Food Stamp Challenge Reflections
By: C. Maeve Kendall
Wednesdays are difficult. It’s too early in the week to start thinking about the weekend and too late to feel the excitement of a “fresh” new week. For the Food Stamp Challengers, getting over the Wednesday “hump” is more like climbing a mountain. The participants in the challenge agreed to use only $21 for an entire week’s worth of food to replicate the difficulties facing millions of Americans surviving on food stamps.
In addition to the standard mid-week blues, the challengers are experiencing fatigue, frustration, and most certainly HUNGER. I will be honest: I have a talkative stomach. When she is hungry, she is sure to tell me with a grumble, “Feed me soon or I will make the embarrassment of your chatty tummy last through your next class as well.” Only 3½ days into the challenge and the minor grumblings have turned into a cacophony of angry growls. Here are a couple other musings from Food Stamp Challenge Participants:
“This Food Stamp Challenge is not easy. For me thus far, there are two things that are especially hard: 1) The coffee that I bought for very, very, very, very little money at Aldi tastes like I brewed it through money. It’s nasty. I want Intelligentsia. 2) My roommate is a damn good cook, and right now he’s cooking spicy chicken with zucchini, lentil beans, and an awesome looking salad. It makes me so hungry. My meal: wilted mixed greens with no dressing and Ramen noodles. The egg sandwich I ate this morning was pretty good though. I used my grilled cheese fixin’s, added an egg, and demolished it. I would recommend that.” – Tim Black, Day 3
“Well, today went well. I think my biggest struggle right now is planning. Today I only packed lunch, but not dinner. So I was starving during my 7-9 pm class. I did find a random tootsie pop in my backpack, but I resisted the urge to eat it. Plus, I’m a little creeped out about the jar of PBJ swirl I bought, so if I keel over sometime this week, we’ll all know why. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine doing this for the long term. Not just because the lack of choice food and someone determining how you spend your money, but living on $21 food allowance a week, this probably isn’t even the half of it.” – Jacquie Mosley-Pastrana, Day 3
