45,344,946 million: The number of Americans on the SNAP food stamp program as of July 2011.[source] That’s more than the populations of California, New Mexico and Nevada combined. Those are numbers that can’t be disputed, argued or denied, they are statistical fact.
14.5%: The number of households in the United States considered food insecure in 2010. [source]
46.2 million: The number of people in poverty in 2010, the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published. [source]
I wish it didn’t take becoming one of these numbers for people to begin taking them seriously.
MEALS
BREAKFAST: $0.63
coffee
sugar
creamer
pitcher of Kool Aid for the day
BREAKFAST NOTES: The coffee contained in the starting pantry has been depleted.
JOHN’S LUNCH: $0.49
1 sliced turkey sandwich
2 oz carrot sticks
MICHAEL’S LUNCH: $0.30
2 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
2 oz carrot sticks
LUNCH NOTES: The starting pantry contained a few ounces of peanut butter and jelly. Once depleted, these items will be purchased as necessary.
DINNER: $2.07
turnip greens
boiled potatoes
carrots
green beans
sweet tea
DINNER NOTES: We went with an all veggie dinner tonight to counterbalance the protein heavy meals we’ve had lately. 1 cup of turnip greens alone provides 281% of Vitamin A, 21% of Calcium, 49% of Vitamin C…and 5 grams of Protein (based on the RDA).
SNACK: $0.18
John’s Hot Chocolate Brownies
This is a recipe that John first started making as a kid. We wanted a little treat last night and since we had all the ingredients we gave it a try. The recipe as show is basic and yields a very lightly sweet, cake-like brownie that has a hint of chocolate flavor.
- 3 packets of hot chocolate mix (starting pantry)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (starting pantry)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk (starting pantry)
- nuts if desired (we had about 1/4 cup of pecans and added them)
Mix, pour into a greased and floured oven safe dish and bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.
DAILY TOTAL: $3.67 (+$4.51 for the day, +26.68 for the week)
Total Spent to Date: $72.39
Total Remaining: $206.79
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
For those who have been on food stamps or SNAP: Have you been able to get back on your feet and off the program?
For those who have not been on food stamps or SNAP: Have you ever stopped to consider how many paychecks you are from needing assistance?
