The List

Here's the list we'll be working with as a couple dozen Austin food bloggers dive into the food pantry project. It's pretty close to exactly what recipients walked away with when they visited a food pantry in Pflugerville just last week. They can visit once a month.

(We're each duplicating this bag on our own instead of taking one from the pantry and possibly from someone with a need.)

To supplement their monthly take away from the food pantry, many are lucky enough to also receive help from the SNAP program (food stamps) or WIC. The maximum benefit that we heard about during our meeting Wednesday evening was $200 for a month.

So, since I'm doing this for seven days, I'll use the full list as I plan my menu, cook and eat, and keep my "extras" (like fresh produce and dairy) to under $50.

Here's the complete list of food pantry items some Pflugerville recipients took home last week:

• 2 cans spaghetti sauce
• 4 cans veggies
  
• 4 fruit cans
  
• 1 meat selection (like 1 lb. of ground beef)
  
• 3 drink items (choice of large bottle of cranberry apple juice and/or powdered milk and/or apple juice boxes)
  
• 1 bag spaghetti or egg noodles
• 1 bag of beans
• 1 bag of white rice
• 1 package of jalapeno slices
• 1 ready-made dinner (like Hamburger Helper)
• 1 bag/container of oats
• 1 bag of cheerios
• 5 lb. bag of potatoes

Update: I just finished my shopping for this project, and my "extras," those things someone might use their SNAP or WIC benefits for, came to $28.17.