Sunday, April 7, 2013

Final Synopsis

This was published in the Vero Beach Press Journal on Saturday, March 30th:


My name is Curtis Carpenter. I’m 28 years old and a father of 2 wonderful boys, ages 3 and 4. I have a college degree and I work full-time. I’ve never really thought about my diet too much and I’ve always felt like I was in good shape. I can run a 5k on a whim, I’m usually witty in a jiff, and I never seem to be too tired or lethargic.
For seven days in March, that last statement wasn’t necessarily true. This is because I took the SNAP Challenge. SNAP is an acronym for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is commonly referred to as “food stamps” and is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net.
The SNAP Challenge is a week long, voluntary event, in which a person or family lives on $4 per day, per person, which is what the average SNAP beneficiary receives. Throughout the challenge, I felt very hungry, tired, and weak.

I lived for one week on $25.25 worth of food. I compiled a daily menu at the beginning of the week and I only consumed the items on that menu. While I was offered, many times, free food on a consistent basis, I declined because I didn’t want to skew the control on my experiment. Therefore, I kept very concise data on cost and nutritional value recorded on a blog I created specifically for this challenge. The website is www.curtissnapchallenge.blogspot.com.

There are obvious arguments over the abuse of the food stamp system. While I have my own opinions on that particular topic, the conclusion I’ve come to has nothing to do with the abuse of the SNAP Program, I’ll let politicians argue over that.
What I’ve learned, with a firsthand account of the diet, is that the people that live on this diet, day in and day out, are the primary cause of a health crisis in this country. These people are eating highly processed, high sodium, high carbohydrate foods that put them at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Much more risk than someone who takes a balanced approach to their everyday diet.
A lot of these people are already in a compromised economic position in which they don’t have health insurance, they don’t get preventive health check-ups, and their primary care physician ends up being the emergency room doctor, which is exponentially more expensive than a standard doctor visit.
It’s not a matter of “if” these people will end up in the emergency room for a legitimate health concern, it is absolutely a question of “when”.
My diet over those seven days consisted of mostly canned foods, rice, pasta, beans, and bread. Over the week, I ate over 16 grams of sodium. I consumed almost 1,000 mg more sodium per day than recommended by the American Heart Association, and without ever reaching 2,000 calories in a day, I surpassed the USDA’s recommendations for Carbohydrate intake.

Within three days I became hypertensive. My blood pressure over the week ranged from 144/103 to 156/85 to 158/94…this is from a guy who registers a 120/80 on a regular basis. I had a banana, an apple, and a yogurt every day and I tried to get vegetables in when I could. The contents of cheap, canned food overpowered any positive impact that the healthy foods were able to provide.

With over 47 million Americans on this diet, I can only suggest that we educate our populous on this epidemic and ask the Department of Food and Nutrition Services to supply a healthier option than simply handing these recipients a few nickels and saying “good luck”.
I now believe that the SNAP program should be run more like the Women, Infants, and Children program in which there are vouchers/coupons for specific foods. This may not be the ultimate answer, but it surely provides an alternative to the unhealthy lifestyle that the current program provides.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Monday Morning Weigh-In

This is my final weigh-in, and it turns out I've gained 0.8 pounds since yesterday. My final weight loss, after a full 7 days on the SNAP Challenge, is 2.4 pounds.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday's Video Journal



This is the very last Daily Video Journal I will be doing for the SNAP Challenge. It's over. Thank you guys for watching and tune in for the report I will have next week.

Sunday Lunchtime

My last lunch on the SNAP Challenge. I would be lying if I said I'm going to miss it.

Sunday Morning Weigh-In

Here's the weigh-in for my final day. I've lost 3.2 pounds in 6 days. I'll post a weigh-in tomorrow morning to get a final tally for the entire week.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Saturday Video Journal


Here's my Saturday Night Daily SNAP Challenge Video Journal. Enjoy!

Sunday's Cost Breakdown

Here's the cost breakdown for the food I'll be consuming on my last day of the SNAP Challenge, Sunday.

