Welcome back Experiencers,
Today I close my experience with a summary of my week based on the funds that SNAP has calculated for each individual to have. I was certainly able to survive. However, the high starch content, lack of variety, and lack of produce negatively affected my attitude towards dining. I was nauseous at the thought of eating pork one more night, while between meals it was difficult to keep from snacking on foods I hadn’t bought for the week’s efforts. This, along with many other aspects of my experience, highlighted how different it was for me in comparison with those who rely on SNAP benefits every month. On a college campus, food is constantly available and usually free; I knew that the lack of food was a restriction that I’d placed on myself intentionally. This provided a level of psychological security that those whose nutritional lifestyle I temporarily imitated do not have. I was forced to consider assumptions that I’d made going into the week, particularly surrounding access to water and the role of liquids.
At the end of the week, I still do not think that I can answer whether this exercise is “good” or “bad”. Rather, the SNAP exercise is a catalyst for the user’s agenda: “proving” that the SNAP program is either over or under-funded, that healthy choices can be made on an extreme budget or a lack of funding necessitates a lack of nutrition. It can be used with empathy or insensitivity, treating poverty as an adventure or entertaining diet. If you are thinking of trying a similar experience to mine, I encourage you to keep an open mind and to understand that this is not a door to understanding the exact experience of low-income households. Instead, read their stories and listen to what they have to say. I have included a link below to do this (the link can also be found earlier in my blog): https://mazon.org/this-is-hunger/stories
Additionally, I have provided a link to hear others’ stories with the SNAP experience. Just as I cannot speak to the lives of SNAP recipients, I cannot speak to everyone’s experience with a week of a SNAP-calculated food budget. https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/030314p40.shtml
It is important to remember that that what I was living off of this week was not the average amount that SNAP provides to a given individual, but the total amount that SNAP calculates that an individual should be able to spend. Therefore, SNAP only provides this amount if the person has no other means of income, and typically provides significantly less. Most people must supplement snap benefits with their own money to achieve this amount. In an effort to bridge the gap in food access, I will be donating the money that I saved for this week (calculated on day 2 as approximately $48.57) towards charities that aid people who are food-insecure. I encourage others who are embarking on the SNAP experience to donate the funds as well, rather than treating the exercise as a money-saving device or diet program. Below are a list of links to charities that accept donations for these efforts:
https://www.feedingamerica.org/
https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/
Marion Comi-Morog 