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

On my way to SNAP success

The hunger pains are gone, for now.

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich should last another hour and a half before I start thinking about lunch. Today, it's pinto beans with cheese and a few corn tortillas, a simple, yet filling meal that should carry me until I clock out.

I'm on day five of the SNAP challenge and am beginning to realize why the term challenge is so fitting for the program. For the first time in my life I'm having to make a conscious effort to put a little less on my plate knowing my food supply is dwindling with every meal. The food is fine, having eaten with fewer options in my days as an undergrad, but it's the planning and preparation I'm so unfamiliar with. I spent nearly four hours cooking the pinto beans I'll eat today, spending a large part of my day off preparing the rest of my food supply to last me through the end of the challenge.

America is a land of plenty, a fact exhibited in almost every facet of our society. It is fueled by the addiction to immediate gratification with internet, credit cards, no to mention the fast food drive-thru. The past five days in contrast, have not been ones of convenience. A drive-thru on every corner makes it easy to forget about food accessibility, but as I attempt to walk in the shoes of close to four hundred thousand East Texans I realize the frustration they may feel at seeing the surplus of food options, yet being able to afford next to nothing.

Two days remain in my personal SNAP challenge and when I eat my final meal Wednesday night I will feel accomplished in for having "made it." However, I believe the feeling of completion will be a bittersweet one, for while I completed my seven day challenge, I know the challenge for hundreds of thousands of East Texans continues every day with the pain of hunger.

It's a pain no one should have to feel.

Food Stamp Challenge

I started my food stamp challenge on a Friday. The Thursday before I spent all but 7 cents at Walmart to get my food for the week ahead. My purchase consisted of a loaf of whole wheat bread, peanut butter, 6 bananas, a gallon of skim milk, a bag of off-brand frosted mini-wheats, 3 large potatoes, 2% shredded cheese, a small bag of carrot chips, and a head of broccoli. I became a little frustrated during my shopping when I realized that fat free shredded cheese cost over a dollar more than the 2%! This may not sound like a lot of food to most people for one week, but I made it through the challenge on these foods and didn't cheat once!

The hardest part of my challenge was the beginning. Since I began on a Friday, I had the whole weekend ahead of me, and I couldn't go out to eat! Going out to eat on the weekends was always a treat that I no longer had. It was also hard to turn my friends down when they invited me out to eat, and I had to say no because I couldn't afford it. In this aspect, the challenge made me feel less sociable, and if I were on food stamps more permantly, it would no doubt make it harder for me to fit in.

Once I made it through the weekend though, it was much easier. The only challenge I really noticed after that was that I couldn't snack and there wasn't much variety in what I was eating. I did change the amount I exercised also. I know this is less healthy for me, but I knew I would get more hungry if I worked out every day. I only worked out one day of the entire week. Normally I work out 4 days of the week.

I ended up with enough food left over to last me about one more day, and I even shared several cups of my milk. The amount of food this challenge allowed wasn't that difficult to make last, but it didn't allow me to be as healthy as I should be. One serving of fruits and one serving of vegetables a day isn't what the food guide pyramid calls for, and unfortunately these are the quite a bit more pricey than junk foods. This challenge gave me a different perspective on why people aren't always able to eat healthy, and I hope after experiencing this people do more to help others.

Food Stamps Challenge

I started the Food Stamps Challenge on Sun., Oct. 5 and ended it Sat., Oct. 11. The Food Stamps Challenge was one of the hardest things I have done. I found it impossible to plan 3 meals a day for 7 days that were nutritionally sound meals.
With $21 I bought: 1 gallon of 1% milk, 1 loaf of whole grain bread, peanut butter, jelly, instant rice, kidney beans, fiber one bars and croissants. I usually like to have a banana for breakfast and another piece of fruit with lunch, but I could not afford it. By Wednesday night I had ran out of milk, fiber one bars, croissants and bread because my roommate ate my food too, although I told him not too. I was so hungry by the time dinner time arrived. I felt like it was a big challenge to eat only the foods I had purchased, especially since I was already running low on food. I have to be honest, I went to Posado's Cafe for dinner Wednesday night. I was so full and it felt good to eat again.

