$31.50 a week.

That's what the average food stamp recipient in our country gets to use toward food each week.

I spend that much from time to time on one meal.  Even on one entree.

Many of us are taking up the challenge to live on this food stamp budget for one week: from Friday, September 7 through Thursday, September 13.  I've signed on.

Why? I want to be able to understand in an even more personal way the struggles of the 45.7 million who live on food stamps week in and week out.  I want to use my experience to motivate others to ask their members of Congress to support SNAP.

Each day during the week I'll be posting here to this blog and also on my Facebook page.

If you would like to support my effort, you can donate to the Jewish Food Stamp Challenge with monies going to advocacy and to organizations like MAZON.

MY FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE PAGE

I'll post more ways to be involved in the next few days.

For now, think about what you are eating today.  What did it cost? Could you have managed it on $4.50?

My pre-challenge meals today added up to about $6 or so.
Cheerios with milk and blueberries.
Two slices of wheat toast, half a cucumber, and delicious mozzarella cheese.
Hamburger. Romaine lettuce salad.  Wheat linguine and sauce.
1/2 a bowl of popcorn.  (and two small squares of chocolate!)

Let's see how I do tomorrow.