Anybody ever have government cheese?

[Lilyhoney]

I did as a kid. We used to get it from the methodist church along with other basic food staples.



Does the government still provide cheese?

[Archae]

1. Yes.

It was good.

[Wetzelbill]

2. I'm from an Indian Reservation

Commodities are a staple. Government cheese aka Commodity Cheese is/was the equivalent of a brick of gold.

:)

[Lilyhoney]

5. It sat in my tummy like a brick too.

I am not knocking the cheese. We were happy to have it. We really were very poor at that time.

I don't think this is something most people want to admit to. I know my sister would say she has no idea what I am talking about.

[Wetzelbill]

16. it's some valuable stuff

People would just about trade their firstborn for a brick of cheese. Hell, I'm still poor, nothing wrong with not having money. Just as long as you work to be better and stay a good person.

[Lilyhoney]

33. I will do almost anything for food.

You are a good person in my book.:hug:

[Wetzelbill]

38. why thank you

Well, looks like I got another one fooled. Oops, I didn't mean to say that out loud.

And, you are too, btw. :)

[Old_Fart]

41. They gave blocks of butter along with the cheese

Which Reservation are you from and what tribe do you belong to?

[Wetzelbill]

45. the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana

I'm a member of the Blackfeet tribe.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. I remember cheese, peanut butter, and veggie oil

[Lilyhoney]

11. And flour and sugar.

And someone from our household had to go to the warehouse to volunteer for a day in order to recieve the free foods.

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. I don't recall the warehouse workday. Although we did have to do that

with the foodbank. We didn't qualify for receiving food from it, but if you volunteered and worked a shift they would "pay" you in "seconds" (food that wasn't high quality enough to give to the needy, but too good for the pigs).

[Lilyhoney]

27. It is very hard to be

just the right amount of poor at times.

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. Yes. I need to find out if we have lost our medicaid. If so, I won't be

going to the doc for a good long time because health insurance is insanely expensive!

[bridgit]

4. yup...

beef (now that's rough stuff), beans & butter too :thumbsup:

[notadmblnd]

13. My mom used to make pretty good BBQ from the canned beef

thats about all it was good for though. Loved the cheese.

[bridgit]

20. that's the stuff all right...

a great 'base' for all what follows thereafter ~ :hi:

[Wetzelbill]

19. I used to love the beef

now I gag just thinking about it. Ugh!

[bridgit]

24. lol...

oh, we ate it plenty, but i do hear'ya on the 'after shock component' :rofl:

[Lilyhoney]

30. I don't remember if we got meat.

Oh, wait, I do believe we got Spam. Is that meat? :puke:

[bridgit]

40. spam is spooky enough, but gov'ment 'spam'...

:scared: no me wait...i love spam!!

[Lilyhoney]

47. My philipino cousins like spam.

So I gave her a spam cook book. I think she really liked it.

[bridgit]

53. lol, i've seen that book & thought about buying it...

:applause:

[Lilyhoney]

60. Oh, there is'nt just one.

This bookstore had like a dozen differnt ones.

[6000eliot]

6. When I was a kid.

[iconoclastic cat]

7. Every time there's a press conference, I get 10X the daily recommended amt

[Lilyhoney]

14. Ok, so it took me a moment, but very funny.

:hi:

[AlienGirl]

8. Best. Cheese. Ever.

Nothing, nothing made better grilled-cheese sandwiches.

And the peanut butter, OMG. Five-pound tubs of ground peanuts with a layer of oil a half-inch thick on top. :9 Soooo good on toast with some home-made jelly.

Tucker

[Wetzelbill]

21. yeah and if you pour the oil out

you can hardly spread the PB. It tears up your bread, lol.

[AlienGirl]

32. That's why you don't pour it out!

You get a wooden spoon and stir it till your arm hurts really bad and then refrigerate it! (Even so, the last couple inches of PB will be pretty hard--that's when you eat it off spoons, like lollipops!)

Tucker

[theshadow]

9. When I worked for the county....

.... the sheriff got a deal for free government cheese. He'd get these huge blocks of cheese for the jail. The cooks didn't know what to do with all of it. Toasted cheese sandwiches, bologna-cheese sandwiches, a slice of cheese in the morning. It went on and on. It was like the episode of Andy Griffith when Aunt Bee kept churning out pickles, and Andy and Barney couldn't eat anymore of them.

[ismnotwasm]

10. Gov'ment cheese

And foodbank chicken backs.

[yewberry]

12. Yes.

It wasn't great, but, hey, it was big.

The cheese, I mean.

[AlienGirl]

18. I really liked it

Even better than Velveeta.

Tucker

[yewberry]

25. Funny you say that

That's what I hated about it...the Velveeta-tude.

Not my idea of a brick of goodness.

[Nikia]

17. Yes, on a professional basis

What they don't tell you is that government cheese is better than a lot of normal American cheese. When a plant manufacturers the cheese, there is a USDA inspector there the whole time. He or she examines the raw cheese and other ingredients. He or she watches the process. He or she examines the finished loaves. The samples are examined by a government lab. If the samples do not fit specific criteria, the load might be rejected or the company could be fined, negating their profit on the contract. The government is a pickier customer than most. As a result, the cheese is often better than or equal to the companies best American cheese, some of which is found in the deli section at the grocery store for $6 or $7 per pound.

