Each year, community members challenge themselves to live on a Food Stamp budget for a week. This year, from October 27-November 3, the RI Interfaith Coalition with Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson, Executive Minister, RI State Council of Churches, Rabbi Peter\u00a0 Stein, President, RI Board of Rabbis, and other community leaders will be asked to eat on $31.50 a week– the nationwide average weekly food stamp benefit for FY201, which is $4.50 a day, or $1.50 a meal.<\/p>\n
This year, Maria Cimini, SNAP Outreach Coordinator is taking the challenge. Read about her experience below:<\/p>\n
Challenge Accepted
\nby Maria Cimini on Friday, October 28, 2011<\/p>\n
Several weeks ago I received an invitation from the Interfaith Poverty
\nCouncil of Rhode Island to participate in this year’s Food Stamp Challenge
\nwhere participants volunteer to live for a week on $31.50 worth of food, the
\naverage weekly amount received by a Food Stamp recipient in the United
\nStates. After some thought (mostly that I would miss out on eating
\nHalloween candy) I decided to participate. The rules are pretty simple, a
\nsingle person has $31.50 ($4.50 a day or $1.50 a meal) to spend on all their
\nfood for the week. This year the challenge started on October 27 at 10 am
\nand runs through November 3 at 6 pm. Furthermore, you purchase all your
\nfood with that amount rather than look at the food you already have an
\nestimate cost although you may use condiments and spices already purchased.<\/p>\n
Though I was invited to take part some time in September and spent a lot of
\ntime worrying about how this would impact my life, being the procrastinator
\nthat I am, I didn’t actually begin the shopping list process until the
\nTuesday before the challenge was to begin. I didn’t want to spend a lot of
\ntime going up and down aisles in the grocery store pricing things out,
\npicking them up and putting them back, so I went first to Peapod to see what
\nI may be able to purchase. This was a sobering experience. Early on I
\nrealized that meat or poultry would be out of the question and then I opted
\nto sacrifice nutrition by omitting fresh fruit for coffee. At the end of my
\ninternet search I had a shopping list of coffee, milk, granola bars, yogurt,
\ncereal, tortillas, black beans, shredded cheese, brown rice, pasta, crushed
\ntomatoes, peanut butter, frozen broccoli, an onion, a head of garlic and the
\nstaple of cheap eating – ramen noodles. This resulted in a grand total of
\n$31.45.<\/p>\n
Then Thursday morning came, the day the challenge was to begin and I had not
\nyet purchased any food! So, I did something most low-income workers could
\nnever do, I called my boss and said I would be late to work because I had to
\ngo to the grocery store. It was a necessity since I would not be able to
\npurchase any prepared foods, like a Food Stamp recipient, and have limited
\nfood options at URI where I work. I had decided earlier to start my
\nshopping at Price Rite where prices should be cheaper than most other
\nsupermarkets. I went there at 7:30am to shop and found it closed. It
\ndoesn’t open until 8. It was my first inkling that convenience would be
\ntotally lost to me this week. When the store did open, I bought most of the
\nthings on my list but couldn’t find everything so after purchasing $18.58
\nworth of food, I went down the road to Stop and Shop. There I purchased the
\nrest of the items on my list for just $7.68 (with the help of a savings
\ncard) for a grand total of $26.26. That means I have $5.24 left to spend!
