Minnesota's Food Stamp Challenge

Food Stamps are good medicine.

2007-07-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Diana Becker Cutts, M.D., is a staff pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota.

Food Stamps Help Kids Lead Healthy & Productive Lives

Too many children are hungry in a state that helps feed the world.

If you think childhood hunger is something seen only in places like Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region or drought-stricken Kenya, think again. At Hennepin County Medical Center, as the Minnesota lead investigator for the Children’s Sentinel Assessment Nutrition Program (C-SNAP), I and a national network of pediatricians, child development experts, and public health professionals have evaluated the health of more than 26,000 low-income babies and toddlers in six states, including Minnesota.

From Senator Tony Lourey, Kerrick

2007-07-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

Last week, I attended the first meeting of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020. This commission was established legislatively during the 2006 session and is guided by the principle that all people deserve adequate food and shelter, meaningful work, safe communities, access to health care, and education. The legislators serving on this commission will work with faith-based and non-profit organizations, the business community, and government entities to determine the best approach for ending poverty in our state by 2020.

I think it’s significant that the first meeting of the commission occurred during the week of the Minnesota Partners to End Hunger Coalition’s “Food Stamp Challenge.” This was a statewide event that challenged families to limit spending on groceries to $3 a day per person. This amount is derived from the average federal food stamp allocation of $87 per month per person. My family of five participated so at three dollars a day for five days, we could spend a total of $75 on groceries. We went out for groceries on Sunday night and spent about $68, leaving a little extra in case of an emergency later in the week. Our diet for the week was obviously going to have a good deal of inexpensive carbs like rice and potatoes. For protein we relied on eggs, beans and a pork roast on sale for $1.45 a pound. We made the roast last for three days. Thank goodness June is Dairy Month, meaning milk is less expensive, because otherwise, I’m not sure that we could have afforded it.

In the end we made it after using our “emergency” funds to replenish milk and bread late in the week. The reality of this situation really hit home when my son asked me the familiar question: “Hey Dad, can I have an apple?” I had to tell him no, they cost too much. Fresh fruit and vegetables simply don’t fit into this tight budget. This is why the work of the Commission to End Poverty is so important—children’s nutritional needs cannot be neglected because their families can’t afford healthy foods. Families shouldn’t have to live in unsafe neighborhoods or substandard housing. They shouldn’t be forced to choose between paying their bills and taking their sick child to the doctor.

Although I only lived on this fixed income for a week, I now have a deeper understanding of the struggles and tough decisions that some families must endure to make ends meet. The government and private sector need to work closely together to overcome poverty. I’m pleased to be part of the Commission to End Poverty, which will establish the necessary alliances and approaches to best help those who do not have enough to get by.

I’ve always held firm the conviction that regardless of income, all families deserve a high quality of life and equal access to education and health care. This ideal will continue to guide my work in the legislature and on this commission.

From Marlana Benzie-Lourey, Kerrick

2007-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm hungry. But, I think I'll wait another hour to boil up my ramen noodles for lunch. It's deadline day at the paper and I want to be sure I don't eat too soon and end up wanting a snack between lunch and dinner.

This week, I can't "afford" one.

When I told our kids that their dad and I agreed to take the "Food Stamp Challenge," they were eager to jump on board.

"We'll help you. Don't worry," Chelsea declared, seeing the anxiety in my face.

"I can eat oatmeal every day," Stuart jumped in. "I can eat it for every meal."

"P-B and J is cheap," Colton added. "I can live on those for a week, no problem."

"This isn't a survival game," I tried to explain. Sure, technically, we'd all live through the week if we ate oatmeal, peanut butter, and ramen noodles, but the goal wasn't simply survival. We needed to do our best to create healthy meals on $3 per person/per day-the average food stamp budget.

We had to plan, I told them. We had to really think ahead and write down every purchase. The aim of the challenge is to raise awareness of the issues facing the poor who receive food stamps to help pay for their food.

We started a week early by writing the prices of food on everything we could. Bananas were 22 cents apiece. Fuji apples were running 85 cents-nearly the cost of a whole meal. Every serving of milk was about 25 cents. Watermelon would certainly be off limits. And, ultimately, so would, oranges, grapes, nectarines, and plums. We couldn't wedge them into $3 a day. We even skipped carrots. And Tony's gluten-free bread and cereal that he relies on because of celiac disease? Well, he would have to make do without.

