• temporal_spider@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    35 分钟前

    My old partner and I used to travel to rural areas in our rv, to work on low income ppl’s houses, as part of a different government program, and our clients often gave us some of their commodities. That cheese made some mighty good tacos. I used to make them directly on the propane flame to melt the cheese and toast the tortilla. We’d stuff them with avocado and alfalfa sprouts because we were hippy weirdos. The honey was great, too.

  • demizerone@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    5 小时前

    I still remember how both of those things taste exactly. We also had freeze dried steaks from the Vietnam War.

  • jaaake@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    15 小时前

    And powdered milk!

    We had both in my house and referred to the powdered milk as “backup milk.”

  • Kit
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    19 小时前

    Government cheese inspired many amazing dishes in my household.

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      19 小时前

      I remember going with my great granny to the distribution center. Cheese, butter, maybe peanut butter but that could be faulty memory. The butter and cheese got us to eat our vegetables without complaining.

      • Kit
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        18 小时前

        Haha amen. But pair it with fresh fruit, veg, and eggs (plus the occasional chicken) from the back yard and it got us by!

        • Maeve@kbin.earth
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          18 小时前

          Yes! We had persimmon, pear, fig, apple and crabapple trees, blackberry and muskidine about, and there were peach orchards nearby. Life was so simple and good back then. And we didn’t mind helping in the kitchen, garden and house. On Saturday nights regular granny started cooking, stopped long enough to take us kids to Sunday school and church, then we all came back to her house and each kid helped finish cooking, whether laying biscuits on the pan, putting mac n cheese together. Even toddlers set the table and put ice in glasses, folded hand-sewn napkins. They did so much for us we didn’t appreciate until we were grown!

  • LustyArgonian@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    14 小时前

    My grandma used to get free government cheese (Velveeta-like block) that was out of date.

    That stuff didn’t melt no matter how hot you got it.

  • Dem Bosain@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    15 小时前

    Government cheese, government butter, we even got government HONEY one time.

    I’m sure my parents were embarrassed to even qualify for government aid, but I loved it and didn’t think about it. I loved that little apartment, and I’m glad to see it’s still there on satellite.

  • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    17 小时前

    We had government cheese in the late 90s and early 00s. Honestly, it was good. I don’t know wtf the difference between gubment cheese and American cheese was, but it was so much better than regular American cheese.

    • straightjorkin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 小时前

      The government cheese was created because the Carter admin miscalculated and encouraged dairy farmers to overproduce. They actually still have cheese in caves in Missouri.

    • Donkter@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      17 小时前

      Government cheese had a shit ton of oil and less “cheese” im pretty sure. Delicious, and calorie dense for sure.

      • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        14 小时前

        Honest to goodness, it was freaking good. I’m sure the Europeans would absolutely die if they tried it, they’d be so offended we call it cheese, but it was good .

  • unsettlinglymoist@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    16 小时前

    I worked at a food bank a couple years ago and we regularly received pallets of government cheese through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). They were massive blocks of orange cheddar with almost no text on the label. We also received pallets of government pistachios and dried cherries that were as good as any you’d buy in a store.

      • robolemmy@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        19 小时前

        It’s definitely not in keeping with his politics in later songs, so I can believe it. On the other hand, it’s still a song I enjoy

        • WatDabney@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          18 小时前

          Agreed on both counts.

          And on another note, I took a gamble there by just referring to “Bob,” and it’s cool that that worked.

  • shai_hulud@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    18 小时前

    They gave out two huge blocks right before Christmas break at my Catholic high school every year. Delicious. We were pretty poor then, so it did help.

  • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    19 小时前

    Distributing a lactose-based food as charity to low-income neighbourhoods, when people of colour, who are most overrepresented amongst the poor, are also most likely to be lactose intolerant, has a certain energy.