Extreme Poverty Foods and Meals

[peggy]

Rice and beans; beans and rice.

Kara

yep, and chili. A little bit of chili and a lot of rice. Potatoes were cheap too, and pasta. Peppers, bell peppers, used to be cheap.

[Nella]

First year of college I survived on powdered onion soup, popcorn and ice cubes. Every once in a while I'd splurge on a 25 cent box of mac-n-cheese or a quart of milk if it was on sale. So glad those days are behind me! Thirty years later I still love the luxurious feel of going to the grocery store and loading up a cart.

[Jemima]

One Mission Night at church we were served a typical meal for the Karen people (a minority group in Myanmar, from which we had adopted several refugee families) which consisted of a small bowl of white rice with a dab of something spicy hot on top. The idea was to take a forkful of rice and a tiny bit of the hot stuff together. (I've noticed that hot seasonings make me feel like I've just had a hearty meal even when I've eaten lightly.)

This is going to sound like luxury to those of you who have really suffered, but I got by in my Workers' Comp days by eating a lot of homemade soups, mostly beans or split peas, accompanied by either a Velveeta or peanut butter sandwich. I feel so blessed after reading the previous stories.

[Lainey]

Peanut butter and margarine on white bread for lunch in elementary school. Milk made from powder and water. For years, til the older kids moved out.

Margarine sprinkled with sugar on a slice of white bread for a rare treat.

Ditto Nella the idea of going into the grocery store and getting everything you need and most of what you want.

[Lainey]

One more I forgot: my parents bought canned goods on sale from a store that had been flooded. The labels had pulled away from the cans and were lost in the flood, so when the cans were opened each day for dinner it was a big surprise: could be peaches, could be tuna, could be soup, you just never knew! We all thought it was kind of fun, although it wasn't til years later as an adult that I saw the horrified look on others' faces when I told that story..

[Tiam]

I remember being very poor when I left home. Brown rice, tea, and a giant zucchini in the fridge were it. I hated it. Potatoes are fantastic for being poor too. Nowadays, there really is a lot of food about for poor folks who really need it. I still go to the salvation army daily and get free bread, veggies and what not that they are just giving away. I don't go to churches anymore, but many have food giveaways. There is a local clothing giveway shop that has left over Little Caesar breadsticks, pototoes, bread and what not. Especially in the late summer, there is a plethora of fresh veggies. If I was literally starving, I could get by. It's the little things that cost you, like oil to fry with. Soy sauce and salt and spices to cook with. Ramen noodles of course. It's not impossible to get by. But it can be quite boring and cause food fatigue and be an issue of nutrients.

[goldensmom]

My father came from a family of 12 children and said that during the depression breakfast was a slice of bread and a cup of coffee; lunch taken from home for school was a lard sandwich sprinkled with sugar and dinner was one ladle of soup and one slice of bread. No food stamps, food pantries or commodities back then. They had a farm but the produce and milk was sold not consumed. We whine and think we have it so bad today.

[Simplemind]

I spent a stretch of time living on Ramen. I still think of it as a comfort food and eat it on occasion even though I know it is horrible. I remember when it was a nickle a pack.

[Selah]

When I was in college and out of the dorms (i.e. paying for my own apartment), I subsisted on Ramen noodles and frozen burritos for several years. When I got my first teaching job in a private school in Finland, my wages were so low after paying for my "company subsidized" apartment (they actually got sued later for charging teachers MORE than what the apartments were being rented for), I lived on tunafish, yogurt and pasta for a year. I lost a LOT of weight and was hungry most of the time. I didn't have a boyfriend until the end of my first year, and I remember being so grateful when he'd cook dinner for me...I actually got to have a full belly!

[CathyA]

Oh my........some of these stories are so sad. Makes me feel like I eat enough for a small nation.
I think the beans and rice and potatoes are the best suggestion, since beans are cheap and full of good nutrition.
Filling up on white bread and sugar isn't good at all, nutritionally. Beans, beans, beans. Get the protein in.