Representative Kalin,
Would you be willing to participate in a statewide food stamp challenge?
From June 25-29, the Minnesota Partners to End Hunger are inviting all Minnesotans to eat on an average $3 per day food stamp budget (to raise awareness about food stamp funding in the federal Farm Bill).
If you would be interested in participating for a few days or even the full five days, we'd love to highlight your experiences on our website or with the media. Here's the site: http://www.mnfoodstampchallenge.blogspot.com/
Best,
Jessica XXXXXXX
Intriguing? Challenging? Set your mind a-whir? It sure did for me. I could re-post all the linky's and such from the blogspot site, but it's so good, I suggest you mosey on over there and get it first-hand.
My first day experience:
Day 1 snuck up on me. Last weekend was filled with a lot of family time and wedding prep. Some of my fiancee's family came in town, as did my cousin, for a shower - thus I didn't have much time to prepare for today.
When I first received the invitation to participate, I set to my mind to figuring out just how one could ever try to make it on 3 bucks a day. Natural foods or fresh produce are likely out of the question, save for homegrown items. I am thankful for home-laid eggs that's for sure!
$3 a day is tough enough on a family with regular meal times. It looks to be even tougher on someone who spends a lot of time on the go, or on the road.
I've learned that others taking the challenge may have received some ground rules or rules of thumb. I did not, so I made up my own based on common sense and some basic assumptions. All of my self-imposed ground rules are based on the notion that were I on food stamps I'd be pretty innovative in making it work. Please feel free to disagree...
I decided to grab any coffee, cookies, or other snack food when offered - but only once a day, as being a legislator probably offers more opportunity than the lay person. I also said that homegrown foods were 'off budget' except for the cost of raising the food. This year that's limited to eggs, as I have no garden right now and no venison in the freezer. I decided to use any coupon or other savings option, within reason as well. I also will count coffee expenses, though I may wish I traded a pound of ground beef for the caffeine headache come Thursday.
So today, I delayed breakfast until it was too late. I ended up using a caribou coffee $4 gift card I got at a dinner last night to get a cup of coffee, for no cash out of pocket. Thankfully caffeine suppresses hunger a bit, as that was my whole morning intake.
Noontime was spent at a Transportation speech by my Congressman Jim Oberstar. I grabbed coffee along with a chocolate chip cookie, a peanut butter cookie and an oatmeal cookie. Yes, I chose the cookie varities strategically but I did wait until it was obvious no one else was going to eat any more of them.. Again, no cash required. $15 still left for the week.
After an open house at the new County Human Services building - where I skipped the snacks - I finally got really hungry. On my way to an evening meeting, I stopped at McDonalds to take advantage of the cheapest protein I could grab quickly : a double cheeseburger for the low low price of $1.07. It is surprisingly satisfying, but that may be due to the 44 oz ice water I got for free.
At the evening meeting, dinner was served, and it sure did smell good. But the $15 would blow my whole budget for the week. A staff member at the meeting gave me some advice based on her experience living off food stamps years ago. It all hit home for me when she mentioned the guilt of having to look into the pleading eyes of her young kids at the dinner table.
State Senator Tony Lourey was also at the meeting and is also taking the food stamp challenge. We shared strategies and hot bargains at the store. He's got a family of five, so our experience is very different. I was curious about my grocery shopping experience to come later.
I shopped at the Cub Foods in Cambridge, on my way home. Unfortunately, I was quite hungry at this point - not a good idea with a very limited budget. At first, I had an easy time putting together a full basket: Romaine lettuce @ 1.29, white bread @ 1.69, rice @ 1.13 and beans @ .97, tortillas @ .99... Protein. Carbs. Greens. Good to go for several meals, at just over 6 bucks... Not bad.
I added 21 oz. of spaghetti noodles for 1.00, and generic sauce for 1.59. Some peas and corn in a can for a total of .88 and I had a heavy basket for about 10 bucks. On to some meat-y protein. I grabbed two cans of tuna for 98 cents and a pound of ground beef for 2.50 (a splurge, I know, but I need real meat during these 5 days).
Then, to some hamburger helper. It had to be generic, but almost all the boxes required about a half a cup of milk. I am making a bad choice, I know, but I am forgoing fresh dairy these five days. I think I could have found room for milk, but it's no wonder that a lot of America is in a dairy deficit in their diet. Without milk, I chose the hamburger helper that only requires water. Plus, I saved 49 cents on the box - just 1 dollar.
A decent 5-day basket of food for about 13 or 14 bucks. So I thought long and hard about the things I'd like to have: Milk. Cheese. Yogurt. All too expensive. But the best way to make the day's diet go further is a big breakfast. With a plethora of rice, beans and eggs, I could make a great morning meal. Add a tortilla and I'm almost there. Even on an unlimited budget, my guilty pleasure is hash brown potatoes in the morning. I grabbed a big bag for 1.50.
The last thought was a snack. I've always loved smack-ramen for a snack. Two of the packs even make a halfway decent meal. 5 of them, for 70 cents.
I got to the register, and found myself about 65 cents over budget. I handed back the fresh lettuce. I now regret it. The fresh lettuce would go so much farther for taste and crispness than would the canned corn and peas. Bad move.
I also could have gotten rice and beans at the bulk price and only gotten what I needed for the 5 days. I probably could have snagged a quart of milk at this price. Instead, I am thinking about snagging 5 or 6 of those free 1/2 and 1/2 fresh creamers and mixing it without an equal amount of water in a bottle, and wham - instant milk with real dairy.
Dinner was pasta, sauce, corn and peas. I am a little hungry but not bad. I now have another meal of the same ready to go in the fridge. I also have two meals of the hamburger helper with ground beef in the fridge, and a fresh pot of both rice and beans. For the helper, I actually reserved a quarter of a pound or so of beef for a surprise burger late in the week.
I am definitely looking forward to my huevos rancheros breakfast with hash browns, without the cheese of course.
Day 1...
Breakfast: 0.
Lunch: 1.07.
Dinner: 0.93.
(33 cents of pasta, 40 cents of sauce, 20 cents of peas and corn)
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