Food
Small steps that worked for real people, on food.
The sky over Food · 63 small steps
- Skip the shrink-wrap: ask at the butcher counter
- Ask the manager what the shop is throwing out
- Ask who the senior lunch is for, then go
- Calories per dollar — arithmetic for the thinnest weeks
- Compare the price of protein before you swap the meat
- Cook one long afternoon, eat for weeks
- Live with relatives who earn more? Ask your SNAP office first
- One list, one pickup — the aisles never see you
- Sort the pantry bag the day you bring it home
- Thirst is the system working
- Try the deli slicer before you buy your own
- Seventy pounds of ugly produce, split two ways
It sounds heavy. We’re here.
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In the UK · Samaritans
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In the US · National Domestic Violence Hotline
Call 1-800-799-7233Text START to 88788
In the UK · National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge)
For men in the UK · Men’s Advice Line Lines open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm
Outside those hours: Samaritans will listen any time, on 116 123.
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More lines: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
In Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland · your nation’s own 24-hour line
Scotland: 0800 027 1234Wales: 0808 80 10 800Northern Ireland (18+): 0808 802 1414
In the US · Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
Call 1-800-422-4453Text GO to 1-800-422-4453
In the UK · Childline
An adult worried about a child? Childhelp takes those calls too. In the UK: NSPCC, 0808 800 5000, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
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In the US · RAINN — National Sexual Assault Hotline
Call 1-800-656-4673Text HOPE to 64673
In England and Wales · Rape Crisis (16+)
18 or under in the UK? Childline, any time: 0800 1111.
More lines: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
In Scotland · Rape Crisis Scotland (13+) Lines open every day, 5pm to midnight
Call 08088 01 03 02Text 07537 410 027
Outside those hours: Samaritans will listen any time, on 116 123.
In Wales or Northern Ireland · 24-hour lines that cover sexual violence
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In the US · VictimConnect Resource Center
Call 1-855-484-2846Text 1-855-484-2846
In the UK · National Stalking Helpline (Suzy Lamplugh Trust) Lines open Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am to 8pm. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9:30am to 4pm
Outside those hours: Samaritans will listen any time, on 116 123.
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StopNCII.org (18+): help stop them being shared online →
In the UK · Revenge Porn Helpline (18+) Lines open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, excluding bank holidays
Outside those hours: Samaritans will listen any time, on 116 123.
Under 18 in the images? In the UK, Childline can help you get them removed (Report Remove): 0800 1111. In the US, NCMEC can point you to Take It Down, any time: 1-800-843-5678.
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In the US · National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call 1-888-373-7888Text 233733
In the UK · Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline (Unseen) Lines open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Sunday (reduced hours until further notice)
Outside those hours: Samaritans will listen any time, on 116 123.
An older person being hurt, neglected or exploited?
In the UK · Hourglass (older people and abuse)
Call 0808 808 8141Free text 078 6005 2906
If any of this is about you: call 988 in the US or Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK. In danger: 911 / 999. Someone to talk to →
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About a child? Childline 0800 1111 in the UK, Childhelp 1-800-422-4453 in the US.
Sexual assault: RAINN 1-800-656-4673 in the US, Rape Crisis 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales.
In danger now: 911 in the US, 999 in the UK.
A teen or young adult in the US? Love Is Respect, any time: 1-866-331-9474, or text LOVEIS to 22522.
18 or under in the UK? Childline, any time: 0800 1111.
If you’re over 18: domestic abuse lines →
Worried someone checks this device? How to browse more privately →
Someone to talk to, and more →
Thinking of ending your life, or in danger? 988 (US) · Samaritans 116 123 (UK) · 911 / 999
Or browse another area:
- foodLive with relatives who earn more? Ask your SNAP office firstIn the US, SNAP groups people by who buys and cooks food together, with exceptions. Living with relatives? Ask before you rule yourself out.
- foodCompare the price of protein before you swap the meatBeans, lentils and tofu can cost less than meat, but not in every shop. Work out the price per gram of protein before you swap.
- foodAsk the manager what the shop is throwing outShops bin food that is still good. Ask a manager politely, once; a no is often company policy, not a verdict on you. Only take safe food.
All 63 tips on food
- A dry paper towel in the bag
- A garden costs nothing to start
- An egg and a handful of frozen peas
- Anyone can eat at a gurdwara
- Ask the manager what the shop is throwing out
- Ask the waiter where they eat
- Ask who the senior lunch is for, then go
- Bread belongs in the freezer
- Butter, milk, and one more egg
- Buy the cooked bird and boil the bones
- Buy the pumpkin on the first of November
- Calories per dollar — arithmetic for the thinnest weeks
- Cheap food does not have to be empty
- Check which date it is before you bin the food
- Compare the price of protein before you swap the meat
- Cook once, eat twice
- Cook one long afternoon, eat for weeks
- Cook the corn in its husk
- Cook the whole bag, then freeze it
- Cut off tomorrow’s butter tonight
- Dimple the patty, then leave it alone
- Eat enough in the daytime if you are hungry at night
- Fill the teen up, then cap the extras
- Flatten the meat before you freeze it
- Flavour is the cheapest ingredient
- Float the egg, then smell it
- Frozen fruit is picked ripe
- Give the leftovers back their steam
- Green onions: pay once, regrow on the windowsill
- Keep the fizz, drop the sugar
- Keep your fingers off the cheese
- Live with relatives who earn more? Ask your SNAP office first
- Make the groceries last when the money runs thin
- Make the meat a seasoning
- One list, one pickup — the aisles never see you
- Only the boring panel is regulated
- Press the film onto the guacamole
- Push the food into a ring
- Put the pinch of salt in the grounds
- Refill the pickle jar
- Reheat the pizza in a covered pan
- Reheating does not undo the afternoon
- Roll the orange before you peel it
- Salt the meat the night before
- Seventy pounds of ugly produce, split two ways
- Skip the shrink-wrap: ask at the butcher counter
- Smell the pineapple; the leaf tells you nothing
- Sort the pantry bag the day you bring it home
- Stop it when the pops slow down
- Sweat the onion first
- Thaw the turkey all the way through first
- The eggs will disappear first
- The first layer is the glue
- The kettle is a stove
- The pantry is for weeks like this one
- The species is printed on the can
- Thirst is the system working
- Try the deli slicer before you buy your own
- Try the food you hate, cooked another way
- Warm the jar, don’t boil it
- Wet the bread before it goes back in
- Your SNAP card can buy seeds
- Zest before you juice, then freeze it in cubes
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