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Food Stamp Challenge participants will be writing daily during the Challenge to document their experiences living on food stamps. Be sure to check in each day for updates! Click here for entries from Sept. 14-16. Thursday, Sept. 20 Julie Driscoll, City of Milwaukee Health Department: The final day, and I will admit I couldn't do it. Yesterday was so extremely hard. My work was suffering and my disposition was downright nasty. This was a good experience even though I see the struggle that families living in poverty go through every single day. It makes it more real when you go through it yourself. I have heard both sides of the argument over government subsidy for food and I see pros and cons of both. I know many of the families I work with who live on foodstamps make poor nutritonal choices, eating foods high in fat and sodium. However many times they don't have access to transportation to "shop the bargains" and must live on what is offered at the local convenience mart (which all take foodstamps). Having gone through this compounded by the work I do every day I would advocate for the following things: Increase the monthly foodstamp allotment but also provide access to healthy nutrional foods-even perhaps not allowing "junk" foods (chips & soda) to be purchased with foodstamps. All in all the single message that rings true if you are a thrifty, budget conscious shopper or a frivalous, extravagant shopper no persons in this country should go to bed hungry or wake up hungry. While I had "enough" food I experienced both during this challenge. Sarah Schelble, Rufus King High School: Over the entire course of this challenge I have had many questions from friends and classmates. When I first told the people in some of my classes what I was doing, they all had many question. Like what was the challenge, what have you been eating, how much money do you get, how long are you doing it, etc. They were very inquisitive. Throughout this challenge I had many question too. I was wondering about the use of gardens for people with Foods Stamps. Since in my family we use our garden very often, it was strange to have to pay for the produce in our very own garden. This challenge has really forced me to realize that people on Food Stamps DO NOT have enough money to really have a decent meal. It is impossible to live on $21 dollars a week. So the question is, what should how much should people get? I was very proud to be a part of this challenge, and am happy to have been able to take part in such an interesting, yet challenging experience. I really hope that I have helped raise awareness about Food Stamps. Anonymous: I received a call on Monday from the Blood Center of Wisconsin, stating the blood supply at local hospitals was low, and could I come in to donate. I made an appointment to go Wednesday, Sept 19th. I thought about waiting until next week when I would be eating what to me is "more normal" again, but it sounded like the need was for blood now. I had red beans and rice for dinner Tuesday and proceeded to cheat on the challenge, and ate a salad with spinach and lots of fresh vegetables at lunch. I also ate a small bag of microwave popcorn as a snack before I went to donate (the Blood Center instructs you to have a snack and fluid before and after you donate blood). I have donated regularly for the past 2 years, and while I have not eaten meat for about 20 years my iron has always been well within the range needed to donate blood. Last night it was too low to donate. Had one week of different eating habits caused such a change in my iron? I couldn't help but wonder. I spoke to my sister, who lives on the west coast but has been reading the blogs and commenting about the issue of hunger. She noted how many people spoke about being tired, low energy, mentally not as sharp as normal, etc. She commented "So think about all the people in this condition who every day are driving, operating machinery or just plain trying to care for their children as a single parent with few resources. I have thought about the vicious cycle of hunger and poverty quite a bit. If on a regular basis, you are tired and not able to concentrate or think clearly, how can you possibly hope to advance your education or your job? What hope do you have to move yourself and your family out of poverty? How much does a diet high in salt, sugar, and processed foods and low in fresh fruits and vegetables contribute to diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure & cholesterol and thus to higher costs in healthcare? When, as a community and a nation, will we have the determination and the political will to create long-term solutions to these issues? What can we do differently, as advocates for underserved families struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis, to convince those with the power to make those changes? Gary Comeau, Hunger Task Force: I have not logged on since Monday so if readers will recall on Monday I was contemplating quitting the challenge. I was dealing with real mood swings and frustration. Tuesday I decided to engineer a more sustaining diet than rice ,beans & eggs and I wanted to fill in the menu if you will with fruits and veggies. My neighbor hood has a fruit market and their pricing is well below the norm, for three dollars exactly I was able to purchase a whole basket of green grapes, I was so happy to have fruit again because what I would have purchased in my normal routine would have been orange juice but @ $4.00 a gallon it did not fit the budget and I wanted some calcium so I bought a fresh cheese on sale for $2.79/12 oz. and wanting something more strirring than plain old water I purchased a 1 gallon jug of citrus punch which promised vitamin c. Boy I thought I had it going on I even found a deal on 3 sub sandwhich style rolls for $1 and I have a cool $2.00 left in my budget to spare. My rice is gone, I have a bit of the beans left and I was extremely hungry so I ate all of the cheese and 2 of the buns when I got home, I read the