After completing the SNAP Challenge over the span of one week, my experience has taught me a tremendous amount about food insecurity. Like many in the United States, I personally struggle with my mental health, which is greatly affected by my physical health and diet. Throughout my life I have rarely faced food insecurity, making my lifestyle easier than those who do. While I am still a college student trying to be as cost efficient as possible, I have never needed to strictly adhere to a budget or risk losing other aspects of my life such as housing, education, transportation, etc... The process of researching my items for my shopping list to stay within budget was stressful in and of itself. Trying to cut down my usual shopping list to less than half of what it was before was disheartening, knowing how little choice and quantity I was left with. The actual grocery shopping experience however was a great deal more stressful. Like almost all online stores, the items listed on the website, and what is actually available in the store often do not perfectly match. While shopping, I was constantly trying to recalculate the budget of my items whenever there was a change in item or price. I began to have anxiety, feeling as though I was disorganized and in everyone's way while stopped on my phone. I knew in the back of my mind I could handle if my total went over by a few dollars, but I could not imagine the stress of an individual who would not be able to pay the total because they went over budget and needed to return items they planned on needing for the week. The process of budgeting for SNAP allowances overall was extremely anxiety inducing.
Cooking throughout the week of my SNAP Challenge is best described by the word, "Restrictive." Due to my limited groceries, there were only a few different meals I could make for myself, and I only was able to cook one full meal a day. As a college student, my schedule is always changing and often I have to purchase meals out while on campus or working. The inability to use SNAP allowances on "ready made" food was a real hindrance on my schedule. For those who also have busy schedules including children, family, education, jobs and other time-consuming aspects of each day, needing to center their meals around being in a kitchen would be adding additional stress to the daily agenda. I know while I was planning my schedule for the week, I had to consciously think about making time for me to be home and be able to cook for myself. I am thankful to be living in a home environment where I have many kitchen appliances that work well. With a refrigerator, freezer, oven, stove, toaster oven, and microwave, I was able to make a wider variety of meals; however, those who are receiving SNAP allowances are primarily living in low-income housing environments, and some are even without a home. The inability to buy ready-made food, forcing reliance on appliances in the home would be difficult for those who may not have access to as many appliances as myself. Frozen food is often the cheapest option for quick meals, but without a freezer (like in many hotels/motels where many stay in long-term living deals) this option is unavailable. The same goes for microwaves and stove tops, which can be unavailable in some living situations, and without which makes food prep even more arduous. With my SNAP Challenge only lasting a week, the physical and mental effects on food insecurity was light, but still noticeable. Fatigue and irritability were the two side effects felt by the end of my experience. With the stress of meal planning and shopping as well as the decrease in nutrition and food diversity I was left feeling slightly defeated by the end of the week. For those experiencing food insecurity long-term, the compounding obstacles and constant pressures are just some of many possible issues in an individual's life and I have been given a perspective of how truly difficult life can be for those who struggle financially.
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Throughout the week of my SNAP Challenge, because of the items I had to buy to stay within budget, I had to cook a majority of my meals. Below is my meal chart for the week.
Monday - Tofu and Rice Tuesday - Pasta Wednesday - Veggie Stir-Fry Thursday - Frozen Dinner Friday - Pasta Saturday - Mac and Cheese Sunday - Frozen Dinner As you can see, I only had one planned meal a day, and with only Quesadillas as a snack each day, I was not getting enough food to sustain myself. I felt as though I had to force myself to try and make dinner each night, knowing that that was the only real food I was getting for the whole day. I like having more flexibility in my meals, and often I like changing what and when I cook. During the week of my challenge I felt as though I was constantly thinking about my schedule and the best times to fit in cooking, which could cause anxiety. In regard to how I felt throughout the week, due to my experiences with eating disorders, my hunger and physical strength was not as felt, but my emotional strength did falter. The body feeds the mind, so when you do not feed your body, the mind can become weak. I could feel myself getting mentally tired at the end of each day, and often sleepy or irritable. With the already stressful experience of food insecurity, the physical and mental toll undernutrition can take would make the whole time worse. Outside of the SNAP Challenge, when grocery shopping, I like to write out a general guideline of what I want to buy. Usually centered around the meals I am planning to cook, I don't usually research the pricing of each item, but look for the cheapest option at the store. However, before I made my grocery list for the week of my SNAP Challenge, I wanted to write out and price a regular shopping list I would have for a week of groceries. Below are my items.
