As the HLTH/WMST471 students are busy budgeting and deciding what to eat this week during the Food Stamp Challenge, here’s a review of the Food Stamp program:

- The Food Stamp Program is actually called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP).  To recieve SNAP benefits, participants must apply through the Maryland Department of Human Resources.  Participants who earn up to 200% of the poverty level may be eligible.

- According to the USDA website, Food Stamps can only be used to purchase foods for the household to eat, such as: breads and
cereals, fruits and vegetables, meats, fish and poultry, dairy products and seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

- Food Stamps cannot be used to purchase: beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco, any nonfood items such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, and household supplies, vitamins and medicines, food that will be eaten in the store, or hot foods.

- Benefits are distributed through debit cards called EBT cards.  A set amount dependant on family size and income is automatically added each month.

- $30/week is the average food stamp allotment in Maryland

Want to see how the class is doing so far?  Check out the blogroll on the right!

After a successful Food Stamp Challenge in 2011, a new group of HLTH/WMST471 students are going to take on the challenge the week of February 6th – 12th.  The Challenge is to take one week and spend what the average food stamp benefit is for one person.  $30 per week in food stamps works out to be about $4.30 per day and $1.40 per meal.

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Each person should spend a set amount for food and beverages during the Challenge week. That amount is $30 for all food and beverage.

2. All food purchased and eaten during the Challenge week, including fast food and dining out, must be included in the total spending.

3. During the Challenge, only eat food that you purchase for the project. Do not eat food that you already own (this does not include spices and condiments).

4. Avoid accepting free food from friends, family, or at work, including at parties, programs or events. If you do, approximate how much you would have spent if you purchased it and add that to your total.

5. Keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week.

6. Invite others to join you or share your blog with them, including classmates, family, professors, or elected officials.

7. What do I need to do to get course credit?

- To receive credit for an assignment for HLTH/WMST471 you will need to write at least a 250 word post every day on Days 1 through 6 day of the challenge and on Day 7, write one at least 500 word summary post on the EduBlog connected to HLTH471. Your posts must be in complete and coherent sentences that chronicle your experience and reflections in a professional way.  Feel free to add photos, videos, and other information in your blog.

- If you signed up to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge, you will receive an email on Friday February 3rd with your blog log-in information.  Blogs must be updated daily by midnight for full credit.

Let Ms. Bayley (abayley@umd.edu) or Blair (bcolema2@umd.edu) know if you have any questions about the Challenge or about setting up your blog!

Food Stamp Challenge 2011 is officially over and I am having difficulty expressing just how impressed I am with the students in HLTH/WMST471 and their mature and insightful reflections throughout the week.  Here is a taste of some of the final posts…

“I don’t think it’s possible to know how much we depend on food just “being there” or having access to it, until it is not there and we cannot have access to it. This week served as a glimpse into what it must be like for those living in poverty relying on a thirty dollar weekly food budget, but it in no way simulates the hardship of those struggling to know where their next meal is coming from. Throughout the week, I knew that the challenge would only last seven days and then I could go back to buying enough food to eat to make the hunger pains go away. For those living in poverty, they cannot take solace in such notions” -Kayla

“It is finally my last day of the Food Stamp Challenge, and as I look back on this eventful week, I can think about nothing other than the fact that this is reality for some people. Not only some people, rather millions of people are left with no choice than to live off of Food Stamps, and count pennies when it comes to food. As a Public Health major, I have been learning about living under the poverty line, food rationing, socio-economic disparities, and read statistics constantly regarding incomes and food spending. However, it was not until this exercise until this reality sunk in and clicked.” – Jennifer

“I’m really glad our class did this challenge together.  The conversations I’ve had with people have certainly made me think about the issue of hunger and poverty much more, and hopefully it had the same effect on them.  I now appreciate the resources I have much more” -Lydia

“This challenge was an immense learning opportunity. More beneficial than simply learning from the classroom, I was able to experience this challenge in ways that allowed me to metaphorically walk in the shoes of those and experience the system that we were studying. I’m deeply considering participating, and encouraging my friends to participate, in the Food Stamp Challenge of 2012.” -Wayne