Breakfast: $0.45
Snack: $0.39
Lunch: $1.09
Dinner: $0.66

Total: $2.59

That breaks down to 728 Calories, 4g Fat, 137g Carbs, 33g Sugar, 21g Protein, 625mg Sodium per dollar consumed.

As the week went on I continued to get better value for my dollar as far as nutritional values are concerned. This seems to be the best out of the week. All I'm going to say is, I can't wait for breakfast in the morning.

This has been a pleasure reporting all of this data and I assure you guys that I'll be compiling a cumulative report about all the nutritional values and cost breakdowns early next week. Thank you guys for reading, it's been an interesting week.

Sunday's Nutritional Values

Here is the breakdown of nutrional value for my last day of the SNAP Challenge, Sunday...

Breakfast: Banana, Bagel, 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium

Snack: Apple, 80 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Black Beans, Rice, Yogurt, 620 Calories, 2.5g Fat, 131g Carbs, 27g Sugar, 23g Protein, 565 mg Sodium

Dinner: Pasta, Sauce, Toast, 850 Calories, 6.5g Fat, 124g Carbs, 18g Sugar, 20g Protein, 720mg Sodium

Totals: 1,885 Calories, 10.5g Fat, 356g Carbs, 85g Sugar, 55g Protein, 1,618mg Sodium

All I'm going to say about this is that I can't wait to eat healthy food again. A week of this crappy diet is enough. I will be compiling a report early next week with all the data I've collected of the nutritional value through the week. I'll be sure to post it on the blog here.

Saturday mid-day

It's almost 2:00 and I raced home to get to my lunch I haven't been able to eat yet. I'm tired, have a headache, and I'm STARVING. I typically would've just stopped somewhere and grabbed a quick bite to eat, but this isn't a typical day. I learned to schedule events at a broader pace today.

Here's a quick Saturday morning video on what it's like to live on such a low food budget for te week. Rushing the cooking of my dinner at 9:00am. Crazy.

Saturday weigh-in

This is my weight or the beginning of my sixth day on the SNAP Challenge. I've lost 3 pounds exactly so far. I'm really stunned at the weight loss. It probably makes sense to a lot of people that understand that lower calories simply means more weight loss, but the enormous amounts of sodium typically turn into a weight gainer because of all the water you retain. I won't complain about the number, but I'd definitely rather feel better than I do now. I'm still pretty tired and feel unmotivated.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Friday Night's Video Diary

Friday Night's Video Diary. Check it out. As you can tell, I've been tired today.

Saturday's Cost Breakdown

Here's the cost breakdown for everything I'll be eating Saturday.

Breakfast: $0.45
Snack: $0.39
Lunch: $0.67
Dinner: $0.88

Total: $2.36

That's 616 Calories, 8.5g Fat, 123g Carbs, 32g Sugar, 21.6g Protein, 923mg Sodium per dollar consumed.

This is the most "Valuable" day I've had so far as far as "bang for the buck" goes. This is a very cheap day however, therefore, the values indicated aren't as extravagant as they sound. I'll be consuming 1,455 Calories, my lowest amount so far. I have reserve food that I purchased during my shopping trip if I got too hungry...I'm afraid I'll have to use it.

Saturday's Nutritional Values

Here are the Nutritional Values for everything I'll be consuming on Saturday.

Breakfast: Banana, Bagel, 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium

Snack: Apple, 80 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Bologna Sandwich, Yogurt, 450 Calories, 14g Fat, 62g Carbs, 30g Sugar, 19g Protein, 1,115mg Sodium

Dinner: Black Beans, Rice, and Toast, 590 Calories, 2.5g Fat, 127g Carbs, 5g Sugar, 20g Protein, 730mg Sodium

Totals: 1,455 Calories, 20g Fat, 290g Carbs, 75g Sugar, 51g Protein, 2,178mg Sodium


Once again, my Sodium and Carbohydrate intake is gigantic, although my calorie total is quite low today. This will be my biggest challenge through this whole process is getting through a VERY busy Saturday with only 1,455 Calories, especially after getting used to 1,800 and 1,900 calories daily.

