So, if you can remember back to winter-ish, when it was cold........It was suggested that in lieu of the transfer payments, currently known as SNAP benefits or EBT, half of the benefits would be substituted with a box of shelf stable commodities . (Reminder Here)
I'm not sure what the scandal of the week was they were trying to distract us from, but the economics
of it would cause a giant mess!
As the benefits circulate they add to the economy- without the added spending, sales would go down, demand would go down, interest rates would have to increase to make up the difference & we'd be in recession city.......not to mention the logistics of delivering these boxes to homes via subscription service.
I digress.
As a quasi unemployed person of late, with babies to feed, I was gifted with 25lbs (had to be! I carried it both ways, uphill in the snow) of food stuff from a lovely organization.
98% of which was shelf stable(dried beans, rice, cans), then several dozen eggs, a packet of thick sliced USDA turkey, & a 2lb bag of frozen blueberries.
I didn't not ask, but am under the impression that this commodities box is supposed to make up for the 4th week in the month, where the SNAP/EBT benefits usually can't stretch.
Beef Shepard's Pot Pie Family MRE
(The Meal, Ready-to-Eat – commonly known as the
MRE – is a self-contained,
individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought
by the United States military for
its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food
facilities are not available.)
After emptying the envelope into a large baking dish, I added a can of drained, mixed veg, & topped with a can of instant biscuits (the fluffy kind, peeled apart to double the amount)
Baking at 350 for about 25 minutes until the biscuits were brown & the stuff was heated through
It, surprisingly, received thumbs up from the picky eater.
& as we have a stock of the stuff, this will probably be repeated....
or it would also be delicious as a gravy over mash- 'stew' is used very lightly in this instance.