I remember when we were kids-my two brothers, sister and me. Mom would load us up in the car and first make sure she had all her coupons, then head to the bank. Hopefully, we'd have enough for a grocery shopping trip. Mom always looked worried.

When fruit was on sale, she would stock up, obviously thrilled to be able to fill the bowl on the counter.

Within hours of arriving home, we kids would gobble everything down. Often, my mom had tears in her eyes as she watched the fruit disappear.

We'd tease her that you can't bronze the fruit, preserving it forever like a pair of baby shoes. It was to be eaten. Fresh.

But, oh, if she could have preserved it just for a few days. Just to know there was fresh fruit available for her kids, on hand, whenever they wanted it. Whenever they were hungry.

Looking in our cupboard, I felt like my mom.

We'd locked up every other cupboard with cable ties so that we wouldn't be tempted by the bounty we are blessed with-cans of vegetables, soup, jellies, tuna, olives, salsa-stocked up and ready at a moment's notice.

Our tiny food stamp cupboard, filled with $68 worth of food (we left $7 in our budget for emergencies and additional milk), was pretty bleak. Oatmeal, two small cans of tuna, rice, beans, noodles. Everything was purchased on sale. Everything was written down. There wasn't room for error. Our pork would have to last three days. Did we buy enough cheese or too much? Maybe we should have skipped the tuna and bought more rice. There would be no boxed cereal in the cupboard, for sure.

At most meals, the kids started eating first. Tony and I didn't dig in until we were certain there was enough to go around. Sometimes, there wasn't.

We could do it-survive the week- but it wasn't at all easy, especially with our hectic lives. When I mistakenly thought I could make it through a school board meeting without eating dinner until afterward, I found myself with a headache and starting to sweat. By habit, I dashed out of the meeting room and to the drink machine for an orange juice.

$1.25. I was about to faint.

It would have to come out of the emergency reserve. I felt guilty. I confessed my lack of planning when I got home. Colton offered to give up breakfast, but Tony assured him everything would work out fine. That's why we had $7 on hand.

I couldn't make that mistake again. When I did, I went hungry. The excessive planning made me weary. I missed fresh fruit and vegetables. I longed for lean meat.

Tony was great with the record-keeping and coming up with creative meals spun out of potatoes, eggs, and a sprinkle of frozen veggies. Shopping required a notebook and calculator and many returns to various aisles to rethink our selections. The kids rarely complained, and nodded somberly when reminded that this is just five days, not a way of life, as it is for so many of our neighbors and families across the globe.

As I write this, I have about 12 hours left in the "Food Stamp Challenge." We'll make it. But the challenge for other families-too many families-will continue long after we unclip the ties on our kitchen cupboards.

From Jessie Carlson, St. Paul

2007-07-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

The overwhelming thing for me while I did this was this constant worried feeling....how was I going to get enough to eat on $3.00 a day? I also thought alot about how much more worried I would be if I was doing this for my children and not just myself. As I tried to eat on $3.00 a day there were so many things I could not afford to eat like fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. My husband would come home with all this fresh stuff to eat and here I sat w/my canned stuff. I basically ate alot of peanut butter, ramen noodles and canned soup. I splurged on a box of cereal for my breakfasts and was very careful with the amount of milk I drank--managing to get through the week on a 1/2 gallon. Again, I kept thinking about how much more difficult this would be if I had children to feed on this amount. And I also thought about food all the time...what I was going to eat, when I was going to eat---much more than I would ever otherwise think about eating. And I was hungry....almost always.

From Pam Johnson, MN Community Action

2007-07-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for this past week’s experience taking the Minnesota Food Stamp Challenge. Minnesota’s Community Action network has been focused on fighting poverty for over 40 years, and works to address hunger through food support, food shelves, and outreach initiatives. My personal experience this past week underscored the grave importance of these programs—and their funding sources—as well as the need to keep educating and advocating for an end to hunger and poverty in our state. Here are some key insights I had while taking the Challenge:

While I was able to fill my stomach each day on a basic diet of: bread, peanut butter, rice, beans, potatoes and dry soups--dairy was out of the question. Fresh fruits and vegetables were also not within my $3/day budget, and I decided not to take greens from my garden because I had purchased the seeds in the Spring.

