She said they couldn't afford to buy another gallon of milk because they were out of food stamps and the Samaritan Center wouldn't be open for a few more days to get powdered milk. I had never heard of powdered milk. As she's filling the jug she says to me, "The kids won't notice."

So, this comment really got to me. They may seem trashy to many of of us especially with the son and the coffee can for peeing. I've worked in social welfare and public health and have seen some real poverty since I had to visit many of the families and work with them. They will do anything for their kids to put food on the table. I've seen extremely proud men and women sneaking in to food banks in disguise to get food so no one would know they needed help. Your friend's mom was right, the kids likely won't know the difference as this was what they were used to. Believe me, it pains the parents to have to do things such as water down the milk or put water in cereal because there's no more milk available. But, they'll do it for their kids.