SNAP Challenge: Can you live on $4.50 a day?

by Lindsey Burks, Marketing Associate

Feeding America asked people across the nation one question – can you eat on just $4.50 a day?

Over 47 million Americans face this difficult task every day because they rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) to get enough to eat. So many of us have grown accustomed to morning Starbucks coffee and eating dinner out, and we don’t often take the time to reflect on the fact that an enormous number of people are struggling to even get enough food on the table.

To encourage the public to get a sense of what life is like for millions of low-income Americans facing hunger, Feeding America devised the SNAP Challenge. By accepting this challenge, participants commit to eating on a limited food budget – $4.50 a day, or just $1.50 per meal.

Pete, our resident vegetarian and United Way CFO, took on the SNAP Challenge and conquered it. However, his defeat didn't leave him feeling great – instead he emerged with a new found understanding of just how difficult it is for an individual, let alone a family, to eat healthy on that tight of a budget. Let’s walk through his experience:

His first step – shopping! Following the rules of the challenge, Pete bypassed membership stores, such as Costco, and headed straight to Safeway and Big Lots. At Safeway, Pete focused on finding his breakfast and lunch foods for the entire week. At the end of his trip, his cart was filled with only 4 items: a box of oatmeal, a loaf of store-brand bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of grape jelly. This weeks’ worth of breakfast and lunch items cost a total of $8.27. Although Pete spent so little of his budget and managed to buy the bulk of the food he would need for the week, the foods he purchased had minimal nutritional value.

Dinner options were next on Pete’s list. As a vegetarian, he did not need to worry about spending the lion share of his budget on meat, which is often the biggest expense on the grocery list. Instead he headed straight to Big Lots where he knew he could count on finding canned goods cheap. At $1.00 per can, Pete grabbed assorted beans and mixed vegetables.

Throughout the week, Pete began to appreciate the luxuries he frequently enjoys; missing his family’s weekly pizza night was the roughest. Aside from missing out on luxuries, he realized the toll high-sodium and high-sugar canned foods can take. Pete exclaimed, “You can get by for a week and have it not be very disruptive but if you had to eat this way for even a month, let alone if it was your lifestyle, you would begin to feel the effects.”

Working in the nonprofit industry, Pete already had a strong appreciation for the services provided by food banks but during the SNAP challenge, he realized even more the vitality of those services. The food that SNAP participants can afford are typically not foods with nutritional value, leading to medical issues such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and more expensive issues in the long run. We have an obligation – we must provide better locally and ensure that our food banks are well stocked so that we can eliminate hunger in our community.

Although Hunger Action Month is coming to an end, there is so much you can continue to do to raise awareness and fight hunger. Spread the word about our South Sound 211 Center; by simply dialing 2-1-1, people can be connected to food banks or apply for the basic food assistance program. Don’t need help but want to lend your hand? Check out our volunteer center for ways to get involved at your local food bank: http://www.volunteerpiercecounty.org/