Posted on Sep 16, 2014 in NEWS AND REPORTS | Comments Off on Food Stamp Challenge – Day One
Day One – Shopping Day
$22.50. ($1.50 x 3 meals = $4.50 x 5 days= $22.50)
This was budget I gave myself going into Wal-Mart Sunday night to prepare for the five day Food Stamp Challenge.
A few weeks ago the Urban Mission Board of Directors and I were challenged to accept the Food Stamp Challenge. Could we do it? Would we do it?
Hunger is such a significant issue in our community. With 1 in 5 people going to sleep hungry each night in our community, I feel so helpless.
What can I do? Perhaps the Challenge is the first step I can take to understanding the struggle many face in feeding their families day after day.
I decided to take the Challenge for the week of Sept. 14th – 20th. It was important for me to do the Challenge first before I could invite others to do the same.
Walking into Wal-Mart with a calculator in one hand and my list in the other, I was confident I could stick to my budget. I’m typically pretty budget conscious but it isn’t that often I have to stick to the budget down to the cents. $22.50 was all I had.
I started in the fresh produce aisle. Wow! Why did everything have to look so good?! Apples and bananas were on my list. I decided to go with the bananas as the apples would take up at least a fourth of my budget. I then moved to the vegetables. I was looking for green beans and carrots but decided to stick with the carrots (they were cheaper) and possibly get some canned green beans.
“Skip the meats for now,” I told myself. I was planning to go back once I had everything else I needed in my cart.
Milk? or Yogurt? Yogurt seemed to be the better option. I could make that into a meal if I needed to.
I looked at my list: Eggs… check. Bread… check.
Skip the juice, pop, bottled water, coffee… sigh.
Skip any of the convenience food I’m used to putting in my cart. Ugh! I don’t like to cook, but it was looking like I would be preparing everything from scratch this week
Beans! Yes to beans! And rice! “It’s going to be a very gassy week,” I thought to myself then laughed out loud.
Tuna…check. Chickpeas… check. But how do I cook them?
I had a few dollars left. I should get some meat.
After looking through each case I found some chicken. It was on sale. Yes!
As I approached the register, I was afraid I would go over. I pulled out my coupons. None would work on the items I had chosen. I have to get better at couponing I told myself.
As I scanned the last item, I waiting anxiously for the total… $21.87. Whew!
I looked down at my cart. Although happy I came under budget, I had no idea how I would make it through the week relying solely on the food in my bag.
The Challenge begins…
(Story submitted by Rev. Ashley Steele)