The Food Stamp Challenge - Hitting the Ground Running

by Kimberley Chin, Director, Maryland Hunger Solutions

Today I went with Kevin McGuire, the Executive Director of the Family Investment Administration of the Department of Human Resources, to a wonderful local supermarket in Baltimore, Santoni’s, to shop for the Food Stamp Challenge this week. With $21 to spend for the week, I had to take time thinking about and planning what I would be eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next seven days. I spent $18.41 at Santoni’s today, so I still have $2.59 left to play with in case things get desperate at the end of the week. The shopping trip took much longer than normal because I really had to think about how much money I had to spend, what foods would make a meal together, and what was on sale. I also kept thinking about how hard this would have been if my three young sons were with me on this trip. Usually I just run in quickly and get what we need. This prolonged trip could potentially have been a nightmare with three cranky little boys five years old and younger. As to my purchases, I had to get white bread instead of wheat because that was on sale. I also chose iceberg lettuce over other greens because of the price. Some of my other purchases included spaghetti, tomato sauce, black beans, rice peanut butter and a few other items . Bringing the food home was an interesting experience. Although my sons are not taking the challenge with me, they were fascinated with my purchases. They watched me make a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce tonight and asked me if I was making a spaghetti casserole to take to church – the last time they saw me make such a big pot, we took it to church for the food pantry. They were also confused about the white bread – they are used to seeing wheat. Finally, our household usually gets baby carrots because they are easier to eat and serve, they thought the regular carrots that I bought were “the largest carrots in the world!” It was also difficult to resist snacking with my three boys during the evening as I was cooking. All this is interesting for the first day, but the reality is that this is just a week for me and I can see an end. For so many, this is not a game – it is their reality.