Food quality took a hit this week. I normally shop at my neighborhood co-op, where I try to make as many organic food purchases as possible. One loaf of bread at my co-op, though worth it to me, would have blown my budget for one whole day! I switched to a large food chain to make my meal purchases for the week.

While driving to a larger food chain to make my less costly purchases I noticed that I was spending more time and using more gas to get there! I thought about how many people have to drive to several stores in order to get the best deals and stretch their food stamp budgets. Doing all of this cross-city travel by bus would multiply the time factor, and I thought about how much time it takes to get everything done when you are living in poverty.

Several times during the work week I found myself hungry after my dried-soup lunch. My habitual run to the vending machine, or reliance on a stash of snacks wouldn’t work this week. No “quick fixes!” I should have planned ahead with an extra peanut butter sandwich, but instead I just drank more water and tried to ignore the pangs until dinner. I found it hard to focus at work during those times and thought about the impact this would have on a person’s job effectiveness.

I caught a cold early in the week and found myself needing to increase my Vitamin C intake. What does a person on $3/day about that? Orange Juice can be expensive, and I had no room in the budget. What about vitamins? I decided that a carton of Orange Juice was an “extra” I would allow myself this week so that I could kick my cold. So you can’t get sick on a $3/day budget.

The fact that I knew this was short term challenge enabled me to “get through the week.” . I wondered though, about the impact of ongoing under-nourishment and lack of food choices. What does this do to a person’s spirit?

Maureen Keen Final Day:

2007-07-02T07:19:00.001-07:00

Well, after traveling for 12 hours and receiving about 5 hours sleep, I woke this morning realizing that I could splurge today! I still had a little over $6 to spend on my final day.

I quickly got ready for work (I work at home when not traveling) and started to work. The next time I looked up it was about 12:45 pm and I had another meeting at 1:00 pm, so I raced to my suitcase and grabbed the Wheat Thins and had a handful of those before my meeting. After my meeting, I was contemplating going to the grocery store to spend my remaining dollars and I got busy yet again. By the time I looked up again, I saw it was after 5:00 pm. Boy, was I hungry!

I sent my fiancé to the store and he came back with pre-packaged meals from the deli. For $2.99 I received a ground round patty, mashed potatoes, 2 sections of orange and fresh green beans. Wow! Had I known I could eat that good for $3.00 I would have tried to take some of those with me! The meal was enough food for two people so I could have used those for lunch and dinner and eaten much healthier all week! (Our local grocer caters more to seniors, so they are conscious of people on a fixed income.) Although I couldn't imagine eating the same meal all week every week like I did! That was the cheapest prepared meal they had. The others were $1-2 more.

So now that it is over, I can honestly say that I am glad! I spent all week hungry! Even though I absconded on Tuesday night and Thursday night, I still did not feel full or satisfied. Those meals were just 'filling the tank' and allowing my body to continue this brave new science experiment! Throughout the week, I could tell that my metabolism was slowing down, as it would take longer and longer for my body to tell me it was hungry. My stomach shrunk as well, as it is taking less and less food to get me to feel 'full'. I will need to be careful as I start to eat regularly again so that I raise my metabolism slowly! Also, the amount of sodium in my diet over this last week was well over the recommended daily requirements. I would wake everyday swollen!

Thank you so much Hunger Solutions for allowing us to participate in this challenge! I hope that our experiences help to open some eyes and allow for those that are truly in need get sufficient help to be able to live their lives with dignity!

From Rep. Shelley Madore, Apple Valley/Burnsville

2007-06-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Erica age 16, and I went into this together. She wanted to know what this would be like and I think she is learning a lot. We started this program on Tuesday thru tonight (Saturday). We started this with grocery shopping on Monday night. It was very hard to first plan our meals and then find things that we could use with leftovers. We decided on this menu for the week:

Breakfasts
1 piece of toast
1 egg
1 glass Vitamin C Fortified Kool-Aid
1 glass Skim Milk
1 Cup (10 oz) Tea w/Milk

