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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Could you live a month on food stamps?
He lost 18 pounds and had to stop yesterday, just four days shy of his goal, because doctors warned him that he shouldn’t risk his health by losing any more weight.
“I can’t put into words how painfully disappointing it was to have to stop,” he said yesterday on the phone. Because of pre-existing health issues, “I was really restricted on what foods I could eat, and the thing I was really surprised the most at was how difficult it was to eat any kind of a healthy diet at $21 a week.”
“It wasn’t about making it 4 weeks,” he said. “It was about understanding things a little bit better. I understand a lot better that when you’re hungry, you want different things.”
One shopping day, while standing at the check-out line, he realized he didn’t have enough to buy what he needed to make chili, a calorie-rich dish he thought would provide meals for at least a few days. “And I thought I had a great idea, ‘Just don’t buy your medicines this week’.” If it’s not sacrificing medicines, it’s utilities or other bills that have to wait.
He tried to include fruits and vegetables in the budget, but they just didn’t provide enough calories. Ritz crackers and peanut butter were what got him through the experiment.
But for so many people in Central Texas, eating on $21 is a week is no experiment, it’s a grim day-to-day reality that’s only getting worse as food prices increase a few cents each week.
Next time you go to the grocery store, think about how far $21 dollars goes these days and consider giving back to local organizations that try to fill in the gaps that food stamps inevitably leave.
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