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.