\nI was overjoyed and thought about going right back in to buy more food but
\nlater decided to hold on to it for an emergency. I have never rationed out
\nmy food like this before, so I’m a little scared about running out before
\nthe end of the week.<\/p>\n
I’ve survived one and a half days thus far. And, while I’ve known since I
\naccepted this challenge that it would be possible (I do coordinate the
\nState’s Food Stamp Outreach campaign afterall) it has already made me more
\naware of struggles people face daily. I am not an extravagant person, but
\nfood is something I haven’t had to worry about that much. I tend to eat
\nwhen I want and always have something available to me. Already I’m more
\nconscious of role food plays in my life and its place in society as well. I
\nsuppose that’s part of the point. It isn’t to see who can get the best deal
\nat the supermarket but to feel, even in a short-term, contrived way, how
\nhundreds of thousands in RI and millions nationwide struggle and miss out on
\nthings most of us take for granted.<\/p>\n
I plan on writing every day during this experience. So, if you have any
\nquestions about the challenge or Food Stamps or if you have any fantastic
\nrecipes for black beans and rice, I’d be glad to have them.<\/p>\n
Social Impact<\/strong> When I first decided to take part in the Food Stamp Challenge I thought I It makes me think about when I was growing up. We were a family that In my work when I make presentations about hunger I talk about how hunger And, if you’ll indulge me just a bit…tonight as I entered my warm home, I Today I’m going to provide a very wonky Food Stamp eligibility lesson because First some Food Stamp eligibility basics.<\/p>\n ** Non-elderly\/disabled individuals generally have to meet both a gross Scenario 1 — The maximum gross income amount for FS eligibility an This person receives an earned income deduction of $336, a standard Income $1680 = monthly benefit amount $16<\/p>\n Scenario 2 — This person works 40 hours a week at minimum wage, $7.40 an This person receives an earned income deduction of $256, a standard Income $1281 = monthly benefit amount $74<\/p>\n Scenario 3 — This person earns the maximum net benefit amount of $908 a This person receives an earned income deduction of $181, a standard Income $908 = monthly benefit amount $163<\/p>\n Of course, if in any of these scenarios the income were not earned or the So, yes, I probably could live on $126 worth of food in a month. I would Holidays<\/strong> Happy Halloween! I haven’t eaten any candy today and that makes me pretty The rights of Food Stamp recipients to purchase any food items they choose If anything, I’d like to see incentives for the purchase of healthier Tomorrow night my family is gathering for dinner in remembrance of the 39th Variety – There is no spice in my life The challenge is winding down and my food consumption has not suffered as It got me thinking though about the challenges of broadening your food Yogurt, Black Bean and Tortillas, Ramen<\/strong> It is Wednesday night, another day, the same meals. Last week at this time I am really happy I took part in the challenge, not because I was able to do So, convenience, that is what I missed. It was a small price to pay to skim Each year, community members challenge themselves to live on a Food Stamp budget for a week. This year, from October 27-November 3, the RI Interfaith Coalition with Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson, Executive Minister, RI State Council of Churches, Rabbi Peter\u00a0 Stein, President, RI Board of Rabbis, and other community leaders will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/endhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nby Maria Cimini on Saturday, October 29, 2011<\/p>\n
\nwould miss eating the foods I wanted and maybe be a little hungry, but what
\nI’m learning as I eat my third dinner alone, is how socially isolating it
\ncan be to not have means. I live alone so I eat alone, though I’ve never
\nmastered cooking a good meal for one. However, I live close to family, have
\na phenomenal network of friends and, being an elected official, go to a lot
\nof social functions with food. So I don’t typically eat alone three days in
\na row and if I were to it would likely be by choice. This has been much
\ndifferent. I spent much of my day running errands with a friend. Any other
\nday of the year, we would have ended the day having dinner at home or at a
\nrestaurant. This week that’s not an option. I can’t afford to eat out and
\ndon’t have enough food to share unless maybe we each had a bowl of honey nut
\ntoasted oats. Every Sunday morning my sister and I go out for breakfast.
\nShe did graciously offer to get her pancakes to go so that we could still
\neat together, but I don’t think it will be the same as usual.<\/p>\n
\nstruggled financially at times. We didn’t go on vacation, didn’t eat at
\nrestaurants and our car was so old that I once had set a life long goal of
\none day owning a car made in the same decade I was living in. But we always
\nhad food. In fact, my parents often fed my friends and their friends.
\nEating was a social occasion. We ate dinner together at night and
\ncelebrated with special dinners.<\/p>\n
\nand food insecurity is so much more than the discomfort in your stomach when
\nyou haven’t had enough to eat that day. It is about the impact on physical
\nand cognitive development in children. It is the psychic energy spent
\ntrying to figure out where your next meal is coming from. It is the
\nsenior citizen or person with an illness whose medication is not effective.
