SNAP (Food Stamps) Challenge

The other day I saw a meme on Facebook of how Gwyneth Paltrow was going to take the Food Stamps Challenge and challenged someone else to do it with her.  The idea behind the challenge is to illustrate how hard it is for singles and families to subsist on Food Stamps (SNAP Benefits) by living on the average SNAP benefit of a $29 budget to buy food for the week for one person without using anything already in one's kitchen, like rice, oatmeal, salt, sugar etc.

I'm not a big fan of Paltrow's but it got me to thinking, especially after I saw the photo of the food she bought with the $29 challenge (and btw, clearly she's not a 'shopper' - I could have planned out and shopped for what she bought for far less.)   I'm a bit squirrely on the amount.  $29 seems extreme considering I have a neighbor who receives SNAP benefits and his works out to be $45 and change a week.  He receives top benefits as he is disabled, but I learned that if you have no income coming in, one does get the top benefit here in New York State.

The second thing that made me a bit squirrley was that SNAP is an acronym for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which is a Federal and State funded program for people living under the poverty level.  It's not meant to comprise the entire food budget for a person or a family.  SNAP is meant to supplement and assist buying good nutritious food.   Yet, we find so many singles and families trying to live on these benefits because they have to.  Sadly, they have no other alternative but to make the budget work.

While doing some research on SNAP, I learned that other States give far less.  And that's sad because it forces people to subsist on less than healthy but cheap processed food.  Additionally, I know I have resources here in my fair corner of Brooklyn that most people don't have.  I know that some people have no access to fresh produce except for the pricey stuff at the supermarket where I have multiple markets in which to buy the best produce for the best price.  I am also the proud farmer of a kitchen window herb garden I was able to create.  Snaps (no pun intended) to my brother Richard for making the trip from Rhode Island and installing shelves in my window so I could grow and enjoy fresh herbs.

That being said, I decided I'm going to self-style my own SNAP challenge based on what benefits I would receive:  $45 a week.  I'm also going to go on the premise that I've lost my job and have no income coming in.  That last bit was after a long discussion with buddies on my Facebook page about whether or not spices and sugar should be included in this.

1.  I don't use sugar unless I'm baking or make a sauce or chili.  I've been using the same 5lb bag of sugar since last October.   So, I will not be budgeting for sugar in this challenge.

2.  Salt and Pepper:  I buy peppercorns yearly but that's more for freshness than actual usage and I'm using the same one pound box of salt I bought a year and a half ago.  So, I will not be budgeting for salt or pepper I use while cooking.

3.  I will limit myself to herbs I grow on my kitchen window garden.  I did concede that I'd deduct $2 for seeds that I used to make it, because evidently one can buy seeds to grow food with SNAP benefits.  If I make curry or chili, I will use part of my budget to buy the spice.  But I will buy the cheap stuff. You know the $1 a bottle kind that I would buy if I were under the constraint of living on SNAP.

4.  Because I know I have the advantage of fresh produce at great prices, I will be limiting myself to two fresh fruits a day.  My usual intake is 3-4 fruits a day.  Also, if I run out of any fruit or veg... that's it.  No purchasing more unless I have the extra money.

5.  I will only include items I plan to eat that week.  So for example, instead of eating off the last half of a box of oatmeal which takes me 2 to 3 weeks to finish, I will buy a new box.     I will buy a small bottle of oil instead of using what I already have in the house.  Same with lentils, kidney beans, butter and yogurt.

6.  Rice is an issue.  After much discussion, on my Facebook page with buddies, I decided that I will pro-rate the cost in advance of what I'll use.  Let's face it... I'm a single person.  If I buy a 5lb bag of rice, I'm not going to use it in one week.  It would take me more like two months to use up a bag of rice.

7.  Coffee too is an issue.  Its a necessity.  I generally buy 3 bags for $20 at Dunkin Donuts which lasts me about six weeks.  It pro-rates out to about $3.50 a week.  Cheaper than buying it at the market.  BUT two issues with that:  1. coffee might be on sale for cheaper at the market.  2.  The Dunkin near me doesn't take SNAP benefits.  So it looks like I'll be budgeting for a can of coffee at the market.    Not having my Dunkin Coffee is going to be a hardship.  But that's what this challenge is about, isn't it?  Finding out the hardships of trying to live on SNAP benefits.

8.  I will base my menu plan on sales and purchases from the one produce stand (Three Guys From Brooklyn) and two small markets that are within walking distance of my house. (On that point I am at a big disadvantage because there are no big supermarkets in my neighborhood.)

Yes I know I'm making my own rules, but they're rules based on how I buy and my actual usage of food stuffs.  A more realistic scenario to see how hard it is to actually live on SNAP benefits instead of the average I suspect constitutes the original challenge of $29.  Still.. I'm under no illusion of how hard this will be based on $43 a week (deducting seeds from the budget in consideration of my existing herb garden.)  I'm going to need to make changes in my diet and that's going to be difficult.  Less meat, dairy and fresh produce.  Where I do eat beans and legumes, it's only twice a week or so.  I'll need to increase that consumption in order to make my budget.  I also know in advance I'm going to have to curb my sweet tooth ... and I have a BIG sweet tooth!  Unless it's in the budget, no sweet goodies for me!

I'd be very happy to see your comments and thoughts on this challenge I will undertake starting on Saturday.

I'll start daily blogging after my shopping to let everyone know what I could buy with what SNAP benefits would afford me.

Stay tuned!

*Edited to add*  In further discussions on my FB page the idea came up to snarf salt, sugar and pepper packets from local fast food restaurants.  Which is something a person or family might do in order to not have to buy salt and pepper (and maybe sugar).  So this is what I'll be doing.