Poverty and Your Pantry

I don’t know about y’all but inflation is KILLING us.

And if I learned anything from my mom and my life it’s that food security is SO important.

When you are so poor that you don’t know if your gonna be able to pay rent, let alone what you are gonna feed your kids that week, it freaking messes with your mind😫

I am naturally a “striving for sustainability” person so usually I don’t just “buy buy buy” random crap. I’m not spending money on nails and lashes if I could be stocking our pantry. (For some of you, that’s your thing, but it’s not mine) It’s funny how poverty can change your habits and mindset.

Sooooooo

Currently my pantry is in a pretty good place for us. I can ACTUALLY SEE all my food that will be shelf stable for a while. However, some things I’ve also learned during my poverty adventures is this…

1. Dried and canned goods are cheaper than the crappy stuff. Period. They are better for you and budget friendly.

2. You need to know HOW to cook and prepare dried goods. Even for those of you who are prepers etc. EVERYONE needs to know how to soak and cook dry beans.

3. If you don’t usually eat those kids of goods, you need to. Learn to eat them. If your “tastes” are more expensive, incorporate some of these cheap, healthy, and shelf stable items into your diet. Grow up. Eat rice and beans! It’s what the rest of the world does!

4. Learn how to rotate a pantry. (That includes eating the food.)

5. Learn how to can and ferment etc!

My goal is to learn how to make water keifer and kombucha!

Even if homesteading isn’t your hobby or you don’t plan on doing those things (or you can’t afford to buy all the fancy equipment) LEARNING HOW IS FREE! There might come a time when you can’t go to the store. There might be a time where you have to grown your own food and preserve it for the winter🤗

6. Save Jars!

A pickle jar has way more uses than a jar for pickles.

7. Write a list of your household staples you know you eat. If you were to look in your pantry and there was no rice, how would that make you feel? What do you buy that you could make from other ingredients?

8. Don’t be afraid to use resources that are available. All food pantries are different. If you’re poor, do poor people things. It’s okay! Obviously don’t abuse the system, but if it’s the difference of your kids eating more variety that week vs peanut butter and jelly for every meal, be brave and get help.

You can also hit up more than one pantry! Some pantries are very involved in your personal life, some just hand you a box of random food. Some help build your pantry, others give you fresh food that’s about to expire. All in all be brave and get out there.

9. Buy when things go on sale, or check out the clearance section. Very often there is a bag or beans or a jar of sauce in that section you can get for half the price.

10. Bulk stores. Sometimes it’s cheaper to go to the bulk section to get dried goods. It can also be zero waste if that’s your thing!

11. GIVE BACK

If you ARE struggling financially and you have used some of the charitable resources out there find ways to give back. If you know a family who is struggling too, go to the panties together. If you are in a better place financially, donate some food, or make a meal for someone, or go volunteer!

I’ve been in both places in my life. For the first part of my life I was always on the side of serving and volunteering. I just felt so sad for those people (and sometimes they were really sketch!) but now I’ve experienced the other side of the service. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried about the generosity of others. People are so nice and would NEVER let you go hungry.

*Disclaimer

If you ABUSE these resources. SHAME on you. There are people I’ve known in this community that take when they have the ability to provide for themselves. They just choose not to. The WORST was when your a mom who just dragged herself to the food pantry with her screaming littles and the single man in front of you takes every single jug of milk, every pie, and all the squeeze applesauce packets. Like really dude? Be aware of others who may be in your same situation.