Living On Food Stamps

I posted recently about the Food Stamp Challenge.

I don't wish to take away what the Representatives are doing, I think it is brave and terrific, but let us not forget that the whole point is, living on a food stamp allowance is hard!

Blogger kactus is a single mother, living in Milwaukee with her daughter.

She is on a real life Food Stamp Challenge, except hers isn't for just a week, or to bring awareness to the issue. Sadly, the challenge of feeding herself and her daughter with the food stamp allotment is what she does every day.

She has begun blogging her experiences in "Food Stamp Chronicles"

For ease of following along, here are her posts so far, in chronological order.

Food Stamp Chronicles, week one.

Week one, part two.

More Chronicles.

Chronicles, post four.

The Meat Deal.

Week Two.

Week Three.

Week Three, part two.


Several things of note in these posts.

Nothing is easy when you're poor; transportation, getting the food home, access to what we often take for granted, all factors to make her choices more difficult. Something that particularly struck me was this; she bought her daughter a box of hot pockets to reward her for working hard at school.

Let that sink in. Basic food is a reward or treat. I'm not talking chocolate cake, or indulging in a pint of Hagen-Daz because your feeling blue, I'm talking about a young girl who gets to eat a hot pocket as a special treat.

This country must find a way to take care of its own.

I will be following her chronicles. As an aside, the Food Stamp Chronicles is only part of her blog. Much of what she writes is fascinating. I will be reading her site as often as I can; I think you should as well. I certainly appreciate what I have a great deal more after reading about her daily life.


h/t to Redneck Mother

UPDATE** - How Much Did You Spend On Lunch?

The Food Stamp Challenge

Four members of Congress, Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Jo-Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), and Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill) are going to spend the next week living on $21.00. That is the amount the average person on Food Stamps gets per week. That’s three dollars a day. One dollar a meal.

Let that sink in.

One dollar per meal.

The Washington Post has an article about their efforts. McGovern is quoted saying:

"No organic foods, no fresh vegetables, we were looking for the cheapest of everything. We got spaghetti and hamburger meat that was high in fat -- the fattiest meat on the shelf. I have high cholesterol and always try to get the leanest, but it's expensive. It's almost impossible to make healthy choices on a food stamp diet."

No shit. It is no coincidence that the poorest Americans are the ones most likely to be obese, or suffer diet related health problems. We have all been following the Melamine story and trying to make choices that include local or organic food, but how about if you had $1.00 per meal? Impossible.

I urge you to read the article, and I applaud these four Representatives for bringing the issue to light in this fashion. I find it disappointing that only four took on the challenge, which was presented to the entire Congress to gain understanding and to get more money for the Food Stamp program written into the Farm Bill.

McGovern says it is important to get the debate going:

"We don't have to wake up worrying about the next meal. But there are a lot of Americans who do. I think it's wrong. I think it's immoral that in the U.S., the richest country in the world, people are hungry."

Gee, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, I said it.


McGovern and Ryan are blogging about their experiences here and here.

If you have time, you might ask your representative why they aren’t taking the challenge. I plan to, and mine is running for POTUS.

**UPDATE - Make sure and check out the blogs - a couple of quotes -

Lisa McGovern :

As I began cooking, separating and freezing food for the week, I began to worry that we won't have enough food to get us through Tuesday. It seems there are two ways to think of this: if we want to eat healthy food, this is like a very strict diet or a semi-fast. There is strict rationing of protein and fruits and vegetables. If we want a more satisfying portion size, the only way to do it is lots of rice, pasta or beans (but we only have 2 cans of those). And that goes against what I think of as healthy on a plate (which would be 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs and 1/2 fruits and vegetables). But it's a long time until Tuesday and we have a limited amount of the "good" stuff so we're doling it out carefully.

Tim Ryan :

My biggest concern today is running out of food before the end of the week. One loaf of bread doesn’t make as many sandwiches as you’d think, and I’m running through my cottage cheese pretty fast as well. The budgeting was hard enough, rationing what I do have will present another challenge.

2006 Leftovers

I spent my New Years Eve alone with a lovely bottle of French wine and possibly the best pizza I have ever created. A perfect balance, (don’t believe the commercials, perfect pizza isn’t about the quantity of the toppings, it’s about the balance) of maple smoked bacon, Italian sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, kalamata olives, red and green peppers, jalapenos and 5 different cheeses. I bring this up, because I fell asleep without wrapping up the half that was leftover. No big deal, just toss the leftovers. It’s time for the post-holiday diet anyway, right? I did, of course throw it out.

I didn’t take the time or effort to calculate the calorie content I threw into the waste bin, but it was significant. Healthy, protein packed, and if a little heavy on saturated fat, still full of vegetables, meats and nutrients. Enough food to sustain a person for a day at least, thrown away because I was too lazy to wrap it up. I’m not saying my half a pizza could have saved a hungry child; even had it been wrapped up, it would have probably made its way to the trash a day or two later. The point is, what an abundance we of even modest means enjoy in this country.

This post was going to be about my New Years resolutions, but truthfully, I don’t really make them and of course, never keep the ones I do make. I decided to make a wish list of resolutions for America in 2007. It isn’t hard to come up with such a list, universal health care, peace, a real energy policy, Christians who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, etc… I could go on and on. Then I saw the pizza, and thought of how truly obscene it is that in the richest country in the world, parents, many of them with two incomes, have to choose between rent and food, or medicine and food. I don’t care if the parents are shiftless, lazy, drug-addicted, or pick whatever wing nut catchphrase is supposed to justify their poverty; this is America, the richest country in the world. No child should ever be hungry in such a wealthy country. A child cannot pick their parents, a child cannot choose to be born into wealth or power, and a child can’t help whatever situation causes the hunger.

So, instead of a list of resolutions, I have a plea. Make 2007 a year to feed a child. I’m sure many of you do already. To you I say, thank you and let’s do more. Find your local food bank and pay them a visit. Hunger is an every day event, it is not relegated to the week the Boy Scouts have a food drive, or major holidays. Talk to the workers at your food bank. Ask them what the needs are, what time of the month the demand is highest. Even a modest commitment can make a difference. Talk to your friends; encourage them to make a commitment. We can’t bring peace to Iraq by ourselves, but we can each feed a child. So as you throw out the remains of last night’s cheese balls, or spinach dip, or whatever party fare you had, take time to think of those who began 2007 with empty bellies.