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PDF versionPoliticians take food stamp challenge to call attention to program
by Sharon Abercrombie on Nov. 16, 2011
Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from Hillsborough, Calif., went hungry on purpose the first week of November. She described her sparse diet as "humbling and difficult."
Speier joined other Democrats in a "food stamp challenge" campaign. They lived on $4.50 a day to call attention to possible cuts in the federal food stamp supplemental program. About 44 million poor people depend on this assistance, but if supercommittee member Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama has his way, the program will be chopped significantly.
Read more about Speier's grocery shopping efforts from Catholic San Francisco.
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Ironic that Sessions comes
Ironic that Sessions comes from Alabama since more people will probably be hurt by the cuts in the deep South than anywhere else. How the Republicans sold Southern's on the fact that they are NOT poor I'll never figure out!
$4.50 a day comes to $135 a
$4.50 a day comes to $135 a day. I spend about $140 dollars a day a month and I eat well and in healthy manner including fresh vegetables and fruits. This is more than adequate amount per day for a food stamp program. The funding levels are actually much higher than this amount currently. Being on food stamps should not be fun it should provide a basic level of nutrition. In fact, I don't think people should be able to by soda and Papa Murphy's as they are currently allowed to do on food stamps or as the Obama adminstration now calls it SNAP(which they kicked off with a marketing campaign aimed a kids to make food stamps seem cool). One thing I never understand how welfare program create dependency. It you make the benefits to mainstream or market welfare to normalize it your just gonna create more dependency.
MinneCatholic would do all of
MinneCatholic would do all of us hand-to-mouthers a great service by sharing his/her itemized nutritionally balanced daily menu for $4.60 ($140/month). That's about a buck and a half per meal. Fasting may be holy, but when does fasting approach starvation?
Ok I will take that bait!
Ok I will take that bait! First, I look to buy whats on sale and then mix in other essentials. The last weekly grocery shopping I did came to $36 dollars and included.
1. Generic cereal: $2
2. Half gallone of milk: 2
3. Loaf of whole grain bread: $2.50
4. 2 pounds of carrots: $2
5. 5 pounds of potatoes: $2.50
6. 3 pounds of bananas : $2.10
7. 2 pounds of apples : $3
8. 3 pounds of lean ground beef : $7.50
9. 2 pounds pork chops : $4.50
10.Whole wheat pasta : $1.50
11. Pasta Sauce : $1.50
12. 3 pounds oranges: $5.00
Thats about 25 pounds of reasonably healthy food for one week. I did not starve and the food was also reasonably tasty. My above comments in no way stated I think food stamps should not be available to poor people. My point was with a little thriftiness its an adequate amount of money to eat a decent if albeit simple menu.
As a resident of the state of
As a resident of the state of Alabama, I DO NOT support most of the issues that Sen. Sessions does.
Thank you very much Ms.
Thank you very much Ms. Abercrombie for your articles. You are a talented journalist who conveys the message we Catholics wish to read. Peace be with you. Albert Katz ESQ
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