Lunch
1 slice bologna sandwich
10 grapes
1 glass Kool-aid

Dinner (here got creative)
Beverage: 1 Glass Skim Milk or Kool-aid
Tuesday: Spaghetti with Canned Tomato Pasta Sauce
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken, Baked Potato, Green Beans, Corn and Grapes
Thursday: Leftover Chicken in Vegetable Medley Soup
Friday: Szechuan Ground Turkey with Green Beans, Baked Potato, Corn and Grapes
Saturday: Onion Soup, Baked Potato and Grapes

We purchased enough food to make these meals. My daughter followed me around Cub with a calculator and we carefully purchased our ingredients. We came to $29.77, all items were eligible for the program. The email said that we could use our own condiments and spices so I was good to go. I was very grateful that Cub had a coupon for buy one, get one pound free grapes. This gave us our fresh produce for the week. I was also able to get in a car and go to a large discount grocery store such as Cub. If I had to shop at an urban small store, the prices may have caused me to rethink even these meals. Here are some things we could not purchase:

Bag uncooked popcorn for snacks
Head of Lettuce
Fresh Fruit of any kind (except grapes)
Fresh Juice
Yogurt
Cheese

What I found most difficult this week was the constant home cooking. It was difficult to add in the minutes to make our food for breakfast, prepare our bagged lunches and then come home to cook dinner. Never a break and the monotony of our menu has been difficult. I am lucky, I have been a "housewife" for many years and have learned to cook, disguise leftovers and understand what a good meal is made of. I used all those skills to make these meals as healthy as possible. I thought many times about how hard it would be if I lacked cooking skills or may have had a very young child who demands food several times throughout the day. I would have never been able to satisfy a starving young teen or child. If I were pregnant, this diet does not contain enough of the nutrients needed to help feed a fetus. I would imagine that diabetes would be a big problem. I also thought about the elderly. It is a lot of work to cook every meal, remember to cook enough food with variety to eat well. What about medications that require food with them. No prepackaged food is allowed, I cannot imagine being 75 years old and having to deal with all this.

As far as the diet goes, it has been hard. No snacks, no extras. Everything is measured out and when we were hungry and wanted more, we had to eat the leftover or have a glass of water. This is a hard thing to do in our society where all the TV commercials are food related, where it is almost grilled into our minds that watching TV, playing a board game or just relaxing has a food component. Tonight we are having our last meal and I am pleased to tell you that we made it, without much cheating. Only one night, Thursday, did we cheat. We went to a Zoo Trail opening at the MN Zoo and we each took one brownie off the dessert tray. We had that and a glass of water, it was very hard.What I did learn this week was what it feels like to be hungry. I, like everyone, feels hunger but we often are able to satisfy it quickly. For me, it is often a trip the vending machine for a quick candy bar or a gourmet coffee from the cafeteria. When I had to wait to eat, I could really feel hungry and even my daughter was surprised at that feeling.

Erica learned a great deal, especially about embarrassment. When we checked out at Cub, we were $1.34 over and we had to decide what to put back. The people behind us were a little rude and huffed and puffed at us. We had to decide between the cheese and popcorn and then we were at $28. It took about 4 minutes to check us out and it was very uncomfortable. If I had to then fill out the food stamp checks, it would have been just down right nerve-wrecking. Imagine someone in your neighborhood seeing you having to go through this process. I even found myself explaining why I had to get to $30.

Well, thank you for giving me the privilege of being a part of this challenge. It has opened my eyes to just what it takes to manage the government's help.

Shelley and Erica Madore

Days 4 & 5: Rep. Jeremy Kalin

2007-06-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

At this point, it seems hard to remember even a few hours before, let alone a day or two ago. I can very much understand why undernourishment leads to underperformance in school and on the job.

I started yesterday and today with the same big breakfast as Wednesday: 2 tortillas, 3 scrambled eggs (no milk, of course), and some beans or rice. I think I could settle into this breakfast 3 or 4 days a week easily, although some salsa, meat, or other addition would get tempting (or a tasty treat!) after a while.

Thursday, I had to leave my morning commitment early enough not only to drive back to a 12:30 meeting, but also to stop at home and cook up a double-pack of Ramen noodles. It took about 13 or 14 more minutes, although I am sure I could have microwaved it at the meeting location, too. I slopped the noodles and canned corn into a portable container and brought it to the meeting, where of course, sitting on the table, were 3 full plates with a heaping pile of cheese, crackers and fruit.

