People Don't Know What Middle-Class Deprivation Looks Like

I have taken food from the teacher-lounge leftovers that are left out when no one is there. This could be bread or donuts.

I don't eat the meat portion at dinner, but give it to my husband and sons, and pretend I ate my share earlier to make whatever we can buy go further.

We are one of the families who make over whatever the guidelines are for qualifying for food assistance. Because of auto and dental expenses and other unforeseen costs that have come up, we are stretched to the limit.

I have stolen a box of cereal or can of something out of various bins at locations if I can get away with it. I lie about where it came from if noticed. "Oh it must have been left in the trunk of the car from a previous shopping trip."

I am smoking cigarettes even when I don't want to so I am not as hungry. Cigarettes and coffee have a way of staving off the calling for real food, especially if I am not around it, or have to smell it. I avoid shopping centers for this reason, I can always smell good food cooking and it is torture.

Whenever there is free food anywhere offered I pig out and try to steal non perishables to take home if I can.

I buy cheap food for myself or try to fill up on pasta or sugary drinks or coffee for energy so I can give my family the better food.

I don't sleep well because I often go to bed hungry, even if I thought I had filled up on pasta or rice. I feel tired a lot of the time and it is a big effort to do anything that requires concentration. I have to write myself notes so I don't forget stuff.

I have asked my in-laws to babysit and lied about having appointments just because I know they will feed the kids better food than I have and maybe I can then make the last apple or banana stretch another day.

I have asked for an empty cup and used it to fill it up with milk at a coffee shop and taken it home. I routinely steal sugar and whatever I can get from places like this or crackers from the soup display. I have eaten food in the supermarket or asked for samples at the deli with no intention to buy just because I was so hungry myself and wanted to have meat or cheese so badly. I feel ashamed and embarrassed at this.

I feel like if anyone knew they either would not believe me, or would somehow blame me, or would just have contempt for either myself or my husband. I am afraid to go to a food resource place because after taking the SNAP online qualifying quiz, I don't think we are officially poor enough to qualify because we have a mortgage. Sure there are plenty of websites that tell you how to live on beans and rice, but most kids won’t eat that. We already use every coupon we can and utilize every combination of coupons and sales.

I have been a stay-home mom partially because jobs I could get in the past didn't justify the high gas and what I might spend on food and gas and clothing to work.