How We Responded to Criticism of the SNAP Federal Assistance Program and Next Steps

How Have Folks Criticized the SNAP Federal Assistance Program?

As indicated earlier in our blog ( Days 1 and 2 of SNAP Hunger Awareness Challenge ), we received some questions about the restrictions on food stamp purchases, which we responded to and provided an explanation of the foods that can be purchased with SNAP funds: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm

Q: What about those grocery carts with steak and lobster?

However, it appears that folks who see the shopping carts of SNAP participants in the grocery stores (with shrimp, lobster, steaks, candy, etc.) are skeptical about how needy these folks are.  While our experience with the SNAP Challenge has been enlightening for us and is a good way to increase hunger awareness,  we thought we should contact Foodshare CT to comment on those criticisms.

A: Fewer buying options, need for more nutrition education, and need for help with planning and budgeting

Krista Ostaszewski, SNAP Outreach Coordinator for Foodshare, was very helpful in responding to our queries.  Here is what Krista told us:

"When individuals tell me about SNAP clients buying steak, lobster or junk food like soda and chips I usually respond with a few different points…..

• Many families are on such a tight budget that the foods that cost less are the ones that may not be the healthiest. These unhealthy foods are many times the easiest choice, and sometimes the only choice at many of the local corner grocery stores. Remember that many of our cities here in CT have maybe one large grocery store! This means individuals either have to travel to buy grocery items or use their local corner store to purchase what they need.

• Many families are also not aware of how to eat healthy, or prepare healthy meals. There are a few nutrition education programs that target SNAP clients directly to teach them how to eat nutritious foods on a budget. St Josephs College and UConn nutrition education both actively work with SNAP recipients on this work. Foodshare is actively working with both programs to help families in need learn about healthy eating on a tight budget."

We told Krista that it had occurred to us that many struggling families lack the resources to thoughtfully plan meals or to take advantage of competitive pricing.  We then asked her if it was possible that some folks may begin their month with a full SNAP allocation and enjoy the immediate gratification of some "luxury food items" like steak or lobster, but poor planning may result in a lean pantry during the final days of the month and perhaps a trip to the local food shelter?

Krista promptly replied:

• "Like you mentioned . . . , some families very well may use their benefits in the beginning of the month to purchase more luxurious foods. Benefits for SNAP go on a client’s card the first or second day of the month. We hear from our agencies and from our mobiles that the end of the month is always busier because families have exhausted their SNAP allotment."

Our Reflections on the SNAP Hunger Awareness Challenge:


During our week-long exercise, Gary and I reflected that we were able to undertake this challenge because we are recently retired.   It would have been much more difficult with our very demanding jobs to take the time to research and plan meals, as well as to drive to more than one grocery store and make the meals from scratch.  When we were working, with many evening meetings and a "24/7" work schedule, we frequently used "ready-to-eat" food items or dined out.  We were also very aware during the Challenge week of the blessings in our lives and the riches that awaited us in OUR food pantry and freezer once the SNAP Challenge was over.  We know that struggling families live each day in quiet desperation - not knowing what the next day will bring.


Next Steps:


Next steps for us include a continued commitment of both awareness and advocacy for the needs of those who are less fortunate, especially those who experience hunger.  A long-time fan of Harry Chapin, Gary began his anti-hunger efforts during his first year of teaching when he organized a tribute to the recently deceased singer as well as a fast for hunger. A humanitarian and member of the President's Commission on World Hunger, Harry's legacy lives on through The Harry Chapin Foundation - dedicated to supporting "organizations that have demonstrated their ability to dramatically improve the lives and livelihood of people by helping them to become self-sufficient."

We will continue to donate to organizations like our local food banks and Foodshare

We will continue to share our research and recommendations regarding worthwhile organizations and activities, like the following:

CROP Hunger Walk

World Food Day - October 16th

For those of you who are especially interested in using "good, clean, and fair food" through CSA's or local farm stands, there is an interesting blog about "slow foods" (the opposite of "fast foods") sponsored by Slow Food USA  Their most recent blog reports on the White House's participation in both the Slow Food "$5 Challenge" and the "SNAP Challenge": White House participates in Food Challenges

Our next project is Tuesday, October 4th when Gary and I join volunteers from all over the Pioneer Valley in "Rebuilding Together - Springfield"!

Finishing the SNAP Challenge - How we Fared on the Budget

Home Again.

We actually finished the SNAP Challenge on Friday, September 16th, when we flew to Minnesota to be with family after Jahn's father died.  We spent almost a week there and returned with a renewed commitment to count our blessings, treasure our loved ones, and live purposeful lives.  Raising hunger awareness continues to be a priority for us, so we wanted to continue to share our experiences during a week of eating on $4.00 per person per day (Buying Groceries to Eat on $4/day or Less)

What Else We Ate on the SNAP Challenge

As mentioned earlier in the blog (Days 1 and 2 of SNAP Hunger Awareness Food Challenge) , we continued to eat simple breakfasts of generic oat cereal and coffee.  It was pretty boring and as the week went on, we definitely missed variety and "flavor."

