Volunteers weigh in on United Way’s Week of Action SNAP Challenge
United Way of Central Arkansas put a challenge to community volunteers this week.
Aside from the Week of Action community service projects, they were asked to take on the SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or Food Stamp Challenge.
The idea was to experience first-hand the struggles of eating that those living in poverty face each day.
Participants were to spend roughly $25 on food for themselves for the entire week, or about $4.50 a day.
This is the average amount issued in food stamps to those who qualify in Arkansas.
That was the challenge. The trick — to do it nutritiously.
It can be done, said Rhonda Monfee, registered dietician and diabetes educator with Conway Regional Health System.
“What it won’t cost you in money, it will cost you in time,” Monfee said.
Planning is key when attempting to eat healthy on such a limited budget, she said.
“I’m always going to go to beans. They are the healthiest,” Monfee said. “Less meat and more veggies. It is cheaper, but still just as nutritious.”
Other go-to foods she said, were chickpeas, eggs, whole grain breads, whole chickens that may be used for a several meals, rice, and in-season local fruits and vegetables.
“The more fresh the foods are, the more nutrients they will have,” Monfee said. “Our No. 1 thing is local. Buy in season and at the farmers markets. The planning is the biggest deal, and making time. You have to make stews, casseroles – things you can make ahead.”
Alderman Mark Vaught took the challenge.
“I’ve been eating most of what I usually eat, but just less of it,” he said.
He took the challenge because “it’s a great learning tool for people who serve on the boards of charitable organizations to understand what it’s actually like for those that receive benefits from those organizations.”
It has been a challenge for him.
“Probably the biggest challenge has been to get my head around the idea that I can’t just go pay whatever it costs for whatever food I want to eat,” Vaught said.
His strategy has been to eat Total brand cereals for breakfast, and incorporate fish, eggs and bread in other meals.
Fresh vegetables from the family garden have helped him with balance.
Friday night, however, he was in a predicament.
“My friends and family want to go out to eat pizza tonight,” Vaught said. “Friends and family have wanted to go out to eat this week. It’s hard to remember that I don’t have eight bucks for dinner. Tonight I’ll buy my family a real nice dinner and I will have one slice of pizza to stay with the challenge.”
He reported that he weighs five pounds less, is getting fuller more quickly, and he has loss the craving for “sweets.”
Vaught has eaten smaller meals that were already in his diet, and was unable to cook, he said, due to time constraints.
Jennifer Bickers, resource development director for UWCA, has taken a different approach.
“I will tell you, this was more challenging than I expected it to be,” Bickers said. “I certainly didn’t realize how frequently I grab lunch from somewhere when I’m out, or how often I think after a long day of work that I’ll just grab something quick to cook in the store.”
She said that for those living in poverty, those two options “simply aren’t there.”
She said that the challenge taught her that poor planning was a luxury – one that individuals in poverty didn’t have.
“I found out quickly that to be successful in this, I had to work at it and plan for it,” Bickers said.
Bickers was particularly proud of one meal that she created for $4 that fed two in her household.
“I sautéed smoked turkey sausage and a frozen bag of mixed vegetables in a little zesty Italian dressing and garlic powder. I served it over rice and it was delicious,” she said.
Cravings and compulsions took a back seat to sensible and cost-effective meals.
Bickers declined dinner invitations from friends, and did not eat meals at restaurants this week.
“I have known from Day 1 that this would come to a close at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, June 25, 2011. But I’ve thought this whole week as I struggle with cravings and ponder what to cook on such a budget, what happens when there is no end in sight? How do people manage when this is their daily life, every day, with no deadline, no reprieve from the struggle they face just to survive,” Bickers wrote in an e-mail Friday.
She said that one result of her challenge has been more empathy.
“It has made me feel very blessed and made me very thankful that I have the knowledge and resources to prepare healthy meals on a tight budget, when many in that situation do not…But for now, I will say that I understand how poverty and poor health often go hand-in-hand. It would have been so much easier this week if I would’ve cooked hamburger helper or chili dogs for dinner, instead of searching for healthy, well-balanced alternatives,” she wrote.
Some UWCA challengers shared their thoughts and progress through the SNAP Challenge at www.uwcavolunteeers.com.
“The SNAP Challenge was an important part of Week of Action,” Bickers said. “We always focus on how folks can give to make a difference, but the SNAP Challenge shows how you can give up something to make a difference. It’s about awareness. It’s one thing to know that poverty exists — it’s another to experience even one small portion of the struggles of poverty. Sometimes understanding is the best thing you can do to help someone.”
According to May 2011 data provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, there were 44,587,328 Americans on the SNAP assistance program, or food stamps.
The number, which has almost doubled since 2008, is expected to rise.
(Staff writer Courtney Spradlin can be reached by e-mail at courtney.spradlin@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
An inside look
Dietician Rhonda Monfee’s menu suggestion for one day
Breakfast:
100 percent whole grain tortillas, eggs and grated cheese, black beans.
“If I were thinking southwest, I would make a wrap and use the block cheese because it is cheaper than sliced. I would scramble the eggs and add black beans.”
Another option she said was cereal in the larger bags.
“The smaller the box, the more expensive, and nothing is cheaper than good ole’ oatmeal.”
Lunch:
Hummus and peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“Blend the chickpeas yourself with olive oil and garlic. And if you are into simple, peanut butter and jelly is great for a sack lunch. I will also cut up veggies and fruit.”
Dinner:
Crock pot chicken.
“If you are going to cook and try to remain inexpensive, you need a crock pot. Buy a whole chicken, wash it and put it in with water and onion. When you get home you’ve got a meal. The cost difference is unbelievable and freeze what you don’t eat for other meals.”
