Congressional Food Stamp Challenge

My Experience on the Challenge

The challenge was presented to me, first as a tease, then once I thought about the real effect, experience, and knowledge it would give me, it was on.  I started by planning what foods were healthy, but less expensive and where to buy, I tried the closest market or food stores that offered fresh and some forms of sale items (by using coupons from the papers, computer, etc.) After I purchased my food, I had to be creative in cooking, (by the way, I'm a great cook, smile) the amount of what I would eat, then became an issue. I prepared for 4days (lunch and dinner). I would eat boiled eggs (yolk free) in the AM. Everything was fine, until Sunday, it was my sister's birthday and I took her out, something we planned in advance, before this challenge, so I have extended my time. The overall challenge has enlighten, created my awareness for the complete use for vitamins, and it has shown that having the ability to find ways to change my eating habits, helped eliminate access pounds, mission accomplish, I feel great. (I LOST 4lbs)  However, for those who are during this on a daily basis, more is needed, the knowledge of where to get fresh foods at low cost, convenience of locations, access to coupons for discounts, and increase the funds for food stamps.  This was a small eye-opening of the real challenge of the Food Stamp Program; can we afford not to do more?

--Valerie, Legislative Aide

Reflecting on the Week

The Food Stamp Challenge is over, and I made it through the week without cheating. I lost three pounds, triumphed over my addiction to Diet Pepsi (for the week only), and feel quite proud of myself.

 

Enough about me. Here are the lessons I learned:

 

Living on food stamps is not just about the food. It takes a lot of planning ahead to live on a food stamp budget, and still, even if you get the calories you need, you can’t get the nutrients. Maybe some nutrition expert can figure out how one can eat healthily on a food stamp diet, but I can’t see how it’s done. Fruits and vegetables, especially fresh ones, are very expensive relative to foods like pastas and bread.

 

Cooking makes the dollars go further. The chicken I roasted carried me through the weekend. I made chicken soup with ramen noodles to go with my chicken dinners and chicken salad for lunch. To be very honest, I almost never cook, except on special family holidays like Passover and Thanksgiving. One needs to know how to cook, must have the time to cook, and the oven to cook in. Low-income Americans who live in cheap motels, for example, may have neither refrigerators nor stoves.

 

My diet was pretty boring, though the chicken made it quite a bit better. Good thing I like chicken. Again, I’m sure someone with more skill in the kitchen and more time than I have, could plan more interesting meals.

 

I spoke with a radio talk show host today, who said that food stamps just increase dependency, that poor people should be taught a lesson, and that they should just stop having children. He also said that food stamps were just meant to supplement anyway, that kids get free meals at school, and that poor people should get their lazy selves off their couches and get a job.

 

I tried to keep my cool and countered that most of those families receiving food stamps had at least one and maybe two working adults in them, and even working full time at a low wage job put that family below the poverty level, and that, even if he was right, which he wasn’t, should the children be punished by sending them to bed or to school hungry or malnourished? I said it was in our interest to ensure a generation of healthy children if we want to be competitive in the world, and besides that it was a moral issue that in the wealthiest country in the world, tens of millions of people struggle to have enough to eat every day and many fail. Talk about clueless and cold, in my estimation, that guy was it. 

 

We are heading into summer vacation, which is a time of particularly high risk, since many children will not have access to the breakfast and lunch programs they receive during the school year. 

 

It’s clear to me that Congress must act and pass the provisions of Representatives Jim McGovern’s and Jo Ann Emerson’s Feeding America’s Families Act. I am grateful to them for inviting me to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge. Now I hope it will make more than a three pound difference.

Final Entry

Yesterday, Lisa and I ended our "food stamp challenge."  We did it because we wanted to raise awareness, to learn, and to pressure our colleagues in Congress to do more to make certain the food stamp benefit is adequate. 

Many of our colleagues were surprised to learn that the minimum benefit is $10 per month -- something that hasn't changed since the mid-1970's. Many were also unaware of the difficult choices so many in our country must deal with each and every day.  Some have told me that they themselves might undertake their own food stamp challenge.  I hope they do.  But, even more, I hope they'll vote to improve the program and other nutrition initiatives.

