From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

rtandon27 said:

......  I did point out to OH that tomorrow morning they will go nicely with our MrL poached eggs & he won't be laughing at me then!

Too blessed right sweetie! 

LG would - for certain sure - be interested in exploring YS'd goodies, or 'waste diversion' goodies with you rt.  At the mo -  given a choice of waste doughnuts or waste carrots, y'all are going to know what they will pick, but they do understand what veg we "usually" have coming into the house, and will look out for that - in addition to keeping a weather eye on the availability of apples, strawberries, blueberries and chocolate cookies 😉

We'll catch up with you sometime, either here or maybe in 'The True North' 😉

Greying X

Farmers-wife_2

Greying_Pilgrim said:

Good Afternoon MFW'rs

Success today.  We went to the market town across the way.  

I got a couple of tops for LG.  Just under a fiver spent for t-shirts, of interest/good quality. One will definitely do for this summer, the other will do for this summer and next I think.  They were new, but from an 'outlet' type store.  LG bought a book at a chazzer.  We decided to get a coffee (you're asked for a donation), at the community cafe, which is also the HQ for that particular town's food waste diversion charity.  I don't know how linked they are to the one in Greying town.  They aren't of the same "franchise" as the one in Greying Town, but they do have some sort of connection.    Anyway, we had a lovely cup of coffee made by an enthusiastic volunteer.  Then as we sat down (in the sun by a window - DH has no idea of being a "woman of a certain age" 🥵 we noticed that there were boxes of food items on the table across the hall.  People were just wandering up - as they were waiting for their 'waste' lunch (pay what you can, although a guide is given), and taking stuff from the boxes.  There was plenty - and I mean plenty. 

When I'd finished my coffee, I went to have a look, and was immediately pounced on by a volunteer, imploring me to 'take something, take what you like, take as much as you like, we've got so much and it's not moving'.  It was embarrassing how much there was (very little bread, but loads of veg).  So I chucked in the remainder of my May budget in the collection tin (I'd bought a loaf), and took some veg that I know we will use.  The food was in it's original packaging (no brown bags).  This charity is - at least - clear in it's mission to avoid food going to landfill.  A 'strongly suggested' (but possibly not rigidly enforced), charge for the meals they create is given, but they do also tell you "why" - (power, heat, water, etc for the cooking/washing up/presentation of meals and provision of cutlery etc) Prior to C'vid the charity was much more about using waste food to make delicious food for anyone to eat, and there was less emphasis on making a donation.  I don't think the system was abused, but I do think costs have leapt up since that time.  There was only one other child in the room though apart from LG, which given it's half-term was surprising.

Pizza and oven chips for tea.

The weather has been variable here today.  Raining one minute, roasting hot the next.  It's like we need a good downpour to sort it out, as the prevailing condition is "muggy", which is not nice - whether you're a "woman of a certain age" or not 🙄

I must amend my siggie figgie.  I'm bust - with one day to go - although we have food to eat for tomorrow, so I think I shall be able to meet my target.  

Greying X

I wonder if the charity (and the other food-waste project) is lottery funded?
I work on a National Lottery funded project and, in the last two years, have been strongly encouraged to show we are not solely reliant on lottery funds. In bids for future funding, we need to show that we can generate external income, which unfortunately means we have to be a little more insistent that service users put something in the pot, where once we could have had a more laissez faire attitude. 

However, it does sound like the food surplus volunteer needs more training.

Watty1

Lovely catch up.    Made me love my village a little more.  The charity shop puts a polite blackboard up outside when it cannot take donations and one on the door explaining it is a safety issue for them and they are grateful for the stuff but could someone wait a few days. 

The food bank in the church is both donations from locals and surplus from the village stores and bakery. There is always bread and cakes and there is no policing of the table and fridge (although it is managed since it was found that some people were taking everything - so - now - the volunteers pop in and just restock rather than put everything out and there is a discreet camera somewhere).

The volunteers that run both are just so lovely. Sad it is not the same everywhere.

Greying_Pilgrim

Ah, Farmers-Wife_2 - that would make sense about the lottery funding, certainly the organisation in Greying Town have had external funding, and I would imagine Lottery has been part of that.  Not so sure about the one we visited yesterday, but having said that, I'm not entirely convinced such large scale operations could exist without charitable funding - so it's the most likely explanation.  Ironically, yesterday there was just so.much.stuff - they were putting out more as we left, and the place wasn't open beyond the end of lunch.  I'm not sure how many days a week the operation is open - and for how long.  I'm going to hazard a guess at at least twice a week for a couple of hours.  I got the impression - and it was only an impression, based on how people were being with each other - that there is a regular core of attendees.  As it was half-term, I expected to see more children, but as it was, there was LG and one other child.  

