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Columnist lives on $1 per meal for full week

By MARTHA MARTINEZ, Associate editor | Monday, Jun 4 2007 1:36 PM

Last Updated: Monday, Jun 4 2007 1:35 PM

It wasn’t pleasant to be around me toward the end of last week. I was tired, grumpy and I had no energy to do anything — except whine.

I was supposed to be eating on $1 per meal for five days. Meaning, I did my Sunday grocery shopping for the week — Monday through Friday — with a $15 budget. It had gotten repetitive and boring by Tuesday. On Wednesday I thought I was going to pass out from lack of snacking and by Thursday I was sick of eating the same thing — I mean really sick.

I nearly finished a one-pound bag of pretzel sticks as my daytime snack and I finished off a small package of strawberry Jell-O I made for dessert after dinner.

Why would I put myself through this?

My boss said I didn’t have the will power to do it. I did some mooching, so maybe, I didn’t do it. I was able to buy plenty of food for $15, feed a guest and have leftovers. But it was not a healthy diet. One can only eat so many fried bolognas, wieners, eggs and potatoes.

Actually, the real reason behind my insane diet was to bring attention to how some families are not able to eat healthy on what little help they receive from the federal food stamp program alone.

The “food stamp challenge” — issued by a communications agency — demonstrated that families on food stamps eat for an average of $1 per meal, per person. That does not include any other assistance they may be receiving, such as WIC, cash aid or disability.

I don’t have to rely on any of these services. But for one week, I felt the hunger pains that some people who rely on these programs feel. It wasn’t pretty.

The challenge called for journalists and politicians to eat on a grocery budget of $1 per meal for a couple of days to a full week. Some have tried it and not all have been able to last the entire week.

By Friday, I was begging a friend to feed me something healthy. Co-workers and friends took pity on me as I declared that I quit my diet. My co-worker bought me coffee and a friend paid for a “real” lunch. I mooched, therefore I stayed within my $15 budget. Being so hungry, I felt no shame being a mooch.

With my arteries a bit more clogged by my fatty diet at the end of the week, I know for a fact that someone can’t eat healthy on that kind of budget.

I was able to buy four nectarines, which I ate for breakfast the first four days of the week. That was the only fresh fruit I was able to eat all week.

Hunger and unhealthy eating habits may be a thing of the past for food stamp recipients. The 2007 Farm Bill, still in the works, has some proposed solutions.

There is a recommendation to improve and modernize food stamp access to better reflect the needs of recipients and states. It is also recommended to increase support and awareness for healthy eating habits in homes and in schools.

In California, this would benefit more than 1.3 million people who receive food stamps.

Currently, food-stamp benefit levels are based on household income after non-food basic expenses are subtracted. Excluding certain eligibility requirements from the current policy would generate additional money for participants. Some of those exclusions are:

• Combat-related military pay.

• The value of IRS approved college savings plans.

• Retirement savings accounts for the working poor and elderly.

Many people who receive food stamps have children and are likely receiving other forms of aid. But for those who solely rely on food stamps deserve more help to purchase healthier and fresh food. The house bill must still pass through the House and Senate before being signed by the president.

To respond to Martha Martinez’s column e-mail opinion@bakersfield.com.