Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My family is on food stamps. We qualify for about $300 a month. Why would we want to buy bulk? Because buying a flat of 12 cans of refried beans (a staple, by the way) at Costco is much cheaper than buying 12 cans at Safeway. Bread is cheaper and can be frozen. Milk and eggs are cheaper. Meat is usually cheaper.Canned fruits and veggies are cheaper. And yes, occasionally I'd like to buy my children a little treat, and at Costco I can buy a big box of cookies far cheaper than a bag of cookies at Safeway. A lot of people think because you're on food stamps you have to prepare and eat food that is the absolute least expensive possible. Well, we're human beings. We want to have choices. We try to be responsible with those choices, but sometimes, especially if you're a parent, you want to treat your children and the most cost effective way to do that is to buy in bulk. Yes, I can buy all the ingredients to make cookies, but I also have to make most of our meals from scratch to save money, so having a prepackaged treat is a treat for all of us. We don't have a Walmart in this town, the closest is almost 30 miles away.
Am I some kind of degenerate who is cheating off the system and taking advantage of the tax payers? No. I am your sister. I am your neighbor. I am your best friend. I am your co-worker (when I can find a job). You sit next to me in church. You stand next to me when we help at the soup kitchen. Our children run and laugh and play together. Our husbands watch sports and fix the car in the driveway. You don't even know that times are so tough for us, that we have to be on food stamps in order to survive the month. You don't know that I no longer eat three meals a day, just so there is extra food for the kids. You don't know how many nights I've gone to bed hungry so my kids don't have to. You comment on how great I look now that I've lost weight, but I don't tell you how I've been forced to do it.
You invite us over for potluck, and we have to kindly decline your offer. Food stamps. That is why. That is why the kids don't have cupcakes to bring to the school bake sale. That is why the neighborhood kids are no longer invited to share cookies after school. That is why I can no longer bring a casserole or even a loaf of bread to a sick neighbor.
Every day I make sacrifices to keep healthy food on my table for my family. Every night I go to bed praying there will be enough for just one more day. Every day as the month rolls on, portions get smaller and smaller.
Would it help if Costco accepted food stamps? Hell yes.

Furthermore, this cheap food you want me to be buying at walmart? It is loaded with trans fats and preservatives, and devoid of actual nutrition. So thanks also for assuming that since I need assistance, I should also get less nutritional benefit for more calories, thus shortening my life-span.

I am a mother of three and due to the economy my husband and I have had to get on the food stamp program to help. Due to our income we only get a small portion of foodstamps and it would go much further if Costco accepted food stamps. Just like most on Food stamps we do have jobs we just need a little help getting by so yes $50.00 can seem so high when times are tough the benefits of a Costco card and cheap prices on food in bulk out way that cost by far. So COSTCO GET OFF YOUR BUTTS DO A LITTLE PAPERWORK AND TRY TO GET QUALIFIED TO ACCECEPT FOOD STAMPS! FURTHER MORE STOP THE DISCRIMINATION!

My mother put eggs, heavy cream (along with stock), parsley in her stuffing. I do the same but I like to add green peppers and carrots as well. But I like everything in it except the gizzards.

My family's stuffing includes:

crumbled ritz crackers
onions (cooked down for a long time in a healthy amount of butter)
ground ham
chopped pecans
heavy cream
parsley

I might be forgetting something, but i think that's it. I think my grandmother clipped it out of the newspaper back when my dad was a kid and we've been making it ever since. I was grown up before I realized that most stuffing involved bread, stock and celery (ick!) People always think it sounds odd...until they've tasted it. AMAZING!

I do not do this at Thanksgiving but I have made White Castle Hamburger dressing (when I lived in Chicago). It was actually really freaking good. Of course now I have to buy them in the freezer section of the local Albertson's... so it is way pricier. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where they have a White Castle - order the hamburgers with no pickles and extra onions.

10 White Castle Hamburgers
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/4 teaspoons ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

Tear the hamburgers into small pieces, and place in a bowl. Toss with celery, thyme, sage, and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth while stirring to moisten the stuffing. This makes enough to stuff a 10 to 12 pound bird.

I was, oh, about 22 years old before I found out that people stuffed their birds with meat - like, just meat. My bf at the time was telling me about how his family made sausage stuffing, and I said, "oh, we use bacon." He said, "No, I mean, it's stuffed with sweet sausage, mozzarella, and sometimes some pepperoni." I'm Italian, but I was blown away by this.

Mashed potatoes. About half and half with the usual dried bread cubes and onions/herbs. Pretty heavy. Apparently Pennsylvania German. I have moved on. Will try bread cubes with onions and lemon this year.

Oysters are really pretty common, but they're a very controversial addition, too. My grandmother, who was raised in rural Missouri, used them, and we have No Idea of how on earth they got into her cooking repertoire.

My classic oyster story has to do with many years ago in my earlier marriage, and my MIL's dressing. "Yummy," I commented the first time I ate it. "Are there oysters in it?" "Oh, no," came the reply, "I just use mushrooms." Well, okay, fine. A couple of years later, same table, sme dressing, and I said, "I thought you said you didn't use oysters. But here's a piece." "Oh, no. That's a mushroom." Later on, doing dishes, my SIL said, "Oh, of course there's oysters in it. But my husband insists he hates them, and we just don't tell him."

Meh, I don't feel too strongly about it either way. If the profit they make from the new business is greater than the cost of upgrading their payment system to accept food stamps, then it would seem to make business sense. I'm not so sure it's a serious social justice issue. But I am sure that the middle name "8" is deeply stupid.

Maybe I haven't shopped at Costco often enough, but I don't regard it as a luxury item-dominated store. The people I know that make regular pilgrimages to Costco buy lots of grocery staples like toilet paper, milk, and cereal. Also I feel compelled to say that I am not suggesting for one second that anyone commenting on this post does not donate their time and money to worthy causes. I would never impugn the motives or actions of the Serious Eats community, who are a generously spirited bunch.

I disagree. If you are taking assistance you need to shop where you get the most food for your food stamp dollar and Costco is not the place.
I think the article and the premise was ill served. Why would you pay 12.99 for french toast when you can get a huge box at Walmart or Sam's for half that. If you go and apply for assistance it is your responsibility to use it responsibly. If you are buying luxury items at a membership warehouse then you obviously are not acting responsibly.
I think assistance is a great thing for people who really need it. If you really need it you need to get as much food for your family as you can down to the last red cent. Costco is not a grocery store. The topic is not apples to apples. It is 3 of one thing and half dozen of another.
Also on a seperate rant many of us give to our local food banks/charities regularly and feel we have a responsibilty to participate in the welfare of others less fortunate. To suggest that we do not is just incorrect.

Am I the only one who would prefer to see a little more food news and little less space spent on bloggers with questionable economic credentials promoting their personal politics? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but after a non-stop 2 year campaign, I'd prefer not to have an author's opinions on FISA and gay marriage shoved in my face when he's ostensibly writing a pizza parlor review!