Oh, you guys, I’m exhausted. David is too because he was locked in a car with me and had to listen to me for 4 hours straight go on and on and on about how upset I was about how some people interpreted the EBT challenge post.
I’ve reread my words wondering if there was a way I could have presented the idea to not to evoke such an emotional response. I realize now that there might not have been, since it’s clearly a topic people feel strongly about (rightfully so). The idea was simply a challenge with context. Yes, the challenge is $100 a week. The context is that that is the amount the government believes a family of 3 should get to feed themselves for a week.
I really wanted to focus on how you can still eat healthy on a limited budget, because I’ve heard it argued many times with my own ears, during my years of health coaching, that it’s impossible. I worked with people on government assistance (some wanting to learn and eat healthier, others wanting to convince me that eating out was cheaper than buying groceries) and shown them ways to stretch a dollar. That’s what I wanted to do with this idea, too.
That’s why I wanted your tips and advice. I wanted, with your help, to create a list of useful advice on how to eat healthy without breaking the bank, and to decide what “not breaking the bank” meant, I turned to see what the government deemed appropriate to feed a family my size.
I hope you all were able to see my intentions with this challenge. Those that read my full post and offered feedback, whether in support or respectful criticism, I appreciate it. As a blogger, I know I am opening myself up to criticism and that’s ok. In fact, I LOVE discussions about real topics.
In addition, your insightful comments and suggestions have inspired me to look at even more challenging scenarios, such as the existence of food deserts and transportation obstacles. I am enjoying reading the discussion and my mind is going a million miles an hour thinking about other thoughts and discussions that can stem from this topic. Obviously it is an important issue that people feel passionately about. So thank you so much for your thoughts and participation. I truly value you all!
Stacy K says
I don’t think a lot of people miss interrupted your post this morning, I just think it’s a topic a lot of people who read your blog are passionate about. I took your post simply as a challenge even though I did comment about other challenges and barriers to healthy eating.
I think $100 a week is more than enough to feed a family of 2.5 since my husband and I typically never spend more than $70 a week. Good luck, I’m excited to hear your experience.
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
I agree with Stacy, I think people are just passionate about this 🙂
I actually did a $2 a day challenge, for 5 days, for my church. That certainly wasn’t easy. Lots of rice and beans! haha
I think this is an awesome idea. Since I’m only one person, Id have to probably halve this. That definitely wouldn’t be easy!
Margaret Caswell says
I think this is a fantastic idea – and should’ve said so sooner! I glanced at just a few comments from your earlier post; there are some good, constructive comments that I didn’t think of – like how much time does a person on government assistance have to cook, what kind of access to food do they have, what appliances, etc. – that I think should be taken into consideration, but overall, I think you’re challenge is a great one and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
Callie @ The Wannabe Athlete says
I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that – we all hate feeling misinterpreted! I think your intentions were good, but I do agree that $100/week is a lot. That’s almost twice our weekly budget for a family of three! I actually had to do a similar exercise in law school and we had to survive on about $20/week. It wasn’t easy – at all. We couldn’t use anything we already had in our cabinets except condiments. We ate a lot of tuna noodle casserole and peanut butter sandwiches. Not exactly healthy but it worked. 🙂 Regardless, I’m excited to see how you scale back to fit within that budget!
Tanya @ Vegan Faith says
I read through many of the comments from the original post, and the general theme seems to be that this is not a one-sided issue. What I understand you to be doing is proving exactly that. To eliminate the excuse that it cannot be done. Brittany can show that it is possible to live healthy off the allotted income to bring awareness that the real issue is not how much money is being given for food budgets but that perhaps it is the transportation and food deserts. If more awareness were brought to these issues rather than use the excuse that it isn’t enough money, then it should challenge our government to work for change to eliminate food deserts and provide access to healthy food. I admire that you are taking on this challenge Brittany, and standing up to the criticism. I think tackling a large scale political issue like this will always raise passion in others, but we should all be in one accord to try to end poverty, not against each other for challenging ourselves outside the box. I do have to say though that the discussion seemed very respectful and that I can appreciate.
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey says
I don’t think you came off negatively to be honest with you. You opened up a great discussion that can go many different ways because of all the factors that go into it!
Toni says
I think it is a great idea! Love all your posts. I look forward to seeing how your challenge goes next week!
julia says
I like this idea/challenge and I admire you for opening up this can of worms and getting us talking about very important public health issues. I know my comment might have been a bit rough, but I do support you.
