Post Challenge Reflections

I like steak.

It's an indulgence I rarely treat myself to due to their cost as well as...cost. But the night after completing SNAP I decided it was a moment needing to be taken advantage of. Texas Roadhouse was the restaurant of choice and it wasn't long before a 10 oz. medium rare ribeye, green beans, and a nice salad was staring at me from the table. It goes without saying the food was delicious, a much different dinner than ones had in days prior, but about two thirds of my way through the meal I began to have a startling realization.

I was full.

It was a surprise, however, considering meal sizes and portions from the past week it made sense. I never went to bed hungry during SNAP but I did get accustomed to eating exact portions, and my guess is it's no shock to anyone restaurants are not the best regulators of portion control. I relished every bite of my meal I could that night and then asked for a doggie bag. I guess you could say while eating out was never an option during the challenge, the "never waste" mentality has carried over into "normal" life. Other habits have also been affected, I now find myself watching the quantity of food much closer. I poured myself a bowl of cereal this morning only to look in and catch myself wondering how many more bowls I have in there.

For me post-challenge, it's glancing in the cereal box, but for hundreds of thousands of East Texans it's glancing at every meal wondering if and when the next one will make itself available.
The SNAP Challenge was more than an eye opening experience, it was a perspective changing one. I can only hope in the coming weeks, months, and years the number of people going hungry continues to drop through the help of dedicated organizations like the East Texas Food Bank.

Way to go guys.

Snap Challenge Out,

Morgan Chesky