label on the so called citrus punch and I would think if there was such a thing as truth in advertizing one might more truthfully call this product orange flavored sugar water but real juice is expensive around here and so I"ll try to not drink alot at one time because sugar is not on my normal menu and I do not like to feel wired. To know why not feeling wired is important to me you will need to know this about me, I start the day with a bang every day I have 3 teenagers , a 20 something year old and a 3 month old infant in my house, we have one vehicle to distribute all of us so I normally ride my bike to work, once I get to work it is very fast paced and physical so maintaining a steady burn if you will is crucial so typically I rely on a combination of starches, natural sugars and dairy proteins to keep my motor running, I am 55 years old and although I am skinny I eat the same proportions as much larger folks do but I work it off, my blood pressure is low cholesterol well within bounds and no known heart problems, I rarely if ever get sick.I can always eat I always have an appetite and I normally eat more than 3 times a day it is my nature.What I find most difficult about this low of a food budget is I can manage to put together a sort of well rounded diet but I never seem to have enough quantity to satisfy me and I think that the feeling of not knowing if the food will last is almost as harsh as hunger pangs themselves it is a strain on me at least.And another thing I find to be tough is I need to travel far and wide to stay on budget. My area is 53204 and the nearest full service grocery store is a 2 transfer bus ride which is 45 minutes just to get to the store. So we end up shopping in our little mom and pop stores and gas stations for a substantial amount of our weekly purchases. I always say "it is expensive to be poor" and shopping in gas stations because you do not have a vehicle at your disposal will prove that theory out. Wednesday, Sept. 19 Marcus White, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee: My eight mile run today (Wednesday) was pretty sluggish. Continuing to train during the Challenge is now seeming a bit unwise. Right now I am finishing some work prior to an evening meeting tonight. I expect I will be a bit out of it for the meeting. Tonight we are having the chicken that Ann bought with our "food stamps" and I am feeling pretty excited about something other than rice and beans or pasta. The lack of choice (and the hint of a loss of freedom that comes with that) and the repetition are what I notice the most. Leah Jepson, City of Milwaukee Health Department: Food: hot cereal, black bean taco, some more rice and lentils, and the remaining two drumsticks. Plus a little plain yogurt and parts of two apples (see below). Now I know why they sell the apple "seconds" so inexpensively at the farmer's market. I bit into my lunchtime snack, and the entire inside was gray and fuzzy. Two of them were like that. Not what I needed today. I'm feeling really tired and kind of lethargic. I’m just really tired, ornery, and feel run down. I am eating enough, it seems, but I am always hungry and not feeling normal at all. I don’t have a lot of energy, and everything at work is seeming overly overwhelming. Plus, I'm drinking pint after pint of water, and I'm still extremely thirsty. P.S. I don’t ever want to see a lentil again. Or rice, for that matter. Julie Driscoll, City of Milwaukee Health Department: My co-worker and I have a presentation to give this morning and several other deadlines, neither of us is on task, we thinks it's lack of nutrition. I have been so tired and having difficulty getting out of bed. It strikes me that my body is going into hibernation, trying to conserve energy. My husband calls at lunch to tell me about the discussion regarding this challenge on AM 620. People are complaining that those on foodstamps also get free health insurance and free childcare. Do they realize a full time job paying $6 per hour is $960 before taxes. The average rent is $550. Leaving roughly $300 to pay utilities, phone, clothes, toiletries,etc. I feel lucky that my husband and I have jobs that pay the bills and afford us some fun time. We don't have to worry how we will provide for our children. I am angry and hungry. Shawne Johnson, West Allis Health Department: Day #5 was very difficult as I'm tired of eating the same foods day after day and I've experienced hunger now several times. Eating a variety of foods makes food taste so much better, and without that option, I don't look forward to meals. I realize I only have 2 more days to go and that cheers me up, but then I do wonder how other people manage who aren't on this challenge, but who have to live on $21/week indefinitely. Marie Greenfield, Hunger Task Force: Haven’t written in awhile as I have been working lots and have been forgetting things and feeling very scattered this week. This past Saturday was at an all day working event I do each month and by the afternoon of working outside, had to sit down because I was light headed and it was harder to focus. Late that night I ate some extra protein that is not in my budget because I was driving home at 1 a.m. with 2 other people in the car and was not going to endanger any of us. I have found this diet of oatmeal and yoghurt for breakfast and different versions of rice and beans for lunch boring and tasteless after awhile. I long for some good cheese, some melon or grapes and a big green salad – not in the budget. At work yesterday I had a 12 hour day and by the evening was getting light headed again. Am trying to eat some extra rice and beans more often to fill me up but still am feeling hungry lots of the time. Have lost some weight during this time (which isn’t unwanted) but not the way I want to lose it. How do people function on this kind of diet, making the right decisions for themselves and their families, not being crabby and intolerant with themselves and others because they are missing the nutrition they need? Not sure of the answer but I am sure of one