They have done the grocery store with$ 210 per week for a month

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Denis Paquin, Josee Lalonde, and their two children, Emil (to the left) and Ulysses have decided to make a pizza with canned tuna for dinner on the last day of the experiment that is the case, everyone should put hand to the dough.

Marie-Eve Dumont

Saturday, 10 march, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 10 march, 2018 01:00

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Fear of lack of food, restricted products, and constant obsession surrounding the planning of the meals. Of the to-do parents face in feeding their families as if they were earning the $ 11.25 per hour have had to change their way of grocery shopping.

“I was afraid of having to deprive the children of food. I told myself that I was going to deprive me well before them, ” remembers Josée Lalonde, the mother of Émil, 13 years, and Odysseus, 7 years.

In the midst of a debate on the minimum wage, and during winter months where the price of certain foods is very high due to the rarity, Ms. Lalonde and her husband Denis Paquin have accepted the challenge at the request of the Journal.

An ongoing challenge

Throughout the month of February, they could not spend that 838 $ to eat, or the maximum of two minimum-wage workers can devote to food.

“It is possible to get away, but it takes all the time that you’re thinking about it, and it is not necessary that it happens to you a surprise,” says father, Denis Paquin.

Without their visit to the communal kitchen, five bags of food from the food bank and lunch provided at the school of the older, difficult to say if the parents would have arrived to complete the experience.

Because during these 28 days, the couple has cut more than half the budget that it normally spends on food.

They have used the amount in two installments of $ 419, valid on the 1st and the 14th of February, as if they were paid every two weeks. It is approximately $ 52 per person per week to eat.

First week trying

On the eve of the 1st of February,
The Newspaper was made in Lalonde-Paquin to do the sorting in the contents of the pantry and the fridge so that it contains only a few basic products, such as mustard, ketchup or a bottom of cereal boxes.

Money has also been removed from the “will pay” to compensate for the two dozens of eggs, the cheese in slices or chips of the dishwasher.

“We went every week at the end of the budget, without excess,” said Denis Paquin. All of the products that we bought, it was commodities. Flour, rice, a little meat and we cooked our bread. It is a budget difficult. “

For the respect, the family has had to make choices they had never been confronted in the aisles of the grocery store. Half the amount of milk, very little beef, and the review of the juicy oranges and fresh fish.

The stress of any plan in terms of the circular, to several shops and all cooking was very heavy.

The food was all the thoughts of the mother, as she noted in her diary, extracts of which are published on page 32.

The children, who are greedy, have also become aware of their chance to live in a wealthy family.

“We also realized the extent to which food takes an important place in the social relations “, said Denis Paquin.

 

Family Budget

Before the experiment

• Family income : 170 000 $
• Budget for food : $ 450 to $ 500 per week.

During the experiment

• Family income : 43 875 $
• Budget for food : $ 210 per week, not a penny more.

 

Where does the amount of $ 210 per week ?

The amount allocated 838 $ is based on the calculations of the Institute of research and socioeconomic information.

It is what remains in the pockets of a family of four (2 adults, 2 children), whose parents are minimum-wage full-time after all other bills have been paid, such as housing, electricity, transport, and other. The calculation takes into account the social measures such as family allowances.

Only income

The family who led the experience was somehow “privileged” because she had a two-income full-time.

■ In reality, nearly 60 % of minimum-wage workers work less than 25 hours per week, and not 37.5 hours, as it was calculated for the experiment carried out by the family.

■ Approximately 64 % of these workers are aged 20 years and over, 47 % are in a household with two incomes or more, and 17 % are single parent families.

■ 352 900 workers are on the minimum wage in Quebec.

Only the purchase of food and household products was taken into account during the experiment. The amount allocated was fixed. In reality, many families need to reduce the food budget when an unexpected situation occurs, since they are often not able to put money aside.

 

Difficult to find a family ready to take on the challenge

The Journal has solicited nearly a dozen organizations to find a family who would take part in the experiment. Only the Coalition for a poverty-free Québec, we returned with the family Lalonde-Paquin, he had to convince to make the experience a whole month.

No one is immune to finding themselves in a precarious financial situation, whether due to a divorce, loss of employment, depression, illness, or other.

The family Lalonde-Paquin has expressed in e-mails, almost daily Journal of his many concerns about his ability to get through the month, especially during the first week.

The experience is held while the increase in the minimum wage to 12 $ an hour to react, small businesses, and encourages the advocates of the minimum wage to $15/hour, as will the Ontario by 2019

 

Difficult choices to make at the grocery store

Photo Chantal Poirier

Denis Paquin has decided to replace the vol-au-vent $ 5 against egg noodles, which cost half the price, and go back into its budget.