This afternoon I am meeting with the leaders of several non-profits that work to fight hunger.  These organizations are on the front line in the battle against hunger -- and I am eager to partner with them in support of legislation (HR 2129) to better fund food stamps and other nutrition programs.

Although these federal programs are vitally important in the battle against hunger, I also am aware of the need to better support our nation's food banks and local anti-hunger initiatives.  I have learned a great deal about effective ways to make sure people have adequate nutrition from my own local food bank -- the Worcester County Food Bank.

Finally, Lisa and I are grateful for all the comments, advice and suggestions that so many people have given us.  It has been inspiring -- and it has given me hope that we can actually get something positive accomplished.

One more thing, please make sure that your Congressperson or Senator is active on these issues.  Make it a point to e-mail, write or call them.  Ask them to cosponosor HR 2129.  Tell them your own stories.  Don't let them off the hook.  Remember, we work for you -- not the other way around!

Stay in touch....

   Major provisions pf HR 2129:

• Raise the minimum benefit from $10 to about $30 per month so that everybody who qualifies for the program gets a real help up
• Peg benefits to inflation to stop the erosion of the purchasing power of food stamps
• Restore eligibility to all legal residents
• Raise the asset limits for eligibility so that families on food stamps are encouraged to save for college and retirement
• Allow families to deduct the full cost of childcare when determining their eligibility

you still have a voice

Today ended the food stamp challenge.  Of course, I'm grateful to have more food, more choices, more freedom.  It's nice not to worry if we have enough food left for dinner.  But there is plenty of worry left for the millions of people whose situation didn't end this morning.  I want you to know that Jim and I  read your stories, heard your desperation and frustration and took it all to heart.  And I want you to know, our commitment to helping does not end with the challenge.  That commitment has only been strengthened and re-energized, thanks to you.

The food stamp challenge was for a week, but we're in fight for the long haul. I know Jim has been fighting to make sure people's basic food needs are met since he was elected and will continue to do all can he can make sure the spotlight shines there and stays there.  This is just one attempt of many to increase the awareness and understanding of decision makers and the public at large. I glad it had some success in getting people to stop, think, talk and comment.

Hunger in America is real.  People are hurting and need help.  Yes, hunger is only one piece of the problem of deprivation, but it's one we can solve.

Thanks again for your stories, advice and wisdom.  We'll continue to read them in the days ahead so I hope you'll feel free to continue to post. 

Washington Post
Pangs of Hunger -- and Bit of Guilt

By Lyndsey Layton
May 22, 2007

A pork chop and a bag of peanuts proved too tempting for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), one of four members of Congress who has struggled for the past week to subsist on $21 worth of food -- the equivalent of benefits received by the average food stamp recipient.

Last Friday night, in New Hampshire to deliver a commencement speech, Ryan succumbed to a pork chop in the hotel restaurant because he feared he would otherwise be too weak to give the address.

Afterward, as he rushed to catch a flight back to Washington, airport security officials confiscated jars of peanut butter and jelly from his carry-on luggage, leaving him with nothing but a small bag of cornmeal to eat in the final days of the "Food Stamp Challenge," which ends today.

"It just showed me that when you're living on food stamps, you're really one event away from disaster," he said. "If you drop a jar of sauce or jam, you can lose an opportunity to eat. Some people are constantly living on that edge."

So yesterday, in the Cleveland airport on his way back to Washington from a funeral, Ryan bought a bag of peanuts. "I feel bad I couldn't do it the whole time, but I certainly got the point," said the lawmaker, who lost four pounds during the week and ended his test early, with dinner at a Washington restaurant last night.

He said he came away with two lessons: He made some poor choices when he shopped for the $21 worth of food, and the country's food stamp program is not sufficient for the 26 million Americans who rely on it.

Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), co-chairmen of the House Hunger Caucus, called on lawmakers to join them in taking the challenge to raise awareness of hunger and what they say are inadequate benefits for food stamp recipients. Only Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Ryan took them up on it.

"I've been a little low on energy, but I feel guilty about complaining about anything," said McGovern, who took the challenge with his wife; each lost about five pounds. "For us, this is an exercise that ends Tuesday. For millions of people, this is their life."

McGovern said he faced down many temptations at several receptions and fundraisers -- the duck rolls, the crab cakes, the red wine. "Every time I thought, 'I wish I could have that scallop wrapped in bacon,' at the back of mind I thought, 'Why are you complaining? This is the way people live every day,' " he said.

