USDA Article

It has been almost 2 weeks since I completed the Food Stamp Challenge. Yet, the experience constantly comes up in conversation and continues to be in the forefront of my mind. What’s a girl to do? As I try to figure that out, I realize that the least I can do is keep talking about the experience and keep educating all of you who are still checking my blog.

I was digging around today and found a great resource for information on nutrition and the 2007 Farm Bill. The USDA’s website, www.usda.gov is a wealth of knowledge worth looking at. There was an article on the site that I stand behind, titled Improving Food Choices—Can Food Stamps Do More?

This article speaks of revamping the Food Stamp Program to acknowledge growing health concerns and obesity among Americans. Three great points are posed in the article and I want to share them here:

**Proposed strategies for improving diets of Food Stamp Program participants include restricting the types of foods purchasable with food stamp benefits and offering bonuses or vouchers for buying healthful foods such as fruits and vegetables.

**Offering bonuses or vouchers for specific foods essentially lowers their price and gives the household additional income for food purchases.

**Prices and income can influence consumer spending decisions, but effective policies also need to account for the role of consumer preferences and foods available in the marketplace.
I was glad to read the second point because it acknowledges the importance of making Food Stamp allotments go farther. I saw first-hand what an impact such an action could have. By making my Food Stamp dollars go farther, I might have been able to purchase things like meat or dairy.

Also, by limiting what parents using Food Stamps can purchase, the benefits of this will be far-reaching. I’m talking about the impact it will have on their children. We see the effects of poor eating habits all the time at Campus Kitchens across the nation. The food we bring is nutritious and often not too unique or unusual, yet kids often shy away from what I would consider normal foods like broccoli, mango and green beans. Kids are already picky by nature, yet when they have been raised on a limited diet of fried/breaded chicken, mac ‘n cheese and pizza such aforementioned foods are foreign.

Further, if parents reliant on food stamps are pressured to buy healthier foods to make their dollar go farther, they will expose their children to greater variety.

By incorporating more nutritious options into Food Stamp offerings, it encourages parents to make healthier choices for their families thereby encouraging their children to do the same for themselves. Further, if parents reliant on food stamps are pressured to buy healthier foods to make their dollar go farther, they will expose their children to greater variety. It also allows Food Stamp participants to purchase foods current outside their budgets. Meats, dairy (milk) and produce were things I just couldn’t afford while on the FSC.

The Week in Review

I figured that I had better get this post up sooner than later as a number of you have called to make sure I'm still alive!

The last four days of the FSC were the toughest as the lack of food and nutrition finally set in. As I have conveyed in prior posts, this is a learning experience so I want to be honest as I tell you how this have affected me. From Thursday on, numerous important things have happened. My balance was noticeably off, I've had much trouble focusing, fatigue was common, I had trouble sleeping, and I got my period four days early. Please understand that I'm not trying to overshare, but as a woman, this is a very scary thing to see how hunger has thrown my body out of whack this much. Finally, from when I weighed in on Sunday the 10th, before this experience began, I have lost 3.5 pounds. I wasn't sure I would loose weight since the bulk of my diet was carbs in the form of starches, but the weight came off.

I had a normal lunch today and so far my body is handling the food well. I can already feel my energy level up and hope that by next week, my body will be back to it's pre-FSC condition.

In terms of my food consumption, I still do have a small amount of food left. I have a quarter jar of peanut butter, 1/2 a loaf of bread, 1/2 a jar of spaghetti sauce, 1 package of Ramen and 2 tins of tuna. I have realized that I could have been consuming more per meal than I was, but this is a valueable hindsight. I didn't know how much I would eat. Additionally, with my diet being so bland, at times I could not bring myself to eat more even though I was so hungry.

My friend Melanie has been staying with me since Wednesday and has seen first-hand what my diet consists of. Luckily I budgeted very well and so Saturday she and I got hotdogs for dinner. I spent $2.95 on a hotdog putting me at $20.78, with 22 cents left.

This week has been one of the most valuable experiences in insight that I have had in a while. I want to thank all of you for your support this past week and for sharing my blog with others. Please continue to spread the word and direct others to this blog. I am still trying to determine what my next steps will be. I have gained all of this important information and need to figure out how to utilize it to its fullest. I am open to any suggestions you might have. Further, I want to encourage each of you in positions similiar to my own, to try the Challenge for yourself. What you will take away is worth much more than you give up!

