Congressional Food Stamp Challenge

Congresswoman Lee: Finishing the Challenge

Friday, I had grits and toast for breakfast, crackers and a banana for lunch and two hamburgers from White Castle ($.51 apiece) for dinner.

On Saturday, I skipped breakfast.  We held a press conference at the Discount Grocery in Berkeley, which is one of the few places where people on a low budget can get some nutritious food.  I bought a small container of chicken and dumplings, an apple, a can of tuna, a box of macaroni and cheese and a can of turnip greens (total $2.25).  I had the chicken and dumplings for lunch and skipped dinner.

Sunday I skipped breakfast and lunch and made a macaroni and tuna casserole, with greens on the side, for dinner and half a can of peaches for dessert.

Monday morning I finished the peaches and had an apple raisin and carrot bar (purchased Sunday $1.40) on the plane back to D.C.  For dinner it was two bean burritos.

When I finished the challenge it was a relief, but not as much as I had imagined at first.  As the days went on, I found that I became less hungry, or maybe more accustomed to being hungry.  My first meal after the challenge ended was a tuna sandwich, which was good, but I found I was not all that hungry.  The same is true with other things, like coffee.  During the first few days, I missed my regular lattes (I even got headaches from the caffeine withdrawal), but by the end of the week I had completely forgotten about it.

One thing I have noticed, however, is how conscious of the price of food I have become. I bought a plate of fruit at the cafeteria, and and I ended up paying $3.50 for 14 little piece of fruit, which is outrageous!  I am definitely more conscious of how much food costs and how much money is wasted on food by those not on a limited budget.

I know I mentioned before that, having had this experience I can see how people forced to eat on such a budget could develop health problems, but I am certain that the stress of worrying about how to afford to eat is part of it.  I have no problem imagining that people on food stamps could get high blood pressure just worrying about how to budget their food expenses.

In closing, I want to thank everyone who tuned in to read about my experience.  Obviously, this isn't about me, it's about raising awareness about hunger in the richest country in the world, and it is about building support for a Farm Bill and a Food Stamp Program that reaches more of the people in this country who are hungry and provides them with more than just $1 per meal.

Congresswoman Lee: Day Four

Day Four:

Dinner - Chicken thigh and rice (with hot sauce from Taco Bell) and a can of peas
Breakfast - A bowl of grits and a piece of toast
Lunch - A banana and crackers

This is such an unhealthy diet.  I am trying to eat the most healthy food I can afford, but I have no problem imagining how someone eating like this could quickly develop diabetes or high cholesterol.  And with all these carbs, I can see how easy it would be to gain a fair amount of weight.

Last night I chopped up the last of my chicken thighs and mixed it with some rice.  I added some hot sauce from Taco Bell and it tasted pretty good.  I should also say that I have never, in my entire life, eaten an entire can of peas, but I did last night.  So much sodium!  It was more food than I needed, but with my travel schedule I'm going to have to go a long time between meals.  I saved my last banana and the remainder of the crackers for lunch on the plane this afternoon.

Congresswoman Lee: Day Three

Day Three:

Breakfast - 1 bowl of grits and a banana
Lunch -  beef soft taco from Taco Bell ($.79)

It's hard to concentrate for any length of time on anything except food.  I don't know how people with no money for decent meals do anything - study, work, exercise, read, have fun, etc.  It's all about just making it through the day.  I don't have to worry about my kids like I did when I was in college and on food stamps and like so many women do now.  I only have four more days to go, and there are millions of people with no end in sight, who are permanently in this survival mode.

I have been thinking about green vegetables all day, and I wanted to get a taco, because it would have lettuce and cheese.  I was in a meeting and by the time I was able to eat my taco, it was cold.  I can't stand cold food, but let me tell you, even cold it tasted good.

I can't wait to get back to California.  A friend told me that he knew a place where I can get greens for $.88 a bunch.  If I am lucky I can find a ham hock to cook with them if I budget these last dollars right.

Congresswoman Lee: Day Two

Last night I made 2 burritos and ate some crackers.  I baked 4 chicken thighs and froze 2 for next week.
Today I ate a bowl of grits and a slice of toast for breakfast, a chicken sandwhich for lunch (made at home) and 4 crackers around 5p.m.  Tonight, I will eat another chicken thigh, some rice and some peas.

Before I decided what to cook or eat or freeze last night I spent a long time thinking about making this food last for a week and how not to run out of food and money.  I was literally counting crackers!  It sounds funny, but honestly it was very stressful trying to figure out how to stretch this food.  It is very painful to think of all the people in the U.S. who have to live like this - so much time and energy is taken up just thinking about how to survive.  It's no way to live in the wealthiest country in the world.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Joins the Food Stamp Challenge

My name is Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and I represent California's Ninth Congressional District, and today I began the Food Stamp Challenge.  Over the next seven days, I will live on $21 worth of food, the average weekly benefit for a food stamp recipient.

In my district, there are approximately 65,000 people enrolled in the food stamp program, which is a lot of people, but less than half of all who are eligible.  Nationally, the program helps more than 26 million low-income people purchase food for themselves and their families.  It's designed as a safety net to help ensure people have access to food during difficult times, and the majority of people leave the program within nine months.

There are several things participants in the challenge hope to achieve.  We want to raise the visibility of hunger in the United States.  There are approximately 35 million people in our country for whom food insecurity is a daily reality.  We want to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by low income people in obtaining a healthy diet (I will describe some of my experiences with this at the supermarket today below).  Finally, we want to build support for improving benefits and access to the food stamp program, which is due to be reauthorized this year as part of the Farm Bill.

Today, I went to the store to buy groceries, and this is what I ended up buying:
2 cans of beans
1 can of peas
1 box of crackers
1 bag of brown rice
1 package of chicken thighs
1 package of tortillas
1 loaf of wheat bread
1 box of grits
2 bananas
Total: $13.37

I was struck by how hard it is to eat in a healthy manner on a tight budget. I had to put the apples back because they were too expensive.  Whole wheat tortillas were twice as expensive as flour.  I got grits instead of oatmeal, and I could not afford to get some of the things I eat every day, like nuts, juice or coffee (even instant coffee was $4 per container!).

My gameplan for today was to skip breakfast and go to McDonalds for lunch, where I got a McChicken sandwich for $1.10 and picked up some free condiments.

So far, so good, although I am already ready for a snack.  I will continue to update you on my progress.