Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

efficiencyiseverything.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 289 posts

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#191

Post by stellar678 »

pmoriarty wrote: post #126
nimbius wrote: post #28

Its worth clarifying that the article is specifically addressing the fallout from the pandemic: Unemployment and poverty due to failing economies and shuttered restaurants and bars. In the US, Despite our country having vast and endless supplies of food from megafarms and their accompanying subsidies, there is very little safety net in America to ensure anyone is fed at all once they are unemployed. worth posting, a…

"In the US, Despite our country having vast and endless supplies of food from megafarms and their accompanying subsidies, there is very little safety net in America to ensure anyone is fed at all once they are unemployed." This is where a legitimate government worth the trust of the people would say, "Do not worry America, we will feed you," and do whatever it took, including mobilizing the National Guard, to distrib…

California literally has the National Guard supporting food banks across the state right now: https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-governor-...

I agree with your overall sentiment that we would benefit right now from inspirational leadership with strong messages of solidarity.

But at the same time, it's not all doom and gloom. There's a lot of good happening as well.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#192

Post by captainbland »

double0jimb0 wrote: post #162
captainbland wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If demand for premium products diminishes, This is the crucial part, there is no reason to believe this is happening. There is not a 'glut' of expensive things as many are forced to buy the expensive alternative when their preferred choice is gone, and regular consumers of the premium brands still buy them. They just sell out less fast.

The economy is 75% of what it was 3 weeks ago. Numerous industries have laid of 50%+ of their laborers. I’m going to wager there is less demand for premium products.

Perhaps we are each talking too generally and need a bit more specificity. If we're talking about premium products in the sense of iPhones, new cars, video games and other kinds of irregular purchases like that then I expect you're right at least in the short term. But the relevant point of discussion here is what you tend to need from a supermarket in day-to-day household consumables and their respective economy/premium products which contribute to a household's regular expenditures. In the household consumables case, the premium products are definitely still selling.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#193

Post by dvtrn »

ohiovr wrote: post #188

If you can still get it, frozen self rising pizza costs less than $3 for about a kilogram of food. As I live alone I would buy a pizza like this and chop it into pieces before cooking it so it is fresh every serving. I add a few chunks of butter to the bottom above foil. Similar taste to pizza hut for a fraction of the cost. Speghetti is also good when cooked with butter. Instead of adding the usual tablespoon of oli…

Spaghetti is also good when cooked with butter. Instead of adding the usual tablespoon of olive oil to the boiling water try butter instead.

Cacio e Pepe is another easy enough recipe that one can make without needing an excess of ingredients, it’s in the name :)

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#194

Post by refurb »

amasad wrote: post #180
majos wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does this “save big”? Isn’t supermarket ground beef about $5/lb?

1. Many people live in studios and don't have a kitchen 2. Here in SF and every other city I lived ground beef is $9-10/lb

$9-10/lb for ground beef is 3x what I buy it for in SF.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#195

Post by ohiovr »

treerock wrote: post #147
nimbius wrote: post #28

Its worth clarifying that the article is specifically addressing the fallout from the pandemic: Unemployment and poverty due to failing economies and shuttered restaurants and bars. In the US, Despite our country having vast and endless supplies of food from megafarms and their accompanying subsidies, there is very little safety net in America to ensure anyone is fed at all once they are unemployed. worth posting, a…

I'm curious if anyone has numbers on how much a homemade sourdough loaf costs on average. My experience is that flour is quite expensive (and currently not available in UK shops). I've also noticed a spike in electricity costs since we've started baking regularly. (Difficult to calculate exactly) My guess is that baking your own is a bit cheaper than going to some artisanal baker, but a lot more expensive than a stan…

For ultimate economy it is possible to filter whole grains you can find at a feed company and carefully grind it into flour with automatic means. You just gotta be careful not to ruin the grain mill. I've made bread using a waffle iron. Actually english muffins can be made with a grill. Quite good fresh!

