Food Stamp Challenge?? Why not?

There is a lot of talk lately about the SNAP (food stamp) challenge. It's been all over Twitter, Facebook & the news. It's a simple concept:  try to eat for one week on the amount of money equivalent to what recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) would receive.  Here in NJ it is right around $30.00 per person per week. That may sound simple:  pasta, beans, the go-to staple of ramen. But really, how healthy is all that pasta?  The whole purpose of the challenge is not only to eat on $30 a week but to do it healthfully, meeting your nutritional needs AND avoiding hunger. Now it's starting to sound a bit more like a challenge, no?

The Mayor of Newark has been all over the news because he is undertaking the challenge this week. He isn't alone. Many are joining him & not just those from his beautifully city of Newark! His Twitter followers from around the country have committed to the challenge. There are religious groups that have challenged their congregations to join.  I read a story on Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. They had their students take the challenge (in 2010). The reason behind it was so they could better understand their patients who struggled with obesity, diabetes & myriad other illnesses that can contribute to poor diet. That kind of compassion can only help them in their jobs. ( http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=8150 )

At our house, we've been talking about this challenge, how difficult would it be, what we would eat, where would we shop (you can only shop at places that would accept SNAP), would there be enough food? Then it happened: Zach said he wanted us to do it. He said we should shop and eat, both of us using just $60.00 total for 7 days. I said, "well, why would we do that?" (I asked b/c I always like to see how his mind is working) and he replied, "because then we can better advocate for people who live like that all the time."  He is right. Doing the SNAP challenge won't change our lives, per say. It's just one week in our lives. But as Mayor Booker pointed out, the last time many folks took the food stamp challenge, they had a lot to say about its shortcomings. From this, changes were made to the system. Changes were put in place to help those who rely on this assistance. But more can be done, must be done. We want to have a better understanding of the legitimate struggles of too many families in this country. We want to know first hand, how they can & often do run out of SNAP money before they run out of month. It's what brings them to food pantries to help supplement their family's food.

...and so we're in. We're going to give it a shot. A woman I met at the food pantry, who gets SNAP, told me that it takes a lot of thinking & planning to shop on that sort of budget. She said she compares stores, clips coupons, checks sales. She shops according to what is on sale week to week. She can't be spontaneous & so we won't be either. For one week, nothing can "catch our eye" and end up in our cart. We will use the calculator as we shop so we can keep within our budget. We will blog about not only our meals but the nutritional value and also how we feel. Are we hungry? Grouchy? Time will tell.  We think we'll start next week. In the meantime we'll continue to follow the blogs of those who are taking the challenge now & hopefully learn tips and hints from them.  Wish us luck....