Sunday, January 13, 2013

SNAP Challenge: Day Six

For the past six days members of the Greater Chicago Food Depository staff have been taking the SNAP Challenge – eating on just $35 for seven days (the average weekly benefit of an individual living on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps).

During the Challenge, Chief Financial Officer Donald Tusek and Vice President of Supply Chain Gerry Maguire have been journaling about their experience eating for a week on just $35:

Donald Tusek
The monotony of the diet is starting to get to me.  My core dinner has been macaroni and cheese with ground beef.  It keeps me full, but the taste is bland.  I look forward to the small salad I have along with my dinner.  

My original plan was to eat the macaroni and cheese during the week and use the other whole grain pasta with a spaghetti sauce for the last couple of days.  I decided to make the pasta and marinara midweek and alternate for the remainder of the Challenge just to get more variety. 

I purchased two jars of combined peanut butter and jelly and have been taking a spoonful of that as my “dessert” after dinner.  


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Gerry Maguire
I have had the same meals - cereal for breakfast each morning, chili for lunch and soup for dinner – everyday this week.  My snack through the day has been 3-4 pieces of fruit. While I got a good deal on the bag of apples I purchased on Day Zero, the quality of the apples is not good. Since I have spent my $35, I cannot afford to go out and buy more so I am stuck with them.

Variety of food at night has been the biggest issue. I am very bored of eating the same food. I wish I had purchased a cheaper cereal to get at least seven breakfasts out it it because I have run out. 



Check back next Monday for a recap of the Food Depository staff members’ SNAP Challenge experience and ways you can advocate for stronger nutrition safety net programs.

Friday, January 11, 2013

SNAP Challenge: Day Five



This week staff members of the Greater Chicago Food Depository have been taking the SNAP Challenge – eating for seven days on just $35 – the average weekly benefit of an individual living on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps).

Over the past five days we have heard from Steven McCullough, Caroline Howe and Bob Dolgan about their experience eating for a week on just $35. All three wrote about the nutritional limitations of eating on such a limited budget – an issue faced by the thousands of SNAP recipients in our community.

Lubna Saleh, an AmeriCorps member and nutrition specialist working with the Food Depository, reviewed the staff members’ SNAP Challenge grocery receipts and found some nutritional red flags:

Lubna Saleh
“It is very important to keep a wholesome, well-balanced diet – especially fresh fruit and vegetables as well as whole grains and lean protein,” said Lubna. “When you don’t eat the recommended servings of each, you can put yourself at risk of chronic diseases over time – such as cancer and heart disease.”

Take vegetables, for instance, which each Food Depository staff member purchased. Lubna says it is recommended to eat five servings of vegetables a day. After looking over the grocery receipts, Lubna was concerned each staff member might not meet their recommended servings on such a limited budget this week This could pose health risks for a person in the long term.


“Vegetables contain important antioxidants and minerals that help our body resist chronic diseases,” she said. 


Day Five: Chief Financial Officer Don Tusek's remaining food.
Lubna also warned about eating too many processed food items which can be more convenient and affordable,"these foods typically contain preservatives and high levels of sodium which could be unhealthy if eaten on a regular basis.”

While the Food Depository staff members are only taking the Challenge for seven days – many food insecure individuals face these same nutritional challenges week after week.


Are you taking the SNAP Challenge? We want to hear your stories.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

SNAP Challenge: Days Three & Four

Could you eat on just $35 for a week? Staff members of the Greater Chicago Food Depository have been taking the SNAP Challenge for the past four days – eating on the average weekly benefit of an individual living on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps) – $35 for seven days.

Chief Operating Officer Caroline Howe and Vice President of Communications Bob Dolgan are now on day four of the SNAP Challenge:


Caroline Howe
I am feeling the effect of lack of my normal intake in fruit, leafy vegetables and grains; specifically, salads, nuts and juices. The most challenging part of this, which fortunately for me is an exercise, was the thinking that went into the shopping, planning for as many combinations as possible with products purchased and not having the monetary flexibility to choose otherwise during the week. 