Poverty and Food Stamps: A personal realization

I have been reading this book by Mark Robert Rank called One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All . I heard him speak a month ago at a luncheon on poverty and the government. While I won’t launch into a diatribe on this subject, something I read in his book today provides further support for the Food Stamp Program’s inadequacies.

In the 1950’s the Social Security Administration was given the task by President Johnson to create a way to measure poverty. A calculation was developed and is still used today. From this calculation, in 2002, a family of four would have to spend $6,130.67 on food. When broken down, this equates to $16.86 per day for the family, or $4.22 per person a day. Broken down even further, each person gets $1.41 per meal.

I’m living on $1 a meal, and yet the U.S. Government has determined that someone living in poverty would have $1.41 to spend per meal.

This is where I had my epiphany. I’m living on $1 a meal, and yet the U.S. Government has determined that someone living in poverty would have $1.41 to spend per meal. Yet, under the current Food Stamp Program, recipients only receive $1 in food stamps. This leaves the 0.41 cents for them to cover on their own. Some of you might say 0.41 cents is nothing; someone should at least be able to contribute that to their own diet. But, it is this 0.41 cents that could be devoted to some other very important thing like transportation, rent, health insurance, childcare etc. Let’s crunch some numbers. 0.41 cents times 3 meals a day is $1.23 a day that someone living in poverty has to cover on their own. Multiply that by the 365 days in a year and that is $448.95 that food stamps don’t cover.

Our government can’t even back increasing food stamp allotments to meet THEIR OWN set poverty measurements. What does this say? It says that they have the authority to define who is impoverished, yet they shirk away from this authority when it comes to fixing the problem.

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Check out Mr. Rank’s book. Though I’m not finished with it, I’ve been impressed thus far.
Rank, Mark Robert. One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. New York: Oxford UP, 2005.

Faces of Hunger

Who is hungry? How can you tell?

One of the first things I learned when I started as CKMU coordinator was about the “Things We Don’t Do.” This statement covers using pictures of starving babies holding empty bowls to promote our program. We at CKP don’t do this for many reasons; one is that it paints hunger in a stereotypical light. Hunger doesn’t stereotype. It doesn’t prefer one gender, color, age or race over another.

"Appearances can be deceiving."

This past week has revealed many faces of hunger to me. My uncle, my old roommate and her family, my dad and some coworkers have all dealt with hunger and minuscule income for food at some point in their lives. Now that we can share this experience, I have become privileged to such information. This experience has very made me look at everyone I meet in a different light. I am a very accepting person who is excited and open to learning about others’ realities. After this week, my openness and acceptance will be enhanced.

It has been amusing for me to carry my little “secret” around this week. Sure, all of my coworkers, family and a handful of friends know what I am doing, but the people I run into on the street have no idea. They see me and it never crosses their mind that I might be hungry. I can feel my stomach growling and hope they don’t hear it. It has been my little secret.
I feel guilty mentioning that I’m starving to friends and family because I try to be stronger than it. But it is this hunger that clouds my thoughts and rules my reality.

For this week, my face is a face of hunger. Remember that when you see my picture on our website. Appearances can be deceiving.

Preoccupation

On day 4 of the FSC I have been consumed. It has been difficult for me to see my body respond to a decreased amount of food. I was starting to feel things on day 2, but didn’t credit it to the FSC because this type of hunger was something that I hadn’t experienced before. Sure, I’ve been “starving” at the end of a long workday, but I almost feel guilty describing my hunger that way at this point. It has not been until these feelings intensified that I've been able to peg them for what they are, hunger.

"Today has been the most difficult so far."

This is where I get really honest folks. This is a learning experience, so get ready for some honest sharing. I have woken up hungry the last two mornings. I can’t tell you how depressing this is. Deep down I hoped that while I slept, my body would forget I was hungry and allow me to recharge and tackle my morning head on. No dice.

Today has been the most difficult so far. I can’t focus to save my life. Luckily I’m on top of things, but tasks that require more than 10 minutes of focus are quite an effort to complete. I was just digging deeper through the blogs of the congressmen and woman who stepped up to the Challenge last month. A line from Congresswoman Barbara Lee really hit home. “It's hard to concentrate for any length of time on anything except food. I don't know how people with no money for decent meals do anything - study, work, exercise, read, have fun, etc.” Indeed, I have been experiencing this same thing. Last night I pondered writing a list of all the things I plan to cook for myself Sunday night so that I would be able to enjoy them right away on Monday. As I type that last line, it hurts. I reread it and know the truth behind it, yet I feel embarrassed. Embarrassed by my weakness, my lack of focus. It’s only been 4 days. How can my body and mind be so affected!