Thursday through Saturday I continued to eat only the foods I bought at the store which consisted of my remaining peanut butter and jelly mixed together and rice and the small amount of beans I had left. I was so hungry when Sunday came and I could eat real food! It felt like my stomach was growling all day.

One thing I really missed was drinking Dr. Pepper. I like to have soda in the afternoon almost everyday. I know this isn't healthy, but I love Dr. Pepper. On Sunday I went to Chicken Express and got a large fountain drink. For dinner I had grilled pork chops, green salad and corn on the cob.

I found that it was very difficult to eat on a budget and eat healthy at that. Now I know how people on food stamps feel.

Erin: More Than a Gesture

Have you ever seen one of those shows where someone beautiful and thin dresses up in a “fat suit” and walks down the street so that she can tell us about the horrible experience of being fat in our society?

I grew up poor. Let me make this clear, being poor sucks. I wish I could say that there was some quaintness or some incredible amount of character building going on, but those moments are far outweighed by indignities.

The last thing I mean to do is belittle the “Food Stamp Challenge”, I don’t compare it to putting on a fat suit because I think the challenge is not genuine. I am saying that it is a gesture. If you have ever known someone who shaved their head because their friend/sister/wife was going through chemo, you know the difference. A bald head doesn’t make you feel the fear of your children growing up without their mother nor does it make you exhausted and nauseous. But it is a gesture, it is a way of saying to someone that you love “I will fight this fight with you and, when you tire, I will keep fighting.” I am hopeful that this is what the challenge will ignite in people.

I have to be honest; I quit the challenge after 5 days. You don’t have to convince me that $21/week is not enough money to maintain a healthy diet, much less an appetizing one. I get it. My parents worked hard, often they both worked multiple jobs, but it isn’t as easy as just “working hard”. Forty percent of food pantry/soup kitchen clients are working poor. Add to that number the clients who are children and seniors and you don’t get a lot of ne’er-do-wells.

My point is this, the simple act of striving to understand what it feels like to be food insecure is a great lesson for everyone to experience at some point. But don’t allow it to just be a gesture. This isn’t just about the inexplicable mathematical formula that made $21 seem like a reasonable number. It is a reminder of the people who are trying to make their food budgets work for more than just one week. It is a reminder of why you chose to apply your talents to the nonprofit world. It is a reminder of why you write that check to the food bank or give your time. Mostly, it is a reminder that we must fight this fight with them until they grow weary, and then we must continue to fight for them. Don't just hang up the fat suit and go back to your original hotness.

On a lighter note, no one on food stamps ever turned down free coffee. I would even bet that people have chosen jobs based on the availability of free coffee.

Molly: Food Stamp Challenge Update

I will have an update on my Food Stamp Challenge tonight (Friday) on KLTV 7 news at five. If you miss it don't worry... it will be on our website kltv.com.

Thursday evening update for the week

Becky and I have made it through Thursday, after beginning the challenge last Sunday morning. Really, it's been pretty neat to see how we can stretch our food shopping dollar---although it's been Becky who has done all the stretching! I think I said before that she made chicken and dumplings one day, which we ate for two meals (and could have been three, but just got tired of it). Also, a great casserole was the menu for today, along with sandwiches for lunch, and our normal cereal for breakfast. What we've had to give up are things like fresh orange juice, salmon, some beef dishes we like to fix, and a few other things. I would not say that we have suffered, but the week so far has really made us plan and think about what we're eating. I have to admit, Tuesday evening I attended a company event, and we did eat that meal out (free), so we do feel we sort of "cheated" on that evening, but couldn't be helped. Otherwise, we have tried very hard to stay the course. I'll try to catch this blog one more time between now and Saturday night to keep all of you posted on our progress.