Cooking Dinner

Here is my dinner for the evening. Canned Beef Stew, Rice, Mixed vegetables, and Toast (omitted from the photo). I'm starving all of a sudden. I can't wait to eat. This is the first time in a couple days that I've really felt hungry.

Friday Lunch

Here's my lunch for the day. 775 calories is plenty in a meal now. That used to be one course worth of calories. I'm not tired, not terribly hungry, haven't had a headache, and I feel fine. My blood pressure is SKY HIGH today and I'm a little on edge (Don't know why that is either), but I've noticed I've been more agitated lately than normal. Very strange to me, I'm typically VERY laid back. Check back later for my dinner post!

Friday Morning Weigh-In

This is my weigh-in from this morning. I'm down a total of 2.2 pounds. As I've said before, I don't plan on losing a lot of weight because of all the water I'm retaining, but I'm not shocked its dropped a little. If it gets down to 171 by Monday morning I would be surprised. Off to breakfast, have a great day!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Thursday Video Diary


Here's tonight's daily video on how I'm doing on the SNAP Challenge. Higher Calorie diet, how tired I'm feeling, my blood pressure, food envy, and more. Check it out.

Friday's Cost Breakdown

Here is the cost breakdown for everything I will be eating Friday.

Breakfast: $0.45
Snack: $0.39
Lunch: $1.87
Dinner: $1.43

Total: $4.14

That's 478 Calories, 7.25g Fat, 89g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 19.5g Protein, and 611mg Sodium per dollar consumed.


This is the most expensive day I will have this week. The $4.14 total is above the $4 average I'm supposed to be spending per day. Seeing as how I'm only averaging less than 75% of that at a rate of $2.90 per day, I'm okay with the extra $0.14. If I was truly concerned, I could skip out on the toast I'll be having with dinner, the two pieces equate to exactly $0.14. I love toast with my beef stew though :-)

I'm right around the averages that I've been keeping "per dollar spent". I've compiled this statistic to show that although I'm trying to eat different foods (Bologna sandwich, hot dogs, ramen noodles, beef stew, pasta, chicken, vegetables, etc.) that all of the foods come with an average of these specific nutritional values per dollar. It's easy to pick out one single food item and say, "Hey you can eat that! It's cheap and healthy!" but when you break it down per day and dollar spent, it's very difficult to escape the reality that at some point during the day, you'll be consuming foods very high in preservatives, sodium, and carbohydrates.

Friday's Nutritional Values

Breakfast: Banana, Bagel, 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium

Snack: Apple, 80 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Pasta, Sauce, Chicken, Yogurt, 775 Calories, 12.5g Fat, 129 Carbs, 41g Sugar, 45g Protein, 650mg Sodium

Dinner: Beef Stew, Rice, Toast, Veggies, 790 Calories, 16g Fat, 137g Carbs, 16g Sugar, 24g Protein, 1,550mg Sodium

Friday's Totals: 1,980 Calories, 30g Fat, 367g Carbs, 97g Sugar, 81g Protein, 2,533mg Sodium


This will be, by far, my highest caloric intake for the week. I've been pretty full over the last couple of days so I don't think hunger will be a problem. I'm still concerned with the sodium and carbohydrate overload, but I think that's something I'm just simply going to have to deal with from this point forward.

Thursday Dinner

This is most of my dinner for the evening. I had chicken, pasta, sauce, and 2 pieces of toast. It was very good. I cooked enough so that I'd have some for lunch tomorrow. This was pretty filling, however it was a contributor to my sodium and carb problem.

Thursday Lunch

Well, I'm exactly halfway through the SNAP Challenge and I'm feeling pretty good. I ate my breakfast over a span of a couple hours this morning and that has seemed to be the trick for combatting the hunger issue. It's 1:00 now and I'm just now eating this huge lunch. Like I said before, rice has become my friend. This is beef stew and rice as I had last night. This has filled me up really well. I forgot my snack today, but I'll be sure to grab my apple when I get home. I have yet to feel hungry today, I have no headache, and I'm not really tired. This is surprising to me. I'm assuming that my body is simply getting used to the diet.

My high blood pressure problem persists

If you've been following the blog, you probably know how I feel about my high sodium intake during this SNAP Challenge...I'm not happy about it. My blood pressure was sky high yesterday and it persists today. Today I'm in what's called "Isolated Systolic Hypertension". It's basically an increased systolic pressure (the high number) and a normal diastolic pressure (the low number). The conventional way if thinking was if the diastolic number was normal, you would be fine. But recent studies have shown that an elevated systolic number indicates major risk for heart disease in he future. This is something that anybody eating on an extremely low budget is at risk of due to the high sodium content of the foods that are typically purchased on this budget.

Thursday's weigh-in

This is my weigh-in today. A full two pounds lighter than Monday, and 0.2 pounds lighter than yesterday. I don't think I'm going to lose much more weight simply because of all the water weight I'm retaining. It'll be interesting to see though. Have a great day!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Wednesday's Daily Video Journal


Here's Wednesday's Daily Video Journal. A quick synopsis on how I've felt throughout the day. Also, a quick note at the end about a conversation I had today with the Press Journal's, Russ Lemmon.

Thursday's Cost Breakdown

This is the breakdown on cost for Thursday's menu:

Breakfast: $0.45
Snack: $0.39
Lunch: $1.25
Dinner: $1.66

Total: $3.75

This breaks down to 526 Calories, 8.5g Fat, 91.5g Carbs, 25g Sugar, 21g Protein, and 581mg Sodium per dollar spent.

This is about the average for the four days that I've been doing this diet. I'm struggling to figure out how to get my sodium, sugar, and carbohydrates down but maintain my calorie count.

Thursday's Nutritional Values

These are the nutritional value's for Thursday's menu:

Breakfast: Banana and a bagel, 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium

Snack: Apple, 80 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Beef Stew, Rice, Yogurt, 770 Calories, 16g Fat, 131g Carbs, 35g Sugar, 25g Protein, 1,195mg Sodium

Dinner: Pasta, Sauce, Chicken, Toast, 780 Calories, 14.5g Fat, 111g Carbs, 19g Sugar, 42g Protein, 675mg Sodium

Total values for the day: 1,965 Calories, 32g Fat, 343 Carbs, 94g Sugar, 79g Protein, 2,201mg Sodium.


This day falls pretty much in line with the rest of the days. It's the most calories I'll consume in a day, but a lot of that is fillers with the pasta and the rice. It's still WAY too much sodium which seems to be the battle for me. The sugar intake and overload on carbs isn't too healthy either. I think I'll have no problem staying "full" tomorrow, but I'm sure I won't be feeling like running a marathon either.

Wednesday dinner

This is tonight's dinner, Beef Stew, Rice, and two pieces of toast. It was pretty good and it was just enough to conquer my hunger this afternoon. There was still way too much sodium in this meal and I'm still not sure how I'm going to combat that problem. I feel full but I've been tired all day. I actually took a nap when I got home this afternoon, that's a rarity. I don't think I'm getting enough protein and natural sugars to keep me going through the day. All these carbs, sodium, and preservatives seem to be weighing me down. Other than that, I'm surviving.

The Cause For My Headaches

So I think I've found the catalyst to my headaches. This is my blood pressure. The average blood pressure is 120/80. Mine today is 144/103. I have officially gone into hypertension (by definition, anything above 140/90). I'm going to work on spreading out the sodium in my daily diet some, however I've realized that almost all "cheap" foods are high in sodium and artificial preservatives. This might be a little more difficult than I thought.

Wednesday weigh-in

For my Wednesday morning weigh-in, I'm almost two pounds lighter than I have been the last two days. I figured I would lose weight on this diet, I'm curious to see how much more it'll be. I'm not going to complain about it, that's for sure.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tuesday's Video Diary

 
 
 
Here is Tuesday's video diary. Enjoy!