A says
You should definitely check out this blog for ideas –
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/
She has great recipes and has occasionally had to use SNAP (same thing as EBT) during long periods of unemployment. She is an amazing example of how someone without a car and medical problems still manages to eat well on a budget.
Meaghan@ChooseYourJourney says
I’m one of those dissenters from the previous post. 😉 I really appreciate your responses, both to me and to others. I also appreciate the fact that you left up the dissenting opinions, many bloggers would have deleted them. Actually, I am thrilled with the amount of people who responded with thoughts about the intersection of povery, education, race, etc. When I try to talk about these topics in “real life” or at work, I am often shot down. It’s nice to see so many people who acknowledge, or who are at least willing to learn about, the many, many factores that contribute to poverty, obesity, and poor nutrition in this country.
I know it’s not what you intended but thanks for opening up a space for debate. To be honest, I hope you decide not to do this challenge, out of respect for those that are impoverished and struggling in the U.S., but if you do decide to, maybe reframe the challenge so as not to involve government assistance programs or the poor.
wrong. says
she deleted my previous, dissenting comment, which was not mean-spirited and actually pointed out the logical fallicies to her argument.
Danielle @ Long May You Run says
“Haters gunna hate.”
Honestly, there was nothing wrong with your previous post OR your idea, it’s just that some people are too sensitive.
I do want to comment on the idea that people on food stamps usually don’t know what healthy foods to go for. In my opinion, ignorance is never an excuse for a poor decision. Everyone has options to educate themselves, even if it’s simply reading the nutrition label on the back of a food product. But when it comes down to it, people just don’t want to (I hesitate to say the word “lazy”)
But on that note, however, maybe you could pioneer some sort of program/method/idea to educate those with less financial resources to make better food decisions? -or at least make it more accessible-
Good luck, I’m looking forward to what you come up with!!
Kate says
I’m so sick of people painting others as “sensitive” when they point out the truth.
The truth is that food deserts, working multiple, backbreaking jobs, not having transportation, not having adequate resources to store/cook the food, being a single parent- ALL of those things are real issues that effect food insecure people.
To pass off the issues of food stamps as “a lot of people abuse the system and eat like crap” is to vastly oversimplify it. I didn’t read one rude comment on the last post, and I think most were passionate but accurate in pointing out the myriad peripheral issues around food insecure populations.
Pointing out something someone might not know is not “being sensitive”- it’s called trying to educate someone. People with privilege often do not see their privilege because it is just inherent to their daily lives. It’s good to be reminded. It’s not just “can you afford to feed your family on $400 a month?” It’s: do you have a car? gas money? access to good grocery stores? time in between your 2 or more jobs? child care? nutrition education? resources such as cooking appliances?
It’s far easier to just brush it all off as “gee, those sensitive people are so uptight, you’re right girlfriend, keep on keepin’ on! They’re SO MEAN” than it is to actually be open to being educated.
Genevieve says
Thank you so much for laying it out. I came from a community where a number of people relied upon foodstamps and in many areas it was a total food desert. (especially if you lacked reliable transportation, worked hours that didn’t work well with public transportation and reaching grocery stores.)
It is the lack of awareness of one’s privilege that is so alienating.
As someone who grew up in a food stamp family, it isn’t easy to make those dollars stretch for a variety of reasons. No one enjoys having to fight for their dignity at the grocery store because some person judges the contents of your cart. Once a month our family might have had the treat of a bag of potato chips. One measly bag for a family of six people. We never went on vacations, we never had a new car, we weren’t living wild lives, we lived a very very simple life, so now and then like any other person we got to have a treat. YET if we were paying for that with food stamps there was always that one person looking at us and making all kinds of assumptions. To be poor is to spend much of your time trying to fight for your right to basic dignity.
So do “educate” us Lady Bountiful.
Amy says
Haters gonna hate is the single most cliched and unarticulate response in existence. Please do yourself and your response justice by avoiding the use of such a phrase. There is no meaning behind it – none. A dissenting opinion is not “hating” – it is just that, another perspective.
It also has nothing to do with being sensitive. People have a wide variety of opinions when it comes to stereotypical judgments because those people who are commenting have experiences that they are using to back up their comment. It’s insulting and unnecessary to write off the well-written and discussion-provoking responses in the previous post by categorizing the whole lot as being “too sensitive.”