“We take the butter or the milk ?” asked the mother to her son, who had never been confronted to make a choice between two basic foods to arrive to complete the budget of the week.

The members of the family Lalonde-Paquin have had to cope with 419 $ for two weeks, not a penny more, as if the two parents working at minimum wage, to appease their hunger, and their two children of 7 and 13 years old.

“I’ve budgeted for each item and indicated the dishes that we could cook in function of the products at a discount,” says the mother, Josée Lalonde, who was normally no issues at the grocery store. She bought according to his desires and the demands of the children.

The father, Denis Paquin, has begun to make its own bread to save money. The milk consumption of children has increased from four to two glasses maximum per day. And no question of wasting a drop : if the glass is not empty, it is returned to the fridge for the next meal.

The chicken was purchased, having in mind that it would serve as two meals, the lentils were replaced with a portion of the ground beef in the pie, so that it rest of the meat to make tacos.

Not orange or fish

“Denis ogled oranges that seemed to be delicious, but at $ 6 a bag, it wouldn’t fit in the budget,” recalls Josée Lalonde, who was shocked to have to leave it on the shelves of the food is also essential.

The delivery of restaurant on the Friday evening, the loaves of bread from the bakery on the corner, or the salami from the delicatessen were of course no longer a part of their life.

Sacrifices have been made on fruit or vegetables that the family appreciated, or dairy products more expensive, such as the cheese curds. They have disappeared from the shopping cart.

The fresh fish was also become too expensive. Even the frozen fish would not fit in the budget. The couple has therefore dropped the idea of fun on a Friday night, preparing a fish and chips house with the cod or the haddock.

The products are individually packaged, such as bear paws or the granola bars, were limited to lunches. The question for the children to take as a snack at home.

“We cooked a lot of cookies, muffins, crisps to replace the snacks as usual “, explains the young Émil, who is more involved with his brother in the preparation of the dishes in the second part of the month.

The consumption of alcohol was reduced to half a beer on the first Friday and a bottle of wine in a dinner with friends, purchased with the money saved due to the fact that there was no meal to prepare.

Cook, cook, cook

Between work, school, homework, and the children, the weekends were entirely dedicated to the preparation of meals and snacks for the rest of the week. Less time for leisure, to see family and friends, the mother has found it very difficult (read more tomorrow).

The basket also contained more basic products that are versatile, such as carrots, potatoes, onions, eggs and flour.

The family did not think he had less eaten it than usual because she has bought a commodity and less of the processed products or prepared dishes.

The couple had, however, eager to find a variety in the food they eat, even if he has imagination to make different dishes throughout the month.

“The chicken and the pie, I am sickened. The rice in the tofu, it is good, but at some point, I was starting to get tired also, ” said Denis Paquin at the end of the experiment.

 

One of their menu of the week

Sunday

• Chicken with home fries

Monday

• Shepherd’s pie half-meat, half-lenses (with the potatoes that remain from the bag)

Tuesday

• Hot chicken (with leftover chicken from Sunday)

Wednesday

• Rice with pork and tofu

Thursday

• Pasta (spaghetti sauce to the ground meat and frozen vegetables)

Friday

• Tacos (with ground meat is not used for the shepherd’s pie)

 

The 5 biggest challenges

Photo Martin Alarie

Josée Lalonde was about to introduce pasta to lasagna to cook on February 9, after a first week experience. She had prepared a béchamel sauce and would add the canned tuna.

1. Planning and preparation of meals

“It is always necessary to make the inventory management, predict what we will need. There is no room for error in the decision of purchase or preparation. Everything is counted. “– Denis Paquin, the father

2. Difficult choices at the grocery store

“We haven’t all experienced the same pleasure to go to the grocery store than usual. We should stick to our list based on the specials. “– Denis Paquin

3. Psychological Stress

“I thought about it all the time, especially at the beginning, to the meal planning and that I was going to do. The people [the minimum wage] must be tired of all calculate, it never stops for them. “– Josée Lalonde

“We even had a discussion around the fact that a friend of our children had taken too much butter, and it was feared that we lack. “– Denis Paquin

4. Fears that children are lacking something

“They were afraid that the youngest, Ulysses, is not suitable because it is more difficult. Finally, it is more us that we are suited to him, since he loves more the flat base. And Kraft Dinner, he would eat all day. “ – Denis Paquin

5. Little time with family or for leisure

“As we spent all of our weekends to cooking, in addition to a half-hour per evening, so we had less time to do activities, to go out, to have fun with the kids, which was a little difficult from time to time. I also train usually twice a week at the pool, I went to that once. “– Josée Lalonde

The children are put to cook more

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

The children were asked to choose what they wanted to put on their pizza, or to help grate the cheese on the lasagna to tuna.

