Challenge Reports, Day ONE

(Use the Comments button to send in your thoughts/experiences.)
from Doug B (pastor)
My first day was an interesting one. I found myself realizing just how little $21 really is. I clipped coupons from Hy-Vee and Sunshine and put together a shopping list. My mom would be very disappointed as there are very little greens or fruits on my list. Generic and bulk items were the best prices per pound or ounce. It also dawned on me that I could do a better job of buying food with more money at the front end. I do not know if food stamp recipients get all their food stamps for the month at the beginning of the month, but you can buy much smarter by buying in bulk and that would take more than $21 at a time. There are some great deals out there.
I had some spaghetti for lunch and Hamburger Helper for supper. I feel full but wish I could have some of that ice-cream in my freezer, but that's not in the budget this week. Tomorrow morning I'm looking forword to pancakes and...water (I couldn't afford juice or milk to drink). I can already tell that I would need to get much better at this shopping thing if I had to be this careful.
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from Judee (whose children are now grown, former food stamp participant. She is taking the challenge for 5 days.)
As a single, the challenge is to buy economically in small quantities, especially as if you were fleeing domestic violence and didn't know if you might have to pick up and move again. This is quite different than when I was on food stamps before with my children.
It took me a long time to figure out what I could afford with the $15 I had to make it through the five days I will be on the challenge. Because I'm addicted to caffeine (again), I had to purchase something that would curb the headaches since I couldn't afford flavored coffee or soda. A precious .69 went to tea bags! Since I still cannot eat potatoes, I settled on rice and a small package of spaghetti noodles. Normally, I'd have brown rice and whole wheat pasta, but they were more expensive. I realized meat was not going to be a part of the next few days with my meager budget. I was able to pick up some frozen vegetables pretty cheap and a package of cheese to grate and put on top for protein. I purchased a can of spaghetti sauce on sale for $.99, a dozen eggs, a box of oatmeal, two packages of macaroni 'n cheese. I picked up a small bag of apples and then I was done! It will be an interesting five days! I'm going to "cheat" with salt/pepper and something to sweeten my oatmeal. Those are things that can be picked up somewhere along the way pretty easily.
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Rich E (former state legislator) sent his first day report:
The shopping is done. My grocery bill came to $20.64 - just under the limit. So what I have now is what I will eat for the week. My breakfast routine won't really change much. That's usually toast with peanut butter or cereal with milk. My lunch routine will be completely different, because I usually eat fast food. Now for lunch I will be eating either a can of chili or a can of beef ravioli or a hot dog supplemented with a banana or bread or a slice of American Cheese. Those same items will be rotated into my evening meal too, but I will also add canned vegetables in the evening. If my stomach rumbles, I can fill it up with PBJ's (the go-to meal) or corn flakes. I did pick up a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi on sale; I won't give up caffeine.
I think the food I bought will stretch for the week, but it will probably get monotonous. I can put together somewhat of a balanced diet with no frills - scrimping on the meat. I will miss potato chips, chocolate and fast food. I think the calories may be sufficient to keep me at my current weight. If my whole family were participating and I had foodstamps for 4 people, I may have been able to buy better quality food. My first regret, I should have bought eggs.
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From Nina K(our nutritionist)
I hope to do a summary of the cost as well as the nutrition. Everyone just generally assumes it can’t possibly be healthy, but that is not actually been documented in any place that I have found.
These are my results so far: Day One - $1.45 1295 calories 41 grams protein
I figure my actual needs are about 1700 calories and 55 grams protein, so it is a bit short. I believe I have been getting 75 – 100% of my vitamins and minerals. My shopping list was: Wheat Bagels and wheat bread purchased at the day old bread store, then a bean soup mixture, spaghetti sauce, penne pasta, bananas, potatoes, walnuts, cheese spread, oatmeal, plain yogurt, honey, apricots and tea. I actually spent $22.13.
Thank you so much for your mission to the poor and for encouraging people to participate in this.
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