In the end, it all boils down to food.

I've been exploring new territory since I came out to Arizona. In my efforts to be as penny-pinching as possible, I've been trying to find more ways to save money. After all, I only make $100 a week, less taxes, and work requires me to drive at least 20 miles a day most days. So we've been going to this food distribution, and that's been going... well. I suppose.

They give us a lot of food, and that's great, but it's not all stuff that we use. We can barely keep up with the amount of potatoes and onions they give us, but things like eggs and milk tend to go by pretty fast. But I still find myself going to the grocery store to pick up things that I want. Add to that the fact that I've started attending a small group that happens the same night the distribution is and you get a bit of negativity from the roommates as to whether or not I deserve the food if I'm not going to the distribution. And who wants to sit through that every week anyway? I didn't go last week, and I didn't know what they got from it, but I don't think I ate any of it the whole week and didn't miss it. Granted, some of what I ate was from the week before, but perhaps that helps strengthen my point.

So what are some other options? There's a couple other places that do distributions, perhaps they let you pick what you take (like the food truck at St. Patrick's in Grand Haven does). But my recent foray into the Tucson area to visit an old friend and make a bunch of new ones revealed something to me: they were all on food stamps. Students, recent graduates, all not making much for money, all getting assistance to buy their groceries. They told me to apply, so I did. I've got a phone interview for it next week so they can determine if I'm actually eligible or not.

Am I? I'm not really sure. Once again, I'm getting paid very little, and the less I have to put towards groceries the more I can put towards my student loans. And I must say that it'd be nice to put that charity towards food I actually want or will use. I know, I know, beggars can't be choosers - but does that mean that choosers can't be beggars too? I have to admit, I have moral qualms about all of this food-charity stuff (or maybe it's a pride thing?) and I would just as soon scrape by by the skin of my teeth and my own solid, Dutch thrift. So, is it an okay thing to accept outside help and do more than just get by, or should I be making do with what I have? What do you think?