SNAP Challenge

Have you heard of the SNAP Challenge? Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark NJ, made a deal with a twitter follower that he would live one week on the amount of money that is given for food stamps in his area.  It's $35.00 a week per person in the household. I read all about. This is one of the good blogs I found, click here. There is even a Facebook page.  I was reading and thinking and then more reading.  I didn't want to actually do it, of course. What a hassle. What a pain. What a sacrifice.  But good for those people.  It was interesting.  But it's not uncommon for me to spend close to that in the store for one meal! By the time you buy the antibiotic free chicken and the fresh veggies and herbs and the quality chicken broth, it really adds up! Even for a soup or a chicken dinner.

 

The more I read, the more I didn't want to do it. And the more guilty I felt. I felt ungrateful. I can't go ONE WEEK on $35 for food?  That's ridiculous. There are people on earth who would never have that much to spend on food in one week. There are people in America who are scraping by month after month on these little amounts and I can't do it for one week?  I had to give it a try.

 

Here are the basic rules:

1. Each person can spend a total of $35 on food and beverages during the Challenge week. This budget translates to $5 per day, or $1.66 per meal.
2. Keep all receipts and track all your food and beverage spending. Any food or beverages purchased and eaten during the Challenge week must be accounted for in your budget.
3. During the Challenge, eat only food that you purchase specifically for the Challenge. Do not eat food that you already have in your pantry or refrigerator (excluding spices and condiments).
4. Avoid accepting free food from friends, family or work. (My exception to this is coffee.  Almost every office has coffee - awful as it may be - for their employees.  So I will get my coffee at work guilt free.)
5. The designated week is Sunday, December 2nd - Sunday, December 9th. 

The reality is that I can live on $35 a week for food EASY! I've done it time and time again in my little apartments along the way.  Most college kids have probably done it.  Ramen noodles and buttered spaghetti alone will get you through with money left over.  A cheap "bag" of cereal and milk for breakfast. Easy. Little Debbie's are $1.09 for a whole box. Mac and cheese is cheap - especially the off brand kinds.  A box of Minute Rice and can of beans, a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread, a carton of eggs and a few bananas. Done. Easy.  That's breakfast lunch and dinner.

 

See anything in common with these foods? The "food pantry" staples?  Boxes, bags, processed foods, bad carbs, high in fat, high in salt, low in nutrients.  Even canned vegetables are this way. You not only lose flavor and vitamins, but you gain salt. And that's the "healthy choice". The media is constantly harping on the obesity problem in America, but what do you expect? Especially when the economy is tight. So I am going to try to combine both my heart healthy diet plans for Grandmommy and this budget challenge.  Because the reality is, most people on food stamps aren't young college boys who can eat anything ... they are growing children, pregnant mothers, elderly, people with health issues that may require special diets.  The low sodium can or the organic vegetables or the hormone free meat is much more.  The grains and fresh herbs that we are encouraged to eat cost more. 

 

So I want to see how difficult it is for a person on food stamps to eat healthy.  I'm not sure I can talk David into it, we'll see. But I am going to give it a try and blog it along the way.  If you want to join me, that would be great! I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.  I think it will be fascinating to see just where the money goes ... $35 is a grande gingerbread latte everyday.  $35 is one meal that I buy all the ingredients for and blog.  We spend more than $35 in the produce section on a weekly basis. I can guarantee you that.  There are no convenience foods on this plan ... there is no winging it. There is coupon shopping and flyer browsing invloved. A list. A plan. It's a lot. I imagine most single mothers don't have the time or energy or resources to run all over town from store to store to save a few pennies here and a few pennies there. 

 

I think during this holiday season with the shopping and the decorating and the traveling and the partying and everything that we are forunate enough to have funds to pay for, it's good to stop and think and realize. Put yourself in other people's shoes. Some people are good at doing that naturally. I'm not. I'm trying to be better at it. I'm the person who forgets to be grateful for health until I get sick. I'm the person who forgets to say thank you for the sun until it rains. I think this will be a good exercise in being grateful for all the food we have on our table night after night without having to really think about it.  I'm excited to get started on Sunday!  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.