While I am doing this for a very short and limited amount of time and I can see a light at the end of the week, I will be relieved to buy what I am able and what I want. I know to do this every day, every week, each month in and out would be far more mentally challenging. It can be defeating knowing that my access to food is limited.

We all have our comfort foods – not having food, crushes the very idea of ‘comfort food.’ I am really beginning to feel, this isn’t a challenge anymore – it is a fight, I am trying to get to Sunday. I still have food left, but not sure that’s the issue anymore.


Caroline's $35 grocery receipt

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Bob Dolgan
Three days in, and I’m realizing that the rest of my SNAP Challenge week will be filled with bland food and without much variety. My breakfasts and lunches have been essentially the same every day—wheat toast with butter spread and cheese in the morning and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at midday. I may not have enough bread to make it through the full seven days.  Craving snacks, I’ve already gone through nearly a whole bag of carrots.
On Wednesday night I had ramen noodles and a soft-boiled egg for dinner. The highlight was the hot sauce I added to the noodles, the first splash of real flavor all day. I’m grateful for the Challenge provision that allows us to use condiments, which will help with tomorrow’s dinner of egg noodles and Friday’s quesadilla dinner.

Like Steven McCullough, I’m regretting some of the choices I made when I went shopping on Sunday. I didn’t buy any beverages so I’ve been drinking water all week.  I didn’t buy enough fresh produce—there were few appealing items at the discount store where I shopped. Today I broke down and used the last couple of dollars I had to buy a bottle of cranberry juice and I plan to dilute it with water to make it last longer.


The Challenge offers insight into the difficult choices so many people in our community face when it comes to food. It’s easy to see how flavor and convenience become more attractive options on a limited budget. 


Day Three: Bob's dinner
Check back this Friday and read more about the Food Depository's staff members' experience taking the SNAP Challenge. Are you taking the SNAP Challenge? Share your experience with us!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

SNAP Challenge: Days One & Two

For the past three days members of the Greater Chicago Food Depository staff have been taking the SNAP Challenge – eating on just $35 for seven days (the average weekly benefit of an individual living on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps).

Steven McCullough, Vice President of Community Partnerships, has been journaling about his SNAP Challenge experience, including his fear he will soon run out of food:

Steven McCullough
Day One: January 7, 2013

I got through the first day of my SNAP Challenge with relative ease.  I had a bowl of cereal and milk for breakfast.  For lunch, I made myself a sandwich of thin sliced ham on multi-grain bread. My dinner consisted of mixed vegetables and pasta with sauce as well as a glass of juice.  For the first day the meals were okay but I am sure I will be sick of eating the same thing by the time the week is out. 


I am starting to worry about whether or not the food I purchased will last seven days.  I am a big-time snack person so I have been eating Cutie oranges, fruit snacks, oat bars and trail mix to get me through the work day. I feel I am front-loading my food intake though and I will need to watch this carefully.
 
Day Two: January 8, 2013

It is a good thing I am doing this challenge the first week back from holiday break.  The kids are back to school, my wife and I are back at work and the entire family is back to our normal routine.  So my eating flow is steady; no big holiday meals, snacking in front of the television, etc.  Nonetheless, I am still fearful of running out.  


Day Two: Steven's dinner
I had the same meals for breakfast and lunch as the day before.  For dinner, I baked a frozen pizza which I know I should not have purchased (see Day Zero’s post). But I knew I had to pick up my son in the evening and no one was going to be home.  My son Trent is 3 years old and when I talk about food and more specifically when I say pizza, his eyes get wide and mouth starts to water.  I fully intended to prepare something other than pizza for his dinner however when he saw what I was eating he insisted on having some too.  Of course I cave and he eats half of my pizza.  The pizza wasn't even satisfying.

So far keeping busy has kept my mind off of what I am or am not eating.  When I think about food I get hungry.