Because of the quick sugar in the noodles, and the sodium, I was fine for about 1.5 hours, but near the end of the meeting, I started thinking longingly about those grapes. I also realized that I hadn't had any real dairy all week. Those cheese curds would sure have been good, but I tried to stick to my guns ...

MORE from Rep. Kalin's Days 4 & 5 at http://thefiresideblog.blogspot.com/

From Brenda Luettjohann, International Falls

2007-06-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Days 2 & 3: I am so ready for different food. I did make it to the grocery store on Tuesday to buy some lunchmeat. I had $2.30 left and the lunch meat was marked $2.19. I went to the checkout and the meat rang up at $2.29 -- that was a close one. The lady gave me my penny and I put it in the food shelf coin drop. I was now down to nothing for the rest of the week.

My meals this week definitely did not include all the food groups. It's hard eating healthy on a limited budget. Tuesday I had a banana for breakfast (even though I have plenty of cereal for the week, I was just too busy to break for breakfast), a snicker bar as a treat (I couldn't pass on it. A supplier brought them in…it was free.), noodles, toast and carrots for lunch, and a sandwich and a glass milk for dinner. Wednesday I got lucky again. My boss's wife made her wonderful chocolate chip cookies. I couldn't resist. I ate 1, 2, 3 or 4….hey, they were really small and they were free. I had a sandwich, carrots and a glass of milk for lunch and a banana as an afternoon snack. For dinner I had noodles with spaghetti sauce.

Even though I've been sticking to my $15 budget with food, I have to confess that I broke down a couple of times and had a Diet Pepsi Vanilla from home. It's so hard with all the temptation around. As you can see, my meals have not been all that exciting. One can only each so much pasta and bread.

West Metro Simply Good Eating Programs, Shelley Sherman

2007-06-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

As I am reading the postings, I am struck by how obsessed we have all become by food because of the perception of shortage. My husband and I have been eating pretty well on a diet of rice, beans, tortillas, eggs and potatoes, although I too have had to give in to my caffeine addiction, drinking a few out of budget cups of coffee. I definitely included fresh fruit and vegetables within our budget diet--tomatoes, spinach, green peppers, carrots, onion, a cucumber, nectarines and bananas-- but not even 5 a day. I think that Day 2 was the hardest, because I only had a banana for lunch and had to wait through a long day before I got home to my bean enchiladas. It's almost possible to do this, pretending that we have no outside resources to supplement us. However, it's a different way of thinking about food, and forces a lot of choices that I don't usually think about. Potatoes or coffee? Tortillas or a loaf of bread? 2 green peppers or 1 and a piece of fruit? How to afford milk? And I didn't even attempt to put meat in the diet. It's been an interesting experience!

EFN...Food Stamp Challenge Day 4

2007-06-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

I find humor in the different support from coworkers and friends. When they see me eating my lone ham sandwich at lunch, they gladly share fruit and veggies with me. Maybe it’s validation for stretching the food stamp challenge rules, but they point out that someone on food stamps would be able to expand their budget by receiving help from foodshelves, friends and family, or visiting onsite meal programs. In my eyes, three dollars a day is enough to provide sustenance but not enough for nutrition. And nutrition not only nourishes the body but also helps feed the spirit. In order for a low-income family to sustain nutrition, not to mention spirit, there must be other ways for these families to stretch their budget with dignity.

The Fare for All and Fare for All Express! Programs (disclosure: these are supplemental food programs of The Emergency Foodshelf Network) help people stretch their budgets with dignity. Participants can purchase about $40 worth of meats, produce and canned goods for about $17. (Last weekend, they even gave out free pies with any purchase.) If I were to take the food stamp challenge over again, I would have definitely shopped Fare for All, so I could have afforded some of my own grapes.

Ted (EFN Marketing Coordinator)

Maureen Keen Day 3:

2007-06-28T08:34:00.001-07:00

Well, what an exciting day today was! I lived in the land of evacuation! Just after pouring the boiling water into my "instant lunch" the evacuation siren went off in the building. We got up to go to the stairwell and my first thought was - MY LUNCH! - what will happen if there really is something going on and we won't back! Interesting that my first thought was for my food and not for my safety! Luckily, we were let back into the building a half hour later, so I was able to eat and it was somewhat warm yet.

