SNAP to it! A discussion about best use of the SNAP program

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan, or SNAP, has replaced the traditional "food stamps" and I think much of the WIC vouchers as well. Way back in the Dark Ages, when I was a starving Hippie, one received Government Surplus Foods that were not necessarily anything that you wanted, but you sure could trade a gallon can of butter for a lot of other things!

I will have to go back and research all the correct terms and allocations of these earlier programs and report back as to how things have changed. If at any time you feel that I have misstated facts, please point me in the direction of the correct information, as I am doing this - at least initially - without personal experience or official documentation.

The SNAP allocations have recently been cut, causing a great outcry about the unfairness of the cuts, and how they will leave millions hungry. I looked at some of the figures, and I have had friends who have received SNAP and shared their experiences. I have decided to explore what can be done with the SNAP allocations in order to receive the most nutrition for the funds available.

As I prepare to write about this, I will be making many lists. I will start with a list of kitchen tools that are the most basic and necessary, and I will try to find prices for them, both new at mass merchandisers, and used, at thrift stores. I then plan to make a list of staple items that all kitchens should have, including flour, sugar, butter, seasonings, oils, and other items that are used to prepare foods.

From the basic kitchen pantry and tools, I will plan menus and shopping lists for a single person, two persons, and more. I need to research the typical dollar amounts that are available, and I realize they differ from area to area. I would appreciate any pointers about where to find this information.

My goal is to help educate people about how to shop wisely and cook effectively. I did not spend much of my life in poverty, but there were a few years that I ate so many PB&J sandwiches that
I will not eat another! Along the way, I learned to branch out and cook "real food" with a few very basic pots & pans.

My mother was born in a small town in GA and grew up during the Great Depression. I spent a lot of time with her mother, my Grandma, as I was growing up, and I learned to cook by standing next to her. I captured her recipes when I was in my 20's by standing between her and the bowl as she added a "pinch" and a "dab" and a "piece of butter the size of an egg". Grandma did not
believe in throwing anything out - "someone might need that" or "that will make a nice lunch" - and she raised 7 kids. She cooked from "scratch", every day, three meals a day, and there was never a
garden at her house that I knew about. She sewed as well as cooked, but that's another blog!

I am not making any statements here about who should and should not receive assistance. It is a  blessing for many who are down on their luck. I realize there are always those who will try for
"money for nothing" and take advantage of any situation, but my goal is to assist those who are in need to make best use of their resources. Any comments that start criticizing the plan's recipients will be deleted. Even people with nice cars and iPhones lose their jobs and are stuck with a 2-year plan or a 7-year payment schedule and need the phone and the car to look for work! Sometimes you can't sell your car because you are "under water", and you can't get out of that phone plan that looked like such a deal last year when you were working. :(

I will try to credit any resources that I use but will not be citing them in a bibliography or research paper footnote format. If I skip credits now and then, I'm sorry! Please let me know and I will back up and give credit where credit is due. It takes a village to keep a village going.

And a final note - I do not affiliate with any political parties. I am an Independent, with views that resemble Republican on some issues, Democrat on others, Green and Tea as well. I refuse to support anyone who follows the "party lines" without considering their (gerrymandered) constituents. Sarcasm also will not be welcome here, as I am trying to make this a serious blog.

Thanks for reading, and please email me if you have some ideas or resources to share!

My Bluebird Babies! (and how to have your own)

Perhaps this really isn't a new project for me but it's new as finished work! I made some  press molds from real shells and various shell shaped "found objects" a few years ago. I've done a lot of fun things with some of the shells, from using them on strawberry pots to using them as feet on planters.

One day it struck me that they would be fun to hang in the garden, so I drilled some holes in a series of them before I fired them. I glazed them and pretty well let them languish in a bin in the basement.

This year it occurred to me that I could use some of the jewelry wire I have been working with to hang these. DUH! I did the first two and put them to use out by me bluebird nest box in the front yard. I have listed the rest that are finished for sale.

I have posted a lot of pictures of my happy family here: www.facebook.com/richknobsales  but here are some pics as well.

Dad working hard!

Mom checks out the bathtub

 

Really getting into it!

Here are items I am using for my own birds.

This one I fill with water as a birdbath:

 

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=3390773

This one I use as a feeder.

I put 10-15 freeze dried mealworms in it a couple of times a day.

The "teenage" birds from the first nesting are feeding the babies!

http:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=3390709

I watched five eggs get laid, one per day, and then Mom sat on them for 12 days. 7 PM the 12th day, the first little one emerged, all wet and pink and hairy and seriously so ugly only his mother could love him!

Where is everyone else?

FEEEED MEEEEEE!!!!!

Ploop!



This last pic, they are 12 days old – well one is that old! The runt is at the back left, and he was born two days after the first one, who is on the front right and has feathers that are fluffing out now.

Here is an excellent website about this species:

http://www.sialis.org/

Bluebirds have become very scarce as their native nesting habitats have been destroyed. They nest in a hollow in a tree at the edge of a clearing, by preference. They take readily to life in a nest box, however, and that's all they really need to make a big comeback. They are very friendly birds and politely tolerate you opening their box and looking at their babies every day. I bought my house several years ago at a garden center, and I have found that there are several listed for sale on ArtFire :) with prices starting at less than US $10.00. Mine has a latch on the front that lets me look at the babies.  You always need a birdhouse that you can open and clean out at the end of the season, but most birds will not tolerate visitors while they are nesting.

They will be happy in a basic home like this one - I'm not sure it is set up to let you open it easily or not. You should clean it out thoroughly very season, and between sets of babies if it has become infested with ants or other things.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=60209

Or you can get them a McMansion like this one:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=101915

This one definitely opens for viewing:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=2627194

This one does not:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1205200

Whatever you do, please support your local bird community! Help them make a comeback so that we can all enjoy that screaming blue flash and sweet warble!