\nThen there is the social aspect. Tonight that is what I am missing, the
\nconversation over a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup on a cold, rainy,
\nOctober night.<\/p>\n
\ncouldn’t help but think of the passionate individuals sacrificing their
\ncomfort for the cause of Occupy Providence. They are practicing democracy
\nand political action in a great way, protesting for the greater good of
\neconomic justice for all. And, my heart goes out to all those always living
\nwithout comfort, the homeless who are often the victims of that economic
\ninjustice. I pray we can find the political will to fulfill what I think is
\na societal obligation to get them off the streets and into warm homes of
\ntheir own.<\/p>\n
\nEating Is Just One Part of Life<\/strong>
\nby Maria Cimini on Sunday, October 30, 2011<\/p>\n
\nI, for unknown reason, was reading some conservative blogs indicating that
\nliving on $31.50 a week is not a problem – that this is a gimmick. I of
\ncourse fully expect that I will survive the week on just $31.50 worth of
\nfood. I started thinking, however, of all the other expenses I have, all
\nthe other facets of my life that are not being impacted by this challenge.
\nI wondered what is the likelihood that someone like me, a single, working,
\nadult who is neither elderly nor disabled, would actually be found eligible
\nfor the $126 monthly benefit amount this challenge is based on. The range
\nof benefit amounts for single people is actually between $16-$200 a month.
\nThat is true regardless of where you live in the continental US, your age or
\nhealth. So, because it is Sunday and I have some time on my hands, I did
\nsome benefit determination calculations that I found to be very interesting.
\nAll scenarios are based on single adults, whose income comes entirely from
\nemployment, without dependents, who live in RI, are neither disabled nor
\nage 60 or older and pay some rent. Reminder – I coordinate the Food Stamp
\nOutreach campaign for the state, so this is actually something I know how to
\ndo.<\/p>\n
\nand net income test. The gross income amount is 185% of the federal poverty
\nlevel and the net is 100% of the federal poverty level. The net income test
\ndoes not mean post-taxes, DHS always looks at a pre-tax income, but rather,
\npost-deductions taken by DHS. Most households of one or two people only
\nhave to meet the gross test to get benefits but a net test still exists due
\nto other eligibilty factors. Larger sized households must meet both income
\nguidelines to be eligible to receive benefits.
\n** An individual applying for Food Stamps who is not elderly or disabled
\nand does not have children, have an earned income deduction, a standard
\ndeduction (a flat deduction awarded to everyone) and a shelter deduction (a
\nvery complicated calculation of shelter expense as a percentage of income,
\nincluding a standard utility allowance, that is capped at $458) available to
\nthem.<\/p>\n
\nindividual meeting the criteria set forth can have is $1680 a month.<\/p>\n
\ndeduction of $147 and a shelter deduction of $458. (It assumes a monthly
\nrent of $1057 if the person does not pay utilities and $480 if s\/he does.)<\/p>\n
\nhour, earning before taxes, $1281 a month.<\/p>\n
\ndeduction of $147 and a shelter deduction of $458. (It assumes a monthly
\nrent of $897 if the person does not pay utilities and $321 if s\/he does.)<\/p>\n
\nmonth. (Remember this is 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. If you
\nmake one penny more than this a month, according to the US government, you
\nare not poor.)<\/p>\n
\ndeduction of $147 and a shelter deduction of $458. (It assumes a monthly
\nrent of $747 if the person does not pay utilities and $171 if s\/he does.)<\/p>\n
\nrent were cheaper the benefits would be reduced.<\/p>\n
\nhave to be more thoughtful about my food purchases than I am now, but I
\nwould survive. But, what is the likelihood that I would even get that $126,
\nand if I did, how would I afford my rent, my electric bill, gas in my car,
\netc. For people to say that folks living on Food Stamp benefits do not
\nstruggle or are some how living large off the system is just wrong. Part of
\nmy reason for doing this challenge, and writing about it, is to bring that
\nreality to light. I am very happy that we live in a society that has a
\nprogram in place to provide people struggling financially with assistance