I’ve considered how beneficial this experience would have been in my undergrad. I was a psychology major. What I feel now relates to so much. I readily salivate when conversations about food arise (conditioning, think Pavlov’s dogs). This happens frequently when I have lunch with the ladies across the hall. Maybe we always talked about recipes, but I’m more conscious of it this week. This also makes me reflect on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which basically states that human beings must first satisfy physiological needs (food, water, shelter) before they can satisfy attachment and self-actualization needs. (See the diagram) My physiological needs are not being satisfied. It is impacting everything.

Needless to say, this is becoming more of a challenge. But that is the point.

(image from www.managingchange.com/dynamic/maslow.gif )

McDonald's

One of the many realizations I have had during this experience is in regards to obesity. America is often chastised for its growing overweight population. Yet America is also home to many people whose lives fluctuate around the poverty line. In my shopping experiences and beyond I have noticed that often the cheapest things to buy are the unhealthiest. I walked around the grocery store noting that the processed alternatives are the cheapest. The purchases from my shopping trip also included a lot of starches (bread, rice, noodles, Ramen) which are loaded with carbs.

"In my shopping experiences and beyond I have noticed that often the cheapest things to buy are the unhealthiest."

Then there is McDonald’s. On my very limited budget, McDonald’s dollar menu is VERY appealing. After days of eating very bland, flavorless food, a double cheeseburger at McDonald’s got my mouth watering. I planned to purchase my dinner from there tonight and I was really looking forward to it. REALLY, I was. I spent $2.12 on a double cheeseburger and a small fry, both from the dollar menu. This puts my total spent at $17.91 leaving me with $3.17 left to date.


The point of this post is this: the hungry of this country fall prey to a vicious cycle. What they can afford is unhealthy for them, yet that is all they can get. So their poverty leads increases their tendency towards obesity. Again, here is another important reason that the Food Stamp Program needs revamping.

Insight from a fellow non-profit worker

Today I was on the phone with a contact from one of our partner sites. He was asking about my health and I laughed a bit and then launched into this undertaking with him. He was able to give me some good insight that is helping me maintain touch with reality, and I wanted to pass it along.

He was saying that my experience won't be true-to-life for numerous reasons. The first being that I have my own transportation, allowing me to procure food easily. Very good point. The second reason was one that had not occurred to me. All of my experience with food resourcing, nutrition, budgeting and creative cooking puts me a step above the rest. I have more insight and knowledge than many people on food stamps. This knowledge allows me to make smarter choices, get more out of my limited resources and know the options available to me. I whole-heartedly agree. I was very happy with my shopping trip and felt that I had gotten a lot for my money.

I could eat for free for most of this week, if I so chose, knowing the places that could give me free meals. I have had to turn down many free food events this week. First it was the free meal at Bethany Calvary on Monday, next it was dinner at my aunt and uncle's, the free keg party my friend is having this weekend at my favorite pub, finally it was a friendly invite for wine and cheese in a former job trainees garden. The last invite pangs me the most. Turning down this food has not been easy for other reasons.

"Seeing the tasty things that others eat, is just a temptation that makes my mouth water."

On day two, I am already so very bored with the food I have available. Seeing the tasty things that others eat, is just a temptation that makes my mouth water. This is having a noticeable impact on me at day two, and this makes me curious to see what day six and seven will be like. It also makes me realize how limited I am in satisfying my hunger. Before I could run out and grab something from a vending machine if it got bad, now, I just can't afford to.

Can you schedule hunger?

I did... or at least I thought I did. When I planned to take the Food Stamp Challenge (FSC), I picked this week as one that I thought would be most manageable. While this week is devoid of picnics, celebrations, and lunch dates, it is a VERY important week for me.

As the FSC firmed up on my agenda, I began to think more strategically about my week. For instance, I scheduled both of my dance lessons as early in the week as I could. My two hour lesson is tonight in fact, as early as I could get it. I didn't want my lack of energy to effect my practice time nor my balance and safety.

