Living
on little more than $4 a day per person for food requires some
restraint and planning to get it right. My household has only two
people; a ten year girl and me, an adult woman who, because of my
short stature, can eat far less than the standard 2000 calorie per
day diet.
We do
not eat lavish meals with meats and fancy cheeses but I would say
that on the whole, we eat quite well. We always have certain items
well stocked, mainly organic foods. I’m always able to get fruit
I have searched around and know where to find the best prices on
organic milk, eggs, bread, cheese, yogurt and other mainstays of our
diet. I’d rather call The downside to this is that I have to go
to several different stores to find all our needs within the SNAP
budget. The upside is that supporting local growers and producers is
still possible as many small grocers like Morrow Brothers sell
produce very cheap. For example, apples are around 49 cents per pound
there whereas at Fred Meyer, a reasonably priced grocery department
store, the price is three times that. I also keep an eye out for
reduced things. Fred Meyer reduced organic food all the time because
it doesn’t move as fast as the other stuff. I also change what I
plan to eat based on sales. We barely eat any meat also which brings
the price down a lot. I used to be vegan so I know a lot of side
dishes. For example, who knew onions, carrots and dill sautéed in
grapeseed oil taste amazing?!
When
big business needs help, the government “subsidizes” them. I
think of welfare and SNAP as the government subsidizing and investing
in our family that is trying to beyond our current circumstances.
With
SNAP we can buy the plants and seeds to grow our own food. The
issues with this are that we don’t currently have much space at our
apartment and getting space at the crowded local community gardens is
impossible. Even the PSU garden won’t hear my plea as the ground
there is only for dorm residents. I do have a friend in Corvallis
who allows me to plant a few things at his property. He tends them
along with his garden and I can harvest the crop I invested in. I
lucked out with that! But other SNAP clients don’t usually have
the agricultural connections and know-how that I have. I spent my
early 20’s managing organic orchards in two states and also learned
biodynamic gardening in this time along with a 4-H farming gardening
background. With the seeds and plants I have bought, I harvest
untold pounds of tomatoes, onions, herbs, chard kale, carrots, plums,
cherries, pumpkins, squash, artichokes lettuce, etc. There’s too
much food! We freeze it, can it and give it away. In the summer
months, we absolutely eat like kings! Goodbye Winco and Grocery
Outlet, Hello Whole Foods and New Season’s. Actually, I’m still
prudent at this time. I’ve learned that I don’t need all that
convenience food, luxury items and fiddly fancy crackers to be happy
and satiated. I stock up on things I really like but can’t usually
afford.
Another
strategy I use, like the Piatts in the article realized with yogurt,
is buying in bulk. I buy a large tub of Nancy’s Yogurt and add
homemade granola mix. We make a lot of our own foodstuffs rather
than pay premium prices. I buy beans and prepare them ahead of time,
make jam, make simple fruit and sugar syrup for pancakes, homemade
hummus, pesto, fresh herbs in ice cubes, never buy ice, make iced
tea, homemade soda (rare) with juice and seltzer water, etc. I make
soup instead of buying cans. We do have some generous friends who
have a small vineyard and winery. I also used to work at a brewery
and know how to make beer. I have a friend who makes beer once a
month and gives me a case. In addition, an ex boyfriend, still
friend is a beekeeper and gives me honey sometimes. I think that
these connections have made life easier for us. But in the article,
taking the challenge did not take into account the fact that you
cannot buy wine (or beer) with SNAP so it’s not to be included in
the $4 challenge and getting help from friends was downplayed. I
think alternative food gathering is common along SNAP clients. Many
community agencies such as Neighborhood House in Hillsboro gives away
free cake and bread donated from Safeway and the like. Also I know
some people who (gasp) dumpster dive. I was once given a year supply
of Organic butter and 10 frozen organic chickens, all unexpired, by a
friend.
When
we do run out of SNAP for the month, which invariably happens about
5-10 days before the Department of Human Services fills the card up
again, we get creative and make meals out of the things we had been
avoiding such as the experimental lentil stew I froze after one
dinner’s worth. But if I had never done this I would not know how
much I adore salted pepitas and dark chocolate nibs together. I also
think the challenge of having less to eat for a short time can be
good for your health. My daughter always has something she likes to
eat because I’m creative and persuasive, but sometimes I fast for a
day or two once a month.
One of
the things that bothered me in the article was that the challenge
taker’s seem to encourage the stigma of being poor and being a SNAP
participant with their children. “I don’t want to be poor,”
Mattias told his Dad” in response to taking the SNAP challenge. In
our household, we are not poor. We
have a low income but that does not define us. I tell my daughter
that we don’t have a lot of money because I’m in school and one
day I will have more money but we’ll still live like this whether
we pay for our own food or the government subsidizes us. Eating like
this can be good for you.
I think
that Christian Piatt was right to be concerned about “assumed
privilege” in his kids. Going to a restaurant is a rare treat for
us. I realize that others may find it odious to live this way but
maybe I enjoy the restaurant a little more because of it. Sometimes,
when we’ve gone to a restaurant, we choose to go home because the
service is better and we know what the food will taste like…good!
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