MD Hunger Solutions Gears Up for the Food Stamp Challenge

by Kimberley Chin, Director, Maryland Hunger Solutions

Next week, I start the Food Stamp Challenge. I will be living on approximately $3 worth of food each day for a week (the average food stamp benefit amount.) At the recent FRAC conference I heard Representatives Jo Ann Emerson and Jim McGovern describe their experiences with the Challenge. After hearing them speak, I started to worry a little, but still didn’t think that it would interfere too much with my daily functioning. Then I started trying to schedule meetings for next week and realized that lunch meetings would not be great if I had to bring my own lunch while meeting with someone at a restaurant. A friend of mine from Albany, NY who I haven’t seen in years will also be in town next week, and we were starting to schedule a relaxing dinner to catch up when I remembered the challenge. I had to warn her that I wouldn’t be able to eat with her, but would bring my own meal. I'm already starting to rethink how I'll live my life while I'm on the Challenge. I will need to research food prices and see how I can make and stretch meals for seven days. I think that this may be harder than I first anticipated.