Finally, do you hear yourself? Are you really calling people “lazy” (yes, I know you hesitate to use the word) because they don’t have access to the same resources and knowledge that you do? Please, please, please try to put yourself into the shoes of the other before making claims that have no basis whatsoever. Yeah, people can read nutritional labels – but you’re assuming they have the education/knowledge to make sense of and interpret what is written there. In many cases, they don’t! Yes, there are people out there who don’t know how many protein grams one needs a day or the downsides of buying products with ingredients that are hard to pronouce – for them, ensuring they have enough food to survive is a priority.
Wow.
CJ says
As soon as I see the phrase “haters gonna hate” I immediately dismiss anything that comes after it. It is ridiculous and holds no merit at all. No one is “hating”. Having a different opinion and expressing it is not being “sensitive”.
The benefits of nutrition and what people “should” and “shouldn’t” eat are being constantly debated and are always changing. Are people supposed to drink dairy or not? You can find arguments for both sides easily. It isn’t simply laziness by not reading a nutrition label.
Kelly says
FWIW, the program you described does exist. Share Our Strength has classes called Cooking Matters that do just this so if anyone feels passionate about it they should join in and volunteer.
Heather says
I think it is a great challenge and I love the idea. My coworkers and I have discussed this issue many times and I agree people need to be educated. I hate when I hear people say I don’t have enough time or I don’t have enough money to eat healthy. I can tell you I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I still put a healthy meal on the table for my fiancée and I 4 nights a week and most of those meals take 30 minutes and I have challenged myself to spend $50 or less each week. Now that is sometimes difficult when you run out of a staple, so some weeks I will go over. I am glad you are not using anything you already have at your house and I am interested to see how it turns out. As a suggestion I always plan a little extra in my dinner, so one of us has lunch the next day. I made a pork tenderloin last week and it lasted us for 6 meals, we just changed up the sides. Sorry to be so long winded. Good luck!
Lee says
As one of the people who respectful disagreed with you (I hope it was respectfully!), I think you handled it very well. Just from reading your blog, I can tell that you are a very kind-hearted person and didn’t mean any harm by your post and honestly, I liked the way it facilitated debate.
Heather says
I just read your last post and this one, and I think that your challenge is a great idea. Quite a few years ago my local newspaper did a similar sort of thing (I live in Canada so it’s a bit different). Basically the person who wrote the article was claiming that people couldn’t buy healthy food on welfare. They then went out and grocery shopped with however much it was (I’m really not sure on the details) but they bought prepackaged food and things like kraft dinner and then claimed they wouldn’t be able to buy enough food. My mother (who was a stay at home mum) was absolutely disgusted by the article because as a mum of four she was able to feed us all really well on less than what the article said. I agree that some circumstances may be different when you need government benefits vs. my family growing up.
Basically I just wanted to say that I support your challenge. I think its really great to see someone promoting eating healthy on a budget. I myself am a full time student who also has to work as well to pay my own way. Me and my boyfriend have recently challenged ourselves to spend less on groceries and we are now spending just over 50$ a week for both of us. I have friends who will go out to buy food for themselves and they spend WAY more than that because they are buying junk all the time (and they KNOW its not healthy). Anyways I hope you have a great day 🙂
Kate says
I think the part you need to focus on is that your mother was a stay at home mom.
I don’t think you’re fully realizing the difference between a stay at home mother and a single mom working two jobs, in terms of time to grocery shop and cook healthy meals from scratch. I’m not saying SAHM’s have it easy, but as others have mentioned, one must look at peripheral issues, not just the money. It’s also about time, resources, support, and education.
Carol says
“I don’t think you’re fully realizing the difference between a stay at home mother and a single mom working two jobs…”
For some reason, they never can understand the difference despite it’s simplicity.
Heather says
No, I do realize the difference and I did say “I agree that some circumstances may be different when you need government benefits vs. my family growing up.” So, no, I am fully aware that there are differences. I was pointing out a case where a news paper pointed out that you could ONLY afford to buy JUNK on the amount of money they were given. Which is absolute BS.
Even as a full time student who also works and does other things I make the time to make sure I have meals to bring with me to work etc. I will cook double batches of things and have left overs etc. I live with other students who’s parents pay for EVERYTHING, and they only work a few hours a week to pay for the extras they want. They complain that they have NO time to cook healthy food and yet half the time me making a meal takes a lot less time than waiting for a frozen pizza in the oven. AND they spend a whole lot more money than me at the grocery store, sugary cereal, hotdogs, pizza, juice mixes and all the other CRAP costs a whole lot more than my veggies and healthy food. So I do understand the difference between a stay at home mom and a single mother working two jobs, but I disagree about the COST of healthy food being more because with tha same amount of money I can buy a lot more healthy food than candy and those prepackaged lunches that people send there kids to school with.