McGovern and Ryan kept blogs about their experiences and received hundreds of comments from people nationwide, including food stamp recipients who offered recipes and tricks to stretch meals.

"I was so deeply touched by the comments," said McGovern's wife, Lisa. "I was even struck by the angry remarks. One person was dismissive, but he gave a recipe for a biscuit. That was remarkable. . . . It showed me there are people out there who are struggling and it's neighbors and friends. You don't have to look to some faraway place to see it."

McGovern and Emerson have introduced legislation that would add $4 billion to the annual federal food stamp budget, which was $33 billion last year. The proposal could be incorporated into the new farm bill.

McGovern said yesterday that he had not given a lot of thought to what he will eat today as he returns to his more typical diet. "I want a cup of coffee -- or five," he said. "Just probably something that doesn't require a lot of preparation. And not lentils. I've had enough lentils for three years."

Roll Call
May 22, 2007

No More Ramen. Lattes all around! The four House Members who ate for a week on the amount of funds that food-stamp recipients in their states receive are no doubt relieved that their week of eating frugally is over.

The exercise concluded last night, much to the relief of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who finished his week of lentil-eating a little lighter. “As of last Friday, he had lost three pounds in three days, “ spokesman Michael Mershon said. “He said he hasn’t been complaining because he knows he’ll be able to eat a really big breakfast Tuesday, unlike a lot of people on food stamps.”

Another hardship McGovern encountered: caffeine deprivation. The Massachusetts Democrat could afford only a small package of joe on his $42 food budget, which included food for himself and his wife, Lisa. It was enough for two cups on Saturday and two cups on Sunday, but the java-addicted (and who on the Hill isn’t?) Congressman had to do without all week, since the rules of the challenge prohibited him from partaking of any free food, including the gratis coffee available in most offices.

Other Members who tried out the food-stamp diet included Reps. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). McGovern and Emerson are sponsoring legislation to boost the amount set aside for the food-stamp program when the farm bill is reauthorized this summer.

the end of the week... and the food

I'm happy to report we got through the weekend.  Saturday was long... we walked our kids from where we live in Southeast Washington, DC to Chinatown in Northwest so we could take them to the movies (which, as many of you have rightly pointed out, would not be an option if we were carrying this challenge to all the other expenses in our lives.  Still, it was hard hearing everyone around us munch the buttery smelling popcorn). The walk there and home was long and tiring on limited food.  And as we passed by the sidewalk cafes, we noticed with fresh eyes people leaving half their food on their plates.  As we passed people walking the streets, waiting at bus stops--I thought considered: could they be one of the millions living on a $3 a day for food? After the movie, we walked around a book store and I poured plastic cups of water from the pitcher in the cafe for Jim and myself. 

As I've said previously, I work for a nonprofit that focuses on cancer prevention.  Maybe that's part of the reason why I think it's important to provide people who need a hand up with enough food.  I'm very practical.  I believe that if we as a society don't invest adequate resources to prevent hunger, we'll end up paying those costs on the flip side when illnesses occur.  And I think there is a prevention piece in terms of societal stress as well.  People unable to meet their basic hunger needs can become desperate and angry, resulting in acts of desperation that effect us all.  So even if one doesn't support adequate food allowances because it's the right thing to do, perhaps they might agree it is the smart thing to do.

I do look forward tomorrow when we return to a life with more freedom and choice with respect to our eating.  But I believe what I have learned and felt is part of me now and I will be more mindful of how I eat and grateful for what we have. 

Boston Globe

Lawmaker cuts budget to $3 a day
Rep. McGovern tries eating on average food stamp benefit

WASHINGTON -- US Representative James P. McGovern pushed his grocery cart along the aisle at Safeway in southeast D.C., pausing for an agonizing moment in front of the coffee. Safeway brand, the cheapest, is three bucks a can. "This gets my juices running in the morning," he said. Into the cart it went.

And out of the cart it came. He decided he could not afford it. Instead he headed for dairy, where he selected a large package of shredded cheese, on special for $3.50. It would help stretch his meals for the week.

Normally when he shops at Safeway, McGovern, 47 and a Worcester Democrat, throws things into the cart regardless of price. He is not a food stamp recipient who shops deliberately, mindful of every nickel. Except for this week.

