Some of this is food that I would never buy myself because I really don't want to eat it. The canned chicken (two 12 1/2 oz cans), cranberry apple juice (two half gallon containers), and American cheese (a 2 lb block) are all definitely in that category. I wouldn't buy the white flour pasta either, unless it was expressly to make macaroni and cheese about once a year, but I wouldn't use American cheese to do it and I wouldn't use reduced sodium or reduced fat cheese either.
The only things I might have bought are the cereal, boxed milk, dried pinto beans, and lite peaches. I do have some Cheerios in the cabinet and found that the nutritional value is comparable to the cereal I received today (two 14 1/2 oz boxes). I don't eat cereal with milk, but I do like to dip a banana and coat it in Cheerios for breakfast sometimes, so I can use this. The milk (two quart sized boxes) is 1% and perfect for me to have for cooking, though it might be difficult for me to use an entire quart after opening before it spoils. The pintos (a 2 lb bag) I can use, but they're not a kind of bean that I usually buy because it's not a favorite. I'll figure out something new to do with them, perhaps.
I don't usually eat canned corn either, but I noticed this is labeled as "no salt added" and the ingredients are corn and water only. I will keep these (4 cans) and maybe use them in a soup sometime. The peaches I'll keep (2 cans) because I often keep canned fruit in the frig for when I don't have fresh fruit or to put on frozen yogurt. Glad to see it was "lite" too.
The canned chicken poses a dilemma! I don't like canned chicken, not any I've ever tried, not cooked any way I've ever had it. I'm pondering whether or not I want to waste other ingredients in order to try something else with this. I'm considering using some of the many apples I have and coming up with a sort of chicken salad. Or maybe doing a croquette sort of thing with enough onions and peppers and spices to make it taste like anything but canned chicken.
I'm also considering making some macaroni and cheese using one of the two 1 lb bags of macaroni and some of the American cheese. It won't be the way I'd ordinarily make macaroni and cheese, but I think I'm gonna experiment and see if I can come up with something that I actually like using these ingredients.
Not sure yet what I'll do with the juice. I don't buy or drink juice because there are just more efficient ways to get the nutrients involved. I'd rather have a piece of fruit than a glass of juice. I might could use some of it as a smoothie ingredient, but there's a gallon of it here and that's a lot of juice!
Individuals who qualify for the CSFP program can pick up a food package once a month and can be removed from the program, I was told today, if they don't pick it up every month. I was given the complete order today, but people are given the option of choosing to not get the food they think they won't use. The basic make up of the box stays the same month after month, but the variety comes in the rotation of what sort of vegetables you get four cans of, which fruit you get two cans of, which canned meat you get, etc.
Applicants must provide ID, proof of income, and proof of address in order to qualify and must recertify their benefits every six months. At the time of certification, you can designate somebody to pick up your food for you if you need to, but they'll need to be with you and have ID when you register them as authorized. After acceptance, you'll be given a card you or your authorized representative must present, along with ID, each month when you get food.
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