Chelle says
Yes and there have been many studies and people who’ve attempted these “experiments” that have the same results as that newspaper article.
So I’m more incline to agree with them than you. Sorry.
eb says
You live in Canada so it’s completely different. Our produce is subsidized at a much higher rate and is significantly cheaper, we have better public transportation, and we have higher minimum wages with a lower cost of living. I didn’t realize how completely and utterly privileged being from Canada (even as a university student)made me until I did grad studies in the southern US and lived in student housing in a poor neighbourhood which was a food desert in a town where the bus didn’t run after 5pm. Acquiring healthy groceries was, for me, a hassle, but for someone without the same flexibility of work schedule it would have been an impossibility. Please don’t pretend to know about something that you clearly do not.
Dukebdc says
I will agree with you that many people of all socio-economic levels think eating well is expensive. But I also wish that the connection to gov’t assistance levels, etc. could be removed from the challenge. Even in these comments, someone has alluded that those eating poorly on benefits are too lazy to educate themselves. Really? It’s easy to make assumptions from a comfortable home with a college degree.
Angie says
I didn’t realize this would cause such controversy! I think it’s a great challenge. I teach at a school where 95% of the students are on free and reduced lunch and to see what those kids eat is disheartening. I would say majority are overweight too. Many of the snacks they bring are chips and other junk food. I think you have good intentions and I’m curious how this challenge goes. When my husband and I splurge on steak for dinner on Saturdays we often split one. There are ways to make it work. Good luck!
Whitney says
I personally think this challenge is great…it is absolutely possible to eat well balanced meals for 3 on $100 a week. I think the issue that bothers me is that some people on government assistance eat cheap, poor quality food bc they don’t think they can afford healthy food on their budget. I hope you can show it’s possible to them and everyone else reading. 🙂
jackie says
What makes this whole post (and a lot of the supporting comments) offensive is that you say, “some people on government assistance eat cheap, poor quality food bc they don’t think they can afford healthy food on their budget. I hope you can show it’s possible to them…” Do you not see how condescending that sounds? Guess what, some people who aren’t on food stamps choose to unhealthy foods too because they don’t think they can afford healthier options. The point you are trying to make is just obnoxious.
whitney says
I see what you’re saying…I honestly wasn’t trying to be condescending. I’m sure there are a lot of healthy eaters on governmental assistance as well as unhealthy eaters who aren’t. I was just giving my opinion, sorry to offend you.
Jackie says
Sorry I came across so…mean lol. It’s cool that you can see the other side. I shouldn’t have just pinpointed your comment, I just feel strongly about this subject. I should have definitely worded that nicer!
Katie says
I think that one thing that’s worth thinking about is that a challenge is temporary. As you take this journey, I’d encourage you to consider if it would be realistic for you to do it week after week. This is a long-term reality for many people.
Michelle says
No worries girl! I understood your intentions perfectly. You were not trying to demean anyone or offend anyone. Try not to worry too much about what other people say or think. 🙂 Hope you had a good weekend and I love your blog! By the way did Hailey pop any teeth yet? We are still waiting on our little one!
Brittany says
Thanks so much, Michelle! And no, not one single tooth has even begun to show. H turned 7 months yesterday, so I’ll be posting a monthly update on my little toothless one this week 🙂
Nicole says
This challenge is disgusting, condescending, and a slap in the face to all the working poor. Here’s the thing, without even getting into the specifics–for you it’s a fun “challenge!” for them, it’s life. Quit while you’re not ahead.
Kelly says
Brittany, I think the challenge you set out for yourself is a great one. But please, please bear in mind that you probably don’t live in a food desert. Have you heard of food deserts? Maybe you could add an additional dimension to your challenge: Use only canned vegetables for a few meals. Go to a gas station and limit what you find in there to whip up a healthy meal. Just for one meal. Please.
Brittany says
Hi Kelly! I have heard of them and would like to learn more about them. I didn’t want to (though obviously I did to some) come across as though I think I can completely duplicate a situation that some people face because I know I can not. I love your idea of going to the gas station and will definitely be doing it for my own research sake. Thanks for your comment!
Brit says
I wonder if you did follow up and learn more after this debate. You could volunteer at a food security organization to teach those girls a bigger view ad they grow up.
Alison says
I also came here to mention food deserts. They are very real and a reality for many people living below poverty. I live in Washington, DC and many parts of the nation’s capitol are considered food deserts. So it is not a problem limited to rural or very low income areas.
Alison says
*capital (oops!)