“The Food Stamp Challenge taught me a lot about the amount of effort people have to put into a task that many people take for granted.  Without proper planning, it will be nearly impossible for an individual to meet all of their nutritional needs with just $30 a week.  The problem with this is that some individuals may not have time to plan out what they need and go to multiple stores in order to meet their needs.  If they have not planned out everything before their first grocery trip, it will most likely be too late to decide at a later time that they need anything extra, a lesson that I learned a few times.” -Elizabeth

“I would have to say that overall, the past week has been one of the memorable and transformative experiences of my life. Going into the food stamp challenge I honestly felt that it would not have that much of an effect on me. I mean, how hard is it to live off thirty dollars worth of food for six days? I thought six days would be difficult, but completely manageable. I totally underestimated the struggles that people who live off of food stamps have to face on a daily basis.

One of the biggest issues that I faced was trying to find foods that were inexpensive and nutritious. I developed a bad cold at the beginning of the challenge which made things probably more miserable than they would have been if I wasn’t living off of food stamps. I needed to eat healthy foods but had absolutely no money to pay for the groceries that I needed. I have been eating organic food most of my life and one of the biggest problems I had on this challenge was not being able to buy organic produce. I also noticed when I went grocery shopping on my budget, that food costs way more than I ever realized! On a typical grocery shopping trip for me, I usually grab the items I want without paying much or any attention to their cost. I buy the brands I want to, instead of the store or generic brand. When I bought all of my groceries with the thirty dollar budget, my main focus was store brand items. Cost came first. Nutrition was a factor that I wanted to consider, but it was generally unrealistic with the tiny amount of money I had.

Since the challenge ended I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my lifestyle and my choices. More specifically, how I spend my money and my attitude towards my own food budget. Now that the challenge is over, I have resumed eating organic produce and foods. I have gone out to eat a couple times but I have noticed that my urge to eat out has diminished greatly. I feel bad eating out too much and carelessly spending money on food like I used to. I have definitely walked away from this experience much more aware and concerned about food, hunger, nutrition, and health issues. I am a public health and nutrition & food science major at the university. I know that when I complete my undergraduate studies, I want to move on and work in public health. This food stamp challenge really left it’s mark on me. When I go into public health as my career, I want to take my experience and knowledge from my nutrition degree along with this food stamp challenge experience and apply it to whatever I do. I have learned a lot and it has opened my eyes to hunger and nutrition issues in our society. Since the beginning of my studies in college park, I thought that my career would involve me working in global/international health and nutrition issues. I am still interested in working in that area, but now I have a special appreciation for domestic health, hunger, and nutrition issues. I only got a tiny taste of what struggles people who live off of food stamps face. But the experience was so impactful that I will remember what I’ve learned and felt during this challenge and carry it with me later in life.

I would have to say that overall, the past week has been one of the memorable and transformative experiences of my life. Going into the food stamp challenge I honestly felt that it would not have that much of an effect on me. I mean, how hard is it to live off thirty dollars worth of food for six days? I thought six days would be difficult, but completely manageable. I totally underestimated the struggles that people who live off of food stamps have to face on a daily basis.

One of the biggest issues that I faced was trying to find foods that were inexpensive and nutritious. I developed a bad cold at the beginning of the challenge which made things probably more miserable than they would have been if I wasn’t living off of food stamps. I needed to eat healthy foods but had absolutely no money to pay for the groceries that I needed. I have been eating organic food most of my life and one of the biggest problems I had on this challenge was not being able to buy organic produce. I also noticed when I went grocery shopping on my budget, that food costs way more than I ever realized! On a typical grocery shopping trip for me, I usually grab the items I want without paying much or any attention to their cost. I buy the brands I want to, instead of the store or generic brand. When I bought all of my groceries with the thirty dollar budget, my main focus was store brand items. Cost came first. Nutrition was a factor that I wanted to consider, but it was generally unrealistic with the tiny amount of money I had.