I experienced the same thing around supper time at the hotel. I had just started to eat my instant lunch when the power went off! I finished eating before I finally evacuated the hotel.

I ran out of instant lunches, so I am not sure what I will have for lunch tomorrow. I need to finish my bananas before I leave as those won't travel well!

I am now physically tired. My muscles are sore from climbing up and down the stairs during evacuations. And I am mentally tired. I feel dull. I am sure that is due to the non-variety of items that I was able to eat this week due to the diet challenge and my own restrictions while traveling.

I am now going to spend about 10 hours traveling home tomorrow, so I will have to become extremely creative about how I eat while on the train to catch the only flight home from the East Coast!

Thoughts from St. Cloud City Council Member Bob Johnson

2007-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting week for me to be limiting my food allocation. I've already attended two fund raising events where the food and drink was terrific. I did well but alot of folks wondered why I wasn't eating. Tonight I will go to a dedication ceremony. When I get home I will eat my raisin bran or pasta. I find it interesting that in life in general, the people who have the means to purchase whatever they want, often are the people who get the "free stuff". Amazing how free lunches are provided during meetings and conferences etc. and those who are serving or cleaning up have to buy or bring their own. If only we all could look around and better see the need to support one another as a community.

Last night, after a very long day of hard work, I was really feeling deprived. The emphasis is on "feeling" because, while my options were limited, I am not really deprived at all. At some point after my light dinner I gave in and had a beer. Immediately, I wondered how hard it would be for folks on food stamps to never have the option of treating themselves or their families to something special such as a pop, beer, candy bar etc. The system barely provides the basics so the only approach is constantly doing without. Some of us can handle that for ourselves but it must be much more difficult for a mom or dad not to be able to offer more to their children. In my heart I want all those around me to do well and can understand why we need to prevail upon the federal legislature to shore up the Food Stamp program.

DAYS 2 & 3: From Rep. Jeremy Kalin

2007-06-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was up very late on Day 1, working on legislative and constituent stuff. I inculded my first day's diary in an email update to my constituents, and received some very interesting personal stories. I may share a few of them later, with their permission. Regardless, it was to bed @ 2, and up @ 6:30.

My strategy has centered around a big breakfast, with frozen hash browns, 2 or 3 eggs, and a tortilla. I figured that a big first meal goes a long way. You can imagine how disappointed I was to hear that our home-laid eggs had all been given away the day before (how's that for lack of planning!). There went that idea... The hens don't lay until late morning, so the I had to make due with hash browns mixed with rice and beans. It was halfway satisfying, but fairly light compared to the possibility of eggs. I was moderately hungry late in the morning, but nothing out of the ordinary. The lack of sleep was tougher to navigate without full nourishment, but still manageable. I had my first helping of the hamburger helper meal for lunch, even though I was at a meeting where pizza, soda, etc... were all available. The burger and pasta was filling and somehow satisfying, so I didn't really feel lacking.

One little item surprises me. Throughout the day I think about grabbing a soda, a cup of coffee, a cookie or four, and even a fourth meal. This week, it's eat, and work ...

MORE FROM REP. KALIN on DAYS 2 & 3 at http://thefiresideblog.blogspot.com

Maureen Keen Day 2:

2007-06-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

The day started off fine, however, when I arrived in office I broke down and bought a soda from the machine! I needed caffeine and coffee just doesn't do it for me.

I ate a banana mid-morning for breakfast and my instant lunch and a couple of handfuls of Wheat Thins for lunch. The office caters lunch in everyday, and I was very good and didn't eat anything they brought in, I did however grab a soda to put some more caffeine into my system. All of my co-workers were impressed that I didn't sneak in a cookie or a bag of chips! (I did tell my officemates so I couldn't cheat! All eyes are watching, and supporting!)

In the evening, I had the opportunity to go to New York City and eat in a restaurant in Battery Park overlooking the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty! It was a work-sponsored event and my first time in Manhattan, so I absconded from the program to enjoy drinks and dinner. (Although I absconded, I ate vegetarian and I ate until I was full but, I really didn't feel satisfied after dinner.)