M says
Brittany,
I’ve never read your blog before (GOMI sent me here). While I do not agree with the challenge and the way it was presented (and that’s okay – different strokes!), I think you’ve handled the criticism in a really admirable way. You’ve been transparent and gracious in your responses in a way that encourages dialogue.
I do think that once its time to summarize/reflect on your results you should mention that the fact that this wasn’t a controlled research study and there are many many many other factors that influence people’s ability to make smart food choices. (This may seem like a “duh!” moment but i would hate for less informed people to read your results and think wow, if ‘A Healthy Slice of Life’ can do it, everyone on welfare can do it! That’s just not the case. Because really, you are proving your ability to eat healthy of a food budget of $102/week. You are not, as you initially stated, proving the ability to eat healthy on public assistance.)
M
M says
*mention the fact that
Atalantis says
As someone who has used the food stamp program in the past, I don’t take issue with your experiment. I do believe that it’s easy to perhaps unintentional “game” these types of experiments, though, because the fact is — you’re not poor. You have a pantry full of condiments, so if a recipe calls for black pepper, sugar, salt, are you going to buy those, too, or will you just pull them out of your cupboard as a convenience?
When I was very poor, I owned one frying pan and one sauce pan, so I had to cook whatever I could with those two items. Once in a while, I’d borrow a crock pot from a neighbor to make soup or stew. I’m betting you have a kitchen full of convenient pots, pans, etc.
Some people on Food Stamps, and an increasing number of families, are living in cheap weekly rentals with a microwave as the only means to cook.
What I’m saying is that a family on food stamps is not necessarily where your family is at or anywhere close to it.
And again, I am not begrudging your wish to show poor people how they can make food stamp dollars stretch — the USDA actually hands out a guide with FS’s that includes suggestions (pasta, beans, peanut butter) — I am just saying that your experiment may not be universally applicable.
Other items that I couldn’t afford when I was the poorest of the poor: tin foil, plastic food containers, plastic wrap. I put what I could in bowls covered with plates, but I only had so many dishes. I know it sounds like a small thing, but in addition to everything else, these inconveniences add up.
Katelyn Parady says
Obviously people have pointed how the challenge you’ve set up for yourself completely ignores issues of food deserts, transportation, time to grocery shop and prepare food, and so on. Clearly, it would be a much more realistic challenge if you were to work back to back shifts, come home in the middle of the night, and choose between shopping at a gas station or taking your kid(s) with you on an hour long bus-ride one way to get food. I’d also add that your invented income of $24,000 for a family of three is just about right at the poverty line. Millions and millions of people in this country are living far below that. I work in a census tract where the median household income for a family of four is $6,000. Try feeding your family with those kind of constraints–then even the bus ticket is an enormous expense.
The offensive thing about the post is simply that you don’t understand structural inequities in the United States. I understand you didn’t mean to upset people, but, well, you did. I guess that’s a risk that comes with public blogging. I wonder if you would be willing to change the challenge: instead of pretending to live like someone who is poor, why don’t you put some extra effort into reading about poverty, food deserts, and food justice issues? If you are interested, email me. I’ll happily send you materials. Maybe this could turn into a positive thing, that way.
Gabrielle says
I just wanted to add one thing. If you are truly interested in the issue of how lower-income America eats, I STRONGLY urge you to pick up a copy of a book I recently read called “The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table” by Tracie McMillan.
I’m copy and pasting here from Amazon, but here’s a gist: “What if you can’t afford nine-dollar tomatoes? That was the question award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan couldn’t escape as she watched the debate about America’s meals unfold, one that urges us to pay food’s true cost—which is to say, pay more. So in 2009 McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. For nearly a year, she worked, ate, and lived alongside the working poor to examine how Americans eat when price matters.”
It’s incredibly enlightening.
Good luck!
hi says
I looked into that book. She doesn’t mention what ‘Detroit’ Walmart she went to, but that’s actually pretty important. Detroit suburbs vary vastly.
Misty @ The Family Math says
I commented on your previous post before I read this one. Glad to see you are thinking about ways to take other challenges into account.
One of the things I really like about our local farmers markets here in Tuscaloosa is that they actually do accept EBT payments, but I don’t notice a ton of people using them.
Personal Failure says
I don’t know about Tuscaloosa’s farmers market, but in my neck of the woods, the farmers market is nowhere near a bus line and only open 3 days during the work week, noon to 7pm. In other words, the farmers market is basically completely inaccessible to people on food stamps. But, ya know, poors are lazy and stupid and don’t know how to eat healthy.
