Feeding the family on low wage or benefits ?

[Leekbrookgull]

Just watched that Panorama programme on the Blackburn estate and as you so often see the parents or parent shopping and buying £1 pizza's bag of sauages 30 for £2 you get the idea. Thankfully the LBG household has never been in that position (hope it stays that way) However somehow that seems an expensive poor quality diet (?) route Potato's are cheap for the amount and what you can do with them. Pasta/rice/noodles again at the lower end and give you cooking options. Maybe i am wrong ? Over to you.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

I've noticed that some families fill their trollies with smart price or value food but always seem to go for branded alcohol and won't go near the cheap stuff - Priorities?

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Not seen that,but will look now. Like i say 10lb of spuds for £2 bit of cheese/beans whatever must be better diet/meal than £1 pizza ?

 

[banjo]

I think its very sad that families in this day and age still struggle to feed their families and deserve more help. Not watched the programme mentioned but how many of the parents were smoking. every time I've watched similar programmes most parents are sat there with a fag.

 

[macky]

i think living on benefits and some sort of depression go hand in hand
a lot out there cant be bothered Thing is with kids you cant afford to get depressed
and theres always plenty of fruit for a pound a bag

 

[dandanthebrightonfan]

I though everyone on benefits watched sky all day and lived on takeaways !!

 

[Lady Gull]

Sixteen years ago I was a single mum of a 2 year old living on Income Support - did it for four years - its not easy living on benefits - one week of my money had to go towards my mortgage too as there was a shortfall that the DHSS wouldn't pay - I would never judge anyone as to what they feed their kids on or how they do it.

I like cooking and we managed quite well on shepherd's pies, chilli, spag bol, lasagne - I had a friend who was in the same position as me so we took turns in cooking for the kids and we became very good at shopping at times when they reduced stuff!!! So much so that when I met my partner and he moved in and I came off benefits and used to go shopping he used to take the piss out of me because I couldn't get out of the habit of looking for bargains!!!

Decent fruit and veg is not cheap though when you are having to shop on a budget but up North they have markets and stuff I am surprised they don't get fruit and veg from there - I used to go to a guy along Portland Road in Hove and buy my fruit and veg, he got to know my son and I would get home from the shops and find loads of extra stuff in the bag I hadn't bought!!!! melons, pineapples, kiwis LOLOLOL

 

[jevs]

If you're on a tight budget, £2 for 30 sausages is going to go a lot further than 12 Tescos finest sausages for £5. Sometimes quality has to be sacrificed.

The price of meat in the supermarket has soared and there seems to be less and less offers around. I certainly can't afford £20 for a leg of lamb for sunday roast !!! Even usually cheaper cuts of meat such as chicken thighs have soared since all these chefy programmes have said they're cheap. I will always buy stuff that's on offer or cheaper and i have 2 reasonable incomes.

It can be a tough world out there.

 

[Lady Gull]

They will always do these programmes showing a family from a council estate - not all single mum's or dad's on benefits live in council houses! I didn't, I live in a decent area of Shoreham and had a husband who was a civil engineer and was earning very good money - I was working as a PA to a Consultant Psychiatrist and my life changed overnight!! I had never ever even set foot in the DHSS before the day I had to go down there to sort out my benefit and was told I had to give up my job or I wouldn't get any help!

 

[marshy68]

Just watched that Panorama programme on the Blackburn estate and as you so often see the parents or parent shopping and buying £1 pizza's bag of sauages 30 for £2 you get the idea. Thankfully the LBG household has never been in that position (hope it stays that way) However somehow that seems an expensive poor quality diet (?) route Potato's are cheap for the amount and what you can do with them. Pasta/rice/noodles again at the lower end and give you cooking options. Maybe i am wrong ? Over to you.

totally agree with you but a lot of these people dont even know that chips come from potato's - got to start with education - Jamie Oliver tried and got slaughtered. Remember the program where he did heathly school meals and the mums were shoving burgers through the school fence....

 

[Lady Gull]

totally agree with you but a lot of these people dont even know that chips come from potato's - got to start with education - Jamie Oliver tried and got slaughtered. Remember the program where he did heathly school meals and the mums were shoving burgers through the school fence....

Exactly this x

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

There is plenty of nice and healthy meals you can cook on a low budget, it's normally because they are to lazy to learn to cook or make an effort.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Jev,s Lady Gull seems to have 'nailed' it' (if that is right ?) I cant see the point in buying cheap sausages as quality is poor and as you say 12 at Tesco you can't afford. Why a Cauli off the market a few spuds bit of cheese away you go,that must be healthy and cheaper ? Just asking.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Complete,fully agree.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

There is plenty of nice and healthy meals you can cook on a low budget, it's normally because they are to lazy to learn to cook or make an effort.

That is the difference, there are lazy parents who just can't be bothered.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

What annoys me when I go food shopping is that it seems like the unhealthy shit is the cheap option and the nice, healthy options are quite expensive. I bloody love things like raspberries, grapes, blackberries etc but at £3 a go I feel like I'm being raped if I buy them. But if I want 30 pieces of shortbread, six muffins, a bag of popcorn, bags of Haribo or chocolate puddings it's £1 or less a go. Someone needs to have a word and put the price up on the crap and make fruit and veg next to free.

Although the cost of producing it is nothing like what we pay, it is still far cheaper making processed food than it is with fresh food.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Jev,s Lady Gull seems to have 'nailed' it' (if that is right ?) I cant see the point in buying cheap sausages as quality is poor and as you say 12 at Tesco you can't afford. Why a Cauli off the market a few spuds bit of cheese away you go,that must be healthy and cheaper ? Just asking.

It might be healthier (and actually taste better) but can you guarentee that the children will eat it, having been brainwashed previously by convenience food adverts on the tv. Also by the time you have priced all the ingredients a £1 pizza might even be cheaper (even though it tastes and has the nutrient value of cardboard).

 

[Lady Gull]

What annoys me when I go food shopping is that it seems like the unhealthy shit is the cheap option and the nice, healthy options are quite expensive. I bloody love things like raspberries, grapes, blackberries etc but at £3 a go I feel like I'm being raped if I buy them. But if I want 30 pieces of shortbread, six muffins, a bag of popcorn, bags of Haribo or chocolate puddings it's £1 or less a go. Someone needs to have a word and put the price up on the crap and make fruit and veg next to free.

Yep - its not cheap to eat decent fruit - I think, my memory serves me well I had about £25 quid a week to spend on food and that had to include a bag of nappies and you can't use Tesco value nappies as they really are crap - as anyone with kids knows Pampers or Huggies were the only nappies to buy and that took a lot of my budget - I was lucky though I had a mum and a bro that used to help me out and would bring round a huge box of nappies when they visited or used to buy my son's school shoes from Clarkes for me - some people don't have a good network of support from family and friends - I was very lucky as without my friend's and family it would have been even worse.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

I find that the people that don't feed their kids properly are normally wasting it on other things, I've seen some parents give their kids £5 to buy something for breakfast on the way to school and for lunch when they could have bought their kid breakfast all week for the same £5 if they got up early and stopped watching daytime tv.

The real heroes are the single parents who manage to work and still have time to prepare their kids healthy meals and provide a clean comfy home