Breadline Families - Make Stuff Go Further Tips

gingin_2

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

Sorry , its against health and safety rules to load the back of a baby's buggy with heavy bags - even a value 4 pack of tin toms, another one of beans, jumbo milk cos cheaper, potatoes, apples etc would be too much. Local chippies do a cone of chips for about a pound is what I hear.

.

OK - I fell for it. So you're on a wind up. Nice one even though it could have made for a very informative thread.

onlyroz

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

Sorry , its against health and safety rules to load the back of a baby's buggy with heavy bags - even a value 4 pack of tin toms, another one of beans, jumbo milk cos cheaper, potatoes, apples etc would be too much. Local chippies do a cone of chips for about a pound is what I hear.

So the basket underneath the buggy must be crammed full with ciggies and beer then? What about a back-pack or free online delivery (and if you don't have internet try the local library for free access). And as already mentioned, those on low income will get free school meals.

NewCustomerOnly

OMG - lol lol lol, Like I said I don't believe this!! Deliver????? Did you think these mums have £6.99 left over? Delivery charges are for people who don't have to worry about tomorrow's dinner. These families can't make soup cos to do that they's have to put extra money in the meter which they have come Thursday! 'often' is no good when little ones are relying on you to provide. Lots of hardworking families who were getting school dinners now don't qualify and these things are pushing them over the edge - til May 2015.

onlyroz

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

OMG - lol lol lol, Like I said I don't believe this!! Deliver????? Did you think these mums have £6.99 left over? Delivery charges are for people who don't have to worry about tomorrow's dinner. These families can't make soup cos to do that they's have to put extra money in the meter which they have come Thursday! 'often' is no good when little ones are relying on you to provide. Lots of hardworking families who were getting school dinners now don't qualify and these things are pushing them over the edge - til May 2015.

As I said in my previous post, it is very easy to get a voucher to cover the delivery charges. Myvouchercodes.co.uk are currently offering £10 off a £50 shop for your first order. Here are some others:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/vouchers/tesco.com

And here is plenty of veg that costs less than a cone of chips:
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/ProductBuylist/default.aspx?id=L00003979&icid=Value2011_fruitsaladsvegetables

Re free school meals - you should qualify if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
- Working Tax Credit 'run-on'

Chakani

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

How do you propose to get them and their buggies to the shops that sell those? My young workng mums I support haven't even got the bus fare to get off the huge estate! They are in low paid work like care or creche. Irony is that they then depend on the hugely expensive estate corner shop - honestly, I cannot believe how much ignorance there is out there, especially from this soft privileged tory coalition. Fresh nutritious food is a luxury most of these families cant reach - chips from burger king (hot and filling) vs One! cauliflower = £1.20

Like all of us, they would have to plan their journeys, and plan their shopping. Presumably they either travel to work, and could plan to shop either on the way, or at lunchtime, or they are unemployed and have time to walk. There are very few of us who can't get to a supermarket if we really need to. I can carry several shopping bags between my buggy and a rucksack. In fact they could even get together and order a delivery - there would be free internet at the library - orders over £100 get free delivery from several of the supermarkets - four of them ordering £25 worth each would cover that. There are ways round lots of difficulties.

I am neither soft, nor overpriviledged (although I no longer live on such a budget), and I am very aware of the ways in which life can be difficult on a low income.

That cauliflower might cost £1.20, and I assume (because I haven't been to a BK for a long time, that a portion of chips for one person costs about £1?). The cauli (not a cheap vegetable), with a handful of potatoes, carrots and a tin of chickpeas, along with the aforementioned pennies-worth of spices would make a healthy and nutritious curry that would feed my family for three meals.

In fact, the costing work has been done for me http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-bakedbeancurry.html?opt=rfivehigh - costs 33p per portion, and includes three portions of veg. That's a third of the cost of the chips.

Nicki

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

Sorry , its against health and safety rules to load the back of a baby's buggy with heavy bags - even a value 4 pack of tin toms, another one of beans, jumbo milk cos cheaper, potatoes, apples etc would be too much. Local chippies do a cone of chips for about a pound is what I hear.

