Councilmember Challenges You to Eat on $5 a Day
Councilmember Valerie Ervin is the latest elected official to try to eat with a food stamp budget.
If you have never had the challenge of feeding yourself with only the amount of money allotted to you by a government food stamp program, a Montgomery County Councilwoman wants you to simulate the experience. "SNAP the Silence" is an effort by Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5) to get elected officials as well as everyday folks to empathize with people who depend on federal food benefits, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for sustenance. The challenge is for a person to spend only $5 a day on food, which is a little bit more than the $4.28 average daily allowance per person for people participating in SNAP. "The current economic crisis has forced more people than ever to ask for public assistance," …
Citizen X
1:11 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
The point of the food stamp program was never to fully care for your needs to the level you "prefer". A 20 pound bag of rice, lentils and beans is well within this limit, but while working in a grocery store I have very rarely seen customers with food stamps do this. On the contrary, I've seen premium ice cream and candy purchased with cheddar cheese and alike. There are also charitable soup … more ›