Day 8

Today is the day that our SNAP challenge would be over if we had accepted the challenge we have read, seen, or heard so much about in the media lately.  If those reports were to be believed, today would be the day that we would rush out to our favorite coffee house first thing for that beloved and much missed cup of coffee.  Today would be the day that we would belly up to our favorite all you can eat buffet and recover from our famished state.  Today is the day that we would shout “Hooray!” and go back to our old way of eating with our badge of honor that we survived the 7 Day SNAP Challenge, which seems to be a wee bit insulting to those individuals truly in need of assistance.

Our experience has been different.  We are embracing this challenge for 30 days for reasons we explained in our first post.  John hasn’t missed coffee since he’s made it at home every time he’s wanted a cup.  Lori isn’t a coffee drinker.  We’ve actually eaten a more healthy diet.  We’ve had more fresh fruit and vegetables, which is a very good thing.  We never have been ones to rely on convenience foods, so continuing with home prepared meals wasn’t be an issue for us.  We have had complete meals at each dining occasion and have come away satisfied.  We’ve learned a valuable lesson about portion sizes and have been happy to note a few pounds gone for each of us.  We are discussing continuing this life style after the 30 days are over.

The meals we ate during the first week of the challenge totaled $42.31.  That works out to be $3.02 per person per day.  Again, we were not deprived.  We ate well.  If we had been in a difficult circumstance, we certainly would not be discussing continuing this lifestyle.

We do understand that we are making a choice to live like this and it is very different to be required to live on such a limited food budget.  We want to be sensitive to those in need.  We don’t want to appear as though we are superior in some way.  We are growing and learning as we continue this challenge.  We are looking forward to the next 3+ weeks because we believe we will be better people because of it.