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#196

Post by rebuilder »

ghaff wrote: post #183
treerock wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious if anyone has numbers on how much a homemade sourdough loaf costs on average. My experience is that flour is quite expensive (and currently not available in UK shops). I've also noticed a spike in electricity costs since we've started baking regularly. (Difficult to calculate exactly) My guess is that baking your own is a bit cheaper than going to some artisanal baker, but a lot more expensive than a stan…

I'm pretty sure you would be correct. The cost (assuming you have at least a minimal amount of equipment--including an oven obviously) is basically the flour (which, as you say, can be hard to find right now). A 5 pound bag of flour is normally around $4-$5 in the US, and a large boule (5 cups of flour) takes about 600 grams (~1.5 pounds) of flour, so maybe $1.50. The other ingredients in a basic loaf are negligible…

Is this some kind of specialist flour? 1 USD per pound seems high.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#197

Post by sykick »

DennisP wrote: post #172
sykick wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your point could be stated better but the sentiment behind is worth exploring. If the economy collapses there will certainly be an increase in misery, spousal and child abuse, suicides, and murders. This may be a time where hard choices need to be made. Maybe we really are confronted with a "lesser of two evils" type situation.

It's a false choice. Allowing a pandemic to run rampant would wreck the economy for a lot longer than an effective lockdown. Especially now that a lot of younger people are showing up in ICUs. China is already done with the hard part. Lock down, get the virus under control, make a lot of test kits, and before long you can rely on mass screening, contract tracing, and targeted isolation, and get people back to work.

It may be a false choice now but it might not be a false one in the future. At any rate, it is worth exploring the idea and it’s an interesting question regarding the circumstances that must be present in order for it to longer be a false choice.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#198

Post by Retric »

tiawaven wrote: post #185

A lot of penny dreadful here in the thread. https://i1.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Int... But kidding aside. Most of the recipes are bullshit. You have nothing to eat? Eat what is available. Nothing available? Start with tree bark soup. If you are still able to buy groceries the best basic ingredients are rice, beans, possible some tomato sauce (for flavor). Add some Olive oil for the fatty acids if…

The linked recipes are nutrition focused. The goal is to minimize cost without risking heath problems that occur if you try and live off of say instant ramen.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#199

Post by RobertRoberts »

RandomBacon wrote: post #175
RobertRoberts wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've discussed my weight loss hear before, but I want to reiterate that when I was "trying" to lose weight, I only ate one medium/light meal a day. Ran about 2 miles a day (3 by the end) and still only lost 15 lbs in one month of this. If people are frugal/miserly with their meals and careful starting now, and have long lasting food, we can live a long time. Side note: After this experience, I've been eating one meal…

I don't think I've discussed my weight before here. I once lost 65lbs over 8 months by eating two small meals a day. I went "cold turkey" in to that diet, and the first week sucked, but I got through it. I transitioned to a normal diet after that and maintained my weight for a year and half until I got a job that stressed me out and I stress-ate. I got sick a month ago (symptoms unlrelated to COVID) and couldn't keep…

One thing that helps me to this day is to remember that being hungry is normal. When people are hungry for something they have drive and are motivated.

I find being hungry every day (for at least an hour or two) before my single meal makes my food taste so much better.

I experiment with very light mid day meals at times. Nothing more than 2 fried eggs and maybe some saute'd onions with it. (I am hunger an hour or after eating this, so it doesn't disrupt my eating patterns)

I hope you do well with your weight control. It sounds like you have a great start on things.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#200

Post by ohiovr »

nimbius wrote: post #28

Its worth clarifying that the article is specifically addressing the fallout from the pandemic: Unemployment and poverty due to failing economies and shuttered restaurants and bars. In the US, Despite our country having vast and endless supplies of food from megafarms and their accompanying subsidies, there is very little safety net in America to ensure anyone is fed at all once they are unemployed. worth posting, a…

USDA is active in the state of Ohio. If you have your ear to the ground you can find when they start giving stuff away. Sometimes you can find it on church builtins or job and family services. Sometimes no proof of income is required. The USDA spring and summer give aways usually have a sign up for a year and that's all.
Post reply on HN