From breakfast last Tuesday morning (a banana and tap water) to dinner Monday night (whatever he has left), the Democrat from Worcester is eating on a total of $21, or $1 per meal. Nationally, the average monthly food stamp benefit in fiscal 2005 was $94.05, or about $3 a day, according to the US Department of Agriculture. (It ranged geographically from $76.39 in Wisconsin to $163.85 in the US territory of Guam.)

McGovern's point is that the allocation is inadequate and forces the poor to make impossible choices among food, rent, heat, gasoline, and healthcare. He and Jo Ann Emerson, a Missouri Republican, cochair the House Hunger Caucus and are trying to raise awareness among their brethren and the public as the Farm Bill comes up for reauthorization this summer. The food stamp program is included in the bill, and the duo has asked that $4 billion be added to the current $33 billion budget that covered 26 million recipients last year, 430,000 of them in Massachusetts. Under the bill, a family of four would get an additional $48 a month.

"We want to urge or shame Congress into doing the right thing," McGovern said as he entered the Safeway market. "Thirty-six million people are what is called 'food insecure.' That's something we should all be ashamed of in the richest country in the world."

McGovern is a big guy: 6 feet, 188 pounds. He has a healthy appetite. He loves red wine and desserts. Every day he gets a candy bar from the vending machine. "I love food," he said. "Everything."

At Safeway, he was joined by his wife Lisa, who is also taking the challenge. Together they had $42 to spend. (Their two young children will not be on the food stamp diet.)

They were accompanied by expert shopper Toinette Wilson, a single mother of three on food stamps who is earning a cosmetology license. Wilson offered tips: Buy bags of pasta, rice, and frozen vegetables.

The McGoverns bypassed chicken breasts and got a cut-up chicken for $7.32. They skipped the lean ground beef they usually buy for a cheaper, fattier cut.

Should they get the bag of brown rice for $2.79 or the white for $2.19? They splurged on the brown. Should they buy butter? No, they could not afford it.

Then there's the coffee question. He wanted it but felt guilty. She encouraged him: "If you're going to be miserable all week . . ."

In the end, it was McGovern staff member Michael Mershon who saved the day by putting a small packet in the cart for $1.55.

Lisa headed for the checkout line while her husband dashed off with another cart for their last supper that night before their lean cuisine begins the next morning. He bought steaks, asparagus, tomatoes, and a bottle of pinot noir.

At the register, the total for the week comes to $41.70 -- 30 cents under their food stamp allotment.

The total for that night's dinner for them and their two children: $44.

At home in southeast Washington, he broiled the steaks, sauteed the asparagus, and sliced the tomatoes.

The next morning, McGovern rose at 5 a.m. -- it's usually 6:20 -- to soak and boil lentils. He also made bacon and eggs for Patrick, 9, and Molly, 5, and packed a banana for breakfast and a bowl of lentils for lunch.

That night he was off to speak at a National Immigration Forum dinner at the posh Mayflower hotel. "No, thank you," he said, as waiters offered trays of endive with goat cheese and asparagus wrapped in phyllo. At the open bar, he asked for tap water.

Dinner was difficult: The tables bore baskets of rolls and trays of petite pastries. He waved off a waiter and glumly unwrapped a cheese tortilla Lisa brought him: It was gone in four gulps.

Wednesday: McGovern attended a breakfast fund-raiser in his honor at Bistro Bis in the Hotel George. While others ate eggs, bacon, potatoes, and sweet rolls, and drink freshly squeezed orange juice and "great-smelling coffee," he had a banana and water. At lunch he traded his lentils for Jo Ann Emerson's chicken salad, a good deal for him. At dinner he attended a Hillary Clinton fund- raiser at the Georgetown home of Elizabeth and Smith Bagley. The guests, except for McGovern, nibbled on duck and spring rolls, and then dined on soup, ravioli, crab cakes, chicken, and various breads and desserts. He ate nothing until, back at his office, the chicken and rice he brought from home that morning. ("The chicken was OK. The rice was gross -- soggy and cold.")

Walking home from his office at 9:30, he ran into several colleagues sitting out at sidewalk cafes. Would he join them, several asked. He wanted to, but declined. One friend jokingly inquired whether he would be sleeping on a grate that night.