Misty @ The Family Math says
Actually Tuscaloosa’s market is open every Saturday in season and is extremely accessible by public transportation because it’s right across the street from the library. It’s also open from 6-noon on Tuesdays, and there’s an additional market that’s open from 3-6 p.m. on Thursdays.
Honestly, in the case of Tuscaloosa, I think it’s more the prices that keep people on EBT away. In order to make a full week’s menu work at those prices on a limited budget, you really have to plan things out. You also need to have time, means and ability to prepare those items.
I understand that this is a complex issue, and acting like a snarky asshole on the internet doesn’t do anything to change it.
Victoria says
I don’t receive assistance but my food budget is very, very tight. I don’t feed my kids junk but I also can’t afford organic super healthy meals every day of the week. I probably wouldn’t have the energy to prepare such a thing anyway. With work, the volunteering I do to give back to my community (because I have definitely used assistance when needed), a partner who was permanently disabled in war, an autistic child — well, it’s enough to wear me out.
I don’t understand what you’re trying to gain from this “conversation”, but the fact that you can’t see what was offensive about your original post means you will learn nothing. If you want to get anything from this ridiculous scenario of playing poor, start there. See how that would offend. Understand your privilege. And even if you do get it — know that poor people don’t necessarily need your guidance.
Erica says
I do not qualify for EBT and yet my family of 3 — now 4 — have eaten healthfully for over 8 years on a grocery budget of $100 week. I’ve never considered it a challenge to do so. We shop at trader joes and whole foods as well as the Asian supermarket. We rarely eat meat. We buy things in bulk such as dried black beans. Lots of tofu and pasta with homemade sauce. We don’t buy a lot of fancy fresh fruits, just bananas and apples. Frozen berries for smoothies. Yogurt, granola, and soy milk are staples. No cookies or crackers unless they’re on sale. I make kale chips and try to roast veggies at least 4 times a week. We also make large pots of veggie curry or refried beans. No alcohol or juice. Cheese is a luxury item.
I feel a little sad now knowing that I spend the equivalent of an EBT budget on my family. I didnt realize we were subsisting at a poverty level!
Christine says
You can do a challenge without throwing other people under the bus. I hope you really step back and take responsibility for what you said. You further marginalized people that have so little power to begin with. “Not nice” as my 2.5 year old says.
boohoo says
do you know who else feels stressed and judged? People without money who are trying to do the best they can by their kids and are judged at every turn. If you don’t see that what people were reacting to was your own unexamined assumptions about people who are poor and why they struggle as being about individual choices, then I don’t think anyone can write anything here that will cause you to do any self-reflection. But… an attempt at a few quick points, many raised already by others:
1) when you think about purchasing foods, remember that food is not equally available or affordable in all places. particularly in many impoverished urban communities, SNAP recipients may have real difficulty in finding fresh produce and grains available, or when they are available their price is very high.
2) it is easier to make good food choices when you are experiencing low levels of stress, something which not many folks on SNAP have going for them. Stress is a vicious cycle. When we aren’t’ sure how we are going to pay our bills, keep our home, keep our kid in a decent school and out of trouble, etc… our stress hormone levels increase and we are increasingly likely to attempt to find some comfort in high fat high calorie food choices, and our body b/c of cortisol is also more likely to use those nutrients poorly and become more likely to store belly fat. This then provides a feedback that may make that cycle amplify or at least become hard to break out of.
3) if one grew up in an environment where certain choices are made it makes it difficult to build a different environment for one’s own children. those who grew up in homes that had organized meals, where someone planned a weekly menu and cooked healthy meals, are more likely to do that, those who didn’t are less likely. this is only amplified by the reality that sometimes when we don’t have financial resources and can’t get our child the kinds of things we’d like to be able to do, giving them some comfort through poor food choices is something folks do.
4) while all of the above are true probabilistically, they don’t hold for all families without money and the supposition that folks are out there making bad choices and that fraud is rampant are both simply false on their face as backed up by substantial research on these issues. So, when your position is built on “facts” and beliefs that simply don’t hold water, then you should not be at all surprised when folks make assumptions about classism/racism coming through in your orientation to how the world works.
5) you should brush up on your math… while for a family of three the average SNAP benefit is 401$ per month, that actually doesn’t work out to 100$ per week… You see, there are 12 months, but 52 weeks, meaning that 4 months have 5 weeks rather than 4. so, the actual weekly average is less about 8.5% lower than what you indicate across a year. 401$/month * 12 months / 52 weeks = 92.54$ per week, not 100.00. May seem insignificant, but that 8 bucks actually makes a big difference…
So, while you head out to your local store to try your task remember that others are doing this for real, with no stock of butter and rice and spices built up, and they are going to the local bodega where prices are jacked up and a few not very fresh veggies are overwhelmed by pre-packaged foods.