I also moved up numerous important meetings, hoping that my mind would still be sharp by mid-week. Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to have my annual review and an important job call this week. However, this is the kind of situation that the hungry of this nation find themselves in ALL the time. Imagine trying to give a great job interview, for a job that you desperately need, while trying to push the pangs of hunger from your mind. While my hunger will only be temporary, I will be in a similar situation this week. I can only hope that being the "hungry interviewee" Wednesday will help me to be a better interviewer on Thursday and Friday.

Yes, I'm also conducting interviews at the end of this week for CKMU's Managerial Job Training. Dios Mio!

If only hunger took a vacation...it is for this very reason, I believe, that our operations at CKMU rarely take a vacation!

My Shopping Experience

I went shopping today for my food for the coming week. It was different from any other time I have gone for a number of reasons. The first was that it took me a lot longer. I’m one of those in-and-out kinds of people, but I spent close to an hour comparing prices, sizes and options. I also noticed that I was self conscious while shopping. While I never looked in other’s carts, I found myself concerned that people were looking in mine. What they would have seen was a VERY boring collection of items, all from the generic brand. Coincidentally enough, 75% of what I purchased was Roundy’s brand, and Roundy’s is a huge supporter of CKMU. I have two giant checks from grants hanging on the walls of my office. Finally, I actually noticed WIC stickers on the price labels of certain products, something I had never been aware of before. I wasn’t able to tell what made some things WIC approved, but it was cool to be aware of.

Without further ado, here is my shopping list:

Small jar of peanut butter
3 pkgs Ramen
4 cans of tuna
Large can of condensed tomato soup
Bag of rice
Loaf of white bread
Bag of noodles
Frozen juice
Grapes
Yogurt
Spaghetti Sauce
Oatmeal
Chicken Broth
Candy Bars

5 of the 14 items I bought were on sale and all were the cheapest price I could find for the given item. I did have a Saver’s Club card, but these are free of charge and open to all. One of the hardest things was avoiding the dairy. I am a huge cheese lover (a Wisconsin girl through and through) and there wasn’t any diary I could really afford. The only dairy I could afford was a package of processed cheese and I couldn’t bring myself to eat that. I’m a cheese snob it seems.

My grand total for this shopping trip was $15.69. That gives me $5.31 to use throughout the week in ways I am going to try. One thing I was proud of was the fact that I saved $4.95 through sales at the grocery store. That’s 24% of my total budget! I think it was a pretty successful trip.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Allow me to introduce myself. I am the coordinator at the Campus Kitchen at Marquette.
I decided to take on the Food Stamp Challenge after hearing about it from a connection at the Hunger Task Force. It just seems like a logical thing for someone in my position to do. I hope that it will help me gain a better understanding of the challenges facing those I serve. I hope that my experiences will be of benefit to others.

Since I have decided to take the Food Stamp Challenge, things have moved pretty fast. It has been very interesting to see the type of support I have gotten. I had a conversation with CKP Director, Karen Borchert, this morning and among the many things we talked about in regards to the Challenge, we talked about my sick days. Karen reminded me that my safety was important and that I should not hesitate to take a sick day if I need to. With all I have going on next week, I won’t have the opportunity to take a sick day. Who knows if I will need one the following Monday.

Some of our student volunteers suggested that I partake of Campus Kitchen meals at our sites. While a good idea, and an acknowledgement of why we do what we do, I view this as a last resort. Further, seeing as we don’t deliver meals on Fridays and Saturdays, I may not have the meals available when I need them.

My dance instructor said that he might smuggle me Snickers bars before our lessons. Other students suggested that I head over to the Student Union on Monday and get in on the free cook-out for perspective students. One of the ladies across the hall said that she would just bring things for me as gifts.

I do appreciate all of the suggestions and support. However, if I am going to do this, I am going to do it by the book so I can get the most rich and pure experience possible.
~Sara

Welcome to the CKP Food Stamp Challenge Blog!

Welcome!

The Food Stamp Challenge was posed to congressmen and women in an effort to educate them about the inadequacies of the current Food Stamp program. The Challenge arose because the Food Stamp program falls under the Farm Bill which is due to be reauthorized by Congress this year.

The challenge took place May 15-21 of this year and only 4 congressional members and their families and staff participated. Participants in the challenge pledge to live on a food stamp budget for 1 week and eat only what they purchase with the $21 allotment. $21 in food stamps is all the average adult receives for a week under the current program! This boils down to $3 a day, $1 a meal.

Next week, Monday June 11th - Sunday June 17th Sara will be taking the Food Stamp Challenge. Read about what she eats, how she feels, what she does, and how it works...right here!