[Yoda]

I have two more weeks until I receive my next disability check and we are running low on food. There are several food banks in my area. I have never used one before. Several want proof of income.

I know I make more money than some people but I am unable to even meet my needs for house maintenance. I need a plumber, an electrician, et cetera but lack funds. I paid my taxes on my car this month and took a cat to the vet and also had to use a tow truck as well as went to a walk in clinic for myself.

Is there a guideline for income or something? My son receives $200/month in food stamps and as of today we only have $29 left. I don't know what else to do. I want to go back to work part time but cannot even afford to buy a new stethoscope right now.

[bebop]

here you can go to your local dfacs office and get a referral to a food bank for emergencey food. alot of local churches also have monthly food drives you can go to.

[shezbut]

((Yoda))

Salvation Army has open food banks. Lots of churches also offer food assistance and income levels aren't taken into account.

If your son is getting food stamps, then he ought to automatically qualify for assistance from larger food banks. But, he probably will need to fill out a simple application. My experience with the local food bank here is that the past year or so has been pretty rough. Sometimes, you get lucky and there are lots of choices ~ but that's quickly becoming very rare here. Hopefully, your area has more support. Best wishes to you!

I honestly don't know Yoda... but if there are guidelines and you don't qualify then there is something wrong with the guidelines. I come from a large family and we've always kind of operated our own food bank. What goes around comes around and hard times is one of those things that goes around

[Timgt5]

Hi Yoda, you may want to try googling FoodBank Guidlines for your State, just doing a random search I found several states with a lot of detail regarding qualifications and income.

I hope this helps...

Yoda,

If you can go to your Human Services building, they can give you referrals to some food pantries around your area. You will have to meet certain income requirements though. Good Luck.

[Yoda]

I called my mom this afternoon and asked what she was making for dinner and would she have extra. She invited us up and we ate breaded fish, corn, instant mashed potatoes and she had made a cake for dessert. I told her I was living lean until payday next week and she gave us four grocery bags of food like spaghettios, ravioli, peanut butter and not sure what all. Then she gave me $20 so I could buy bread and milk. One of my sisters said Dairy Queen had a special deal on Blizzards right now and she gave me $20 for that. I am going to have to put part of the money in my checking account though to have enough to pay my electric bill but I will be able to make it until payday. The car is low on oil and due for a change but it will be okay to delay the change as long as I put another quart in it for now.

I hate being this broke. I need to start working on my resume and start looking for a job.

[tallwaters]

I get 200 in fs a month and sometimes cant make it. I get help from a food bank and a church. They turn no one away. You can call 211 united ways help line and they will give you referals to sources in your area.

[ladytiger]

i was looking at a food bank here and now they charge you for a box! they charge a lil bit more if your a couple. ive seen the food mostly crap processed that i don't wanna eat anyway. i get 200/mo in food stamps too for a single person with no kids my bf also uses the card too.

i have him hold onto my card because i do not want my parents to see it not their business anyway.

[layla11]

Hi Yoda, I would definately look for a local chruch nearby and they can refer you to a chruch that does it. You dont have to be a member of that church and they will help. Ive had this help in the past. They will be happy to help.

[shortandcute]

Originally Posted by ladytiger

i was looking at a food bank here and now they charge you for a box! they charge a lil bit more if your a couple. ive seen the food mostly crap processed that i don't wanna eat anyway. i get 200/mo in food stamps too for a single person with no kids my bf also uses the card too.

i have him hold onto my card because i do not want my parents to see it not their business anyway.

wow--i only get 123 dollars in food stamps--and thats supposed to be the three of us.

[whenwillitend]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I have two more weeks until I receive my next disability check and we are running low on food. There are several food banks in my area. I have never used one before. Several want proof of income.

I know I make more money than some people but I am unable to even meet my needs for house maintenance. I need a plumber, an electrician, et cetera but lack funds. I paid my taxes on my car this month and took a cat to the vet and also had to use a tow truck as well as went to a walk in clinic for myself.

Is there a guideline for income or something? My son receives $200/month in food stamps and as of today we only have $29 left. I don't know what else to do. I want to go back to work part time but cannot even afford to buy a new stethoscope right now.

I have had to use foodbanks. Here, we have Care & Share, and right now they only help the Waldo Canyon Fire victims, but they gave me a list of all the foodbanks in the area. The first one I went to with my kids, they didn't need proof of income, but they only give out three days worth of food, but let you pick what you want from their pantry. That was really nice. The next one me and the kids went to also didn't require proof of income, and they didn't let you pick, they just handed us a box of food. When we got home and I looked through it, not only was it totally random stuff (a big bottle of vinegar????), but every single item was expired, by as much as 2 YEARS. I had to throw it all away. Neither food bank had things like milk or eggs or meat.

So, after the milk from our last WIC coupon had run out, and desperation hit, and I didn't know what to feed my kids anymore, I (gasp, cringe) put an ad on Craigslist, explaining the situation, and asked if anyone would be willing to get my kids some milk.
And some really nice gentleman went to the store for us (I did NOT ask for any of this), and brought us 2 gallons of milk, 2 18packs eggs, 2 cartons of icecream (the fancy stuff), 2 big things of yogurt, a huge pack of cheese, a giant pack of hotdogs, 5 pounds of ground beef, two huge packs of hotdog buns, 2 huge packs of hamburger buns, a huge loaf of bread, a bag of stringcheese, 2 pounds of ham for sandwiches, a bag of apples, a bag of clementines, a bag of cherries, and I don't even remember the rest, there was more. And he didn't even want to come into the house, he just handed us all the bags.

There are some really decent people out there. Thinking of what that man did for us still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Now I'm rambling. Anyway, what I wanted to get to is that you have to be careful, there are good foodbanks and very crappy ones. I hate being ungrateful, but I'm not going to feed my kids stuff that expired 2 years ago. And that wasn't canned stuff either.

[ladytiger]

Originally Posted by shortandcute

wow--i only get 123 dollars in food stamps--and thats supposed to be the three of us.

wow that sucks i dont see how that could feed 3 people, does ur state not know how to add? lol 200 bucks just feeds me since my bf is not on my food stamps. if i get hired since i have an interview tomorrow, i am gonna have to tell the state about income changes.

[Thunder Bow]

I am retired with no family for support of any kind. I get food stamps and use the local food bank once a month. Most food banks will give you some food. Be sure to bring some kind of Photo ID with you.

See My Experiences, use this link to my Video:

[tokiwartooth]

I go to two different food banks here. They don't require proof of income, just that you fill out paperwork. They don't let you choose either, but the one has meat and dairy. It also has a section where you can pick and choose anything that is on the table and in the fridge. Oftentimes there's a lot of salad mixes, potatoes and bread. We take what we need, and the box they give us has a well-balanced assortment of foods, unlike the other place, where I've gotten about 6 cans of green beans once, and a bunch of cans of corn. I eat them of course, but they could give a better selection sometimes. That place sometimes has fresh vegetables though, right from the farmer's fields, like ramps, yellow onions, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and they're all fresh. But that's usually only during the growing season in the summer.

[Sila]

Look into churches like everyone else has said. The one we went to when we were off foodstamps but hours were cut gave us several bags of food for a 3 person family. My mom brought in paystubs etc but they never asked for it. A lot of stuff they give isn't always the best, but when you're dirt poor and hungry anything is enough y'know? They even helped pay one of our utility bills once.