So far all the food banks I've gotten in touch with are for their specific city residents. We live in an unincorporated part of the county - with no specific city, except our address. BUT - I'm still looking. Starting a food pantry at our church isn't a problem - it's getting people to donate, since everyone is feeling the pinch. I think I must be the only real "couponer" in the church, because no one else seems to be doing it. I've held a class to teach them but only a few turned out, and they were there to just see what it was about - none were really terribly interested in it....The main comment - to much work

Digging out of debt, 1 coupon at a time.....

Here are some places/sites I found. Not sure if any will be helpful but thought I would mention them:

bocahelpinghands.org
poverello.org
crossroadfoodbank.org

Those 3 are all within 15 miles of you.

My daughter did this ehen she was pregnant. She took this older lady on erreands such as the hair dress and grocery store. She ended up with several "clients". Funny story----after baby was born old lady looked in back seat horrified and asked where she got tbe baby. Then lectured her on being so young and not married. She told DD she thought she was just fat! Lmao! Lady was very outspoken and DD looked forward to her days with her. The hospital is another place you can "sit" with someone. Older people some times need a family member but everyone is working and they will want to make sure grandma is not alone. I did this when my mom broke her leg. The nurses are under staffed and mom was not able to get someone to come help her very quickly so I hired a college student to come in during the work day til I could get there.

working my magic on very little money

Lots of good advice in this post. My suggestions are a big pot of vegetable soup can stretch into a couple of days worth of meals, or you culd freeze the extra for another week. Same for chicken noodle soup or Bean soup. Breakfast for dinner is always cheap. Omlettes or french toast made with day old bread purchsed at a discount. You said hubby doesn't like Grits but don't forget about Oatmeal.

Rethink the way you eat meals...instead of a meat entree, focus on the sides. Veggies and pastas are always cheaper than meats.

Stretch a can of tuna into tuna Noodle Casserole and have the left overs for lunch the next day.

You can make your own Yogurt for much much cheaper than buying individual cups and its delicious. All you need is milk and a cup of yogurt with live cultures and a way to keep it all warm at a constant temperature for about 18 hours. Strain the yogurt with a coffee filter and you have a good substitute for sour cream. Let it strain for a longer period and you will have a thick spreadable cheese that can be seasoned with what ever you want.


Can you make your own tortillas? Super easy, very few ingredients and tasty.
And most definitely try to find a food pantry in your area. Churches, schools, community agencies like Salvation Army or United Way.

Good luck and God Bless.

Well it looks like you've already gotten plenty of responses, but I figured I'd add my thoughts in as well. I think anything is possible. I know food prices are always on the rise, which makes it hard, but maybe with a little creativity it will work. We are a vegetarian family and eating vegetarian obviously cuts out the expense of meat. You can also think of ways to perhaps utilize the same ingredients to make different things. For example, you could buy a bag of black beans (or in bulk) that are on sale for $1. Cook the whole bag up and use some to make simple black bean burgers and save the rest to make a bean and rice dish another night. Canned or frozen veggies on sale with a coupon are probably cheaper than fresh and it's still a way to get some produce into your diet.

Also, I am in no way meaning to insult/offend or anything, but would it be possible to apply for any type of government aid like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits? HERE is a link to their website that explains how to apply for benefits.

Also, do you have any neighbors or friends that garden? Maybe they'd be willing to give you some produce in exchange for a small task you could offer them such as help with yard maintenance or light house cleaning or running an errand for them.

You could also try checking Craigslist or the classifieds for odd jobs people need done that may bring in some extra cash. The website fiverr.com allows you to sell a service or goods for $5, and you keep $4 of it once you sell. For example, there are some people on there that live near the beach and will write a name or message in the sand, photograph it and email it to the buyer for $5. Maybe there is something quirky like that you could do?

I'm wishing you and your family all the best. I know times are tough but hang in there!

This recipe is one that my dad grew up on, except on the SC coast, it was called Perlo Rice. It's chicken, water, rice and salt and pepper to taste. I have never seen it written down, so here goes:

Perlo Rice

chicken (quarters and whole chickens are best - don't try with bl/sl breasts)
water
2 cups rice
salt and pepper

Put the chicken in a pot and cover completely with water - preferably 8 cups or more. Add a few TBSP of salt. Boil on medium until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pot and strain if you like - I never have. Remove broth from pot and add 2 cups rice and 4 cups broth and desired amount of pepper to the pot. **As long as you add twice as much broth as rice, you can do any amounts** Cook rice on med until it starts to boil, then lower heat to low and cook 30 minutes until rice has absorbed the broth.

When you do the math on this, it is incredibly inexpensive. If you use 2 chicken quarters and 2 cups of rice, you are looking at less than $3. I like to make enough to for a few leftover lunches.

The OP has been given great advice and suggestions from our wonderful members. Unfortunately, there are MANY in this same situation which is the reason why MrCoupon started this website...to help others learn to coupon and make their valued dollar go far.

This post will be moved to My Life and Stories since so many can benefit from this helpful advice.

for taking the time to respond.