Ceasar Mitchell Takes the SNAP Challenge, Tries to Live Off $1.40 per Meal

Dear Friends,

Last week Tiffany and I participated in a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) challenge.  The goal was to spend a week staying within the daily food budget of SNAP benefit recipients, which averages about $1.40 per meal, per person.

While we were able to eat healthy food that tasted good, we quickly learned the need to stick to a budget.  As you can see, portion sizes remained small in order to ensure that we made our food dollars stretch. We ate little packaged food due to the expense and gave up snacks. The sacrifices that were made to keep us within our budget were difficult. And meals fell short of completely satisfying our hunger. What impacted me most is the fact that this is a daily routine for millions of people across the nation.

The state of Georgia has approximately 1,918,247 participants in the SNAP program. And the average monthly benefit is less than  $133.07 per person. Sadly, nationwide, more than 21 million children (more than 1 in 4) live in a household that receives SNAP benefits. 

While Tiffany and I only participated for a week, we found it difficult to make our food allowance last. We experienced what many SNAP household experiences on a monthly basis; their benefit allowance runs out before the end of the month. This forces families to choose between paying for food and paying other household necessities.

As you may have heard, the 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary increase in SNAP benefits ended on November 1, 2013, resulting in a cut to monthly allotments. The cut reduces the monthly expenditure to all SNAP households, 87 percent of which include children, seniors, or people with disabilities. A household of three, such as a single mother and her two children, will lose $29 dollars a month, the equivalent of about 16 meals.  This further exasperates the issue of hunger, especially among our nation’s children who need access to healthy food to do well in school.  

I encourage you to take a SNAP challenge for yourself to better understand the challenges faced by SNAP families. Visit http://feedingamerica.org/get-involved/hunger-action-month/snap-challenge.aspx to get information on setting up your own SNAP challenge.  Feel free to email me, or join me on Facebook or Twitter to share your experience.