Food Stamp Challenge

Have you ever seen the people at the stores using Food Stamps? Did it make you angry? Did you think why can't that bum get a job? Or they are just milking the system? Or maybe they are just having more kids to get more money? Stupid preganat teenagers on WIC...

Chances are you didn't put yourself in there shoes. Everyone hits hard times and needs help some time. I believe in compassion. The word ‘compassion’ comes from two Latin words, ‘suffer’ and ‘with’. To show compassion means to suffer with someone, to enter into a person’s situation and become involved in that person’s suffering. I urge you to suffer with the millions on Government Aid. Live like they do. See if it is made to be what it is all cracked up to be. Walk in there shoes.

Calfornia's governor-sanctioned tent city

Take the Food Stamp Challenge

You may know what it's like to have hunger pangs, but do you know what it's really like to not know where your next meal is coming from, or how you will afford enough food to last until the end of the month? Take the Food Stamp Challenge and find out.

More than 200 people throughout Greater Kansas City answered the call and lived on a Food Stamp budget during Hunger Awareness Week, June 2-10, 2007. But you can take the Food Stamp Challenge any week of the year. It's a very effective way for you and your family to learn about the physical, emotional and social difficulties of poverty and food insecurity.

The Food Stamp Program serves as our nation’s first line of defense against hunger by providing low-income people with funds to buy food at the supermarket using a special debit card. Food Stamp benefits are based on family size, income, expenses and several other factors.

For an individual, benefits range from $10 per month to $155 per month. In Kansas, the average benefit for one person is $84.39 a month or $21.10 a week. In Missouri, the average individual benefit is $75.63 or $18.90 a week. According to the Hunger in America 2006 study, Harvesters clients who receive Food Stamp benefits indicate that their monthly allotment lasts just 2 ½ weeks.

See if you can make ends meet on a Food Stamp budget. Buy your groceries using the maximum Food Stamp benefit for your household size. For a household of one, that’s $38.75 for the week—$5.54 per day or $1.85 per meal.

Guidelines
-All food purchased and eaten during the Challenge week, including fast food or dining out,
must be included in your food expenses.
-During the Challenge, only eat food that you purchase during the week of the project. Do
not eat food that you already had in your pantry or refrigerator (this does not include spices
and condiments).
-Try to avoid accepting free food from friends, family or work during the Challenge.
You will be able to spend the following amounts on food during the 7-day Challenge:

1 person= $38.75
2 people= $71.00
3 people= $102.00
4 people= $129.50
5 people= $153.75
6 people= $184.50