Hunger Challenge day 5: Down to the wire
Thank goodness it's Friday.
For those of you who don't know, I've been taking the United Way's Hunger Challenge. For the past week, I've taken you along as I have attempted to live on the state of Washington's maximum food stamp allotment for a single person: $7 a day.
If you're new to this story, take a few minutes and read some of my previous entries. What you're about to read here will make much more sense once it's placed in context!
We begin this final day with a final accounting: I have seven cents remaining in my food budget. Last night's dinner was the rest of the pasta and vegetables. I was really hungry last night, so I had a very large portion.
Today's breakfast, as predicted yesterday, was the last 2-3 tablespoons from the peanut butter jar, a container of yogurt, and the last apple. Oh yeah, I treated myself to an extra cup of coffee, and also had some milk. The cupboard is bare at this point, with just two bananas remaining. That will be today's lunch.
Everything's accounted for, and I have followed the rules to the best of my ability. I have survived the challenge with pennies to spare. I was able to have vegetables every day (even though they were in the same pasta dish I've been eating since Tuesday).
The rules said eat as nutritiously as possible, so I didn't participate in anyone's "Dollar Menu." With the exception of today, I've had three squares a day.
But I don't consider this a success.
My menu was boring, I constantly worried about how I was spending money, and was always concerned about where and what my next meal would be. The week was stressful, and these last couple of days, I've been grouchy. While I obeyed the rules, I know I could have done much better. I consumed so many carbs I would feel bloated at times, but hey, starches are cheap.
Since yesterday's entry, I've been thinking about the best way to sum-up what's happened this week. First and foremost, thanks to the so many of you who took the time to help along the way. Most of your comments online were inspiring, and I received several e-mails offering all kinds of advice and kind words. It was really nice to have cheerleaders.
I think a lot of people may have seen my participation in this "challenge" as a little insincere, and perhaps disingenuous. In re-reading my first entry, I may even have had my doubts as I read about someone in the media taking on a hunger challenge.
It was too easy to "Susan Boyle" this one: Make a quick judgment based on a first impression. I also think there was a significant crowd predicting what I'd say on the other side of this challenge. I hope to surprise you.
In my opinion, you don't solve the hunger issue by increasing food stamp allotments. That statement is way too easy for a guy like me to say -- after all, I only had to live on that allotment for a week.
Those of you who scrimp on a regular basis, my intent isn't to anger you or leave you feeling disenfranchised. After all, many of you have adjusted your lifestyles to live on much less than $7 a day. And there lies my point: You know how to do it.
You have taken the time to learn new strategies, you have been forced to adopt new methods in shopping and preparing foods that are totally foreign to the rest of us. You even tried to share your knowledge with me, but by that time, it was too late. I had already spent the bulk of my money the best I knew how.
For the integrity I wanted to put into this challenge, I approached this as one day I was a king, and the next, I was a pauper. There was no prep, simply the reality of what sometimes happens in the real world. One day, you're working and making a decent wage, and the next day, you're told to clean out your desk.
The Hunger Challenge can be done successfully and easily, and is done that way on a regular basis, by people armed with this knowledge. They have learned, over time, how to become the most frugal, cost-conscious shoppers by necessity.
I remarked the other day that I feel I'm a fairly smart guy, and I still feel like I failed. When I take this challenge again (and I will), I will be armed with more knowledge.
The answer -- and I'm living proof -- is making sure those who receive benefits are equipped to use them in the best possible way. What are we doing to make sure the person who is filing for unemployment and food stamp benefits for the first time has at least some realistic guidelines as to the best way to spend what's been given? Are we doing this? If so, perhaps we're not doing enough.
If I had all your comments and help as I began this challenge, I would have been better equipped. Instead, I feel I really did the best I could, knowing what I knew at the time.
It's now 12:20 p.m., and I'm hungry. So, I'm going to eat my two bananas for lunch. Knowing that this is the last of my food, I have no choice but to concede the challenge.
