Emmet: "You have to be creative"

Today I asked my neighbor, Emmet, to share what he buys for a month on food stamps. Emmet is the sole caregiver for his mother who is disabled. The two live in his childhood home. He is employed as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. They receive $102 a month for food benefits and usually spend about $125-$150 on food purchases. Emmet says that you have to be creative to eat well on food stamps and that you shouldn't be afraid to save up your benefits month to month so you can splurge for holidays and backyard BBQs. This is from last month, a typical month for Emmet and his mother.

In this month Emmet and his mother spent $137.51 on food, $102 of which was food stamp benefits.

Pork chops - 1lb	$1.99
jumbo beef franks	$1.59
ground beef 30% fat 1 tube	$3.29
turkey necks and gizzards 2 lbs	$2.69
white flour	$2.79
white sugar	$1.99
cheese - 3 small packs	$6.00
Smart Ones frozen dinners - 4	$10.00
apples - 1 lb	$0.99
clementines - 1 bag	$3.99
iceberg lettuce	$1.29
tomatoes - 2	$2.42
potatoes - 10lbs	$3.49
green grapes - 1 lb	$2.49
frozen veggies - 6 bags	$6.00
eggs - dozen	$1.89
Kraft cheese singles	$2.00
cinnamon rolls in a tube - 2	$5.00
margarine	$2.99
coffee creamer	$2.29
coffee	$4.62
frozen hash browns	$2.00
hamburger helper - 4 boxes	$5.00
Little Debbie snack cakes - 2 boxes	$5.00
Tube noodles - 7 bags	$9.03
instant noodles - 20 packs	$6.00
pork rinds	$0.99
malt o meal hot cereal	$4.98
corn oil - small bottle	$2.99
cooking spray	$1.99
taco seasoning pack	$0.49
taco shells	$1.29
re-fried beans canned	$1.39
milk - 4 cartons whole	$11.92
decaf coffee - 1 pack	$4.99
greens - farmer's market	$2.00
watercress - farmer's market	$2.00
kale - farmer's market	$2.00
mulberries - farmer's market	$3.75