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Eating Cheap
Learn Ragnar's own secret methods of obtaining good, wholesome food in less than ideal circumstances. Chapters include Cheap Meat Sources, Easy Pickins, The Fine Art of Gleaning, Wild and Semi-Wild Game, Raising a Garden, and Do-It-Yourself Butchering.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
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August 6, 2026
PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR SURVIVING ON A VERY LIMITED BUDGET
Ragnar Benson is one of the most famous Survivalist authors (e.g., ‘The Survival Retreat,’ 'Survival Poaching,' 'David's Tool Kit: A Citizen's Guide to Taking Out Big Brother's Heavy Weapons,' ‘Survivalist’s Medicine Chest,’ etc.).
He wrote in the Preface to this 1982 book, “Perhaps it will come as a surprise to those who have never had to live this way, but it is possible for Americans to eat for five dollars [$17.52 in today’s dollars] per week per person!… [But] Most of us cannot and will not give up our current jobs for a totally new way of life in a two-room shack in rural Kentucky anyway. On the other hand, people who live in the city and who are willing to give up some of their ingrained eating habits and forego some variety can get along quite nicely on five dollars a week…” (Pg. vii-viii)
“At this point there are undoubtedly a number of skeptical readers with whom I could build a goodly amount of credibility by citing a specific example of a $5-a-week food plan. If your urge to actually see one is unbearable, turn to page 91... There… is a five-buck meal plan that will sustain life for months on end. The program is also so horribly boring that some will conclude starvation is a viable alternative…” (Pg. viii)
“Here you’ll learn … that food is ridiculously cheap where it is grown, before transportation, packaging, processing, storage, distribution, and government expenses are added on, and that food processing operations are notoriously wasteful---waste that you can use for your own benefit. That, in a nutshell, is what this book is all about.
“Some of the scrounging ideas offered here call for sacrificing huge amounts of pride but will keep a family comfortably fed without spending more than a few cents a week for bus fare. All it really takes is for you to start thinking about the possibilities. Everyone, everywhere can help themselves to waste and surplus food that will cut their food bills from 30 to 95%.” (Pg. viii-ix)
He recounts, “I remember well back thirty years ago when my family lived near a Campbell Soup tomato and mushroom farm. After the main harvest was completed, literally tons of produce were left in the field to rot. This happened while some of the people in the immediate area clamored to be designated a poverty pocket so that more federal handouts might be given. I asked my older brother why he thought these folks didn’t help themselves a bit and go out and collect tomatoes and mushrooms like we did… ‘Simple,’ he said. ‘They’re lazy, dumb, or both.’” (Pg. xi)
He explains, “While nearly one-fifth of India’s total wheat supply… is eaten by rats, the Chinese busy themselves catching the rats for dinner. These resourceful people also eat dogs, cats, rays, sculpins, slugs, bugs, ants, bees, and trees. They raise melons on their rooftops, vegetables in window boxes, carp in ponds, geese in the grass along the road, and on and on.” (Pg. 4)
He acknowledges, “Admittedly, a lot of the staple foods available to the cheap eater are awfully boring. They may seem tasty enough on a twice-a-month basis, but day in and day out, they become boring. This fact works to the advantage of the cheap eater, since sheer boredom will prevent him from eating very much of the same old stuff.” (Pg. 17)
He suggests, “An easy place to find cheap produce at harvest time is at the processing plant. Tons of the stuff is thrown away as refuse each day… I have never been refused permission to go through the garbage piles. Simply go to the plant and ask to speak to the shift foreman. Tell him you are unemployed but have decided to work at putting up some food for winter by sorting through the various packing plant refuse piles and by talking to local farmers and ranchers. This approach always works. Often the foreman will be so surprised, he will give you a couple of big sacks of his product and wish you well.” (Pg, 28)
He proposes, “I believe that meat is important to the cheap eater’s health. It is vital that you occasionally have some chicken necks for the barley soup, or a ham bone for the lentils. Hitting the slaughterhouses and processing plants isn’t the entire answer, but is well worth pulling out of the cheap eater’s bag of tricks at times.” (Pg. 41)
In his chapter on ‘Scrounging,’ he points out, “the better the store and the neighborhood, the more picky the supermarket management will be about selling blemished and damaged food. Some awfully good-looking items have ended up in the rear dumpster of supermarkets… merely became a jar broke, soaking the labels off the surrounding goods…” (Pg. 44)
He continues, “Any product that has been blemished or damaged by careless handling is usually thrown out. This is the firm policy for all of the chain supermarkets that I know of. Otherwise the hired help might be tempted, or so management’s reasoning goes, to intentionally damage items that they can then take home with them because they are unsaleable. A case of corn flakes, for instance, that has been hit by a forklift truck will be sorted and all packages that are broken will be dumped. There is nothing wrong with the corn flakes, but store policy dictates that they simply cannot be sold to the general public.” (Pg. 44)
He reports, “Rat meat is dark and not particularly strong tasting. At least it does not taste as strong as I had first supposed it might before giving roast rat a try. Remember this, since I am probably one of the few people this side of China who will admit to having sampled rat.” (Pg. 70)
He cautions, “There are two good ways to catch carp. Remember that when collecting any wild or semiwild animal for food, you must spend substantially less time and energy getting the job done than you receive back when you eat your catch. Simply stated, this means you cannot afford to go and spend all Sunday afternoon sitting on the banks of a reservoir in the hope that you will catch a fish or two for dinner.” (Pg. 72)
He notes, “Humans require in the magnitude of 15 minerals and 10 to 14 vitamins to sustain their lives. All are available in commercial capsules costing no more than six cents each. One capsule per day is sufficient… Obviously there isn’t very much utility in worrying about eating all kinds of expensive foods just so you get your vitamins and minerals.” (Pg, 88)
This book will be of interest to a variety of readers.