It may just be that I'm not a good 'fit' for food waste diversion schemes.  When we were struggling financially a few years back, post covid, the scheme I attended on a Thursday had a lot of fruit and veg (and I only took what I knew I would use), but an equal amount of UPF ready meals/ cakes/pastries/bread products/flavoured yoghurts and flowers. I rarely took any of those, as they're not things I would routinely buy anyway.  I make donations - but sometimes the items need rapid processing/using, or you lose half the item to 'trimming'.  You wouldn't pay £1 for a battered and bruised apple in MrT, so why would you pay £1 for an apple from a waste diversion scheme.  Very few people can afford to pay 'over the odds', even if it keeps an apple out of landfill.  Neither should a person assume 'everything is free' - as even if the supermarket has donated the goods, there's been money spent on collecting the food in a car/van.  The food has been kept in a fridge/freezer.  Even if the volunteers give their time freely, there will be costs associated with opening up the distribution venue etc.  And I get all that - I understand it.  But much the same as I don't buy every MrL green box that I see, nor MrS for that matter - I'm not sure there is 'always' something on offer that I can use at a 'share table'.  

I suspect I will perhaps 'look' if I see a waste diversion table in operation, and if I take something, then donate accordingly.  Certainly yesterday, had you taken only 'one of each thing' (and that wouldn't have denied others - there were 'lots' of each type of fruit and veg), you could have filled a carrier bag.  

I do think food waste is an abomination, although I don't think it is entirely the fault of retailers.  There are issues at any point in the chain.  But - other than marshall the resources I buy to the best of my ability and minimise waste, I don't really know what I can do.  I am budget conscious.  I will purchase 'ugly' fruit and veg, or 'seconds' or from the farm gate.  I love cooking and making 'summat outta nothing'.  I will cook using items others eschew - over-ripe bananas, bruised apples etc etc.  Waste boxes have thrown up 'new to me' ingredients, or things that I hadn't planned on buying.  

Thank you for making me think about these things.  I don't want to "cheat" the charity sector, but neither can I afford to pay 'over the odds' just to participate in the charitable sector.  I'm sure most folks don't think about such matters to the nth degree - and yes, Watty I suspect that we too have had an element of folk 'sweeping the table clean' denying others, so that is very much an issue too.  Trouble is with me is that I hold myself to my own high standards, and if I can't use something, I don't take it.  End of.  There was an issue that started arising at the Thursday waste scheme distribution point of people being quite vocal about folk who lived in the surrounding neighbourhood being more 'entitled' to receive stuff than others in the queue.  That's not how the charity run it - they operate out of places that can provide storage/parking/space/facilites etc etc.  That's the primary determinant of the location, not the socio-economic make-up of the location.

We had black olive Detroit style pizza for tea.  We ate 2 slices each and I cut the smaller square pizza up into 4 and have popped that in the freezer.  The chips were just oven chips.  I did get a bag of Jersey Royals from the waste scheme, but want to have them boiled - it would ruin them trying to make wedges.  

DH is doing some work outside.  LG is playing and I'm sat here 'talking' with you.  A slow start to our Saturday.  

Ta for popping in and for having quality convos with me.  It is appreciated far more than you know.

Greying X

badmemory

Re the lottery contributions - I suspect that the new lot are looking at getting out of contributing to certain things.  They are definitely trying to up peoples gambling which I believe Camelot were not allowed to do.  I do it online & since they took over get daily emails pushing me into betting more.  All those £1 & £2 scratch cards are also very well hidden on the website & only £3 & £5 show now.

Farmers-wife_2

The scheme I work for also has a clothing bank for children. We receive so many beautiful donations of second hand clothes from the public, which we try to rehome within our community. A large proportion of our service users come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are either unemployed or on low wages (rural, coastal community). However, despite our best efforts, they will not take the clothes and so, like the food distribution, have to almost be harangued into taking anything. 

The more "well-off" families will happily take armfuls....

It is all very confusing! 

