I am gaining a new appreciation for a varied and healthy diet. Trying to stay within the meager budget of the SNAP program requires many adjustments. In particular, buying food requires one to limit choice and variety, and also forces some compromises and choices between volume and nutrition. I found that most fresh produce was simply out of the question - I couldn't afford apples, for example, and opted for bananas instead. Not a terrible trade-off, but clearly not what I would have preferred for health and nutritional value. I long for a good, crisp apple.
Similarly, I couldn't imagine going without coffee, but in order to make sure I had enough coffee for the week, without blowing the budget, I chose the cheapest coffee I could find. While it looks and smells more or less like coffee, and seems to have caffeine in it, it is far from satisfying in the way a really good but far pricier coffee would be.
Finally, I realize that the artificiality of this challenge week forces me to opt for very little change in the diet. Yogurt every morning, peanut butter sandwiches every lunch, and the same fish, rice and frozen broccoli every night. Lots of carrots and celery sticks for snacks. An occasional hard boiled egg. That's about it.
I'm certainly not going to bed hungry, but I am thinking about food more this week than normal. I'm worrying about running out of food, and feeling more empathy for those who live with such worries because they are real, not because they choose to participate in an artificial construct like this.
I have always been troubled by the presence of hunger in a world that could feed every person adequately. What can we do about this beyond simply raise awareness?
Can You Imagine What Hunger Feels Like?
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From Jan. 26-Feb. 1, 2014, members, staff and clergy of Congregation Shaare Emeth will take the SNAP Challenge and try to live on the average food budget of a Missouri SNAP recipient – just $29.25 per week or less than $1.40 per meal. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps). Why are we doing this? To raise awareness about the struggles faced by millions of food-insecure households, to experience first-hand how difficult it is to afford nutritious foods, and to renew our commitment to do what we can to put an end to hunger.Please join us by attending one of our hunger events, following our blog as we document our experiences (subscribe by email in the box on the right, subscribe to the blog feed, or check back daily), joining as SNAP Challenge participant and blog author, or participating in an alternate way. Let's all learn a little more about what it's like to live solely on food stamps.
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