I was asked by my food bank, Three Square, to participate in an awareness raising activity. For 5 days I will cook for John and I and spend only what Food Stamp (now called SNAP) recipients get. Hold onto your hats folks – it’s $4.06 per day per person. That’s NOT a lot of groceries people! I agreed to do this to help raise awareness because I know what it is like to worry about food and nutrition. Food writers, critics, politicians, volunteers and local celebrities have all been asked to participate to shed some light on how tough it is to eat HEALTHFULLY on $4/day. We have all been asked to share our thoughts and experiences about the challenge.

John and I are financially able to purchase whatever we want to eat, whenever we want to eat it, and for that I am truly grateful. This was not always the case. I grew up poor, in a rural community. Hand me down clothes, free school lunch, we had eggs for dinner because we had chickens, but we always had fresh produce in the harvest months because we grew our own. Mom canned and made jam (and this past fall, for the very first time, I canned my own tomatoes and the peaches from my tree).

John’s childhood, while having taken place in NYC, was not all that different financially; his family was on the Food Stamp program briefly when he was young as well. Because of my background I get a little antsy if I can see the shelves in my pantry or the fridge. (Moment of truth – Even though it is just the two of us at home now, I still think I don’t have enough food if I can see shelves. This mania kinda drives my husband a little nuts.) Because we know how crucial this issue is, John and I decided to participate as a couple for the SNAP Experience. I honestly feel that by participating in this challenge if I can outrage one person, make one person get involved with their Food Bank, cause one person to get active politically, then I have done my job.

Because John and I DON’T have to worry about a grocery bill, I just buy what I want/need and pay at the checkout; I had to do some research to remind myself how to stretch those grocery dollars. Other than looking at the price of meat to see if it will be cheaper on base (it is most of the time), I almost never look at prices (disgusting, I know). Here are the things I have learned by looking at the ads, coupons and shelf pricing:
• Produce, dairy products and meat are EXPENSIVE! If I bought what I normally buy, there is NO WAY I could eat for $4.06 for one meal let alone the whole day!
• Cereal and milk are off the charts! And I am not talking about Froot Loops here! Good, healthy, whole grain cereals are upwards of $4 a box – there goes my whole day’s allowance! You can get sugary cereals that are NOT the best nutrition choice for about ½ the cost of a whole grain cereal.
• Whole grain, high fiber bread costs 3 times as much as white bread or bread labeled as “whole wheat” that is NOT whole grain.
• Inexpensive foods like pasta, white bread, rice and beans may all be good for you in the short term and in moderation (if you leave out the powdered cheese blue box crap), but in the long term and in large quantity they lead to obesity, diabetes and other health problems. If this is all you can afford to feed your family what waits down the road for you in the health arena? And who is going to pay for it?
• The weekly coupons are mostly for things that aren’t healthy choices (crackers, processed foods, cookies, etc.). Even though they CAN be purchased with SNAP monies, they aren’t good eating choices, but they are CHEAP with the coupons. For many SNAP recipients a full belly is more important than eating wisely, so they are forced to choose poorly because it is the cheapest option.
• Almost no one offers coupons for dairy, meat or produce unless you buy something NOT so good to go with it!

We have been encouraged to use store loyalty programs and any other money saving options we can employ to stretch our dollars. I learned that the Fresh & Easy rewards program has to be converted from “points” to dollars online before you can use the rewards – thanks Lillian for the heads up! I love the weekly Fresh & Easy coupons because they are dollars off your entire purchase so they CAN be used for meat and produce, but they don’t accept manufacturer’s coupons at all. The advertised items on the front of the flyers are called “loss leaders”. The store is HOPING you will go in to buy that one incredible deal and then do the rest of your shopping there. The best way to stretch your buck is to go get those few things and LEAVE, doing the rest of your shopping where the other items you need are on sale.

Next week I will let you all know how I did with this challenge. We started yesterday, even though everyone else is starting today, because I have to travel on Friday for business, and since I will be eating out (no means to cook), it wouldn’t be feasible. As I type I am brining a 12 lb. turkey that I got on sale for $3.66.

This week’s Food Memories are drinks with an old High School Pal at the Cosmopolitan, dinner and great beer with my main squeeze at Public House, working to get the garden ready for planting season, lovely cider and ancho chile glazed game hens (The Splendid Table’s Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s recipe) and shopping the sales for the SNAP Experience.
Suanne and I at the Cosmopolitan

The Glazed Game Hens

The fab beers we tried at Public House

Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!