And try to spend a moment reflecting on why people reacted to your post the way they did. What does it say about how you think the world works based on your experiences, which may not match up with the world other people face?
Folks could certainly use some help in thinking about how to best meet the needs of their family, but if that was your goal, think about how you could go about that in a way that doesn’t carry with predetermined judgments about fraud, about poor choices, and individual responsibility that aren’t based in reality. For some the American dream is just that a dream. And if you want to cling to the idea that that is their own damn fault, then go ahead and do it. but then don’t be surprised when people call you out on being privileged and judgmental.
Christine says
+1
Personal Failure says
+ another.
I know someone who grew up in dire poverty. He won’t eat anything green, because where he grew up in NJ, there were no grocery stores and convenients and gas stations don’t sell vegetables. To him, green means rot, not healthy.
I am growing a garden to try to control rising food costs. I showed him my seedlings and he was literally baffled. Baffled by the little plants and the concept of them producing food, baffled by wanting to eat common vegetables he’d never heard of, baffled by the middle classness of it all.
He’s not stupid, he’s just another poor this blogger is mocking, whether she admits it or not.
Pin says
Very well-said. +1 billion
here, here! says
walking a mile in another man’s shoes is not the same as coming up with a error-ridden math equation couched in privaleged misinformation and perceptions.
Kelly says
As a fellow blogger I think we have to be careful. I’ve noticed a trend that anytime something comes across as controversial or frustrates reader the implication is always that the reader misunderstood or misinterpreted something. Yes, I am sure this is sometimes the case as it can be easy to miss out on tone with the written world. But I think equally often posts can sometimes be short sighted since they are written from only one point of view.
I think the idea of talking about healthy eating on a budget is a relevant one to a lot of people. But I think by framing it in the world of government assistance the politics overshadowed it, especially since in the first paragraph you alluded to the fact you think many people abuse the situation. Suddenly it comes off a bit preachy, especially since eating well among those who are struggling it not just about money. As others have mentioned, there is also an access issue and the context surrounding the food is so different. I think you also have to keep in mind that for people who are just struggling to get buy, survive, and keep their family happy and safe, eating healthy is not always the most chief concern.
In other words, I think just to reduce it to the budget piece of things is missing the point and trivializes the larger debate that is happening about access to food in our country.
Carla says
Here is a good blog post on food deserts, by someone who lived in one of them. You might want to check it out.
http://www.racialicious.com/2011/05/27/no-myths-here-food-stamps-food-deserts-and-food-scarcity/
Deb says
The problem is that this entire ‘challenge’ comes across as heartless. What’s a fun game for you is life and death for many people. How about instead of figuring out if it’s technically possible to just barely scrape by, we focus that energy into fighting food insecurity, poverty, and hunger WITHOUT the victim blaming?
alisa says
I get all the arguments above but you are all missing the most important one of all. It’s simple, beautiful, and easy to grasp. It’s called calories in, calories out. Even if one is eating junk, you can ALWAYS eat less of it! Its pretty impossible to be fat if you are eating 1500 cals (or whatever your Basal rate is) of anything. Yes, you wont be the healthiest, but weight, or rather the excess of it, is a HUGE factor in health. Oh, and here’s another brain teaser. You can even eat healthy at Mcdonald’s! Every day. This wondrous creation is called the Mcchicken salad. Have it for every meal. So I dont buy any of the arguments above. Eat the junk you want – just use those little rectangles in the back and add up your calories – and don’t go over. Oh, and hop over to MCd’s for a chicken salad too. You wont be overweight, you wont have many of the assoc. health problems, and we can all stop stressing. Oh…..but if you’d RATHER overeat a bunch of junk, if you’d RATHER have that Big MAc with cheese, if you’d RATHER eat cheetos on the couch instead of going for a walk….well, that’s on YOU.
Mel says
I actually think you are missing the point. She is trying to prove that is possible for a poor family of 2.5, that is on food stamps, to eat healthy on a budget.
Everyone has said enough already but the point is: someone who is struggling financially has way better priorities than eating healthy and counting calories. Are you serious? A poor family is probably more concerned about making ends meet, paying the bills, money for the bus and all that.
