As we try to fully understand the impact of poverty in our country, it’s important to understand what it must be like for low-income individuals to survive each day. To do that, let me ask you a question – could you eat all of your meals on approximately $4 a day?
More than 45 million people in our country have no choice but to do just that. That equates to more than 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 4 children. These families are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps. For millions of families, food stamps are their sole means of putting food on the table. And for a growing number, this program is their only source of income.
Although the federal government oversees the program, it is run through the states. Awards differ based on where you live and certain requirements, such as number in your household, income, assets, number of children and seniors, and so forth. So, residents in New York may get a higher monthly allotment than folks in a rural city in Idaho. Awards generally range from about $21 a week to $32 a week per person. If you’re at the high end of that scale, you might think you’re lucky. But consider that even at $32 a week, that’s only $4.57 per person per day. Most of us spend that much on a single trip to McDonald’s.
Families living on SNAP struggle to incorporate healthy, nutritious food into their meal plans. Good food is expensive and sometimes doesn’t fill you up, so families must rely on “bulk” foods. Many families run out of money by the end of the month. What do they do? Go to the local food bank or community supper.
Taking the Food Stamp Challenge is becoming a popular way around the country to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” Most recently, Mayor Cory Booker (Newark) spent a week eating as if he was living on food stamps. He tweeted that when he burned a yam, he had to make a choice – eat the burned yam or go hungry for the day. That’s not a choice.
Chris O’Connell, from Fox News in Philadelphia, also did the food challenge and wrote on his blog, “Last night I went to bed hungry. I can’t ever remember a time that has happened. In a small way I am beginning to understand real hunger. Wanting to eat but not having the means.” He went on to say, “Today I took inventory of my remaining food left for the week and I … may not have enough breakfast food to last. Only three bananas and two containers of yogurt are left … a real reminder of the challenges people on food stamps go through …”
Yes, it is a challenge, and so here’s my challenge to you – go to the Internet and Google living on food stamps. You’ll find story after story of individuals who have taken the Food Stamp Challenge and the lengths they’ve had to go to make it work. It’s inspiring and disheartening all at the same time, because you realize that people who really are living on food stamps are forced to make choices most of us never think about – “I have $1.31 left for the week. Do I have enough to buy hamburger, or do I stick with peanut butter and jelly? Maybe I can only get a can of beans.”
We live in the richest country in the world. As a testament, our obesity rate is soaring and we throw more food away than we know what to do with. It begs the questions, why then are so many of us going to bed hungry?
For contact information on local nonprofits who could use your help in meeting basic hunger needs in our area, visit the foundation website at www.rentonfoundation.org>Community>Local Services.
Lynn Bohart is executive director of the Renton Community Foundation. She can be reached via email at lbohart@rentonfoundation.org.
FOOD RESOURCES
• Emergency Feeding Program
575 Rainier Ave. N.
• Salvation Army Renton Rotary Food Bank
206 S. Tobin St., Renton
• St. Vincent de Paul/Renton
314 S. Fourth St., Renton
• Rotary First Harvest
1201 First Ave. S., Seattle
• Northwest Harvest
711 Cherry St., Seattle
• Sustainable Renton
chris_conkling@yahoo.com
