I have finished my eggs, my bread, my carrots, my pasta, my jar of sauce, my yogurt, my bread, my bananas, and all that remains is a cup of ramen noodles and 1.5 bags of frozen vegetables. I have finished the SNAP challenge. During this week of necessary frugality and its resulting hunger, I have learned many things about myself and life for those on foodstamps in America.
Things I've learned about myself:
1. I probably eat too much.
2. Cooking more would be beneficial (and fun)
3. I should be more mindful about what I eat
4. I should be more mindful about what I spend on food
5. I am forever grateful for my nearly unlimited access to food
Things I've learned about SNAP:
1. $1.40 per person per meal is not enough--you are always hungry!
2. $1.40 per person per meal does not allow for balanced meals
3. $1.40 per person per meal is a disgrace. People apply for SNAP because they need it and for many its all that they have to spend on food. Our great nation should not be shrugging off those who need assistance with pocket change.
4. The SNAP program requires much more discussion and reform. How do we decide who really needs SNAP? How long should they have access to SNAP? What can we afford to give for SNAP that's cost efficient but doesn't leave masses of people hungry? These are questions that require input from all sides.
5. There is no shame in SNAP-- we all need financial help sometimes, and SNAP is designed to be just that: temporary food assistance for those in need. I don't believe that SNAP should ever become permanent assistance, but we need to support and accept those who truly need help.
To opponents of funding SNAP and assistance programs like it I say this: It is too easy to sit comfortably with a roof over our heads and full bellies and proclaim that government assistance is too expensive. Before any of us condemn the budget we must live on it! We will find out more about ourselves and our society than we expect.
From this moment forward I choose to be involved in the SNAP discussion, I choose to appreciate all that I have, I choose to eat mindfully, I choose to eat healthy and, above all else, I choose to never forget this experience.
Eat Well & Be Merry!
James
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Day 6: Bottomless Pit
As my final day on the SNAP challenge draws closer, I am running out of food. It's gotten to the point that my hunger cannot be satisfied. Tonight's dinner consisted of three bowls of frozen vegetables because I was still hungry after the first one and a cup of ramen noodles. I'm almost out of nearly everything except the frozen vegetables, which may remain only because they were out of sight and tucked away in the freezer. Knowing that there is only one day left is great, but being surrounded by all the food available on campus continues to increase temptation to break the pledge.
Though I probably eat more food than is necessary, the SNAP budget is simply not enough for food for anyone. On this limited budget my stomach feels like a bottomless pit because I do not enough food to fill it.
---
Today's Meals:
Breakfast--three scrambled eggs, a banana, yogurt
Lunch--PBJ
Dinner--frozen vegetables, ramen noodles
Though I probably eat more food than is necessary, the SNAP budget is simply not enough for food for anyone. On this limited budget my stomach feels like a bottomless pit because I do not enough food to fill it.
---
Today's Meals:
Breakfast--three scrambled eggs, a banana, yogurt
Lunch--PBJ
Dinner--frozen vegetables, ramen noodles
Monday, November 11, 2013
Day 5: Persistence
As my food supply dwindles and my willpower wanes it's becoming more difficult to stick to the SNAP challenge. Knowing that the food is there, literally all around me, is tormenting during my hours of hunger. Yet, in some ways it only increases my resolve to see this through--I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to quit whenever I want. Others live on this limited budget because they must, they have no other options.
In these last few days it is my persistence that will carry me through, along with my respect and sympathy for those who have no choice but to live in hunger.
P.S. The pasta tasted just as good today as it did this weekend.
---
Today's Meals:
Breakfast-- yogurt, banana
Lunch-- PBJ, ramen
Dinner-- pasta with sauce
In these last few days it is my persistence that will carry me through, along with my respect and sympathy for those who have no choice but to live in hunger.
P.S. The pasta tasted just as good today as it did this weekend.
---
Today's Meals:
Breakfast-- yogurt, banana
Lunch-- PBJ, ramen
Dinner-- pasta with sauce
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Day 4: Dollar Menu
I was fortunate enough to spend most of the day sleeping. I've found that it's difficult to be hungry while asleep and all too easy to be hungry while awake.