[AlienGirl]

22. Government peanut butter is the best I've ever had

I haven't found any brand of PB that can equal it in taste or texture.

Tucker

[Nikia]

56. The government really does have high standards

It is a misconception that just because it goes to the poor that it is poor quality.

[hnsez]

23. I did, cheese, flour, forget what else

[sniffa]

26. mos def

that giant bLock was aLways in the fridge. they made great griLLed cheese sandwiches. :9

edit: as a kid. do they stiLL have govt. cheese?

[Nikia]

28. Part of the reason that they make good grilled cheese

Is that one of the specifications that they test for is melt. If it doesn't melt well enough, they don't take it or take it from the company for almost free.

[Wetzelbill]

31. geez you're practically an expert on this stuff

[Nikia]

35. I am

When I said professionally, I really do mean that it is part of my job. I also have an $80 textbook at home entitled "Process Cheese".

[Wetzelbill]

39. no kidding!

What exactly do you do if you don't mind me asking?

[Nikia]

46. I do quality assurance at a cheese plant (n/t)

[Wetzelbill]

50. that actually sound pretty cool

I'm not sure if I'll be reading that textbook anytime soon, though. :)

[Lilyhoney]

51. Thank you for your input.

I thought I had heard somewhere before that it really was a good quality food product. Now it is confirmed.:hi:

[AlienGirl]

43. Can you recommend a peanut butter

that comes close to the taste and texture of Government PB?

Tucker

[Nikia]

49. Unfortunately not

Even if I did know brands, I couldn't tell you. I think that people can get sued for that.

[Wetzelbill]

52. wow you weren't kidding you do love that stuff

Have you ever tried the all natural stuff? You can get it in most stores or a health food store too. It has a good texture to it, plus you have to stir in the grease the same way as the other stuff. I like it way better than Jiffy or the big brand names. That might help you out.

[AlienGirl]

55. The natural brands are similar, but

the grind on the Government PB was slightly finer.

Tucker

[Wetzelbill]

57. damn, just when I thought I got in good with a Mod

:)

[AlienGirl]

61. LOL, ya did!

:hug: :evilgrin:

[Wetzelbill]

62. I am King Of The World!!!!!

[Wetzelbill]

29. The worst was the Luncheon Meat, sort of a Spam knock off

My dad used to fry that stuff up and munch it down. It was hideous. I tried giving some to my dog one time. She just looked at it, looked at me like: "Are you fucking kidding me, Bill?" and walked away, lol.

Dude, dogs will literally eat shit if they have to. But I couldn't even get ours to eat commodity luncheon meat. Yet, I know lots of old school reservation guys my dad's age who love that stuff. I'm sick as hell just thinking of it right now.

[Lilyhoney]

44. I don't know if it is because of the

government cheese or not, but I do not eat american cheese anymore. I guess once I found cheddar cheese there is no going back. My husband likes the american processed cheese food. But I can't even chew it.
Bill, thanks for sharing.:hi:

[Wetzelbill]

48. I'm a cheddar man myself too

Great stuff.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Ever hear this song?

GOVERNMENT CHEESE
by The Rainmakers

Give a man a free house and he'll bust out the windows
Put his family on food stamps, now he's a big spender
no food on the table and the bills ain't paid
'Cause he spent it on cigarettes and P.G.A.
They'll turn us all into beggars 'cause they're easier to please
They're feeding our people that Government Cheese

Give a man a free lunch and he'll figure out a way
To steal more than he can eat 'cause he doesn't have to pay
Give a woman free kids and you'll find them in the dirt
Learning how to carry on the family line of work
It's the man in the White House, the man under the steeple
Passing out drugs to the American people
I don't believe in anything, nothing is free
They're feeding our people the Government Cheese

Decline and fall, fall down baby
Decline and fall, said fall way down now
Decline and fall, fall down little mama
Decline and fall, decline and fall

Give a man a free ticket on a dead end ride
And he'll climb in the back even though nobody's driving
Too ******* lazy to crawl out of the wreck
And he'll rot there while he waits for the welfare check
Going to hell in a handbag, can't you see
I ain't gonna eat no Government Cheese

[Old_Fart]

36. Yes

I will never consume another grilled cheese again in my life. We went through a hard spell after a family member died and left a bunch of kids behind for us to take care of. The cheese reminds me of the chunk of Velveeta cheese :puke:

[Wetzelbill]

42. DU you is the greatest place on earth

You run into the damndest stories and the damndest people.

I bet the memory alone just makes your stomach queasy, huh?

[qnr]

54. And peanut butter... oh yeah, and pickles! n/t

[TheMightyFavog]

58. Government Penut butter... mmmmmmm

Brings back memories of Grade school and scout camp!

Never had the cheese, though.

[Lilyhoney]

59. Government cheese...

Sounds like something a communist country would do.

Communist Cheese. :rofl:

[Wetzelbill]

63. This thread has gotten a lot of mileage

[Lilyhoney]

64. I know, Thank you everybody.

My threads don't usually go so well. And I usually kill them with my own last post. Let's see if this does it.

[Strawman]

65. My grandparents used to get it

I hate American cheese though, but my sister thought it was the best cheese.