\nfor this most basic necessity. Living on it now – I only wish we could do
\nmore.<\/p>\n
\nby Maria Cimini on Monday, October 31, 2011<\/p>\n
\nsad. Before the challenge started I purchased three-150 piece bags of candy
\nand my sister went out to buy some more mid-distribution. What a night! It
\ngot me thinking about societal norms and how people living in poverty are
\noften excluded from what most of us would consider part of everyone’s
\nexperience. As the Food Stamp Outreach coordinator, a couple of times a
\nyear, I receive a call from someone complaining about a Food Stamp recipient
\nbuying a birthday cake or candy with FS benefits. I always defend the
\nrecipient’s actions. We all have birthdays and holidays, like Halloween,
\noccur regardless of our income bracket. I am not comfortable telling a
\nchild who happened to be born into a low-income household that they can not
\nparticipate in the same celebrations that I was able to.<\/p>\n
\n(except for hot foods which are restricted by the USDA) have been hotly
\ndebated in recent years. There are many who would like to see Food Stamp
\nbenefits limited to the purchase of “healthy” foods. I agree that Food
\nStamps should be used to purchase good food, and in fact there is a program
\nthrough the USDA to educate Food Stamp recipients to make more nutritious
\npurchasing and preparation decisions. However, I am concerned about
\nrestricting the options available to recipients. I worry about the
\nincreased stigma that may occur when someone holds up a line at the grocery
\nstore when they accidentally attempt to purchase non-approved items. I hate
\nthe idea of families not being able to celebrate holidays like birthdays and
\nHalloween because they are low income. I question whether someone making
\nthe “approved” foods list would take into consideration diverse ethnic
\ntraditions. And I am uncomfortable with the idea that low-income people
\ncan’t be trusted to make their own decisions.<\/p>\n
\noptions. There is a new program taking place in Massachusetts called the
\nHealthy Incentives Pilot, which will increase a household’s Food Stamp
\nbenefits whenever they purchase approved fruits and vegetables. Many
\nfarmers’ markets in RI accept Food Stamp benefits and those markets
\ncoordinated by Farm Fresh RI also provide additional coins to purchase
\nfruits and vegetables when Food Stamp benefits are used. These are two great
\nexamples of how to improve nutrition without taking away personal options.<\/p>\n
\nanniversary of my grandfather’s death. Just another reminder of the way
\nfood plays a role in our rituals. My father is making dinner and has said
\nthat a Food Stamp recipient would accept a free meal (especially if he was
\nmaking it). I don’t doubt it. I always accept a free meal and would be
\nespecially inclined to do so if my budget and options were as limited as
\nwhat I am experiencing right now. Tomorrow, however, I will bring my own
\nfood – not to be showy or to make anyone uncomfortable – but because I’m
\nsure that many low-income people have a week pass without anyone offering
\nthem a meal. So this time, I’m going to pass. I get to eat whatever I want
\nin three more days. I’m one of the lucky ones.<\/p>\n
\nby Maria Cimini on Tuesday, November 1, 2011<\/p>\n
\nmuch as I had feared, but I desperately miss variety. For the last five
\ndays I’ve had rice and beans or ramen noodles with broccoli for lunch and
\ndinner. I yearn for something else to eat. This weekend I was at Job Lot –
\nI love Job Lot almost as much as I love Bennys – and I was looking at their
\nfood section. It was on Saturday and I was cold and I wanted soup or at
\nleast something yummy. I picked up a can of yellow curry. It was $1.50 and
\nI was excited that it would be a nice change from beans and rice and I love
\ncurry. But then I panicked. What if it was gross? If I didn’t like it,
\nwhat would I do? I would have spent a full $1.50, which usually wouldn’t
\neven cross my mind twice, but if I had bought it, then I would have to eat
\nit. I don’t like to eat things that are gross. So, I didn’t buy the curry.<\/p>\n
\nchoices if you are low-income. Would I, if I were a low-income mother, ever
\npurchase something I wasn’t assured my children would like? Would I take a
\nchance on buying something healthier that my children had never tried,
\nespecially if it were more expensive than macaroni and cheese? I imagine
