Living the SNAP Challenge Was an Eye-opening Experience

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I just spent a week eating the most boring diet ever. (This may not be the literal truth, but don’t try telling my taste buds that!) For seven days I lived on shredded wheat and milk, peanut butter or tuna sandwiches and cheese omelets, with bananas and cantaloupe as fruit and a little bit of salad stuff for vegetables. No snacks or desserts, and most painful of all, no chocolate.

This wasn’t for my health or to lose weight; it was to experience firsthand what it would be like to live on the $4.20 per day allotted through food stamps, or what is now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

I participated in the local SNAP Challenge, which Utahns Against Hunger sponsors every year during October, Hunger Action Month. The challenge “provides an opportunity for participants to experience how difficult it is for families living on SNAP to simultaneously avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy with limited resources,” according UAH’s press release.

I’ll be more blunt about my experience: It was a week of complete boredom where food was concerned. Pared down to the basics, my diet contained nothing fun like dried cranberries in my salad or chips with my sandwich or dinner out with friends. I had enough to eat – there was only one day where I felt really hungry, and a $1 power bar took care of that – but I definitely felt deprived of food that I enjoy.

Just an example: For breakfast a couple of times a week I usually have a smoothie comprised of juice, yogurt, fruit and protein powder. Assuming I use the least expensive yogurt, juice and fruit, that smoothie would cost $1.40 – one-third of my entire day’s worth of food. By comparison, a bowl of shredded wheat with milk and a banana is about 50 cents, leaving me 90 cents to put toward the other two meals, which is why I had cereal every day last week.

That kind of math was required for everything I ate. At the Carmelite Fair, the least expensive item at the food booths was a $2.50 hotdog, so my lunch was a $1 chocolate chip/oatmeal cookie, and the only reason I had that dollar in my wallet was because I’d fasted one day.

My experience wasn’t unique. Carol Ruddell, who asked all her friends to join her in this year’s SNAP Challenge, said peanut butter sandwich lunches every day got old fast. We both complained that the $29.40 budget for the week left no room for splurges like a birthday cake. (Especially in her case: To bake a gluten-free cake costs about $7, she said; that’s almost two whole days’ worth of food!)

I mentioned to Carol that I found it strange that the challenge suggests turning down “free” food such as the fresh fruit our friends who have gardens offer, or the cookies people bring into the office. She pointed out that in our social circle this kind of food-sharing is common, but it’s not for many other people. For example, those who live in apartments, work low-paying jobs and have friends who are all in the same circumstances wouldn’t have garden produce and goodies to share – something I had never considered.

I also never knew these facts:

• To qualify for SNAP, a single person must have a monthly income of $1,287 or less; elderly/disabled households may have an income of $1, 634 (for a family of four, the amounts are $2,633 and $3,342);

• In Utah, about 53,000 Utahns are enrolled in SNAP;

• Of Utahns receiving SNAP, 52 percent are children, 12 percent are people with disabilities and 6 percent are senior citizens.

• In 86 percent of the Utah families receiving SNAP benefits, at least one adult was employed;

• While the federal average SNAP benefit is $4.20 per person per day, in Utah the average SNAP benefit is $3.85 per day per person;

• In Utah, the average SNAP household size is 2.5, meaning their monthly allotment would be $288.

Completing the SNAP Challenge made Carol and me realize just how privileged we are when it comes to food. Typically, neither of us thinks twice about our daily dose of Starbucks (her) or fine chocolate (me). Both of us missed our usual amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as well as the camaraderie of dining out with friends. (“Food sharing is an important part of our community,” she said.) We also gave thanks that we have regular paychecks that allow us to fill our pantries each week with food we enjoy and can afford without counting pennies.

What I experienced and learned during this past week has taught me the necessity of SNAP. As a single, healthy, fairly sedentary adult with no special dietary requirements, it was barely adequate to meet my needs. I can’t imagine how an active person, or anyone feeding a teenager, or someone with special dietary needs would be able to do so on that budget. The program will once again be in front of Congress for approval during the federal budget debate. I have already contacted my representatives to ask them to support it. I hope you will, too.

Sen. Mike Lee – 202-224-5444 or https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Sen. Orrin Hatch – 202-224-5251 or www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-orrin

Rep. Rob Bishop – 202-225-0453 or www.robbishop.house.gov/contact/zipauth.htm

Rep. Chris Stewart – 202-225-9730 or www.stewart.house.gov/contact/email-me

Rep. Mia Love – 202-225-3011 or www.love.house.gov/email-me/

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic.