Participants live off $4 a day
A few USC law students have been learning what it’s like to go hungry this week.
In honor of the university’s Hunger Awareness Week several students are participating in the SNAP challenge, living like those who survive on food stamps — a budget of about $4 per day.
SNAP stands for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. SNAP works toward ending hunger and improving the health of those with low incomes by helping individuals and families buy the food they need for an adequately nutritional diet.
According to a fact sheet given to participants, the SNAP challenge asks each participant to live on the same budget as people living on food stamps, which is approximately $4 per day for a week. Third-year law student and participant in the challenge Daniel Craig explained in an email why he wanted to be involved in the challenge.
“I decided to participate in the SNAP challenge to make others aware of food insecurity in our community while also personally experiencing the challenges that families on SNAP benefits face every day,” he said.
Director of the pro bono program Pamela Robinson explained that by participating last year she found out living on less than $5 a day can be difficult and dull.
“We did this last year, and we learned a lot about ourselves and how boring and non-nutritional a daily diet like this is and how restrictive it can be to life in general,” she said.
With the difficulties of finding food to fit their daily budget, students are beginning to understand what it is like for those who live on food stamps. Law school alumna Gwynne Goodlett realized that while she gets to end the challenge Friday evening, those who are on food stamps must continue to battle through the hardships of poverty.
“This is only a simulation” she wrote in an email. “I get to go back to our regular [eating] habits on Friday night, but I now have a far greater compassion and understanding for the anxiety about food that comes. Before, I gave little thought to food; maybe it took up 5 or 10 percent of my week. Now it’s gone up to about 50 or 60 percent in planning what I am going to eat and how I can prepare it.”
Along with planning how and what to eat, students must make sacrifices. Robinson explained how a low budget forces a student to really think about how simple food situations can become complex.
“I had a student debating about whether to have coffee or milk,” she said. “The student said, ‘Milk is more nutritious, but I really need the coffee.’ This shows you what choices you have to make when you are limited.”
Though the challenge is difficult, students have developed an appreciation for the simple things in life that many people do not have the luxury of experiencing.
“I really have a profound appreciation for simple things like being able to afford pets, our garden in the backyard full of herbs and measly produce that has been a lifesaver, and time with my family,” Goodlett said. “I have also learned what to donate to Harvest Hope.”