I think this challenge is quite pathetic. I’m glad the blogger is realizing there is more to the whole issue than just money but it’s still an offense to try to prove poor people wrong. Poor people are lazy and MOST of them abuse the system?? WOW I will never read this blog ever again.
Alisa says
My point was that eating “healthy” is nebulous and subjective. However It IS possible to eat packaged foods etc….and maintain a healthy WEIGHT and to be healthy via most “markers” (e.g. Blood pressure etc) by controlling calories. So yes, you can be “healthy” on this budget. As for priorities, it takes very little time effort or energy to Eat less, lol. So my point is if you’re fat, w fat associated health problems, it’s on you whether you are poor or rich.
Macc says
Yes, I think what is more offensive is that instead of examining your views (“many people abuse the system”, “they just don’t know better”, “they’re too lazy” being some shorthand quips of what you basically said in your last post) you’ve just turned around and whined, “but you people misinterpreted me all wrong! I’m nice!”
There is no apology here, and you obviously haven’t learned anything. To put it bluntly, you are WRONG. You are so privileged and refuse to understand how you further prejudice every day with your offensive views and “projects”. Many of the poor are not lazy, are not poor of their own individual choices, are not eating unhealthy foods by conscious choice, are not swindlers of the system, and are basically not any of the assumptions you’ve placed upon them. Those baseless assumptions cause people pain every day – try getting a good job when the public assumes “poor = lazy”, try getting a loan when “poor = lazy”…so on and so forth. So just stop. Apologize. Be cute and buy cheap for a week, whatever, but stop tying it in to “those uneducated lazy poor people” and “I’ll prove it’s possible, they just don’t know it!” Honey, we all know it’s possible…when everything else in your life is taken care of. It’s damned easy to eat well that cheap if you have available food, transportation, time, appliances, etc. You’re doing nothing new, and framing it the way you do is just indicative of your ignorant character.
Christiana says
I love your comment.
Christiana says
When was the last time you volunteered at a shelter? You realize that many who are multi-generational poor don’t have the privilege of being as educated as you are. Imaging you picked up an onion, and thought it seemed similar to an apple…so you bit into it. Would you try an onion again? Probably not. It’s such a multi pronged issue. Not just education on how to select/store/prepare/cook the food, but to have access to it. Food deserts are real, and most people can’t take their personal vehicle to the store or carry several heavy bags on a bus.
Tara says
Well. Were there any food stampers who argued that it’s actually NOT hard to feed your family healthily on EBT? Cause my family of 3 (which includes a 13 month old- plus 1 on the way which will bump us up to almost $700 a month- as much as our rent) gets $530 a month for food. So I have no problem feeding us healthy and from some stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods. So why don’t you just do a stupid thing like every other blogger with a family has done, and simply do a budget challenge. This whole singling out an entire group of people for what they have or don’t is ridonculous.
Kellie says
I just now read the challenge you posted. I read only a handful of comments before I had to stop. They were harsh and irrational. The challenge is a great idea and has nothing to do with you pretending to be poor. If that’s what your readers thought, they failed to comprehend the message. Keep challenging yourself, your fitness levels, and your readers!
Alex says
I didn’t see ANYWHERE that you were attempting to “pretend to be poor” or that you were “playing a game”.
I rather thought that you were trying to show that it is possible to eat healthy for $400 a month in America. Not that those not doing so were failing, or were bad parents, or must be lazy or obese etc. No. You merely tried to meet a challenge you set yourself, with the aim of trying to change the prevailing attitude that it is NOT AT ALL POSSIBLE to eat healthily on $400 a month for 3 people. Clearly, it is possible. Clearly, the fact that it is possible means that a load of whining lefties think that must also mean that you were saying bad things about those who don’t eat similarly healthily. You weren’t. You merely set out to prove that it was POSSIBLE. Not that it was practical, practicable or likely to be able to be implemented by EVERYONE, but again, merely that it was POSSIBLE.
You didn’t sound snotty or snobby. You didn’t attempt to “act poor”. You didn’t seem to be “playing a game”. You didn’t say that your situation was exactly the same as someone less well off than you. You didn’t suggest that everyone on EBT NOT EATING healthily was failing.
Idiots.
The dearth of logic on the part of little liberal twits is simultaneously hilarious and disheartening.
cant even says
I disagree that she properly attempted to show that it’s possible to eat healthily for 3 for a month on $400. She did it for ONE WEEK. I’d like to see her try for a full 4 weeks and hear about that husband go without his bagels and beer for a month.
eb says
You should probably read this: http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/if-only-poor-people-understood-nutrition/