If only our friends and neighbors struggling with hunger had that luxury.
For those of you who don't know, I've been taking the United Way's Hunger Challenge. For the past week, I've taken you along as I have attempted to live on the state of Washington's maximum food stamp allotment for a single person: $7 a day.
If you're new to this story, take a few minutes and read some of my previous entries. What you're about to read here will make much more sense once it's placed in context!
We begin this final day with a final accounting: I have seven cents remaining in my food budget. Last night's dinner was the rest of the pasta and vegetables. I was really hungry last night, so I had a very large portion.
Today's breakfast, as predicted yesterday, was the last 2-3 tablespoons from the peanut butter jar, a container of yogurt, and the last apple. Oh yeah, I treated myself to an extra cup of coffee, and also had some milk. The cupboard is bare at this point, with just two bananas remaining. That will be today's lunch.
Everything's accounted for, and I have followed the rules to the best of my ability. I have survived the challenge with pennies to spare. I was able to have vegetables every day (even though they were in the same pasta dish I've been eating since Tuesday).
The rules said eat as nutritiously as possible, so I didn't participate in anyone's "Dollar Menu." With the exception of today, I've had three squares a day.
But I don't consider this a success.
My menu was boring, I constantly worried about how I was spending money, and was always concerned about where and what my next meal would be. The week was stressful, and these last couple of days, I've been grouchy. While I obeyed the rules, I know I could have done much better. I consumed so many carbs I would feel bloated at times, but hey, starches are cheap.
Since yesterday's entry, I've been thinking about the best way to sum-up what's happened this week. First and foremost, thanks to the so many of you who took the time to help along the way. Most of your comments online were inspiring, and I received several e-mails offering all kinds of advice and kind words. It was really nice to have cheerleaders.
I think a lot of people may have seen my participation in this "challenge" as a little insincere, and perhaps disingenuous. In re-reading my first entry, I may even have had my doubts as I read about someone in the media taking on a hunger challenge.
It was too easy to "Susan Boyle" this one: Make a quick judgment based on a first impression. I also think there was a significant crowd predicting what I'd say on the other side of this challenge. I hope to surprise you.
In my opinion, you don't solve the hunger issue by increasing food stamp allotments. That statement is way too easy for a guy like me to say -- after all, I only had to live on that allotment for a week.
Those of you who scrimp on a regular basis, my intent isn't to anger you or leave you feeling disenfranchised. After all, many of you have adjusted your lifestyles to live on much less than $7 a day. And there lies my point: You know how to do it.
You have taken the time to learn new strategies, you have been forced to adopt new methods in shopping and preparing foods that are totally foreign to the rest of us. You even tried to share your knowledge with me, but by that time, it was too late. I had already spent the bulk of my money the best I knew how.
For the integrity I wanted to put into this challenge, I approached this as one day I was a king, and the next, I was a pauper. There was no prep, simply the reality of what sometimes happens in the real world. One day, you're working and making a decent wage, and the next day, you're told to clean out your desk.
The Hunger Challenge can be done successfully and easily, and is done that way on a regular basis, by people armed with this knowledge. They have learned, over time, how to become the most frugal, cost-conscious shoppers by necessity.
I remarked the other day that I feel I'm a fairly smart guy, and I still feel like I failed. When I take this challenge again (and I will), I will be armed with more knowledge.
The answer -- and I'm living proof -- is making sure those who receive benefits are equipped to use them in the best possible way. What are we doing to make sure the person who is filing for unemployment and food stamp benefits for the first time has at least some realistic guidelines as to the best way to spend what's been given? Are we doing this? If so, perhaps we're not doing enough.
If I had all your comments and help as I began this challenge, I would have been better equipped. Instead, I feel I really did the best I could, knowing what I knew at the time.
It's now 12:20 p.m., and I'm hungry. So, I'm going to eat my two bananas for lunch. Knowing that this is the last of my food, I have no choice but to concede the challenge.
If only our friends and neighbors struggling with hunger had that luxury.