Still, as busy as it's been, I am so enthusiastic about every bit of knowledge I'm acquiring. I am trying to absorb as much information as I can in what seems to be very short periods of time (they make you read a lot in grad school). Blogging, as I predicted, has taken a back seat to everything else in my life, sadly. I feel like I've ignored an old friend, or neglected a pet to make way for a new baby.
However, I am so, so happy to announce that I have a reason to come back and post on a daily basis. Well, at least for 7 days. One of my first ever assignments as a social-worker-in-the-making is to participate in something called the Food Stamp Challenge. Basically I have to live on the amount equal to the average Food Stamp benefit for one whole week. Part of the assignment is to blog about my experience on a daily basis, which I will be sharing with you right here!
I'll be posting a ton of details next week, but for now the basics:
- For a single person (Jason didn't want to do it with me, so he'll be taunting me with meals from our CSA share all week), the average Food Stamp benefit is about $31 a week.
- This breaks down to just $4.42 a day, or $1.47 per meal.
- I am not allowed to eat free food at social events, work, meals offered to me by friends or any food that I already have in my fridge/pantry (although I can use spices for cooking).
- Things could change, but I really hope to be able to focus around eating healthy in a food desert, shopping at farmers markets, etc.
I'm going into this with the awareness that I have a clear amount of resources that many of those who actually need Food Stamps do not. I have reliable transportation, no kids, a well-stocked kitchen, and a generally great support system all around. In addition, while Jason and I are often faced with tough financial choices due to a tight budget, I do not have the increased burden of trying to figure out how I will feed myself or my family on a weekly basis, or the psychological effect that burden can have on a person. This is only for 7 days. For most of the week, I will digress on these obvious advantages, but please know that they are not lost on me.
In other words, I will likely go through the week maintaining my normal sense of humor (Hooray!), however if I am forced to down Ramen noodles 3 times a day I could get cranky. We'll see.
I'll be sharing a lot next week, but if you feel like doing your homework this weekend (as I will be doing), check out the SNAP website (that is, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, not the other SNAP).
4 comments:
Good luck! I haven't tried the challenge personally, but have a couple of possibly useful tips from tight money times:
-Try not to focus on cost/meal or individual meals - make something like a big pot of beans, beans & rice, or chili that is relatively cheap and will last for several days.
-Don't plan on buying a lot (or any) fruit or fruit juice, or drinking a lot of milk.
-Hillbilly Housewife has some emergency menu plans - http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm - not everything is particularly appetizing, but you might be able to pick a couple of things (like the lentil chili).
Thank you!
I will totally check out Hillbilly Housewife. I'm a terrible cook. I keep thinking back to my post-college-still-single days when dinner was a bowl of pasta cooked in cream of broccoli with a can of tuna. Man, add a little parm on top and I thought I was a gourmet chef.
I can use all the help I can get.
Sooo.....how dose booze fit into your budget? :-)
Eeeeexcellent question. I hate to say it, but I will probably have to abstain from tasty alcoholic beverages. Although if I somehow manage to have leftover funds I might just celebrate with a 24oz can of light beer.
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