I Change the Rules in My Second Month

As you can see, when it comes to spices,  I am  equal opportunity. 

I am going to change the rules as I go forward and use everything in my pantry. Admittedly I have more condiments, more spices, more everything than the average person but if I am really going to keep going on this budget, it doesn't make sense to ignore what I have on hand. Among others I have four different flours (white, whole wheat white, whole wheat and for some reason, bread flour); most spices, both esoteric and predictable; three kinds of oats (steel cut, gluten free and old fashioned); three kinds of sugar (white, brown and confectioners); other sweeteners like honey, maple syrup and agave; panko bread crumbs; yellow cornmeal; about 4 cups walnuts; 2 cups mixed dried fruit; soy sauce; Worcestershire sauce;  4 boxes of pasta; two kinds of Tabasco; two kinds of vinegar (balsamic and red), two kinds of oil (olive and canola), a few cans of tuna, some diced tomatoes, baking soda, baking powder, two kinds of vanilla extract: two kinds of Tuong Ot Sriracha (coarsely ground and smooth) and three boxes of chicken broth. Eventually much of this will be gone and I will have to replenish from my SNAP budget. 

Someone brought me a ripe avocado and a ripe mango. I am going to use them too. At last count my son has six kinds of pretzels but I'm not going to touch them.

Also, I have to travel a bit this month and so will deduct $6.45 for each day I am away.  

Last week I met with three people from the Department of Transitional Assistance. Their mission is to "assist low-income individuals and families to meet their basic needs, increase their incomes, and improve their quality of life." In other words, they oversee SNAP. I asked them who the "typical" SNAP recipient is. They told me that they get asked that all the time and that there is no clear answer. Some are individuals living in hotels, without kitchens, some are large middle class families who have fallen on hard times, some are elderly couples. 

Basically whoever you imagine is on SNAP, is on SNAP. 

My pals at DTA also told me about a pilot program called HIP (Healthy Incentives Pilot). Their motto: "It's HIP to be healthy!"Every time you spend $10. on fruits and vegetables ( fresh, canned, dried or frozen, most but not all are included), you get $3. credit to future SNAP purchases. Having been doing this now for almost 6 weeks, this kind of additional money could really make a difference. In fact, I might go so far as to say that if you were on SNAP and took advantage of them, you'd eat really well.