Under the Dome: Arkansas Hunger Challenge

Monday, August 13, 2007

Arkansas Hunger Challenge

Beginning today, I'll join 21 other Arkansas lawmakers and will spend just $3 per day for food through Wednesday in an effort to raise awareness of hunger in Arkansas. This amount is roughly equal to the benefit 380,000 Arkansas recipients of food stamps receive for groceries.

This challenge was brought to us by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and the Arkansas Hunger Coalition and is being spearheaded by Hope Coulter and Rep. Kathy Webb (D-Little Rock). I sponsored Act 1183 of 2007 in an effort to provide additional funding for the hunger alliance and its mission, and I'm hopeful that participating in this project will further raise awareness to hunger in our state. In a country that has long enjoyed a remarkable period of prosperity, there are multitudes of people right here in Arkansas that are still waiting on the 1928 "chicken in every pot" promise to be fulfilled.

I do recognize that this project may ring a little hollow to some -- it's easy for people like me to take part in an exercise like this when, at the end of the three-day period, I get to go back to my stocked pantry while those less fortunate will to continue to fight everyday challenges associated with their plight. Regardless, I'm happy to participate and hope that doing so will not only bring awareness but will enlighten me on a $3 per day sustenance.

I went to the store last night and picked up my groceries -- I'm posting my receipt here to show how little $3 per day will buy (click the receipt to enlarge it). One problem I found is that drinks are out of the question. I'm going to have to stick to water. I thought Hamburger Helper would be a good option, but hamburger is out of my price range. Here's this week's menu:

Monday Breakfast: 2 bananas
Monday Lunch: balogna sandwich
Monday Supper: spaghetti (noodles only), corn, bread

Tuesday Breakfast: 2 biscuits, cup of yogurt
Tuesday Lunch: macaroni & cheese, bread
Tuesday Supper: Beef & vegetable soup, bread

Wednesday Breakfast: 2 biscuits
Wednesday Lunch: balogna sandwich
Wednesday Supper: Swanson's TV dinner; dessert is Yoplait Chocolate Yogurt

4 Comments:

At August 13, 2007 8:11 AM , Kathy Webb said...: Steve-thanks for sharing this experience. I prepared low cost, nutritious meals for Hunger Awareness Week in June (I own a restaurant), and find myself changed by that experience. My efforts to help end hunger in Arkansas on a multitude of fronts have been intensified by that experience, and will be even further increased by this week's Challenge. Thanks for your work in this worthy effort.
At August 13, 2007 11:53 AM , Anonymous said...: It is really admirable that you are making a personal commitment to relating to the experiences of many of your constituents in the hope of serving them better. Great job!
At August 13, 2007 11:55 AM , mpan said...: Now $21 seems like very little money per person, but that is only a small part of the largess provided by the U.S. government, which spent $522 billion on low-income assistance in 2002. It doesn't count hot breakfasts and lunches at school (which push high-calorie, high-fat diets on kids). It doesn't count the Earned Income Tax Credit by which the working poor get cash back from the federal government ($41.4 billion went to 22.2 million recipients last year, the Los Angeles Times reports). It doesn't include housing subsidies, Medicaid or the Supplemental Security Income program, which can free up funds for food. Nor does it count the WIC program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
The WIC program provides highly caloric packages of juice, cereal, eggs and other food to pregnant women, nursing mothers and children up to age 4. . About 50 percent of the formula sold in the U.S. goes to families using WIC.
Douglas Besharov of the American Enterprise Institute notes that while he can recall visiting rural Mississippi in the 1960s and seeing severe cases of malnutrition, the problem among the poor today is more likely to be obesity. Today, 70 percent of low-income Americans are overweight, compared with 60 percent of the nonpoor.
The mean intake of poor children aged 6-11 was 2,000 calories a day in 1994 compared with 1,969 calories for nonpoor children of the same age. President Bill Clinton's secretary of agriculture, Dan Glickman, acknowledged that "The simple fact is that more people die in the United States of too much food than of too little, and the habits that lead to this epidemic become ingrained at an early age."
At August 13, 2007 8:16 PM , Rick Green said...: Steve,

I have my grocery list to share. My total was $8.83. Here are my purchases.

2 Mrs. Paul's seafood dinners
with fish,rice,veggies at
.50 each 1.00

1 Pkg peanut butter crackers .80

2 Romain chicken noodle
(a college student staple)
at .10 each .20

1 Can green beans .40
1 Can whole corn .40

1 Can tuna .57

1 Can mackeral .97

1 Box of 10 granola bars .97

3 mini pkgs of Bugles corn
chips at .10 each .30

1 watermelon 3.00

$8.83 including tax

I purchased my products at a discount grocery store near my house. Some of the items are past expiration and the vegetable cans are dented.

Good luck in your efforts and I'll see you on Friday at the news conference.

Rick Green
District 66