The Reiki Blog

The Food Stamp Challenge. February 24, 2014

“Let us leave a spare place at our table, a place for those who lack the basics, who are alone.”

—Pope Francis, @Pontifex

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the Food Stamp Challenge, in which people try to eat on $4 a day like those who receive SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, formerly food stamps) assistance must do. Just this morning, I read about a group of students who took up the challenge for a week.

Given the cost of groceries at my house (and mind you, I cook our vegetarian meals at home from scratch), the thought of a $56 weekly grocery bill (for a family of two; each family member is allowed $4 a day, or $28 a week) is mind-boggling. And what if you lived alone and were only allowed $28?!

I guess if I were trying to live on $28 a week, I’d buy the staples the first week: a big bargain bottle of olive or canola oil, a cheap plastic set of salt and pepper shakers, curry powder, a shaker of Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary), and a bottle of hot sauce. I’d buy bags of rice and lentils (or yellow split peas), a big bargain box of spaghetti, and some cans of beans (black, pinto, kidney, whatever was on sale; I’ve found house-brand beans at 59 cents a can). Then I’d buy a can or two of crushed tomatoes (some brand is always on deep discount at our local stores), and a bag of small and therefore sale-priced onions.

Of course, I’d have my calculator with me. If there was enough money left, I’d buy the cheapest head of lettuce in the house, a bottle of vinegar or a lemon (whichever was cheaper), and either a bag of tiny apples (always on discount) or tiny apples combined with tiny oranges (ditto). If red bell peppers were on sale at 10 for $10, I’d get one or two of those as well.

This would allow me to make a simple dal with the lentils or split peas, an onion, and curry powder, and have it with rice. I could make a very simple spaghetti sauce with the crushed tomatoes, oil, Italian seasonings, and onion, and have it over pasta. I could saute an onion in oil, add a can of beans and some Italian seasoning, and serve it over rice with hot sauce, or saute the onion and seasoning, add the can of beans and a can of crushed tomatoes, add enough water to reach the preferred consistency, add rice or pasta if desired, and have soup.

If I’d been able to afford the fresh produce, I’d make a salad with the lettuce, diced red bell pepper, diced onion or diced apple, and dress it with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning and a splash of oil and vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice. As long as I didn’t add the dressing to the salad except for my own small bowl, leaving the rest plastic-wrapped, refrigerated, and undressed, I could hope to eat it for many meals to come, along with any of the dishes described above.

The following week, if I still had enough of my staples and seasonings, I could add potatoes, eggs, tacos or tortilla chips, salsa, and shredded cheese (on sale, two bags for $4, and of course, you only have to buy one). Maybe even butter and block cheese on sale. More lettuce and/or super-healthy coleslaw mix (green and purple cabbage and shredded carrot, often extremely inexpensive bagged). More bell peppers and onions on sale. More sale fruit. More sale pasta and crushed tomatoes. Maybe a few bags of frozen veggies.

Imagine, enjoying a salad with lettuce, coleslaw mix, chopped bell pepper and onion, and a sliced hard-boiled egg, maybe even a little shredded cheese! The secret is to stick to your Italian seasonings and black pepper and a splash of your bargain oil and vinegar; forget bottled dressings.

Could you really eat like this? Well, that depends on whether you were willing to shop in a discount grocery like Aldi or Bottom Dollar or Wal*Mart, whether you were willing to change the way you looked at food (such as skipping breakfast or eating leftover rice and beans for breakfast), and how many mouths you had to feed. (For every additional person, you could add more to the weekly menu, such as eggs, cheese and butter in the first week, while amping up the supplies of staples like pasta, beans and rice to serve as a base for your dishes. Mac’n’cheese, anyone? Butter, shredded cheese, a couple of beaten eggs, and maybe a splash of milk will get you there.)

I love to cook, so I know when I set these options out that they’ll never taste as good as food that you can make with as many ingredients as you wish. They’re bare-bones meals, and, having not gone to the store with my calculator and added up the cost, I can’t even vouch for their SNAP affordability. I deplore the lack of fresh produce, and the rich, appealing salads that I make for our suppers. But at least these meals will be nutritious and filling.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who are wondering where the bread, pizzas, breakfast pastries, snack foods, frozen convenience meals, cereals, desserts, candies, chips, coffee, sodas, and above all, meat are in this scenario. But on $28 a week, stuff like that, plus all fast food and takeout, much less eating out, simply have to go. We don’t like drinking plain water at every meal, either. We love pizza and takeout Chinese. We’re okay with skipping breakfast, but we hate skipping both breakfast and lunch.

Take your calculator and do the math. What can you afford on $28 a week?

As Pope Francis says, let’s save a space at our table for those who can’t afford food, who are trying to survive on $28 a week. Let’s be grateful that we can afford to eat as we please, and share our bounty with our neighbors, friends, and family. The winter before this, one of my dear Reiki friends brought homemade soup to my house every week or two, much to my partner Rob’s delight. I often send my own hearty and warming creations along to my partner’s son, my godson, and our neighbors, and bring them to a weekly gathering of friends.

Just for today, be grateful.