SNAP Update: $4.80 a day isn’t all that bad

(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.

Tough day on SNAP

By Jeff Weinsetin

SNAP week update. Yesterday I was still in trial so didn’t get to the grocery store. No breakfast. At lunch, Michael Hannigan and I talked the restaurant into a bowl of tortilla soup for $4.50 including tax. Probably broke the rules by negotiating but you guys know that’s what I do. No dinner because I already went through the budget. Went to bed earlier than normal to avoid thinking about eating.

Jeff’s Day 1 experience

(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 Jeff Weinstein

First day of SNAP program. Michael Hannigan and I agreed to eat on $4.80 a day just as if we were on food stamps. We are doing this as part of National Hunger Month.

I’m in trial. Probably not the best day to start. No breakfast. Went to lunch but cheapest thing on the menu was over $5 so couldn’t order anything. Dinner at 9 p.m. was pasta noodles and tomato sauce. My planning will be better tomorrow – I hope.

SNAP Challenge: Day 1

(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

First day out of the gate, the world threw a curve ball at me. I wound up helping the boss with a trial in Palestine. Brown bagging it is one thing, doing it on the road without knowing where you can eat adds a new degree of difficulty.

On top of that, we had clients to deal with during the lunch break.Jeff and I wound up sitting in a restaurant drinking water while our clients ate. Of course, we told our clients about the Snap Challenge, so they understood.

But I feel for people who might get put in that situation. Jeff tried to find something on the menu he could eat and even asked the waiter if he could just have a small side salad, but even that cost too much.

I didn’t have the heart to remind Jeff that you can’t use food stamps in a restaurant, anyway.

The fun part is I have to go to Palestine again tomorrow.

Today’s food

Oatmeal … .20 cents
Two eggs …. .30 cents
4 rolls @ .25 …. $1.00
W/ PB&J ………… $1.00
Egg casserole (sausage on sale) …. $1.50
3 bananas (1 lb.) … .50 cents

Total $4.50

The dollar menu answer

Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov

By Michael V. Hannigan

As I begin the SNAP Challenge this morning I already have an observation. No conclusion yet, just an observation.

Nearly everybody says the same thing when I tell them what we are doing. Invariably, regardless of age or gender, everyone has said some variation of, “Time to hit the dollar menu.”

Some said it as a joke and some offered it as advice, but almost everyone had the same thought.

It appears that we have been trained like Pavlov’s pets to link the phrase “cheap food” to “dollar menu.” Kudos to the Mad Men of advertising.

Unfortunately, it is a really bad strategy that will leave me hungry and malnourished.

Think about it. The SNAP food stamps daily allowance is $4.80. Take that to any fast food restaurant that serves breakfast and you can get some type of egg sandwich and drink for $2 plus tax. At lunch, you can get some type of .99 cent burger and a drink for $2 plus tax. That should leave me about .50 cents for dinner and a need for around 1,500 calories … plus I’ve had no fruit and no veggies.

Maybe that’s why you can’t use the Lone Star Card, the Texas version of food stamps, at restaurants. So I believe I will be staying away from the dollar menus.

SNAP FACTS – Things that cannot be purchased with the Lone Star Card (source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission):

  • Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco;
  • Any non-food items (For example, pet foods, soaps, paper products, and household supplies);
  • Vitamins and medicines;
  • Food that will be eaten in the store;
  • Hot foods.