Since the challenge ended I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my lifestyle and my choices. More specifically, how I spend my money and my attitude towards my own food budget. Now that the challenge is over, I have resumed eating organic produce and foods. I have gone out to eat a couple times but I have noticed that my urge to eat out has diminished greatly. I feel bad eating out too much and carelessly spending money on food like I used to. I have definitely walked away from this experience much more aware and concerned about food, hunger, nutrition, and health issues. I am a public health and nutrition & food science major at the university. I know that when I complete my undergraduate studies, I want to move on and work in public health. This food stamp challenge really left it’s mark on me. When I go into public health as my career, I want to take my experience and knowledge from my nutrition degree along with this food stamp challenge experience and apply it to whatever I do. I have learned a lot and it has opened my eyes to hunger and nutrition issues in our society. Since the beginning of my studies in college park, I thought that my career would involve me working in global/international health and nutrition issues. I am still interested in working in that area, but now I have a special appreciation for domestic health, hunger, and nutrition issues. I only got a tiny taste of what struggles people who live off of food stamps face. But the experience was so impactful that I will remember what I’ve learned and felt during this challenge and carry it with me later in life.” -Evelyn

Welcome to the last day of the Food Stamp Challenge!  As the HLTH471 students are busy updating their blogs with reflections from the week, read this New York Times article about junk food vs healthy food.  What do you think?  How does this match your experience during the Food Stamp Challenge?

“The “fact” that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli …” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”

This is just plain wrong. In fact it isn’t cheaper to eat highly processed food: a typical order for a family of four — for example, two Big Macs, a cheeseburger, six chicken McNuggets, two medium and two small fries, and two medium and two small sodas — costs, at the McDonald’s a hundred steps from where I write, about $28. (Judicious ordering of “Happy Meals” can reduce that to about $23 — and you get a few apple slices in addition to the fries!)”

Thank you to Cathy Demoroto and Laura Flamm from Maryland Hunger Solutions for visiting HLTH/WMST471 to talk about the Food Stamp Challenge and their work in Maryland!  Blain from HLTH471 talked about their visit in her blog:

“Today we were lucky enough to have two guest speakers from Maryland Hunger Solutions, which is actually the organization who is coordinating and gathering info on this week’s food stamp challenge, come speak to our class. Their mission is to “fight hunger and improve the nutrition, health, and well-being of children and families in Maryland”. They were able to give us some interesting data about the severity of food insecurity across the country. Today 1 in 4 Americans experience food insecurity, in the state of Maryland it is 12.5 % of households, meaning they have limited or uncertain access to an adequate supply of food. The number of people who are on food stamps rose to a record high of about 44,587,328 this year (between now and 2010 that’s an increase of 4.4 million more people).To learn more about Maryland Hunger Solutions go to:  http://www.mdhungersolutions.org/index.shtml“

Today is Day 4 of the Food Stamp Challenge and there are some common themes emerging from the UMD Food Stamp Challenge Blogs…

1.  Planning – “I went shopping at Shoppers on Sunday afternoon, with a calculator in hand and 30 dollars to spend … Although I had gone into the store confident with my list I was soon overwhelmed by all the options, prices, and brands that I had to chose from” -Maggie

2. Lack of variety – “This repetitiveness is driving me crazy! Not having enough money to buy a diverse selection of food is one of the hardest things I am dealing with for sure!” -Sara

3. Unhealthy options - ”The majority of my diet will consist of carbohydrates which is not healthy at all. This could also be unhealthy psychologically as well. You worry and stress about what you’re going to eat, and if you don’t have enough to eat, or if just unhealthy, you may lose concentration or energy”  -Blain

4. Reflection – “What strikes me the most at this moment is the importance of ensuring food security to households with children because of the simple notion that children who are not eating and eating well cannot focus or do well in school.  If from an early age they develop poor learning and reading skills because of reasons linked to malnourishment, how can they get an education and rise up out of poverty?” -Marie Laure