The children have put hand to the dough for meals and snacks during the month the minimum wage to help their parents make ends meet.

“We made the bread “, smiled proudly Odysseus, 7 years.

The increased involvement of children in the diet is one of the positive aspects of the experience carried out by the family.

“For snacks, biscuits or muffins. I also more helped to make the meal as usual, ” adds Émil 13-year-old, who has also made a bread with one of his friends to take it during a dinner with the family.

A visit to the food bank at the beginning of the third week of the experience has also reassured the children, who have found bags full of food (that The Newspaper has compensated by delivering a cash donation to the organization) coming back from school, the image of what they had usually (read tomorrow)

Photo Martin Alarie

The youngest even exclaimed : “We’re rich ! “seeing all of the donations received, he who had not liked to see the fridge empty at the beginning of the week.

“The children realized that they are very lucky. They are in a situation in the society where they do not have to be concerned whether they will have enough to eat at the end of the month, ” says the mother of the family, Josée Lalonde.

More flexible

The children were also most grateful for the efforts made by their parents to get to cooking good food, despite the lack of resources.

“The children told us that it was very good, they loved the recipe, I strengthened a lot, it gave me the positive feedback “, says dr. Lalonde.

Just like their parents, the children of the couple were obliged to comply with a food choice more restricted during the months where the budget was limited. They have also done more attention to the waste, leaving the glass of milk filled to the fridge.

“Usually, they expect to find exactly what they like to eat, and if you forget, they’ll let us know. This leads them to appreciate what they have and to be more flexible on the diet plan, which is not saying much, ” adds the mother during an exchange e-mail with The Log to the third week of the challenge.

It does not pass the test

Photo Martin Alarie

It has all the same necessary for parents struggling with the fact that the youngest of Odysseus, 7 years old, was a little more difficult on the food plan.

“We tried to make the spread of chicken home for lunch, as usual, we bought one already made at the grocery store. But Odysseus refused to eat it. We had to buy one made in-store, ” said the father, Denis Paquin. The shepherd’s pie with lentils has not passed the test either.

The children were very excited that the experience ends to regain some of their habits.

“Is it that we can say that the challenge is finished as soon as the journalist is a party ?” asked Émil, the last evening of the experience.

Moreover, they did not hesitate the next day to jump on the contents of the locker to snack that they had missed so much.

 

The advice of nutritionists

Photo Chantal Poirier

The nutritionist and host, Genevieve O Gleman, gave advice to Josée Lalonde and Denis Paquin to make better choices at the grocery store.

At the beginning of the third week of the challenge, the nutritionist and columnist Genevieve O Gleman has met the family Lalonde-Paquin to give him tips on how to make better choices at the grocery store with their small budget. At the end of the experiment, the nutritionist Rose Therrien has also made recommendations as a result of the review conducted by the family. Here are a few of their tricks.

Before you go to the grocery store

“We can do the exercise at home to compare the circulars this week, see which merchant offers the products that I like to eat at better prices. It is necessary to look at the circular which best suits to our tastes, and we go to the grocery store and we try to make the best choices. “Genevieve O Gleman, nutritionist, host and producer of Kitchen smart, parents in a hurry

“Think about the inventory of what we have at home before you leave for the grocery store can not buy what we don’t need. “ – Rose Therrien, nutritionist

“We can try to buy in bulk as much as possible to try to save money on the packaging. Grocery stores, ethnic can also be a good choice. “– Rose Therrien

At the grocery store

“In order to make savings, it is necessary to be flexible, it is not necessary to have ideas too arrested, you want to eat absolutely the chicken, cauliflower and apples. If they are not cheap, you eventually have to cut off economies. “Genevieve O Gleman

“You need to give time. If you are in a hurry, you don’t have the time to make comparisons, find the great deals. “Genevieve O Gleman

“Avoid the individual formats, which are more expensive and a little green. Choose the large sizes of yogurt or oatmeal and make portions of the self. “– Rose Therrien

“To better compare prices between products, it is necessary to look at the price per kilogram in the aisle of the meat, the price per 100 g in the grocery products and do not hesitate to weigh the fruits and vegetables to find out if it is more advantageous to take it to the pound or packet prepackaged. “Genevieve O Gleman

“Look at the products of the top and bottom shelves because those who are in the middle are often more expensive because companies pay to be well placed on the shelves. “ – Rose Therrien, nutritionist

