Could you eat on $4 of food a day?
UPenn students try to live on the average allotment for a food stamp (SNAP) participant.
Recently, members of Congress and faith leaders across the country took on the Food Stamp Challenge—living on just $4 worth of food a day, the average benefit of a food stamp (SNAP) participant.
The nationwide campaign raised awareness about America's most important anti-hunger program, which faces severe budget cuts in Washington.
Here in Philadelphia, students at the University of Pennsylvania replicated the challenge as part of their "Politics of Food" class, taught by Professor Mary Summers.
How did students fare on the paltry food budget? Some better than others.
Here five students share their experiences with the Coalition:
Graduation: 2013 Major: Political Science | "I was afraid I'd end up just eating what is quick and cheap, and then I would gain a ton of weight. I suppose this reflects the reality of a lot of people who actually do have only $4 to spend on food per day. If you don't have time to carefully plan, shop the sales, and measure everything you buy at the grocery store, you end up with no fruits and vegetables because they're more expensive."
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Age: 21 Graduation: 2012 Major: Digital Media Design | "I realized that I was not mentally prepared to do this, so decided to somewhat go half-baked on it, spending probably $5-$6 per day. I felt fear during the challenge, fear of not being able to make ends meet (even with the knowledge that I was just 'pretending' to be food insecure. I realize more viscerally the harsh realities of having such limited funds." |
Shreyans Goenka | I am eating sufficiently, but can hardly call this diet nutritious. In the end I am extremely happy that I tried this project as it made me more aware and grateful of the privileged diet I consume. It is extremely easy for us to debate about how people should eat or should not eat, but the extremely tight budget meant I had to eat whatever was available and couldn't think about nutrition." |
| Bhargavi Ammu Age: 20 Graduation: 2013 Major: Health and Societies | "The challenge is definitely hard, especially if you don't have a kitchen to cook in. I'm on a meal plan, and so even when I go in to get food I'm only eating basically a fruit and some cereal along with a slice of bread and some peanut butter. Essentially though, that's only for one meal which has to sustain me for the day. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. Also, going without the regular juices and other non water drinks is also interesting." |
Priya Srinivasan | "What I've discovered so far is that living on $4 of food a day is doable, but it definitely isn't enjoyable. I've already had to turn down a few lunch and dinner meet-up invitations, and it's sad to see how watching how much you can spend on food pervades all other aspects of your life. I also have strep throat and tonsilitis right now, so I don't really have that much of an appetite, but when I do I'm not fully satisfied with what I've eaten." |