:rotfl: :rotfl: That's one of the most feeble excuses I've ever heard! I have often put that quantity and weight of food in the basket under DS's pushchair and am happy to walk up to 2 miles there and back similarly loaded. If they don't want to hang additional bags from the handles of the pushchair they can use a backpack or even a bag for life which can be worn over the shoulder which are very strong.

I recently put a 4 piece dinner service (dinner plates, bowls, side plates and mugs), a 4 piece cutlery set and some tea towels and washing up liquid in a single Tesco Bag for life, slung it over my shoulder and pushed the baby in his buggy a mile and a half carrying this load to the nearby homeless centre who were looking for household goods to set up homeless people in bedsits. It weighed a lot more than a bag of potatoes, a pack of beans and a large jug of milk, I can tell you, but we got there unscathed. Though I am not lardy and unfit from a daily diet of Burger King and jam sandwiches and nor is the baby I was pushing, which may well have helped

Taadaa

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

How do you propose to get them and their buggies to the shops that sell those? My young workng mums I support haven't even got the bus fare to get off the huge estate! They are in low paid work like care or creche. Irony is that they then depend on the hugely expensive estate corner shop - honestly, I cannot believe how much ignorance there is out there, especially from this soft privileged tory coalition. Fresh nutritious food is a luxury most of these families cant reach - chips from burger king (hot and filling) vs One! cauliflower = £1.20

A cauli would feed more than one person with a bit of cheese sauce and would be more nutritious and filling. Chips from a fast food chain - are they even potatoes??

I don't see anything wrong with a jam sandwich every now and then - the same of anything, whether good or bad, every day can't be good for you, a variety is needed. I wouldn't give my child toast in the morning and a bread sandwich at lunchtime, for example. What about encouraging a bit of grow your own?

Taadaa

I used to load my pram up as well. Needs must.

MandM90

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

OMG - lol lol lol, Like I said I don't believe this!! Deliver????? Did you think these mums have £6.99 left over? Delivery charges are for people who don't have to worry about tomorrow's dinner. These families can't make soup cos to do that they's have to put extra money in the meter which they have come Thursday! 'often' is no good when little ones are relying on you to provide. Lots of hardworking families who were getting school dinners now don't qualify and these things are pushing them over the edge - til May 2015.

I had an order from tesco last week and it cost £2.50 to deliver (plus as it was my first time I got £10 off £50 spend). I don't know where you are paying £7 to order your £1.20 cauliflowers but you are being royally ripped off!

There are parents who manage to feed their families nutritious meals on an absolute pittance; with a little planning, experimentation and hunting around it is definitely possible. If these mums can scrape together enough for a return bus ride they can buy 1kg of potatoes for 59p. If you need to fill up your kids cheaply, this works out much better than BK even taking electricity into account and could be even cheaper at a market or ethnic grocers.

Also, being concerned about loading up the pram but advocating a diet so poor in vitamins? The kids are more likely to break bones from rickets from poor diet and never leaving the estate than a fall from an overloaded pram (which won't happen if you keep your hands on it the whole time) than I think you are having us on :rotfl:

lostinrates

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

OMG - lol lol lol, Like I said I don't believe this!! Deliver????? Did you think these mums have £6.99 left over? Delivery charges are for people who don't have to worry about tomorrow's dinner. These families can't make soup cos to do that they's have to put extra money in the meter which they have come Thursday! 'often' is no good when little ones are relying on you to provide. Lots of hardworking families who were getting school dinners now don't qualify and these things are pushing them over the edge - til May 2015.

Delivery charge used to be cheaper for me than petrol to the same supermarket ( rural dwellers someines find this). Choose the least popular time slot, for my old area that was the 9 to eleven at night one.


In some cases if asa much energy went into providing well, including the free school meals, as making excuses why not to, meals would get onto the table more easily.


Also....foraging. Nettles are great for a highly nutritious soup.....though need to be washed very well and got fron the areas least likely to be peed on, a problem every where but especially urban areas. My pollarded lime trees are just about to break bud into leaf, these make ok greens for adding to a cheese sandwich. Dandlions are great greens, and window sill growing of as mush salading and sprouts as possible can be valuable for health on a budget.