X-Post -Bariatric Supply Pantry - how to get started

For several years, I have had this vision of starting a food pantry-style outreach center with bariatric supplies, i.e., protein powder, vitamins, blender bottles, etc., but I just don't know how to get started.

Even now, I  am finding myself in need of this type of service, as many who have had surgery are falling on hard times, including me,  and may be hard-pressed to afford the things we need to stay healthy.

My initial research for this at least in my state, says that having a medically trained person there  would not be necessary, and while it is a specialty service, the items would need to be things that anybody can use, whether they have bariatric surgery or not.

Anybody with Ideas?

I am right there with you.

Protein powder, even cheap protein powder that is 65 or 75 percent protein, would be good.  I think 20-25 grams of protein can be had for less than 80 cents a shot. 

Otherwise, a club membership into a Sam’s or Costco would help.  I can buy 5 dozen eggs for less than 7 dollars.  That makes them half the price of a dozen in the regular grocery store – and half the price of my protein powder.  I crack them open, blend them all, and freeze them in containers.  (I buy about 30 dozen when I go, and I pasteurize them all so I can drink them raw.)  One cup of blended eggs is 5 large eggs (30 gms of protein).  I put a cup of eggs into yogurt smoothies, my coffee, hot chocolate, soups, fried anything, scrambles, you name it.  There is no cheaper or better protein than an egg.

A good quality milti-vitamin.  It's not enough, but someone could take 4 -6 of them a day and still be able to keep on top of most deficiencies.  If you could be on the receiving end of some vitamin shops or GNCs that would pass on vitamins that are past their dates – you could pass those out.  People could get a week’s worth of pills – and if the pills are taken within a couple of months of expiration, they are still good to use.

A referral or some lessons on how to get blood tests done for cheap.  That’s the part that makes me cringe.  I hesitate to get my labs done because of the costs.  But I’m flying blind without them.  So a local source for labs would be good. 

Literature or handouts that show people how to combine grains, beans, and nuts to achieve a complete protein.  I’ve recently nailed this info down.  I eat vegetarian one meal a day to cut down on meat costs.  At first I had gas and blow outs, now my body is used to the carbs.  I don’t eat sugar or pancakes, but I do eat bread with beans, or beans and rice, or rice with peanuts, etc.  And beans and grains are very, very cheap.  A person can get almost 20 gms of protein from just 1 cup of beans.  

Good luck with this project.  I hope you get it off the ground.  This very issue is the most scary part about my DS - how to support it when I'm unemployed.

Another thought...  teach people how to make yogurt.  It's so much cheaper to make it. 

With a heating pad, a couple of towels, some recycled glass jars, a gallon of milk and a small container of Danon yogurt - you can have a gallon of yogurt with no additives or sugar.  It's the best yogurt for you.

How do you make the yogurt?  I am just beginning my journey towards weight loss surgery and this would be something I would make.  Hope to have surgery in the first few months of next year.  Insurance that will cover it, if they approve it doesn't go into affect until Jan. 2.

It is really easy.  Do a search on google, go to Youtube and watch some videos.  You can make a gallon of whole fat milk into a gallon of yogurt in 6 to 8 hours using a heating pad. 

Don't forget to steralize the jars!  I use what ever jars my olives or kraut or whatever came in, but I wash and rinse with boiling water.  Then you are not trying to grow good bacteria while bad bacteria in the jars starts to grow and compete with the stuff you want.  If you are lactose intolerant, let it ferment for 8 hours or more.  It's very tangy, but the milk sugars are eaten up by then.

I've used a fail-proof crockpot Greek yogurt that is amazingly good and easy.  Thanks for mentioning this I haven't made it in a while and love it.  Fage is IMO phenomenal but it sure does get costly. 

I think those things would work for the average DSer.  I do have a special condition...I have systemic lupus erytmeatosus (Lupus) and fibromyalgia.  The weight loss has made it possible for medicines for those conditions that would not work before to work, but..the Rx I take to keep lupus flares at bay, Plaquenil..I recently discovered "eats" Vitamin D.  Right now, I am fighting low zinc, Vit D and calcium,deficiencies,  a shorter list this year than last year, as I had my labs done right after my Mom passed, last year,and I had all kinds of stuff going on, even the beginnings of PCM!   That was my fault, as I believed I was doing what I needed to, but when faced with the loss of a loved one, sometimes self-care falls short, or you're so distracted you *think* you're doing what you need to, but you aren't.

The latter was the case for me last year.   I had been having an ongoing battle with Vitamin D, didn't know why until about a week ago.

All my ADEK's come from Bio-Tech, which as many of us know, make the ultra-high potency dry fat solubles we need.  Immediately post-op, I ordered Vitalady's DS Schedule, and then found cheaper sources for the ADEK's and C,and iron, and  B Complex., as well as B1 and B6.  I do my own B12 shots, and I got a vial from the pharmacy, although I have seen a multi-dose vial can be ordered on eBay as well. Walmart Equate brand "Centrum-type" multi's and Calcium Citrate with D round out my vites.  