thing – everyone deserves to have good and nutritious food that they can choose available to them all the time. Leah Jepson, City of Milwaukee Health Department: Money spent: $5.61 (remaining balance: $.20); Foods eaten: hot cereal, an apple, Khichdi, one black bean taco, three baked chicken drumsticks, more rice, and plain yogurt. I spent the day cleaning out the basement, hauling armload after armload of my accumulated junk to my car to take to GoodWill. This is the most sustained physical activity I've experienced since starting the challenge, and it wiped me out. I ended up getting a little lightheaded in the afternoon, and had to eat a snack, consisting of a black bean taco, in between lunch and dinner. I am quickly tiring of this food. At 8 pm, after staring into the refrigerator for who knows how long, I became frustrated. I went to Outpost shortly before they closed and bought a small package of chicken drumsticks and just over a quarter pound of coffee. I start my work week tomorrow, and need to be on the ball. That leaves me with a whopping $0.20. I’m not clear on what I can purchase with this much money. But it was so nice to have a few drumsticks! Julie Driscoll, City of Milwaukee Health Department: You guessed it: nothing (for breakfast)!!! Lunch: 1 can of tuna, 2 slices of bread, carrots. Dinner: Spaghetti-with no meat or veggies…Boring I finally sit down to eat at work at 3:00pm I am light headed and thirsty. I realize I haven’t drunk any water all day. I work until 6:30pm and about 5:00pm I feel cranky & lethargic and am craving sweets. I use .50 and buy a candy bar from the snack area. I am actually starving and cranky and can’t even think about making dinner plus it doesn’t sound that great. Tonight would normally be the night where the girls and I would stop for dinner on the way home since by husband is working and I am wiped…….but I will try to stay with a resolve and make spaghetti. It seems like now I have to think more carefully about my meals and it makes me want what I can’t have even more. Laura Kerecman: I spent quite a bit longer grocery shopping last Thursday than I normally do. I was somewhat surprised that it took me so much longer to spend $21, but I soon realized that I don't ever "track" my spending. I simply buy what I need (and want) and check-out. I bought oatmeal, some pasta, marinara sauce (generic, not my usual choice of Paul Newman's brand) rice, beans, canned corn, peanut butter, bread, a 2 liter bottle of diet soda (my caffeine of choice...I wouldn't want to subject my coworkers to my crabbiness sans caffeine) and some bananas. I don't eat meat, so that wasn't a concern. I was concerned that I couldn't afford more fresh fruit or any vegetables other than the canned corn. I consider myself to be a consumer who is fairly concerned with making healthy food choices. I found myself checking labels for sodium, sugar, protein, etc. I noticed that if you opt for generic brands, those don't often offer "low salt", "low sugar" or "low fat" options. I was also conscious of the fact that you pay more when you buy in smaller quantities, and shopping just for myself was more expensive than had I been shopping for 2 or more people. Over the past several days, I have found that I don't have my normal amount of energy and enthusiasm. As I drove to work yesterday, I thought about how it might feel to be a child who arrives at school hungry, tired, lethargic, inattentive and knowing that what I have for lunch is just a peanut butter sandwich. Hunger and food insecurity permeates every facet of daily life. As a community, we are fortunate to have the Hunger Task Force not only providing food but also advocating for changes that will positively impact so many families. I wish this Food Stamp Challenge was a prerequisite for anyone running for public office! Gary Comeau, Hunger Task Force: Ate rice/beans, free cookie at a meal program, 3 apples taken from an apple tree 1 white bread roll. For the second time in the last two work days it has been pointed out to me that I have forgotten something important. I was sent home one day from work as I got into a heated argument with my immediate superior and I was sent home early probably because I was quite "edgy". Is this low blood sugar? I basically do not like this at all and as a father of 5 and the main wage earner in the family I am used to stretching a buck as they say but the limits of this budget do not really allow me any variety really I am buying based on survival rather than balance or health. I would bet money that I have lost weight and really I cannot afford that. I am thinking of quitting quite honestly. Marcus White, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee: Given the foods we are relying upon (chicken, rice, beans, oatmeal), it is a good thing that our gas and electric have not been cut off. Shawne Johnson, West Allis Health Department: I basically am eating the same breakfast (oatmeal and walnuts) and lunch (peanut butter sandwich, egg, carrot, apple) every day. I made a chicken, rice, carrot soup on Saturday and ate it again on Sunday and will eat it again on Monday for dinner. I didn't buy any beverages so I'm just drinking water. Just following the program for 3 days has given me a few personal insights: I'm a huge snacker and it's no fun snacking on the same foods that you'll be eating at meals and you lose a little pleasure in eating when you have little variety to choose from. I stopped by the store to pick up some cleaning supplies and as I passed the fruit aisle, I saw boxes of strawberries and cantaloupes. I thought those are foods I'd really like to be eating! Apples are good as they're in season and so reasonably priced at the farmer's market, but when that's your only fruit it gets a little boring! |
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Community Blog
 (414) 777-0483Hunger Task Force, Inc. | 201 S. Hawley Court Milwaukee, WI 53214 | Fax: (414) 777-0480 |
Hunger Task Force is a private, non-profit community organization that exists to prevent and alleviate hunger. |