\nthese are very hard decisions. I don’t have children so I don’t know
\nfirsthand the difficulty. But I do know that low-income mothers, like all
\nmothers, want their children to be healthy and thrive. They want to do what
\nis best for their child. But the ability to do that is hampered by economic
\nconditions. When the choice is healthier, fresh foods or buying diapers or
\npaying an electric bill, I can understand why the cheaper, processed food
\nmay win out. It is when I think of those scenarios that I think about the
\nfamily struggling that has not yet found the Food Stamp Program. With all
\nits flaws – the complex application process, the benefit amount that doesn’t
\ngo quite far enough – this Program is the first line of defense against
\nhunger for millions of Americans. I believe it is a good program, one that
\ncan allow families to take a chance on something new, something healthier,
\nto increase their purchasing power and maybe add a little variety to their
\ndiets.<\/p>\n
\nby Maria Cimini on Wednesday, November 2, 2011<\/p>\n
\nI was worried about being hungry all week. I was worried about whether or
\nnot I was going to run out of food. I was especially worried that I hadn’t
\nyet purchased my food for the week. Overall I would say the week has been a
\nsuccess. I was able to stick to just the food I purchased for this
\nchallenge. Thankfully I had money left over last Thursday because I did run
\nout of milk on Monday so it cost me $1.89 to purchase more. Then, I
\nsplurged and purchased three-quarters of a pound of ground beef to made
\nAmerican chop suey. It was pretty delicious. All in all I got through the
\neating part okay.<\/p>\n
\nit, but because I have such a greater appreciation now for how hard it
\nactually is. So, my last post while still participating in the challenge is
\nabout the challenge of it for me and I think for many families – the lack of
\nconvenience. Last Wednesday night, I got home after 10pm, not at all
\nuncommon for me. I could have gone to Stop and Shop, but I had really wanted
\nto do my initial shopping at Price Rite in order to save some money. Price
\nRite is not open at that hour. Every morning this week I went to work and
\nmade coffee. Now I know that most coffee drinking adults make their own
\ncoffee every day, but I relish every moment in bed in the morning, so I
\nwould typically drive to work and purchase a cup of coffee on the way. That
\nwas a convenience I missed very much. Every day I made my lunch in the work
\nmicrowave. I refilled my water bottle several times a day. The hardest
\npart for me was dinner. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I eat out a
\nlot. After work most days I don’t go straight home. This week I had a
\nlegislative hearing and a community meeting. These events had me getting
\nhome well after 8:30pm. The only time my stomach growled this week was when
\nI was waiting for water to boil for rice or pasta. I would have very much
\npreferred to stop and pick up take out or to munch on something while I
\nwaited for my dinner to be ready. But convenience went out the window this
\nweek – on this budget. I could not afford to get take out. I could not
\nafford my usual ready-to-eat snack items like chips and salsa or almonds or
\nbaby carrots. That was my greatest struggle this week – the loss of
\nconvenience in my life. What I can’t imagine though, is how hard this is
\nfor people with families. I was anxious waiting for water to boil and I’m
\nan adult, in control of my eating, in control of my schedule. I certainly
\nlive a life that is busy, but I have a job where I can eat when I want to,
\nI’m not reliant on a certain break time like most low-income workers. I may
\nhave been hungry when I didn’t plan my meal times well but I knew there was
\nfood available when I got around to cooking it. I don’t know what I would
\ndo if I were a mother rushing between multiple jobs, picking up children at
\ndaycare, trying to get balanced meals in while worrying about bills that I
\nmay not be able to pay.<\/p>\n
\nthe surface of how other people live all the time. I hope this experience
\nwill make me better at my job as the Food Stamp Outreach Coordinator and as
\na State Legislator. I only wish more of us who make decisions about the
\nlives of others could have experienced it as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"