Day Two: Living on Food Stamps

From November 18 until Thanksgiving Day, I will take the SNAP Challenge to see what it takes to feed myself on $3.95 a day –that's the average amount a person would receive from SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as food stamps, for one week.

November 19, 2010 at 12:07PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

My lunch on Thursday consisted of a peanut butter sandwich (.07 cents), a banana (.16 cents) and a carrot (.07 cents). For .30 cents, it was a pretty nutritious meal. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and this year Americans will spend, on average, $45.79 for a traditional meal for a gathering of 10 people. That's a 16-pound turkey with all of the fixings, including pumpkin pie with whipped cream, for $4.58 a person. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I intend to enjoy every bite of my meal that day. We all should. That's what Thanksgiving is all about. But what if every American donated just .30 cents – the cost of a peanut butter sandwich, banana and carrot – to meals on wheels or a local food shelf on Thanksgiving? If that were to happen, by the end of Thanksgiving Day more than $92 million would have been raised for hunger relief in this country. That would be one more thing to be grateful for.

about the writer

about the writer

Kevin Winge