Avocado (pack of 3) - $3.49 Pack of Rolls - $2.49 Frozen Bag of Dumplings - $2.99 Tomato Soup Tub (2) - $3.99 x 2 Apples (3) - $1.29 x 3 Bag of Sweet Mini Peppers - $3.49 Granola Bars Box - $3.29 Pack of Tortilla - $3.49 Bag of Shredded Cheese - $2.99 Salmon Fillet - $5.99 Bag of Rice - $4.49 Potatoes - $3.49 Green Beans - $3.49 Tofu - $4.49 Pasta Sauce - $3.99 Bag of Pasta - $0.99 Bag of Frozen Veggies - $2.29 Asian Noodles - $2.99 StirFry/Asian Sauce - $3.49 I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's, so I looked up the prices of my items for both lists. The total for my "normal" grocery list was just under $70, not an exorbitant amount spent, but double how much I could spend during my SNAP Challenge. After making this list, I realized I had to do the same for my grocery list during my SNAP Challenge in order to stay under budget. Below is the grocery list I made for the week of the challenge. Tofu - $1.99 Cheese - $3.79 Onion - $.99 Pasta sauce - $1.99 Pasta - $.99 Mac cheese - $.99 Rice - $2.49 Veggie - $1.99 Tortilla - $2.49 Frozen dinners - $3.99/2.99 Green peppers - $.99/.99 Clearly my shopping list condensed considerably, but it was under budget, coming in at $27. I had to carefully think of which items I could get the best uses out of throughout my week. I am someone who likes to meal plan, but I usually give myself room to change up my schedule and I like to have options when choosing what I want to eat. With the groceries I bought during my challenge week, I had to plan, with more precision, exactly what I would be cooking during the week. While grocery shopping for my SNAP Challenge food supplies, I honestly felt a great deal of anxiety while in the store. While I am a financially responsible person who tries to stick to a budget and be cost efficient, knowing I was not allowed (figuratively) to spend more than the $32.09 I was allotted, was nerve-wracking. Obviously, prices online don't perfectly match the in-store products, so there were a few times, I had to change items on my list whether due to the item not being available, or a difference in price. I had to whip out my phone and change my grocery list in my Notes app while trying to recalculate my total on the calculator. I was stressed, feeling like I was standing in the way of everyone on my phone, but it was necessary in order to stay within my budget. Something that I do not think I thought about is the anxiety around budgeting, especially if you know you would not be able to afford the spill over. The experience of grocery shopping on SNAP benefits is showing in itself of the unforeseen obstacles of struggling with insecurity. The SNAP Challenge is a countrywide practice experience by students and scholars to gain greater understanding of the true effects of food insecurity. While SNAP allotments are sent out on a monthly schedule, most participants of the challenge only take part for a week. During this week, you must only use the allowances from SNAP to buy all food resources for the week. No food bought before the challenge can be used, and you should not take any free food (from family, friends, work, etc...).
Each state has differing standards for SNAP allotments, so I decided to base my experience on the Maryland laws, since that is where I grew up. Based on the data for Maryland's 2019 SNAP records found on the US Department of Agriculture website (I chose not to use 2020 data because of how it might be skewed due to COVID-19), I as a single individual, would be given $128.36 a month, leaving me with $32.09 for a week of food. Without being able to rely on other food resources, I would have to shop within my budget and cook for myself throughout the whole week. I think it is important to address the regulations that are included when using SNAP funds. The monthly allotments cannot be used on the following:
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AuthorHannah Elliott is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Delaware studying Anthropology and Public Policy. For her Nutritional Anthropology course, she made this blog to depict the experience of the Food Insecurity SNAP Challenge. Thank you for reading! |