Second Harvest Food Bank and United Way Silicon Valley team up for the
“Eat on $4.50 a Day” Challenge
September 20-25
What would you eat with just $4.50 a day? We encourage you to take the Challenge and share your experience, even if you are unable to stick to the budget.
Could you feed yourself on $4.50 a day? That’s the average amount that a Californian receives through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. Nearly 1 million households in California participate in SNAP each month, and 71% of those households have children.
Starting on Monday, September 20th, we invite you to join the five-day Challenge (even for a day) and experience first-hand life what life is like living on a food stamp budget and share your experiences on our challenge blog (coming soon).
Check back in September to sign up for the Challenge, but if you would like more info or to get an email when it’s time to sign up, please email hungerchallenge@shfb.org.
Challenge Guidelines:
- Each person should only spend a total of $4.50 on food and beverages for each day of the Challenge.
- All food purchased and eaten during the Challenge week, including fast food and dining out, must be included in the total spending.
- 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).
- Avoid accepting free coffee and food from friends, family or coworkers, including at receptions and meetings.
- Try to include fresh produce and healthy protein each day.
- Keep track of receipts on food spending and share your experiences on our blog.
A group of us bloggers nationally did this for the month of June. I fed my family of 5 on $452.50 for 30 days — blogging about it daily. It started out ok, and fun, but it dragged on and on, and by the end we were eating a lot of starchy, fatty or sugary things to pad the meal. I fasted on the last day to stand in solidarity with my hungry brothers and sisters — and it was one of the hardest days of my life. Good luck to all those who participate, even for a day. And be grateful it’s just for 5 days, not forever.
Normally I would love to ‘accept’ but in the summer I eat out of my garden and I am not going to fore-go that to accommodate.
This is a GREAT idea! I know what it’s like to live on Less than that amount, so I will do the challenge. I am still frugle with my shopping and give to the food bank regularly.
It is too bad that we couldn’t get all of our Senators and Reps. in Congress in on this. Wouldn’t that open some of their eyes?
I don’t know if the $4.50 is an average but I get about $6.66 a day. $200 a month for 1 person. It’s very possible for me. I cannot eat out of the house (can’t buy Deli sandwiches every day or buy hot meals) but I do manage.
Food stamps a…re no longer referred as such. They are part of a program called: Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (AKA: SNAP). The key word is SUPPLEMENTAL. They aren’t intended to be your entire food budget.
I do think that if (and when) I have my own money to spend on food I splurge a little more and am not so tight with my choices of food.
I’ve been receiving benefits for over a year and Costco recently started accepting them. I have a membership through a family member and I am able to buy my staple foods in bulk at a great discount.
I also supplement my food with an occasional trip to nearby Food Banks. I am forever grateful for their assistance.