Sunday, October 19, 2008
Food Stamp Challenge
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.
Friday, October 17, 2008
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.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Erin: More Than a Gesture
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.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Molly: Food Stamp Challenge Update
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday evening update for the week
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Molly: First Big Purchase
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
First entry for the hunger challenge from Rick E.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Molly - DAY SEVEN!!!
Molly - Day Six
It's been a long week!
I found out that I really don't care to be constantly aware of what I can't have to eat and that my
taste buds aren't set up for my limited food budget. That head of lettuce and tomatoes for a
small salad were a God send. My husband, Charlie, was not at all content with the food choices
we had to make. I will tell you that neither of us want a sandwich for a long time nor do we
want to see oatmeal for a while. Enough of the grumbling! What really happened to us is we
became very aware of the lack of opportunity to afford fresh vegetables, fish, fruit, etc. We
are very empathetic concerning the limited food choices in families who use food stamps. We
couldn't use any food from the pantry or the freezer in our home and each time I saw all that we
had I felt like a kid in a candy store. I also felt a kind of guilt, like I wanted to share but couldn't
find good way. I will never forget this opportunity and hope somehow to help fix it. Thanks
for listening!!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Molly: Day Five - Lunch/Dinner
Molly: Day Five Begins
Friday, September 12, 2008
Molly: Day Four - Lunch/Dinner
Molly: Day 4 Begins
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Molly: Day 3 - Dinner
Molly: Day 3 - Lunch
Molly: Day 3 Begins
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Molly: Day 2 - Dinner
Molly: Day 2 - Lunch
Molly: Day 2 Begins
After the challenge
So we made it through the week, with some food to spare...tuna, beans, rice, bread, tortillas, an onion and one lonely egg. I won't say it wasn't a relief to return to my normal routine yesterday, because it was; I was especially happy to get my morning coffee. (As were my colleagues, who had to endure my caffeine-less whining for a week.)
But I'm still trying to wrap my head around just what I learned. After all, this was an artificial experience. What we lived through was just a tiny taste of the reality for too many people. I knew this was ending in a week. I didn't have to simultaneously worry about how I was going to pay my rent or my childcare.
Still, my mother always used to tell me that you should never judge anyone without walking a mile in their shoes, and I think that applies here. It's so easy to live our lives without really thinking about what someone else is going through. The Food Stamp Challenge reminded me of that-- and gave me a little more incentive to work to change things, in what little way I can.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Molly: Day 1 Continued...
Molly: Day 1 - Breakfast/Lunch
Shopping! Nutrition?
buy all that I had planned on and I had to change the whole chicken to 2 suppers and 1 lunch.
Getting all the vegetables and fruit we should have was unattainable but I scored on some wheat bread in a sandwich loaf on sale. The menu is not really high on the basic nutrition needs of our
bodies and the fat is higher that we usually allow. Where we are going to help the fat problem
is with portion control, that will also extend our groceries. We could afford no snacks!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Molly: Getting Ready For Day 1
Molly: Shopping
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Day 6: So much for this getting easier
I walked into the kitchen this morning to see my husband standing in front of the toaster. With a bagel. And salmon-flavored cream cheese.
"I'm hungry," he said, by way of apology.
He has officially fallen off the wagon. Yesterday, he also ate more M&Ms, drank part of a can of guava juice, and finished up the leftovers from Friday night's off-the-challenge dinner. There's still food from our $38 shopping trip, but I couldn't really blame him for not wanting a breakfast of white bread, tuna salad and pinto beans.
I'm still on board-- but I'm resentful. I'm tired of eating the same few things. When I give my son and his friends a snack of Cheetos and juice, I feel jealous that I can't have any. (This is pathetic. I'm upset about not getting Cheetos?) I drive by a Starbucks and have to talk myself out of turning through the drivethrough. Watching TV, it suddenly strikes me how many of the ads are for food, expensive food, food that suddenly looks good. I don't think I've been tempted by a Taco Bell ad for years.
This seems to be harder on the weekend, lounging around the house. My usual routine is impossible. Coffee and a morning paper? We couldn't afford coffee. A diet Coke after walking the dog? Sodas were out of the question. A quick trip to get ice cream after dinner with our son? I didn't budget for that. These are little things, sure, but they add up to a feeling of deprivation. It's demoralizing.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Day 5: Getting used to the new reality
So, my husband went to the store to buy ingredients for dinner--a Chinese feast of Szechuan chicken, spicy beef stir fry and egg drop soup. (He is a chef by training..... which, I realize, has been an unfair advantage all the way through, since he can make tasty meals out of practically anything, or almost nothing, as the case may be.) The bill for these groceries? $53. $11 more than what we're supposed to live on for a whole week. And that doesn't even include the wine we drank, the nuts we set out for an appetizer, or the dessert our friends brought.
