Tim and I wrapped up the SNAP Challenge on Friday last week,
happy to have more or less made it five days eating on a $4 per day
budget. By the end of the week, the
leftover food we had amounted to a half bag each of rice, dried beans and
lentils, some peanut butter, an onion, a bit of granola, a few slices of bread, half a lemon and the
oil and spices. It’s true that for our last SNAP meal we threw
in everything we could into an eggs and rice dish, because we knew we didn't
have to stretch our resources into another meal. It felt like a feast.
My SNAP Challenge week was indeed challenging, partially by
design. I chose to purchase all condiments
and extras, which reduced the amount of funds I had for additional food
items. I did not take advantage of any
community resources like our local soup kitchen’s Wednesday lunch, mostly due
to scheduling conflicts. And Tim and I
ignored another fairly large free resource – our backyard garden. It’s late summer and our garden is in full
swing, providing us fresh produce week after week. But while I do think encouraging gardening as
a way to increase the availability of fresh food is the right idea, our individual
garden seemed like a luxury that we are only able to afford because we have
outdoor space, time and the money to pay for our water bill. So we stuck to the food I bought, going to
bed hungry each night, waking up hungry each morning and tempted by all of the
items we wanted but could not afford.
Like my colleague Nancy, I too was relieved when my SNAP
Challenge week came to a close – but also well aware of the vast number of
households for which there is no similar end in sight. It’s humbling.
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