Thursday: It was a banana again for breakfast. He and Lisa talked about how in the scheme of life, this week's menu was just a minor inconvenience. "We know that on Tuesday we can go crazy and eat whatever we want," he said. "Doing this week after week after week must be just awful."

He prepared his lunch: lentils and "a tiny chicken wing." In the evening, he attended an Oxfam America reception, skipping the hors d'oeuvres, and gave a speech about world hunger. Later, Lisa and the children brought dinner to his office: spaghetti made with the hamburger and a jar of tomato sauce.

Yesterday: McGovern wolfed the last banana for breakfast, chasing it with water. He was hoarding his packet of coffee for the weekend, which he expected to be particularly hard: more free time, little food left.

Lunch was leftover pasta; dinner was scrambled eggs with potato and cheese. He had lost three pounds in four days.

But he felt his forced diet had done some good. "Our point in doing this was to get attention, to get people talking, and to raise awareness," he said. "It was also for us to learn. That's happening."

Tuesday, when they're back to their old lives, Lisa will reach first for a Diet Coke. He's thinking of a "nice, grilled New York strip." And all the coffee he wants.

CNN Coverage of the Food Stamp Challenge

Watch CNN's interview with Congressman Tim Ryan on the Food Stamp Challenge

Speech on the Food Stamp Challenge

This morning, I gave a speech on the Floor of the House of Representatives about my experience taking the Food Stamp Challenge the past six days.  I have pasted it below.

"Today is my final day on the “Food Stamp Challenge,” an initiative where public officials eat for one week on a food stamp budget—21 dollars for the week – that’s three dollars a day, or one dollar per meal. This amount reflects the national average food stamp benefit.  

The purpose of the Food Stamp Challenge is to raise awareness of the crucial role the Food Stamp Program serves in the lives of 26 million Americans each month, including over 450,000 in my state of Massachusetts. Three of my esteemed colleagues –Representatives Jo Ann Emerson, Jan Schakowsky, and Tim Ryan – joined me in taking this challenge over the past week. Although we may be less energetic and perhaps crankier than when we started the challenge nearly a week ago, each of us has learned a great deal. 

Certainly, my wife, Lisa, and I have gained valuable insights from our experience on a very tight budget. We have much more sympathy over how the lack of energy and the hard choices on how to stretch the budget and put food on the table might also stretch one’s patience and stress a marriage.  We can imagine the worry and pain of parents if we had to feed our children on this kind of budget—these are just a few of our reflections over the past week.

 

Yet, truly, our most valuable lessons came from the scores of individuals who reached out to us to share their personal experiences struggling to put food on the table for their families. Whether they posted comments on our blog or called my office and spoke with my staff, these individuals taught Lisa and me about how hard-working Americans manage to provide for themselves and their families in spite of inadequate food stamp benefit levels. They talked about having to make tough trade-offs between paying utility bills, buying clothes for their children, addressing medical needs, and purchasing food. They also described the trade-off between eating to be healthy and eating to be full. These kinds of trade-offs are unfair and unacceptable.

 

America can and should do more for low-income individuals and families working hard to survive every day. One way we can do that is through the Feeding America’s Families Act, a bill I introduced earlier this month with my colleague, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson. The Feeding America’s Families Act would strengthen the Food Stamp Program to better meet the needs of low-income Americans. It raises the minimum benefit from 10 dollars a month—an amount that has not increased since the 1970s—to about 30 dollars a month. It also indexes current benefit levels to the rate of inflation, ensuring that the purchasing power of food stamps remains constant. Furthermore, because access to the Food Stamp Program should be the right of every lawfully-residing person in this country, the bill restores eligibility to all legal immigrants, a provision that was removed in 1996.

 

On Sunday, May 13^th, Mother’s Day, the New York Times editorial stated that “bolstering food stamps must be Congress’s top priority in this year’s farm bill.” I could not agree more, and my week on the Food Stamp Challenge has only strengthened my conviction. I encourage all my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 2129, Feeding America’s Families Act, and other legislative efforts to bolster and improve our federal hunger and nutrition programs. The cliché tells us that where there’s a will, there’s a way, but in this case, the way is very clear. The question is: do we have the political will? " "