(Editor’s note: Michael Hannigan and Jeff Weinstein have taken the SNAP Challenge, and are eating on the food stamps allowance of $4.80 per day.)
By Michael V. Hannigan
For those who are wondering, the SNAP Challenge is still going forward. Today (Thursday) is Day 4 for me and I am still on track and spending no more than $4.80 a day.
As for the actual food, this is what I’ve found: You can eat fine on $4.80 a day. So far this week, I’ve been eating eggs, bread, peanut butter, jelly, oatmeal, pasta, chicken, grapes, frozen mixed vegetables, tuna, and some potatoes.
You must plan, however, and cook. You can’t go through life the way many of us do, grabbing food through a take out window or microwaving something pre-made and frozen. You have to buy raw foods, make meals with planned leftovers, and you have to carry your lunch box.
You also have to eat portions like the doctors tell us and not like society tells us.
The truth is that we would all probably do a lot better if we followed those guidelines and cranked the money up to, say, $6 a day so that we can get better fresh veggies and fruit. … No, I’m not suggesting the SNAP benefit go up, I’m saying that many of us eat pretty badly when you think about it.
So I don’t have a big problem with the $4.80. It is enough to eat OK, but not so much that you can afford to go out and be splurging at the grocery store.
Other numbers are not so easy to quantify. The government says that the program has just 1 percent fraud, which is amazing. But opposition like Fox News claims that number is misleading because the government has put so many people on the program who don’t need to be there.
And for every story about a family able to pull itself up and become successful with the help of food stamps, there is a story about someone selling food stamps for cash, or buying alcohol.
So the debate comes down to the numbers you are inclined to believe from the beginning. It is not a good place to be.