Join the Greater Chicago Food Depository staff and take the SNAP Challenge. Share your photos and experience on the Food Depository's Facebook page or on Twitter (@FoodDepository).

Monday, January 7, 2013

SNAP Challenge: Day Zero

This week, several members of the Greater Chicago Food Depository staff are taking the SNAP Challenge by eating for seven days on just $35 – the average weekly benefit of an individual living on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps).

SNAP is a vital piece of the federal food and nutrition safety net that aims to alleviate hunger by providing a means for low-income households to purchase food. Nearly 46.2 million people across the country and more than 820,000 individuals in Cook County depend on SNAP to help put food on the table each month.

Yesterday, Vice President of Community Partnerships Steven McCullough went shopping for his week’s worth of groceries with just $35 cash. Here are some of his thoughts from “Day Zero” of the SNAP Challenge:

Steven McCullough
I was really looking forward to doing the SNAP Challenge. This challenge gives participants a glimpse of what life is like for millions of low-income Americans. It forces you to make difficult food shopping choices on a limited budget and you realize how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious items and stay healthy with too few resources.

I have been broke before; throughout my youth, and as a young adult and occasionally as an adult.  So I am thinking that I will go back to that mind set, hunker-down and it will all be good. I thought $35 for me, for food for a week would be easy.  I went grocery shopping for the first time in ages.  My family usually has groceries delivered to our home, which is convenient but expensive. 


So I went to a discount grocery store on the West Side yesterday at about 9:00 a.m. The store was already full of people and I had to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart.  So I am upset that I have to go back to my car to get a quarter so I can get a cart.  I get the cart, go back in the store, grab a sales paper, pull out my calculator, and start down the aisles.

Steven's grocery receipt

Starting off went well enough; I am counting down from $35, thinking about what I would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Maybe I would have enough to get a snack?  I get through a couple of aisles trying to pick the most nutritious food possible.  After making my way through the dry and dairy sections, I only have $10 left to get to the fresh produce and frozen sections.


I decide I can get more mileage out of frozen vegetables than fresh ones.  I go to the frozen food section and pick up some frozen vegetables.  I thought about my week some more and thought to myself, I’m going to be too tired to cook most nights and my wife is cooking for the kids.  So I broke down and bought frozen ravioli and a couple of frozen pizzas.  I blew it.  My shopping experience and my laziness got me off my plan of eating healthier on this budget.  All in the span of a half hour. 


I checked out at $33.06.  I did get a lot of high fiber products, juice, milk, cereal, oranges, protein bars, but I left the store mad and kicking myself.  Not a good start.  I still believe I can get through the week.  I spent the rest of the day eating as much of my favorites as I could. My last indulgence before my challenge starts was to go see a movie with a large bag of popcorn.  Let the challenge begin!


Check back this Wednesday and read more about the Food Depository's staff members' experience taking the SNAP Challenge. Are you taking the SNAP Challenge? Share your experience with us!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Make your impact on hunger in 2013

A long line of people braving the cold while waiting to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables at a Food Depository Producemobile distribution.
People ask us all the time: how can I help? The Greater Chicago Food Depository is humbled by the generosity of individuals, companies and organizations wanting to make an impact in their community. But as record numbers of individuals turn to pantries for food – up 89 percent since five years ago– we need more support than ever as we continue to make a daily impact in 2013.

More than 807,000 men, women and children in Cook County are food insecure – 1 in 6 – unsure of where their next meal will come from. High unemployment and the recovering economy have pushed record numbers of people in Cook County to the point of hunger. Increased demand, rising food prices, fewer donations and limited government food made 2012 a challenging year. Meanwhile, conversations in Washington discuss reducing critical nutrition safety-net programs – potentially limiting or eliminating benefits for thousands of Cook County residents.

We were so fortunate to see a great response from our supporters this holiday season. But the need persists. You can stay involved by volunteering, advocating or making a financial contribution. Help us put food in the table for those in need and make an impact in the fight against hunger in 2013.