SNAP Challenge Accepted

With a debate raging about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more than 2 dozen Democratic politicians and many more ordinary citizens took the SNAP Challenge, pledging to live on the average allotment of a SNAP recipient, $31.50 per week. Most posted a few pictures of meager looking meals and lamented that they couldn't purchase fresh fruits or vegetables on the budget.

I may not be on food stamps, but I am a college student making just a little more than the cost of my rent for the summer. I'm counting my lucky stars that my internship is paid at all. So I know a thing or two about the search to eat nutritiously and frugally. Apparently, most congressmen don't. This doesn't come as a surprise, considering the state of the national budget. 

The debate wouldn't be complete if somebody from the real world without a legislative agenda took the SNAP Challenge with some resourcefulness and ingenuity. Unlike Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and her colleagues, I'm actually trying to succeed. Snap challenge accepted!

So tonight I went grocery shopping and spent $59.28 on a loaf of bread, a carton of almond milk, italian seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, onion powder, mustard, low sodium chicken broth, 2 cans of black beans, a box of rice, a jar of peanut butter, 2 pounds of lunch meat, 5 pounds of chicken thighs, 2 pounds of baby carrots, 10 apples, 5 pounds of potatoes, 3 cucumbers, 2 peaches, 2 tomatoes, 6 hearts of romaine lettuce, one mango, and a box of Ziploc bags. SNAP doesn't cover non-food items, so that would have to come from my personal funds, meaning that my food totaled $54.83, almost ten dollars under a two week budget of $63.

For the next two weeks, I will live on these foods. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll show you the few things I had left in my kitchen before I went grocery shopping.

The oatmeal, which is still mostly full, was $3.79. The jam, which is nearly empty, cost $2.59. The mayo, approximately half used, cost $2.99. The salad dressing, which is also nearly halfway gone, was $2.00. That totals $11.37, which in addition to the $54.83 spent tonight equals $66.20. Yes, that's slightly more than $63, but all of those ingredients are partially used, and in most cases nearly empty. I don't know how much the yogurt or the salt and pepper cost, but the yogurt is also almost empty. Realistically speaking, staples will carry over from week to week. Additionally, some SNAP recipients are employed, and the allotment is calculated with the expectation that part of their income will be spent on their food. 

Tomorrow morning will be day one of the SNAP challenge!