Snap challenge. fatlogic

[Trigger warning: long]

This recent FFF post talks about living on SNAP benefits, the SNAP challenge, the difficulty of eating healthy while on government assistance. I have no doubt living in poverty is hard, nor do I doubt that there are places where it is harder to get food than where I live (Midwestern US) BUT I also know quite a few people who live where I do and make the same arguments about poverty and obesity so I know that it is not the whole picture.

I had a look at the SNAP challenge and it says the average is $4 per day per person. Assuming a 30 day month, this means I would have $120 per month. My caloric requirements are ~1600 kcal per day assuming normal activity like walking around but no vigorous intentional exercise.

Meals are intended to require minimal preparation and equipment. I have factored in things like time and travel. I also assume I have:

A stove or hot plate.

1 pot.

1 frying pan.

Running water.

A refrigerator.

Here is what I came up with assuming you can only make it to one store per month (in this case either a Walmart or a Kroger, some price variation applies but it is pretty close). I assume that I would not use an entire bottle of oil in a month.

This one requires a trip to both Walmart/Kroger and a local dollar store (in my case there is one near both Walmart and Kroger). Same assumption about oil.

This one shows how you could stock up on basics (it does require Internet and a credit card, so it wouldn't work for everyone but it is a possibility for some. Also the author of the post clearly has Internet). Free shipping to home requires a $50 purchase so you could buy some of the stuff in the list each month (notice that you get several months worth of each food item). (PS to any stalkers/FA lurkers- I'm not in Naperville, I just used that as an example). Walmart also allows you to shop for cheap bulk items online, ship to your local store for free, and then go pick up all your items at once so you could get all your groceries in one monthly trip, at least where I live.

Now granted, I have an advantage in that I don't require that many Calories per day nor is this diet the epitome of healthfulness . But I also could have gotten cheaper and healthier items (the pre-seasoned rice for example is a convenience/loaded with sodium) and my totals added up to more kcals than are actually necessary for me with some money left over. And it isn't a terrible diet, especially if you supplement with food pantry and farmer's market foods when those are available.

I happen to have eaten pretty much this exact diet (minus the bread and noodles most of the time and with some variation in the protein sources but very similar) for several years. I had limited time, limited kitchen stuff, limited culinary skills, no car, and limited money yet was able to feed myself for very little and ended up neither malnourished nor overweight. I still eat a lot like this today, though my finances, cooking skills, and transportation are better than they were (though I'm not exactly mega rich either).

I also detect an element of snobbery from many articles of this nature (For example, lots of expired food is actually fine and it does not immediately turn toxic as implied by the OP and eating rice and beans regularly is normal for many people around the world, though FAs often turn up their noses at this type of "peasant food") nor is there any acknowledgement of the fact that 1) becoming and remaining obese indicates consumption of more food than is necessary and 2) many people refuse to stop buying unnecessary items like soda/candy/chips/convenience foods when complaining about the expense of feeding themselves.

Thoughts?

Submitted November 19, 2014 at 02:01PM by ThePrivileged http://ift.tt/1uPa4MA fatlogic