Gary continued to eat ham and cheese sandwiches all week.  Jahn had plain tuna sandwiches twice (although she "borrowed" one of Gary's cheese slices once), then finished her remaining bananas and apples by mixing them with peanut butter on sandwiches. 

Dinners included leftovers from our first chicken crock pot meal (made with chicken thighs) and leftovers from our favorite dish - the pasta and tomato sauce sauce pictured below.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce - One of our Favorite Meals!

When it came time to make the second chicken crock pot meal, we realized that we hadn't bought enough chicken.  The chicken thighs were inexpensive, but they weren't boneless!  That meant a lot of extra work - deboning them - and a lot less actual chicken meat:-(  Consequently, we added lots of potatoes along with the carrots and celery.  We were grateful for the Bisquick mix so we could add dumplings to the crock pot:

Chicken & Dumplings in the Crock Pot

The chicken and dumplings tasted quite good, but more chicken and fewer potatoes would have been much nicer.  Also, while neither of us really like cooked carrots, we decided we should add them for nutrition and color:

Our Chicken & Dumplings Meal - Tasty, but lean on the Chicken:-(

Our 6th dinner was leftovers from the pictured crock pot meal, but our unexpected trip to Minnesota meant delaying the roaster chicken meal until after the Challenge.  Thus, we ended up "cheating" on our final dinner - we ate at the airport just before our flight.  This was NOT on the budget and while we "exchanged" the roaster chicken meal for the purchased fast food, we know that folks with limited resources would have struggled to either buy the last-minute plane tickets or dine out during their travels.

How did we do on the Budget?

Besides the dinner in the airport, we ended up cheating when Gary ran out of milk on the 5th day and we both ran out of the oat cereal before the week ended.  Had we been truly faithful to the rules, we would have allowed ourselves to experience hunger during those final breakfasts.  Instead, we raided the pantry and fridge and ate Raisin Bran and Cheerios.

So, our unspent $1.93 from the initial shopping trip was easily exceeded by the need for additional milk and cereal.

As noted above,  buying bone-in chicken thighs was really not a wise choice for the crock pot meals.  The "Chicken & Dumplings" was more like "Potatoes & Dumplings" with a little chicken on the side.

We managed to avoid eating between meals and confining our evening snacking to the Aldi popcorn.  One would think we would have lost weight, but we both pretty much maintained our usual weights.  As one can imagine, meals that are heavy on carbohydrates and not especially well balanced don't assist with dieting.  When we returned home from Minnesota last week, we were happy to plan and purchase healthier, more balanced and fulfilling meals!

Up Next: Responding to Criticism of the SNAP Federal Assistance Program . . . 

Finishing the SNAP Challenge

Death and life intervene for all of us.  Earlier this week, my dad (aged 89) died unexpectedly, and all of our energy moved into grieving and making preparations for a funeral.  Interestingly, we continued the SNAP Challenge.  It is easier during times of stress to do mindless tasks and the planned and purchased meals were actually a blessing.

Next week we will post our remaining photos and add our reflections about this experience.

Stay tuned. . . and peace.

Days # 1 and 2 of the SNAP Hunger Awareness Food Challenge

Our SNAP Challenge breakfast consists of generic oat cereal and coffee - definitely not as appealing as our usual Raisin Bran or Cheerios with berries.  But, it's fine.

Jahn's lunch is a peanut butter and cheese sandwich with 1/2 a banana, accompanied by some coffee left over from the morning and cold water.  Not bad.

Gary had his usual lunchtime favorite - ham and cheese sandwich (but with generic deli brands and our inexpensive 12 grain bread).  He also had water with his meal.

Last night we had one of our favorite pasta dishes - a simple tomato, onion, and butter sauce (look for photo when we have our leftovers).  Tonight we had our first slow cooker meal - chicken thighs with assorted vegetables, tomatoes, fresh herbs and chicken broth.  Pretty tasty all-in-all.  Some 12 grain bread and milk topped off the meal.

We discovered that the Aldi's brand of light popcorn is actually quite delicious! (Fit & Active Light Butter Microwave Popcorn).  This is our enjoyable evening snack:-)

What have been the biggest challenges for us?  While we have kept to the "rules," it has sometimes been difficult to confine ourselves to the food we purchased for the week - especially when we know there are much more interesting edibles in the pantry and freezer.  It also wasn't easy to walk past all of the free food samples at Costco yesterday and to confine ourselves to non-food purchases there.  Today we were at the Suffield Crafts Fair on the Green where there were lots of fun things to eat - but our resolve was strong.  Of course, we also know that better eating is less than a week away.  Not the case with those who are less fortunate:-(

Sharing our SNAP Challenge with others has resulted in some interesting reactions and questions.  Some friends expressed skepticism about the $28/week per person for food stamp program participants - relating their observations in the grocery store of carts full of shrimp, steak, and other "luxury" food items - what looked like much more than that dollar limit.  We couldn't respond at the time, so we did some research and confirmed the dollar estimate as well as the fact that each household's food stamp eligible allocation is deposited once a month into their Electronic Benefits Account - thus explaining how families might be buying a month's worth of groceries in one trip.  We also found an explanation regarding the foods that can be purchased with SNAP funds at the following site http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm: 

“Junk Food” & Luxury Items
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act) defines eligible food as any food or food product for home consumption and also includes seeds and plants which produce food for consumption by SNAP households. The Act precludes the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits:  alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption. Nonfood items such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, medicines and vitamins, household supplies, grooming items, and cosmetics, also are ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. 
 

	Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items
	Seafood, steak, and bakery cakes are also food items and are therefore eligible items
	Since the current definition of food is a specific part of the Act, any change to this definition would require action by a member of Congress. Several times in the history of SNAP, Congress had considered placing limits on the types of food that could be purchased with program benefits. However, they concluded that designating foods as luxury or non-nutritious would be administratively costly and burdensome.

  Another response that we have received from many folks is a general interest in how to save money on meal planning and food purchases.  Many families who do not meet the criteria for food stamp eligibility are struggling to make ends meet in the current economy.  We have several friends who are unemployed and having difficulty finding work.  More and more of our acquaintances are taking advantage of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs and other local cooperatives that provide healthy food at reasonable prices.  So, while the SNAP Challenge is focused on hunger awareness, the implications for this effort may be much more far reaching. . .

Buying Groceries to Eat on $4/day or less!

Gary and I decided to accept the SNAP Challenge for Hunger Awareness from Foodshare (CT) and to follow the posted rules (http://site.foodshare.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SNAP_Challenge):

• Each person should spend only $28 on food and drink per week. 
• All food purchased and eaten in this time must be counted in total spending, this includes dining out. 
• During the challenge, do not eat any food previously purchased. 
• Avoid accepting free food from family, friends and coworkers during the week since these opportunities would not be available for the general public. 
• Get your kids involved in the project by informing them of what you are eating and why, but do not restrict their budget. 
• Eat as healthy as possible, keeping in mind that this is how many people eat every day, whereas you can make up for lost nutrients next week. 
• Keep track of how you spend money on food during the week and your daily impressions of the experience on a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or your town’s newspaper. Send your blog to Foodshare. 
• Share your experience with anyone that you come in contact with. Let them know what you are doing and encourage them to explore ways that they can take a stand against hunger.

We also decided that we would donate the money we saved to a local food shelter.

Since we wanted to eat as healthily as possible, we began by choosing recipes that seemed fairly nutritious as well as inexpensive.  Gary is quite a bit "choosier" about his food selections, so we made different lunch choices but agreed on the breakfast and dinner options.

We usually eat cereal for breakfast, so we decided to buy one generic cereal for both of us.  We didn't want to waste the milk in our refrigerator, so we included the cost of the already-purchased milk in our total.  Since I was almost out of milk, I agreed to use some non-fat powdered milk for the week. We included coffee and creamer in our list.  We decided that we would confine ourselves to coffee and water for the week's beverages.

Lunch options included 2 loaves of bread (which we can also "snack on"), ham and cheese for Gary, and peanut butter for Jahn (I wasn't sure if the budget would allow for jelly).  I added some fresh fruit - 3 apples and 3 bananas for the week.

Our dinner choices were ones that we knew would allow for a second meal of leftovers: a simple pasta and tomato dish that we both like, and two crock pot chicken dinners (chicken and dumplings and low fat chicken and vegetable stew).  We figured we would probably have to buy chicken thighs for the slow cooker meals. For the 7th meal, we decided to buy hot dogs and see if we have enough money left for something heartier.  

Next we went online to check grocery prices for the week and settled on two stores: Aldi and Shop Rite.  We went to Aldi first to get whatever items were at or below our estimated costs.  We had great luck there with cereal, coffee, bread, packaged cheese, canned tomatoes, onions, butter, hot dogs and chicken broth, so we added two boxes of light microwave popcorn for snacking.  We got the remainder of our grocery list from Shop Rite and were able to add a Perdue oven roaster for our 7th meal.  (We can have the hot dogs for lunch if we want.) We also added a small box of Bisquick for the dumplings, which we had planned to make from scratch:-)

Our total for a week's worth of meals and snacks was $54.07 (or $27.04 per person).  That leaves us a whopping $1.93 for contingencies!  

I'm having lunch with a friend tomorrow, so we will begin the Challenge at dinner tomorrow night!

We have embarked on this adventure to support Foodshare in their efforts to increase hunger awareness and to personally experience hunger and deprivation for a very short amount of time.  We are blessed with the resources to eat well and in abundance every day and fully realize that we will not be able to actually feel the desperation that those without resources experience every day.  Our meals will include prayers of thanks for what we have and prayers of hope for those who "have not."

Who knows where this effort will lead us next?