(Sorry to derail your diary  )

beanielou

Our FB does a school uniform project every year. The uptake is huge. Most of the items are new with a small amount of preloved items. 

edinburgher

We live in a relatively affluent area (plenty of donating to, very little taking from such initiatives). DD2's nursery teacher practically begged us to take multiple branded school jumpers when we went in for introductions, managed to get away with just one! 😅

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon MFW'rs

Happy 1st of the month to y'all!

ed - you minded me of the 'lost property' box at LG's school - always full to over-flowing, to the point they had got a second 😱 crate going 😱  The PTA did used to do a second-hand uniform stall with stuff that was still in the box at the end of term, but I think there has been a bit of a falling out, and no one will do it.  But uniform isn't cheap, and there is one item (always loads in the 'lost' box), that is branded and 'required'.  What do people do - shell out for new stuff all the time?  I'd be at least having a rootle if LG lost something - mostly because at least their name is on their gear 🙄  We don't live in an overly affluent area - but there is mucho "keeping up with the Jones's" - so I think there would be a certain stigma around secondhand clothes, although people do use v1nt3d, FB mark3t-plaice etc etc.

So LG asked - everso politely - this morning if we could please take a picnic lunch "somewhere" today.  I didn't think that a tall ask, so we made it happen.  I had thought to go to a little parking spot, not too far out of Greying Town.  We'd not been there before - so I wasn't sure if it was just a layby, or a forest park or what - there are several footpaths leading off that point.  Anyway, despite me telling DH what we were looking for, we had a car on our tail, and DH sailed past........ But to be fair, it was a glorified 'pull in'.  So on we went, and of course, no scenic laybys or pull-ins were forthcoming, and for a while, there was always something on our tail, preventing me from saying "take the next right" or whatever.  In the end, I plumped for a "take the next left" to get us on the road to a beauty spot.  As it happened though, we'd gone a mile or so down a country lane, and there was a little village, with it's own hall - as we passed, I noticed there was a wonderful view, the car park was open and there was nothing on.  So DH turned the car around, and we parked up.  I don't think - even in my Young Farmer days - that I have ever visited this village hall.  It was a fab little place - with a field attached, that I should imagine in the village's heyday was a cricket pitch.  It was mowed, but I'm not sure it was used.  The school - across the road - had been converted into a house.  Can you imagine a tiny primary school in the middle of nowhere - but the school house (next door) was almost as big as the school itself!  Anyway, it was wonderfully quiet, and we ate our picnic in the car - there was a bench, but it obviously doubled as un unofficial bird roost, and was covered in 'deposits'.  We had a wonderful view, ate our lunch, LG had a run around the field and we watched swallows swooping about, flying something like 4 inches off the ground (a darn sight quicker than LG was running too!).

On the way back we called in at MrS and I picked up a few bits.  It isn't a 'proper' shop, but I got some cheese (used the last for sangers today), and some veggie burgers for tea tonight.  I don't think MrS likes me - the smartyshop offerings are dire, and they consistently offer points on things I don't buy 🙄  Anyhoo, £14.98 spent on food stuffs - inc. 40p on some YS'd finger rolls (put in freezer for future 'hot dogs' and a bag of 10 teeny chocolate  doughnuts YS'd to 50p.  

Holidays are nearly over.  PD day tomoz.  I had thought about doing a quick overnighter at a PI tonight, but we originally didn't know where we were with the new to us car - now picking it up in a week's time - and there was a club fixture, that we were going to attend, but which has subsequently been cancelled 🙄Ah well, probably better off staying at home - probably couldn't afford it anyway.  I'm just conscious that we've not done alot with LG and DH has done his usual trick of prioritising things that he thinks are important.  He's not totally wrong - but everything always involves 69 steps, it's never a case of "we'll replace this today" - buy the components, swap them out, BOOM, job done.  It's always a case of everything being slightly too big, or slightly too small, or covered in 3 tons of rubble that has to be moved before you start..... 🙄

Burgers and chips for tea.  We had curry plate last night.  I was getting a loaf of bread out of the freezer this morning - the freezer is e.m.p.t.y. ☹️ I don't know if May is a good month to do a small spend challenge.  I thought we had enough bread and I thought we had enough 'ready' meals.  But I don't think I thought enough about DH being at home and the weather being warmer.  If we'd gone out more this last week and taken sangers, I would have really had to bust the budget, at least the soup we did have for lunch on several days eked things out a bit.  

Ta for popping in.  Greying X

rtandon27

GP - we too have projects of the same ilk!  OH took a good two weeks before he fit the new letter box flap & cat flap.  He had to bodge screws and holes for one and buy a hacksaw for the other.  I ended up having to vacuum up after he was done as it appears that tidying doesn't happen after a frustrating DIY.