It is amazing, when you can't do something you think of it all the time. I usually don't spend much time thinking about food, or missing food when I can eat what I want when I want. But the last 2 days have me constantly thinking about what I could be having, what I will be having for lunch again (ugh!) and l look forward to next week when the restrictions lift!

Physically, my body is rebelling. I feel weak, constantly hungry and unsatisfied. Mentally I feel worse. I feel deprived. I feel less than because I can't have what everyone else is having. It is one of the worst feelings in the world! I feel that I am not as alert as usual, and I feel that my productivity at work is starting to become impacted.

I am thankful that I am not having to go hungry and juggle which bills to pay and which bills not to pay so that I can eat for the next two weeks. That is even more difficult and the stress that causes is much much worse than what this week's challenge is putting me through!

Maureen Keen Day 1:

2007-06-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

This challenge is not new to me, however, what is new is doing this voluntarily! I am also traveling for work this week which makes this even more difficult. I don't have access to a refrigerator or cooking equipment to allow me to buy items that would "stretch" my $15 for the week. I flew out in the morning, so I skipped breakfast (typical day for me) and was in-flight over lunch. Once I reached the office, the hunger caught up with me and settled in for the evening. I finished my workday and drove to the local grocery store. I picked up some bananas and weighed them to determine how many I could buy (at .79/pound). I then selected two apples, but after weighing them put them back deciding that $1.00/apple was too expensive for my budget! I then tried looking for applesauce, but the store didn't carry store or generic brands so the name brand applesauce was out of budget. I ended up with raisins instead. I was planning on generics to help me stretch my budget, so was completely crushed when I determined that the store didn't stock them! I had to change my plan dramatically!

I spent $8.44 on the following:
5 bananas
1 box raisins (1.25 cups)
1 box Wheat Thins crackers
4 cups of instant lunch

If I eat accordingly, this should get me through Thursday night when I return home. Although, I have a little over $6.00 to splurge on PB&J if I eat what I purchased early, or tire of eating the same things each day! I ate a couple of handfuls of Wheat Thins, a banana, a handful of raisins, and an instant lunch for supper. I also drank a lot of water to help fill me up so I could sleep! While watching television, the challenge really hit me hard as almost every other commercial seemed to be advertising food! Also, the shows I watched had people cooking or eating! I will find other entertainment venues over the course of the week!

The Emergency Foodshelf Network is beginning to struggle

2007-06-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Day two of the food stamp challenge, and the staff at The Emergency Foodshelf Network is beginning to struggle. We help stock the front lines of hunger and understand how hard it can be. Basically, we love food too much around here. At 10 a.m. Monday, one coworker said she still needed to go shopping, then revealed to me that she couldn’t get out of a lunch meeting. (You know how they force you to eat at those things.) The other coworker who signed up for the challenge revealed that he needs to disregard a few things he’s already eaten but plans on attempting the challenge for the rest of the week on a healthy reserve of 29-cent burritos. One of us remains adherent to the rules, even turning down a half an apple offered to him over lunch. And myself, well, I’m trying.

I’ll admit, there was a large bowl of already cut and washed strawberries in my fridge yesterday, and I couldn’t resist a handful. I also accepted that half an apple my coworker turned down. I become weak when presented with fresh fruit. I didn’t purchase peanut butter during my food stamp shopping spree, but I had to make a peanut butter sandwich to supplement my lunchmeat, that I can already tell won’t last through the week. Overall, I am sticking to my purchases, but I am already missing the spontaneous food choices my typical food budget allows.

I will share a dinner suggestion with you that filled me up last night and is somewhat of a family tradition for me. Macaroni and eggs—don’t knock it until you try it—is easily attainable on a food stamp budget. Begin by cooking a large pot of macaroni. Once the macaroni is soft, drain and empty into a fry pan. Place about a tablespoon of butter and four eggs in with the macaroni and sauté on medium. Cook like scrambled eggs. Dish is ready to serve once the eggs become crispy around the noodles. Serve with catsup or salt and pepper. (Get real creative and sprinkle some cheese into the dish.) Aaaaah, a delicacy. A half box of macaroni and four eggs serves four for about 65 cents worth of food.

