How Far Can Your Dollar Stretch?

So to see how far the food stamp benefits stretched, I headed to a local Giant grocery store in Washington, adjacent to public transportation. My budget: $120, the maximum weekly benefit for a family of four on food stamps. (See how much that buys at http://www.leanplateclub.com.)

I spent about an hour and a half shopping for bargains and used a discount card (available free at the store) to save more. Here's a sampling of what I found:

Dried beans. With the discount card, beans cost as little as 55 cents per pound. That makes 16 servings at 4 cents each to put into tacos, bean dip, soups, chili, salads and more. Downside: Cooking dried beans takes time. But a batch can be frozen.

Canned salmon. Just 14 cents per ounce, compared with $7.99 and up (about 50 cents an ounce) for fresh. Great for salmon patties or salmon loaf.

Fruit. A big challenge until I found a large watermelon for $5.99. It could provide about 12 servings.

Eggs and tofu. At $1.89 per dozen, eggs are a low-cost protein source. So is tofu, at $2.99 per container. Both stretched farther than any meat I could find.

Whole grains. It took time, but I found a whole-grain loaf with extra fiber for $2.39. I bought two loaves, for sandwiches, toast and French toast.

Salad dressing. Bottled was too expensive. I stretched my dollars with the discount card to buy a store-brand olive oil ($7.59) -- it can also be used for cooking -- and apple cider vinegar to make a vinaigrette. Tip from Hindle: Turn it into mock-balsamic dressing by adding a tablespoon of sugar, honey or molasses to a cup of vinegar.

Vegetables. Ten bags of frozen veggies for $10 beat both fresh and canned and are nutritionally the same.

In short, eating on a food stamp budget was challenging, but not as difficult as some members of Congress might think.