During my afternoon spent downtown I decided to spend my last $4.29 on McDonald's. McDonald's was an easy choice because 1. there was a restaurant everywhere I went and 2. it was the one thing that I knew I could afford with tax. I ended up buying a $1 McChicken with a side of large fries, totaling $3.84 after tax, leaving me with a grand total of $0.45 remaining in my food budget. I officially only have to eat whatever is left from my SNAP groceries, which is diminishing rapidly.
Ordering food today reminded me of my high school days working at Burger King. I used to get frustrated when patrons would come in frequently with their whole family and order for everyone off of the value menu. It was more work for me as a Burger King employee to fill lots of little side orders than a few meal orders. I remember later mentioning my frustration about this to a friend of the family, a business man who had been through both plentiful and difficult times with his family. He said to me "Maybe that's all they can afford." He was right, and today I was one of those many patrons.
Do we really want to live in a country where some families can only afford the dollar menu at McDonald's? I certainly don't.
During my afternoon spent downtown I decided to spend my last $4.29 on McDonald's. McDonald's was an easy choice because 1. there was a restaurant everywhere I went and 2. it was the one thing that I knew I could afford with tax. I ended up buying a $1 McChicken with a side of large fries, totaling $3.84 after tax, leaving me with a grand total of $0.45 remaining in my food budget. I officially only have to eat whatever is left from my SNAP groceries, which is diminishing rapidly.
Ordering food today reminded me of my high school days working at Burger King. I used to get frustrated when patrons would come in frequently with their whole family and order for everyone off of the value menu. It was more work for me as a Burger King employee to fill lots of little side orders than a few meal orders. I remember later mentioning my frustration about this to a friend of the family, a business man who had been through both plentiful and difficult times with his family. He said to me "Maybe that's all they can afford." He was right, and today I was one of those many patrons.
Do we really want to live in a country where some families can only afford the dollar menu at McDonald's? I certainly don't.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Day 3: Appreciation
It's fairly simple: when you have less to eat, you appreciate what you have to eat even more. For instance dinner this evening, when I ate half a pound of pasta like it was nothing. Ragu jar sauce had never tasted so delicious! I appreciated every single bite and let none go to waste.
It was at that moment that I realized I needed to eat with more mindfulness and gratitude. Meal after meal too many of us devour our food without ever paying full attention to what we're putting into our bodies, without any thankfulness for all that we have before us. I used to be one of those people, but not anymore. For the rest of this week and every morsel thereafter I will be more mindful and far more grateful.
Pay attention to the food on your plate at Sunday brunch tomorrow and appreciate every bite--you will never have a meal more delicious.
----
Today's Meals:
Breakfast--yogurt, banana, scrambled eggs
Lunch--skipped, I was volunteering with APO for Do Your Service Day at Eco City Farms (seriously check them out, they're all about bringing good, real food to everyone)
Dinner--1/2lb. pasta with sauce
Snacking--carrots, I have finished the bag!
It was at that moment that I realized I needed to eat with more mindfulness and gratitude. Meal after meal too many of us devour our food without ever paying full attention to what we're putting into our bodies, without any thankfulness for all that we have before us. I used to be one of those people, but not anymore. For the rest of this week and every morsel thereafter I will be more mindful and far more grateful.
Pay attention to the food on your plate at Sunday brunch tomorrow and appreciate every bite--you will never have a meal more delicious.
----
Today's Meals:
Breakfast--yogurt, banana, scrambled eggs
Lunch--skipped, I was volunteering with APO for Do Your Service Day at Eco City Farms (seriously check them out, they're all about bringing good, real food to everyone)
Dinner--1/2lb. pasta with sauce
Snacking--carrots, I have finished the bag!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Day 2: Choices
There is a major wall to the SNAP challenge that prevents true understanding of the situation for those with a limited food budget--I chose to do this: I chose when I was living on $1.50 per meal, how long I was living for $1.50 per meal, and what I had to change to live on $1.50 per meal. The people truly living on SNAP alone do not have this luxury of choice. The challenge doesn't end after just a week.
Keeping the privilege of choice on my mind this week is important to me. Every day of this challenge I have woken up asking "What would today be like if I didn't know this was ending on Thursday?" It wouldn't be pleasant. I'm having difficulty dealing with the bouts of hunger even while acknowledging that its only temporary. I give so much credit to the people of the world who have to deal with hunger in all its forms every single day. To be honest, I don't think I could handle it.
As this challenge progresses I am growing more aware of how much I eat, how often I eat and how much it all costs. Food, as it turns out, is expensive. Financing three meals is hard enough, let alone all the snacking I do in between (and let's not forget that college-student-second-dinner that usually occurs around 10 pm). I have been taking my access to food for-granted. Just this evening I saw a take-out menu on my dresser and thought why not order-in tonight?, before remembering that I was in the midst of the SNAP challenge. That incident illustrated to me how automatic my eating (and spending) had become. How many people get to make ordering take-out a habit?
Another thing is also clear--I will probably run out of bread, if I don't run out of peanut butter and jelly first. I have been eating additional sandwiches to help carry me between my planned meals (which I have tried to space efficiently throughout the day to minimize hunger). I've been mulling over those remaining $4 in my mind, asking what would be the most efficient way to spend this? The correct answer is probably more ramen noodles, but I foresee myself ordering off of the dollar menu at McDonald's.
In the end, this week is founded on difficult choices.
----
Today's Meals
Breakfast: A yogurt cup and a banana
Lunch: Three eggs scrambled, followed soon after with PBJ and carrots
Dinner: Ramen noodles and microwaved string beans
Note: the only thing that I have been drinking and will continue to drink this week is water.
Keeping the privilege of choice on my mind this week is important to me. Every day of this challenge I have woken up asking "What would today be like if I didn't know this was ending on Thursday?" It wouldn't be pleasant. I'm having difficulty dealing with the bouts of hunger even while acknowledging that its only temporary. I give so much credit to the people of the world who have to deal with hunger in all its forms every single day. To be honest, I don't think I could handle it.
As this challenge progresses I am growing more aware of how much I eat, how often I eat and how much it all costs. Food, as it turns out, is expensive. Financing three meals is hard enough, let alone all the snacking I do in between (and let's not forget that college-student-second-dinner that usually occurs around 10 pm). I have been taking my access to food for-granted. Just this evening I saw a take-out menu on my dresser and thought why not order-in tonight?, before remembering that I was in the midst of the SNAP challenge. That incident illustrated to me how automatic my eating (and spending) had become. How many people get to make ordering take-out a habit?
Another thing is also clear--I will probably run out of bread, if I don't run out of peanut butter and jelly first. I have been eating additional sandwiches to help carry me between my planned meals (which I have tried to space efficiently throughout the day to minimize hunger). I've been mulling over those remaining $4 in my mind, asking what would be the most efficient way to spend this? The correct answer is probably more ramen noodles, but I foresee myself ordering off of the dollar menu at McDonald's.
In the end, this week is founded on difficult choices.
----
Today's Meals
Breakfast: A yogurt cup and a banana
Lunch: Three eggs scrambled, followed soon after with PBJ and carrots
Dinner: Ramen noodles and microwaved string beans
Note: the only thing that I have been drinking and will continue to drink this week is water.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Day 1: Self-Restraint
Sleeping in too late to be able to make scrambled eggs was not how I planned on starting my SNAP Challenge week, but that's exactly what happened.
I had work from 9-5 today, so I brought my breakfast (yogurt + banana) and lunch (PBJ + carrots) with me. I ate my breakfast and my desk and went as long as I could before eating lunch. I caved by noon and nearly swallowed my lunch whole. Normally I would spend my days at work with coffee and snacks from the office, little things to give me an energy boost and fend off hunger between meals. I did not realize how difficult it would be to work without the occasional snack. To add to this, I had to refrain from eating leftovers from a lunch meeting today--something I would normally devour.
After a mildly hungry day at work I returned home to a dinner of ramen noodles and frozen string beans. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly very filling either. My main concern is rationing my food properly--I don't want to eat too much today and not have enough tomorrow. Overall, today has been an exercise in self-restraint.
I had work from 9-5 today, so I brought my breakfast (yogurt + banana) and lunch (PBJ + carrots) with me. I ate my breakfast and my desk and went as long as I could before eating lunch. I caved by noon and nearly swallowed my lunch whole. Normally I would spend my days at work with coffee and snacks from the office, little things to give me an energy boost and fend off hunger between meals. I did not realize how difficult it would be to work without the occasional snack. To add to this, I had to refrain from eating leftovers from a lunch meeting today--something I would normally devour.
After a mildly hungry day at work I returned home to a dinner of ramen noodles and frozen string beans. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly very filling either. My main concern is rationing my food properly--I don't want to eat too much today and not have enough tomorrow. Overall, today has been an exercise in self-restraint.
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