Ragnar Benson is one of the most famous Survivalist authors (e.g., ‘The Survival Retreat,’ 'Survival Poaching,' 'David's Tool Kit: A Citizen's Guide to Taking Out Big Brother's Heavy Weapons,' ‘Survivalist’s Medicine Chest,’ etc.).
He wrote in the Preface to this 1982 book, “Perhaps it will come as a surprise to those who have never had to live this way, but it is possible for Americans to eat for five dollars [$17.52 in today’s dollars] per week per person!… [But] Most of us cannot and will not give up our current jobs for a totally new way of life in a two-room shack in rural Kentucky anyway. On the other hand, people who live in the city and who are willing to give up some of their ingrained eating habits and forego some variety can get along quite nicely on five dollars a week…” (Pg. vii-viii)
“At this point there are undoubtedly a number of skeptical readers with whom I could build a goodly amount of credibility by citing a specific example of a $5-a-week food plan. If your urge to actually see one is unbearable, turn to page 91... There… is a five-buck meal plan that will sustain life for months on end. The program is also so horribly boring that some will conclude starvation is a viable alternative…” (Pg. viii)
“Here you’ll learn … that food is ridiculously cheap where it is grown, before transportation, packaging, processing, storage, distribution, and government expenses are added on, and that food processing operations are notoriously wasteful---waste that you can use for your own benefit. That, in a nutshell, is what this book is all about.
“Some of the scrounging ideas offered here call for sacrificing huge amounts of pride but will keep a family comfortably fed without spending more than a few cents a week for bus fare. All it really takes is for you to start thinking about the possibilities. Everyone, everywhere can help themselves to waste and surplus food that will cut their food bills from 30 to 95%.” (Pg. viii-ix)
He recounts, “I remember well back thirty years ago when my family lived near a Campbell Soup tomato and mushroom farm. After the main harvest was completed, literally tons of produce were left in the field to rot. This happened while some of the people in the immediate area clamored to be designated a poverty pocket so that more federal handouts might be given. I asked my older brother why he thought these folks didn’t help themselves a bit and go out and collect tomatoes and mushrooms like we did… ‘Simple,’ he said. ‘They’re lazy, dumb, or both.’” (Pg. xi)
He explains, “While nearly one-fifth of India’s total wheat supply… is eaten by rats, the Chinese busy themselves catching the rats for dinner. These resourceful people also eat dogs, cats, rays, sculpins, slugs, bugs, ants, bees, and trees. They raise melons on their rooftops, vegetables in window boxes, carp in ponds, geese in the grass along the road, and on and on.” (Pg. 4)
He acknowledges, “Admittedly, a lot of the staple foods available to the cheap eater are awfully boring. They may seem tasty enough on a twice-a-month basis, but day in and day out, they become boring. This fact works to the advantage of the cheap eater, since sheer boredom will prevent him from eating very much of the same old stuff.” (Pg. 17)
He suggests, “An easy place to find cheap produce at harvest time is at the processing plant. Tons of the stuff is thrown away as refuse each day… I have never been refused permission to go through the garbage piles. Simply go to the plant and ask to speak to the shift foreman. Tell him you are unemployed but have decided to work at putting up some food for winter by sorting through the various packing plant refuse piles and by talking to local farmers and ranchers. This approach always works. Often the foreman will be so surprised, he will give you a couple of big sacks of his product and wish you well.” (Pg, 28)
He proposes, “I believe that meat is important to the cheap eater’s health. It is vital that you occasionally have some chicken necks for the barley soup, or a ham bone for the lentils. Hitting the slaughterhouses and processing plants isn’t the entire answer, but is well worth pulling out of the cheap eater’s bag of tricks at times.” (Pg. 41)
In his chapter on ‘Scrounging,’ he points out, “the better the store and the neighborhood, the more picky the supermarket management will be about selling blemished and damaged food. Some awfully good-looking items have ended up in the rear dumpster of supermarkets… merely became a jar broke, soaking the labels off the surrounding goods…” (Pg. 44)
He continues, “Any product that has been blemished or damaged by careless handling is usually thrown out. This is the firm policy for all of the chain supermarkets that I know of. Otherwise the hired help might be tempted, or so management’s reasoning goes, to intentionally damage items that they can then take home with them because they are unsaleable. A case of corn flakes, for instance, that has been hit by a forklift truck will be sorted and all packages that are broken will be dumped. There is nothing wrong with the corn flakes, but store policy dictates that they simply cannot be sold to the general public.” (Pg. 44)
He reports, “Rat meat is dark and not particularly strong tasting. At least it does not taste as strong as I had first supposed it might before giving roast rat a try. Remember this, since I am probably one of the few people this side of China who will admit to having sampled rat.” (Pg. 70)
He cautions, “There are two good ways to catch carp. Remember that when collecting any wild or semiwild animal for food, you must spend substantially less time and energy getting the job done than you receive back when you eat your catch. Simply stated, this means you cannot afford to go and spend all Sunday afternoon sitting on the banks of a reservoir in the hope that you will catch a fish or two for dinner.” (Pg. 72)
He notes, “Humans require in the magnitude of 15 minerals and 10 to 14 vitamins to sustain their lives. All are available in commercial capsules costing no more than six cents each. One capsule per day is sufficient… Obviously there isn’t very much utility in worrying about eating all kinds of expensive foods just so you get your vitamins and minerals.” (Pg, 88)
This book will be of interest to a variety of readers.
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