If your child does not eat a lot or lift the nose on the new food

“When we have a snack before the meal, it satisfies the appetite. It becomes a little more selective when it comes to the meal, it is more difficult, it is well, it has not been so hungry, so we can no longer sort the food. It’s worth the money, not to eat a snack a good hour or two before the meal. “Genevieve O Gleman

“A child is in need of two glasses of milk per day, it is not necessary that he drink more. Also, a big glass of milk or juice before the meal, it satisfies the appetite, it is therefore likely to eat less at the meal. “Genevieve O Gleman

“Legumes, for example, we can try to integrate it into a dish that we already love. In spaghetti sauce or shepherd’s pie, add lentils in a recipe that is already winning. It is also worth to do it step by step. There is no substitute for 100 %, we can do a 1/3 leguminous, 2/3 meat and seasons the legume as we would have seasoned the meat. “Genevieve O Gleman

“Another thing for children to be a little more curious, it is to make games assets before the meal, go outside and play, it’s going to dig their appetite, they’ll be less difficult rendered to the meal time. “Genevieve O Gleman

If one is tired, and you don’t feel like cooking…

“You can always buy a frozen pizza, but the accompanying salad, a soup or a salad, you can even add vegetables on the pizza. “ – Rose Therrien, nutritionist

We eat less meat, and it was always hungry…

“We have two allies to support our appetite : proteins and fibers. The meat is expensive, tofu, legumes are cheap, foods made from whole grains will sustain longer, it has done more mileage with a single meal. “Genevieve O Gleman

 

The shopping cart

Photo Chantal Poirier

The basket of the Laroche family-Paquin contained almost just commodities less expensive.

Frozen vegetables

The couple took the frozen veggies, more economical than the costs.

Cucumbers

The couple chose a cucumber fields rather than the lebanese.

Potatoes

The basic products have been favored since they were the for more than a meal.

Bags of milk

The family has halved its consumption of milk.

Kraft Dinner

Chosen to satisfy the tastes. restricted to the youngest.

Olives

We opted for olives canned, less expensive than the fresh.

Bagels

The couple chose the bagel house brand to save money.

Breads pitas

Bought to make home made pizzas.

 

Extracts from the Log

During the challenge, Josée Lalonde, the mother of the family, has maintained a log to keep track of the progress of the experiment. Here are a few excerpts that demonstrate the concerns of the family during the month.

Sunday, February 4,

“It is this hunger that I would like to get rid of them, because as I think about it all the time to food, it seems that my appetite increases. Yet, I know that the fridge is not empty, but the fear of not having enough money until the next payday I live. “

Sunday, February 11,

“All of this becomes a luxury when we have only the minimum to feed themselves. In reality, it must be very hard. I can well imagine the impact of a high bill of electricity, for example, on the food budget : it would be cut, which is not our case. “

Saturday, February 17,

“We spend the day cooking for this week. The time passes quickly and one has to choose between cook and see our loved ones. There is no other choice than to reduce our leisure time, our social life. This is what I find difficult in this end of the week. “

Tuesday, February 20,

“We couldn’t : we went out for pizza, Denis and me. We needed to get out, to vent. One is “indebted” to $ 40, but it was worth it. It’s like a second wind that allows us to move more easily in the week. “

 

The family is eager to find

“The fresh fish I miss a lot. I also look forward to receiving. It has limited a lot of invitations, even to friends of the children. It goes beyond food, it also disrupts the family dynamics and social. “– Josée Lalonde (mother)

“This is not so much of a particular food that I miss, but more the freedom to say that if I didn’t feel like cooking I makes life easier with the restaurant or a prepared dish. “– Denis Paquin (father)

“I can’t wait to return to my snacks, like bear paws and cheese. I eat a lot. “– Émil (13 years)

“The veal, I like it a lot. “– Ulysses (7 years)

 

Lessons learned

More attentive to the budget allocated to the grocery store

“The experience has made us aware of the budget that is allocated to food, what one was not before. We will be more attentive to some of our desires that we will be able to see. The money that is put into food choices, I can choose to put it elsewhere. “– Josée Lalonde

Cook more

“We realized that we could cook more. We liked to cook the bread, it was easier than we thought, we would like to continue to do. The little jars of mustard at $ 6 will maybe take the edge off and we might be able to prepare most of it ourselves, now. “– Denis Paquin

To change the way consume

“During the month, I felt less a consumer, I was taking control of our lives rather than be influenced by all these brands at the grocery store. We only looked at even more, it was just the less expensive. It calls into question how we consume. “– Denis Paquin