food bill would be $0 literally. My kids would kill for those macnchz and cliff bars.
One of the scary things about schools closing temporarily due to the Covid 19 crisis is the number of kids who rely on the free lunches and/or breakfasts for the bulk of their meals for the day. From what I hear, some of the schools don't have a plan in place to keep the kids fed while the schools are closed down to stop the virus transmission.
The govt increased the SNAP food allowance for families with kids under 18 till June 2021 to cover the increased costs. They also raised the food stamp allowance till Mar 2021 for every SNAP recipient, kids or not. Some districts have pick up lunch sack meals for homeless & school families. Check out your local resources every few weeks.
@@kaythegardener i know im getting more now i still have to live very frugally so i try and shop sales and try and fin cheap meat
I love this, Christine! I have been on the receiving end of pantry boxes. Thanks for bringing awareness to this subject and showing how you can adapt the food pantry items to make meals with very little out of pocket expenses.
I love these videos. Not because I need them because I’m just a party of one and I just snack all day and drink all night. But, I love them because they are just super wholesome and genuine. And I think in this world we all need somewhere to get out of our own head and just watch someone who has such good energy. So; thank you from Florida.
What a great video idea! This definitely deserves to go "viral". I'm so glad you are bringing food banks to the forefront and showing how to recreate meals using low priced ingredients. Love love love! ❤
Taco pizza's are actually tostadas in the latino world lol you can add ground beef to it too 😍 Loved all these ideas & meals. Thanks!!
Juliea yes!!!! & they are the bomb diggity!!! lol look at me... I’m showing my age here! 😂😂🤣
was going to say that too!
(but this is on pizza crust or naan bread, although I would personally prefer these toppings on a crisp tortilla :)
“It’s probably way too much Christine” said no subscriber of yours ever, Christine!
Ha! Thanks!
That food pantry is fantastic!! I volunteer at our local pantry. You have to have everything but your underwear size to get so much as a grain of corn!! I know there are people that take and take and don't need. But there are MANY that are in terrible need. Some people just can't get all the paperwork together before the food is gone. It's ridiculous!!!!
I agree theres a food pantry nearby my work place and i feel a certain way bcuz i see ppl coming out of there with huge boxes of food and placing them into luxury cars and suv and i feel that theyre taking away from ppl who truly need it
Letrice Lynch could be an Uber! Just cause someone’s rolling up in a nice car doesn’t mean it’s not a friend or an Uber/Lyft!
@@letrice2892 I used to think the same way. My hubby became very, very ill and it turned our life upside down within two months. We didn't have a luxury car, but we did have a car that some might have judged us on that a family member helped us get with a personal loan. He needed it to get to his treatment in the city since our work truck wouldn't fit in the garage. The only reason we were able to hold it together was because we had 0 credit card debt before, and people were very kind donating to our family. It's two years and we are finally gaining traction in recovering financially. Hubby is doing wonderfully health wise! But it was really eye opening. Lots of people are upside down on their car loans and it would be worse to get an unreliable beater than to give their car back that they're paying on, if they aren't handy. And when you don't have much to work with, you can't really buy a beater anyway. 😞
@Lisa Kaye, that's sad. A lot of people don't even know how to go about getting all the necessary paperwork. I think all pantries should operate as this one did in the video. It isn't anyone's place to judge another. If they are taking food when they don't truly need it I believe karma will catch up to them one day. I couldn't turn anyone away that I felt may be hungry or have hungry kids at home.
I have been treated pretty badly at some food pantries around my area... some places, the workers have become very jaded and treat everyone there like a leech.
I’m vegan and I still got a lot of value out of this video. A lot of it, if not all, could be made vegan with some simple adjustments. Thank you!
Don't forget about plain bean burritos - Taco sauce, refried beans, onions and cheese.
This is so great! My mom and I relied on food stamps and our church’s food pantry for a season. You’d be surprised at how many people need help for even a short time. I can’t imagine how many your video will help. THANK YOU!
Refied bean use idea: I use it to thicken chili, they'll be none the wiser;)
Haha....just got to 19:59 in the video!!!
Right, the entire video I was like, "taco pizza to use those beans" and she finally did! I would have used a whole can of the beans on burritos alone, but I buy the large burrito sized tortillas at Walmart or Aldi (aldi ones are softer, IMO) and I make 24 burritos and freeze them. I add ground beef, taco seasoning, and cheese and you just cook them on the griddle like she did. I roll mine burrito style though, so closed ends. The more beans you use, the creamier the burrito. and you can use less cheese this way because the creamy beans makes it seem like there is more cheese.
I would have made taco quesadillas. I used to work at a restaurant that made refried beans and bacon quesadillas. It was one of my favorite things. I still make them at home on occasion.
🙌🏻
@@kareydwyer9088 What a great idea. I love refried beans and I love quesadillas and never thought to combine the two. Thank you!
This is such a good video - I wish you would have updated the title to include Volunteering in the food pantry and making meals with this or something so folks would really see all this goodness
These videos are a LIFE SAVER. My family is just my mom, my two brothers and I and my mom is always looking to me to help out with dinner ideas. I love these videos because they give us so many ideas and ways to use up food that we would generally have no idea what to do with. You're amazing!
I really appreciate the foodbank dosen't require means testing since a lot of people who are transient don't have documentation for lots of reasons
This may be my favorite video that you have ever made! Great work!
Thank you!
SAME
Great ideas! I think a lot of food gets wasted from food pantry boxes because people just don't know what to do with it.
So true. I've had friends over the years that have replied on hampers, and they would complain they got 2 carrots. I'm thinking, "Good! Take these other scraps and make soup!" but using up bits and bobs is a skill like any other. If they haven't learned (I learned on the farm from my Nana), it's hard for them to be creative and think like that.
Ur absolutely brilliant and I just adore ur sense of humor. Tfs this should be super helpful to ALOT of people. Well done!!!!!
I grew up needing the food pantry, and then after we would level out, my mom would go buy a bunch of extra groceries and donate them to our local food pantry. I lived in a small town and they didn't have a big drive-up area, you just parked and went inside, you grabbed a list of what you could grab (separated by proteins, legumes, cereals, etc - kinda like WIC), a pen, and a cart. I've needed food stamps and the food pantry as an adult, but I'm much more able to buy all of my groceries from hard earned money (a blessing), and know that I'm able to help someone if they need it at this season in my life. I'm glad you do these videos, they really can help people learn how to be able to get the help they need or if they're on an extremely tight budget - they can work with what they have. Thank you for doing this type thing ❤️
I love the use of refried beans in chili, I never would have thought of that!