Once I got over the shock of the price differential, it was a really good meal. And just having that little break made a big difference to me. For the first time, I'd been hungry much of the day Friday but knowing we were going to have a nice dinner had allowed me to get through the day. And this morning, it was a lot easier to accept going back to our limited menu (nothing for breakfast, rice and beans for lunch, chicken, potatoes and onions for dinner). I was very hungry by the time we sat down to dinner tonight, but I didn't spend the day in an irritable or depressed mood. If we hadn't already had a good weekend meal, I probably would have; social occasions, as Robyn mentioned, really do revolve around food, and it's hard to imagine having friends over without feeding them.
We'll see how long that halo effect lasts. We still have two days to go. And not all that much food left.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Mid-point! Horray!
Day 4: This is getting harder.
My husband caved first. Last night, a few hours after dinner -- a small pork cutlet each and some potato salad with, wait for it, lots of celery-- he wandered into the kitchen and started poking around.
"I want something sweet," he said.
"Brush your teeth again," I suggested. "It worked last time."
He ignored me. His eyes lit on the candy basket on top of the fridge. "M&Ms," he said, with almost a religious fervor. Without looking at me, he grabbed a handful.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "But this is getting hard."
Not that we're starving; clearly, we're not. But we're realizing how much discipline this requires-- and that we don't have much. We're used to eating what we want, when we want, without really thinking about it. That is a luxury that many people don't have, and one that I have selfishly taken for granted.
But this week, our budget didn't allow for sugar. We still have quite a bit of food--the picture shows all that's left, which should be enough to feed us till day 7--but it's not always what we want to eat. Having to budget so tightly takes so much of the joy out of eating. Mealtime feels more like a chore to be accomplished than something fun to enjoy. For a week, OK, I can do this. But imagine how draining this would be if it were your daily reality.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Dinner Day 4
And on the third day, I absolved myself.
Day 3: I need coffee
The bananas are gone -- my husband took the last one for his lunch today. Eggs --we have 7 left, but I need to save the rest for egg salad and an omelette later in the week. There's quite a bit of celery, but that doesn't sound too good at 6 a.m. I end up counting the slices of bread and deciding I can eat a piece of toast now and still have enough for sandwiches the rest of the week. I wash it down with a big glass of ice water. The decision not to spring for coffee is beginning to feel like my biggest mistake.
Three days in, I have not really been outrageously hungry yet, but it's still early. We notice that we are feeling a little anxious as our little food stockpile shrinks. Mentally, we calculate how many meals we have left; three meals apiece from the remaining chicken, one or maybe two from some pork chops, the rest just rice and beans. We think we will still have enough to last the week, but it's stressful, trying to stretch it.
Still, this is temporary, and we've got a big luxury many families don't; we chose not to include our six-year-old in most of the challenge. I can only imagine how much more painful and stressful it is, trying to keep children full and happy. So as I packed my lunch this morning (rice and chicken soup, made from the chicken bones we normally would have thrown away), I couldn't help feeling that I've got it very easy.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Day 1
I think it's going to be an eye-opening week.
Karolyn's Food Stamp Challenge Experience
Together we have $42.00 to spend for the week. On this budget, we were not able to purchase our normal organic food items. However, we were able to purchase: eggs, bread, fruit, tuna, peanut butter, carrots, spaghetti, veggies, rice, beans and chicken. Our total bill was $36.00.
I must admit, so far this challenge has not been difficult but it is the freedom of choice to go out to lunch or dinner that has been eye-opening.
Day 1: I miss Starbucks.
First, a little bit of background information on me. I'm the website administrator & volunteer coordinator here at the Food Bank. Owing to a combination of living alone and not knowing how to cook, I rarely make grocery lists and never plan my meals out for the week. So, unlike Karolyn who presumably planned and color-coordinated all her meals (my mockery is fueled purely by jeaousy, I assure you), having to think about what I'm going to eat for an entire week in advance was pretty difficult for me. I think I've got it pretty well planned out so far, but foresight isn't exactly my forte so we'll see how that goes.
I still hadn't made a list when I finally went grocery shopping last night because, frankly, I had no idea what $21 would buy me. And even once I got there I still wasn't sure what to buy because, like I said earlier, I can't exactly cook (okay, maybe not "can't", more like "won't", but still). I ended up buying kind of a random amalgamation of ingredients that I figured I could somehow parlay into a week-long stock of delectable meals. Eggs, pasta, tuna, canned corn, cheese...as I shopped, my standards quickly slipped from "delectable" to "edible." I've since settled on somewhere around "digestible."
So far the hardest thing for me hasn't been hunger; I have yet to really experience that (keep in mind I'm up to lunch on my first day though, so we'll see how that pans out). The hardest thing has been having to THINK so much about food. Picking out what I'm going to eat has gone from being at best a pleasure, at worse a minor inconvinience, to being a total chore. There's a very small margin of error in this game and if I had to live like this I would get really discouraged, really fast. The planning takes a lot of thought and energy, and I'm picky about where I expend such energy and my weekly meal plan is not where I want to use it all up. I can really see how it would be easier to just forget trying to eat healthy on a budget and instead just settle on whatever's cheapest at Taco Bell.