My daughter, single mother of a 2 year old boy made just a few dollars more than WIC guidelines.?

Question

So she is not on WIC anymore, or food stamps There is a pantry in her town where she can go every day if she needs to, get free bread and some other things that grocery stores can't sell anymore. I told her she could make French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, and supplement with dry milk and peanut butter. She has to live like this for 6 months, she has income right now but lots of bills. Any more ideas on how she can stretch her food money. Or are their other programs we don't know about for help?

Answer 1

I could be wrong , maybe our stores do things differently but most big grocery stores in my city sell the almost expired bread for .50 cents you have to get to the store at the right time though. It usually gets bought up really fast.

Some stores do it first thing in the morning and others an hour or so before closing.

Not such a good idea if she doesn't have a freezer though..

And like other posters said , pasta and rice is fairly cheap and can be made in many different ways.

Also if you are able to find a farmer that sells eggs they are usually much cheaper than buying in stores (just get into the habit of breaking them individually into a seperate bowl first, or maybe it is just my bad luck to get bloody eggs ><)

Answer 2

I am not sure, but she could ask her boss to eliminate some hours from her work week, this will take away just enough income to reapply for food stamps and WIC. The money she will lose from the hours at work will be made up for by the money she will get from the gov, I know WIC and food stamps can be a lifesaver.

Other than that, she can apply for assistance on paying her bills such as electric, and phone bills, this will be done at the same office as she gets her food stamps.

Also have her call multiple churches, Catholic churches tend to have programs that help single mothers with bills and things like that, some even will pay a months rent for you.

I dont know if this helped, but I hope so. Good luck...

Oh and if she lives with you, then there is more you can do, email me if this is the case.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I know that this would be really hard, but since those places usually take the last 4 weeks pay stubs or something around there, see if she can cut her hours for a few weeks so that she meets the criteria.

Answer 5

There has to be programs in her area for people like her. I'm not going to be able to provide a specific answer. I'd google whatever I can think of, around your area. Call 211! I forgot about that. They can give you info on finding DR's, food pantrys, help with childcare, etc.

Just keep searching. You'll come across something. Don't give up. :(

This sucks so bad, huh? Too much to get help, but not enough to survive.

Sorry. God bless you guys.

Answer 6

Click on the link and locate closest food stamp office. She will be issued a credit card that is filled every month with a set balance determined by her income.

Answer 7

tell her to go down to her local welfare office even though they cant help her she can pick up this packet and it has a whole bunch of other charities that can help her .... good luck

Answer 8

If she can tell her to load up on pasta and rice.  You can do ANYTHING with these two items.  Add Beans to both rice and pasta, boil rice in chicken broth add a few fresh veggies (carrots, celery) and you have chicken soup.  You can add cheese to both pasta and rice, add broccoli with rice and chesse.  Boil some pasta add frozen peas and any salad dressing you want and you have pasta salad.

Answer 9

the only thing i can suggest would be to go to stores like save a lot and definately buy off brand items.....there are lots of churches that give out food.....if all else fails i'll be happy to share my food stamps :)

Answer 10

that has got to be hard! i knew a couple people that went through that. they made too much money by a little to qualify for food stamps or wic but didn't make enough money to keep up with the bills.

she should be able to use the food banks and pantries. they have guidelines but aren't quite as strict as for government programs i think. she should contact one or two in her area. and also check out the library for cookbooks with recipes to feed a family on a tight budget or limited ingredients. there are books like dinner in 5 ingredients or 3, etc. she can use dried beans and rice. get some frozen veggies and that's healthy, cheap, and tasty. big canister of quick oats with fruit mixed in and a little sugar is healthy and cheap for breakfast. there are a lot of things to eat while on a budget. cut down on meat as well. it'll save money to just go vegetarian (skip the meat substitutes or soy milks for a while) or at least greatly reduce the amount of meat eaten will reduce the food bill.

Answer 11

Is there any way you can help her? My husband and I get excited over finding reduced-price meat in our grocery store..lol. We have 1 child and can make a pack of ground beef (at least 2 lbs.) stretch for 2 dinners plus left-overs. Buy a pack of ground beef, canned/frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, corn, potatoes, etc.), 2 cans of kidney beans,1 chili seasoning packet and 2 cans of diced tomatoes. For one meal, brown 1/2 the ground beef. Add the mixed veggies, 1 can of tomatoes and water to make vegetable soup. For the next meal, brown the rest of the ground beef. Add the 2 cans of chili beans, chili seasoning, tomatoes, and water to make chili. Both of these meals easily feed us dinner, lunch for my husband for the next day, and lunch for my daughter and myself.  I've also taken a cup or so of cooked macaroni, mixed it with the remaining chili, put it in a casserole dish, topped it with cheese and baked it to make a chili-mac type dish.

Oh- and the veggie soup is great left-over, served with a grilled cheese sandwich.

I do the same thing with a whole chicken. I'll roast it for 1 meal (usually serve it with roasted potatoes and a veggie). There are left-overs that can be used for lots of different things the next day.

If all else fails, call local churches. Our church has a benevolance fund to help needy people in the community- I'm sure lots of other churches have the same type thing.

Answer 12

If she's just a few dollars over the limit, she can ask her boss to cut her pay by that much plus a few dollars more.  If her bills are credit cards, she can go to a credit counseling service and they will help her out by negotiating with the credit card companies to lower the interest and payments.  I use Consumer Credit Counseling Service, which is nonprofit.  It really helped me out.  cccs.net is the one for the Dallas, TX area, she could call the number on there to find a chapter in her area.

Answer 13

Can she cut a few hours at work?

If not, call 2-1-1 from a land line for community and church resources.  Try craigslist or freecycle if she needs clothes or other items to stretch her money.

Answer 14

food closets are everywhere right now with the economy the way it is. churches run alot of them.

WIC is rather liberal with thier income guidelines so she should be doing okay finaically. perhaps she can see one of those debt counselers so she isnt paying out so much every month.

bills can just suck the life out of ya. good luck to her. i know i make 200.00 a month over the qualifiers for the low cost insurence. so i have to pay 600.00 a month for it. so im actually upside down as far as medical insurence. go figure.