“I had a very unfortunate accident last night that reminds me of the story we heard in class about the man that lost his peanut butter on the flight.  I was planning on splitting the can of green beans I had bought between several meals, so that I could get at least a small amount of vegetables every day.  Well when I was carrying the can from one side of the kitchen to the other, in order to find the lid, I dropped the can and the beans spilled all over the floor.  Usually I would be able to go in the freezer (without a worry in mind) and take a vegetable I planned to have another day out and eat it that night.  I ended up taking a different vegetable out, but now if means my vegetables for the rest of the week will be a little smaller and I can’t go get more.  I’ll be fine, but it was a bummer and one that I have never dealt with before.” -Melinda

A student in HLTH471, Wayne, has been putting his daily meals into www.caloriecount.com to see their nutritional value.  How nutritious are your meals?  How close are they to the USDA’s recommendations?

Seems like most people are doing well at the “balancing calories” recommendations and drinking water.  How possible have the others been this week?

Balancing Calories

●Enjoy your food, but eat less.

●Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase

● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

● Make at least half your grains whole grains.

● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce

●Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and
choose the foods with lower numbers.

● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Source: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Maryland Hunger Solutions Sponsoring Food Stamp Challenge to Take Place September 19 – 25

Legislators, Students and State Leaders among the 160+ Marylanders Taking the Challenge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Adach, 202-986-2200 x3018; Sarah Shepard-Kneip,
410-231-1380

Baltimore, Md. – September 19, 2011 – More than 160 people are joining Maryland Hunger Solutions Director Cathy
Demeroto in taking the Food Stamp Challenge during the week of September 19 – 25. Participants in the Challenge pledge to use the average food stamp benefit – $30 a week in Maryland – as their total budget for groceries for the week.

People from across the state will be taking the challenge, including Senator Jamie Raskin (Montgomery County); Delegates Mary Washington (Baltimore City), Shane Robinson (Montgomery County), and Alfred Carr (Montgomery County);
Rosemary King Johnston, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office for Children; Michael Lachance, Legislative Liaison for the Maryland State
Department of Aging;  Hank Greenberg, AARP State Director for Maryland; and Bill McCarthy, Executive Director of Catholic Charities in Baltimore. More than 40 students from the University of Maryland – College Park also are taking the challenge, and blogging about their experiences. A full list of Challenge takers is available on Maryland Hunger Solutions’ website.

The Challenge kicked off with a series of events today, starting with a shopping trip at Santoni’s in Baltimore, Maryland. Johnston, Lachance, Demeroto, and Greenberg shopped together for groceries for their challenge week, and hosted a brown bag luncheon at Maryland Hunger Solutions’ office to discuss the Challenge and pose solutions to hunger in the state.

“While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles encountered by low-income families week after week and month after month, it does provide those who take the Challenge with a new perspective and greater understanding,” said Demeroto.
“We hope to shed a light on the challenges facing many in our state and the need to provide for the needs of low-income Marylanders.”

“Hunger is a fact of life for many older Americans. Over 17 staff members from AARP are participating in this challenge as a way to increase awareness of food insecurity affecting many Marylanders as well as the millions of older Americans nationwide,” said Greenberg.

“One in eight Marylanders struggles with hunger. Programs like food stamps are incredibly important for those struggling and a key ingredient
in helping Maryland achieve its goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015,” said Johnston. “All of the nutrition programs – food stamps, school meals, and afterschool and summer food – are a critical part of the safety net, providing access to food that supports healthy children and families. That’s why I am taking the challenge – to raise awareness of the incredibly important role that programs like food stamps play.”

Food stamps (known in Maryland as the Food Supplement Program) serve as a critical resource by helping millions of low-income people purchase needed food each month. Eligibility is based on income and assets depending on household size. In July 2011, 688,816 Maryland
residents received Food Supplement Program benefits, a 17 percent increase over the previous year.

Demeroto, Greenberg and others taking the Challenge will be documenting their experiences on Maryland Hunger Solutions’ Challenge Diary.

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Maryland Hunger Solutions is the lead research, public education, and advocacy group in Maryland, dedicated to using public programs to end hunger in Maryland. Maryland Hunger Solutions is an initiative of the Food Research and Action Center.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s
largest-circulation magazine with over 35.1 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP’s millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need
with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.