DAY 1: Chris O'Connell, KSTP Reporter

2007-06-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

From http://www.kstp.com/article/10143/

When I agreed to do the MN Food Stamp Challenge I thought it would be fairly easy. Then I went shopping. With my $15 in hand I went to Cub Foods in Woodbury to fill my shopping list for the week. I found out quickly it doesn't go very far. Here is what I left the store with:

A loaf of bread
Peanut butter
Grape jelly
3 boxes of pasta
1 can of tomato sauce
2 boxes of macaroni and cheese
5 bananas
2 pouches of powdered Kool-Aid

Grand total-$12.25

A banana for breakfast, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pasta with tomato sauce for dinner. This is what I'll be eating for a week. No Starbucks, no juicy steaks for dinner, no fat sandwiches for lunch. Just hours into the challenge I'm getting the idea of how difficult it will be this week. I can't imagine doing it for much longer.

DAY 1: Rep. Jeremy Kalin, Lindstrom

2007-06-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

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 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 home grown 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 in take. Noontime was spent at a Transportation speech by my Congressman Jim Oberstar. I grabbed coffee along with a chocolate chip cookie, a peanutbutter 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 foodstamps 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 thefood 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 (had to give up)
White bread @ 1.69
Rice @ 1.13
Beans @ .97
Tortillas @ .99
21 oz. of spaghetti noodles @ 1.00
Generic sauce @ 1.59
2 cans tuna @ 98 cents each
1 lb ground beef @ 2.50
Peas and corn @.88
Hamburger Helper @ 1

For Rep. Kalin's complete post, visit: http://thefiresideblog.blogspot.com

DAY 1: From Rachel & Family, St. Louis Park

2007-06-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

We are a family of four--two adults and two kids (ages 9 and 11). The key difference for us in taking the food stamp challenge is that we have had to take a lot of time to do meal planning to stay within our budget and to stretch food into other meals.

We decided that we would base a number of our meals on two chickens that we roasted the first night. (two roasting chickens cost us $8.00) We hope to have the leftover chicken for sandwiches, chicken curry for one meal, and chicken noodle soup for another meal. Another key observation we made is that with kids it's a lot harder to stay on budget during the summer. We could have saved $3.53 if they had been going to school and got the free breakfast and lunch.

Things are going okay so far, but the rest of the week we have a very hectic schedule and normally we would have grabbed a bite out or we would have eaten some pre-prepared meal. That will not fit in our budget this week.

Rachel, Nick, Elliot and Clara (St. Louis Park)

DAY 1: From Brenda Luettjohann, International Falls

2007-06-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I was very apprehensive about actually doing the MN Food Stamp Challenge week. I worried a lot about how I was going to manage my $15 for the week. At one point I even wanted to quit before I started. It's amazing how troubled I felt over the past two days.

I had an apple for breakfast because I didn't do my shopping yet. The apple was free from a hotel I stayed at last week. I went to the grocery store over my lunch today. My grocery list consisted of:

*1/2 gallon skim milk - $1.89
*Wheat bread - $1.00 (store special)
*Bag of baby carrots - $1.69
*2 small boxes of noodles- .50 (on sale)
*Flavorite Raisin Bran - .99 (on sale)
*Spaghetti sauce - $1.19
*1/2 dz large eggs - .45
*Box of Rice-A-Roni - $1.39
*Hot dogs - $1.50 (on sale)
*2 apples - $1.35
*3 Bananas - $.75

The trip through the store was depressing. I grabbed some peanut butter but put it back because it was too expensive and I forgot to get lunch meat. Everything I love to eat was out of the question if I was only going to spend $15.00. I have $2.30 left for the rest of the week and I think I will go back to get the lunch meat. It's only day one and has been an eye opening experience for me.

Amos Magee to take the MN Food Stamp Challenge

2007-06-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

MN Thunder Head Coach to live on $3/day

Amos Magee, Minnesota Thunder Head Coach, has stepped up to take the challenge. Why? Magee says, "I'm usually more concerned with what my players are eating, not if my players are eating. However, hunger and malnutrition is an incredibly important issue. This is important to me personally, but it is also, I believe, an important issue for the soccer community to embrace. I hope that Thunder fans will step up and educate themselves about hunger and malnutrition in Minnesota and work towards eradicating this preventable tragedy. We work hard to educate kids about soccer, but the reality is that there are a lot of kids that aren't even able to eat three meals a day, not to mention control a soccer ball."