I seem to buy vitamins twice a year, the multis and calcium more frequently of course, because they require more daily doses than the others.

I think the vites would be all right, as long as no one is giving out what could be considered medical advice - and I would like for it to be independent of any hospital program, as we do have two local hospitals that have surrgical bariatric programs, but neither is designated a Center of Excellence by the ASMBS, as they are relatively new as bariatric surgery centers, therefore, many of their patients are self-pay.  One of the requirements for many insurers is that the surgery be performed at a Center Of Excellence.

So...I rambled a bit...but the bariatric food pantry is my dream.  I hope I can get it off the ground. Perhaps I could even get some of the companies that make what we use to support it with product donations...the "we" being bariatric patients collectively, not just DSers.

RE: The vites - containers would have to be given out unopened, otherwise I would be dispensing them, and only a Registered Pharmacist can dispense medicines, even vitamins that can be had OTC.

Good point about dispensing vits.  I can see where that would get into muddy waters. 

Getting the Non-Profit cert would be the place to start in MHO.  Because companies can take a tax write off for donating products to a Non-Profit entity as charity.  I would research, or ask these companies, what the criteria is for their donations.  They know what the tax laws are on donations so they can tell you what/who you need to be before they will donate.  And to me, honestly, the hardest part about being a WLS person is 1) the cost of vits, and 2) cost of labs.  I can find cheap protein.  If I got pressed up against the wall really tight, those would be the two things I would really need help on.

And I hate to say this, but one of the first things I cut was protein powders.  Eggs are 40% the price of my powders for the same amount of protein (eggs bought in bulk).  Now that I eat vegetarian meals, those food types are way cheaper than my powders - I'm talking pennies on the dollar cheaper.  And I cringe, but I do eat lunch meat and hot dogs now if they are on sale.  (I cut them into serving size and freeze to stop them from going bad.)  There is cheap protein all around us, we just have to learn how to make it/find it.

Just being a source of info for people would be a great help also.  Other pantries could refer people to you for help/guidance.  With the right info, and some 'life skills', they can find cheap vitamins and eat eggs/dairy for protein and get by.

People need to learn how to cook those pesky beans.  Hard to believe for those of us who do it all the time, I would bet more than half the people here have never cooked dried beans.  Another great series of lessons is spices!  And the wonders of the pressure cooker and bulk cooking.

But I think this wheel has already been invented.  Almost every neighborhood has a food shelf or pantry.  Maybe it would be more efficient to solicit for donations to these places.  Quite often my local GNC sells products getting ready to expire for pennies on the dollar.  Even if your local food bank doesn't want to carry these items, they would be a great source of information on how to approach people to get donations.

I know 99centsOnly Stores are not everywhere but if they are in your area, go.  They have protein, vites, minerals and lots of food protein too.  They almost always have tuna, clams, crab, liverwurst, cheese and amazing canned goods.  I made 3 gallons of chili the other day and got everything but the meat there.  Cost less than $20.  I always go on their truck days when the selection is best.  I also found that by cutting my expenses on paper products and cleaning supplies, I have more money for other things.  Their Awesome Laundry detergent is really good and it beats the heck out of paying $20 for Tide.  It's fun to shop there.  Anything you put in your cart is a buck or less.  There is always surprises like Challenge butter or Temptee cream cheese.  I filled my freezer when I found that butter.

Costco is a once a month treat.  With a list so stuff doesn't jump into my cart.  I buy the huge cans of tuna, jerky, peanut butter,  coffee and dog food.  I buy everything I can on my Costco Amex.  I know it doesn't sound like much but I get a 2 to 3% rebate on everything I spend.  Once a year I get a check for $500 or 600 that pays for my Costco membership for the next year with a lot of money leftover.

I believe something is always better than nothing.  I will use vites and minerals that aren't ideal for us.  I just compensate the best I can.  My favorite multi has calcium carbonate in it so for years I have been taking citrate, carbonate, and apatite.  My A is oil based so I take a double dose and combined with what's in the multi has always been enough for me.  I use my cast iron skillets for extra iron too.  Until I moved to NV, I drank highly mineralized well water.

November/December are the turkey months.  I found my first deal, a 24lb bird for $13.  He is already roasted and the meat is in the freezer.  I will cook as many turkeys as there are deals to be had.  The roaster and the brining bucket will get a real workout.  Thursday I pick up my first order from Zaycon Foods.  40lbs of ground beef for $139.00.  Supposed to be really high quality compared to what we have in the regular grocery store.  I know that 1 lb of ground beef cooks up to a LOT less than a pound once the fat, extra liquid, and probably pink slime burns off.  Zaycon is an experiment.  I don't know for sure if it was a good purchase or wasteful.

Living well for cheap is a skill everyone needs to work on.  Even if you are doing well financially, you never know what will happen down the road.  You can always use your savings to splurge on something or have a vacation.  Something special!

Patty we don't have Zycam locally but a friend in Dallas buys from the very often.  She said their meats are fantastic.....she loves their bacon and ham especially.