Wednesday's Cost Breakdown

This is the cost breakdown for Wednesday's menu:

Breakfast: $0.45

Snack: $0.39

Lunch: $1.49

Dinner: $1.04
Total Cost: $3.37

That breaks down to 511 Calories, 7.3g Fat, 96g Carbs, 23.1g Sugar, 20g Protein, and 523mg Sodium per dollar spent.

These numbers are pretty similar to Tuesday's numbers. Based on consistency, this may be an accurate estimation of a somewhat typical SNAP diet.

Wednesday's Nutritional Value's

Here is a list of what I'll be eating tomorrow (Wednesday) and the nutritional information with it.

Breakfast: Banana and Cinnamon Bagel (Plain), 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium.

Snack: Fuji Apple, 80 Calories, .5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Leftover Ground Chicken, 1/2 cup Rice, and a Yogurt, 640 Calories, 8g Fat, 109g Carbs, 27g Sugar, 37g Protein, 210mg Sodium
Dinner: Beef Stew, 1/2 cup Rice, and Toast, 670 Calories, 15g Fat, 113g Carbs, 11g Sugar, 20g Protein, 1,220mg Sodium
Total intake for the day: 1,725 Calories, 24.5g Fat, 323g Carbs, 78g Sugar, 69g Protein, 1,763mg Sodium.

This falls in between my previous two days for Calories, I think 1,725 is manageable. I'm hanging in the same range for Fat, Still too many Carbs, 78g Sugar (3rd day in a row for you numbers folks), a tad less protein than Tuesday, and I'm declining on sodium for the second day in a row (which is certainly a good thing).

The Dinner Motherload

This bowl consists of 1/2 cup of white rice ($1.98 for 3 lbs.) 1/3 lb. of chicken ($2.99 lb. at Publix this week) and 1/2 cup of vegetables ($0.79 for a cup at Walmart). It's a HEAPING bowl. I could eat this as two meals if I wanted to, and it tastes great! This has by far been my best meal for taste:cost ratio. I know the meal is expensive (relatively speaking), but I'm going to get two good portions out of this. I plan on eating some now and the rest before bed. I'm excited I'll have some for tomorrow too!

Tuesday afternoon

It's 4:45, I just had my apple for an afternoon snack. I haven't been as hungry today. I think spacing out the portions has helped immensely. I've also noticed that iced water helps deter hunger better than simply cold or room temperature water. I'm sure it has something to do with the stomach contacting with the colder temperature. Regardless, I'm drinking more iced water than cold water. I'm excited to eat dinner tonight, I love chicken and rice and I've never been so excited to eat vegetables before.

Tuesday mid-morning

It's 10:30 Tuesday morning. I've been drinking a lot of water again, probably 48oz. already. I have a little headache again, I'm starting to think it's simply lack of caffeine. I'm a little hungry but not too bad. I'm looking forward to lunch, that's for sure. I spaced out my breakfast a little this morning. I had my bagel around 6:45-7:00 and ate my banana closer to 8:00. All in all, the day is not too bad so far.

Déjà vu

I woke up this morning, eagerly waiting to weigh myself. When I stepped on the scale it was the exact same as yesterday. As foolish as it may sound, I thought I was going to lose a couple tenths of a pound. I think sodium intake with water retention might be the reason in the same weight.

Otherwise, I feel fine this morning. Pretty well rested, not too hungry. I'm pacing my breakfast today. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Monday's Video Journal


Here is my synopsis on Monday. Have a good night!

Tuesday's Cost Breakdown


This is the cost breakdown for Tuesday's menu:

Breakfast: $0.45

Snack: $0.39

Lunch: $0.67

Dinner: $1.81

Total Cost: $3.32

That breaks down to 562 Calories, 7.7g Fat, 106g Carbs, 23.5g Sugar, 23g Protein, and 606mg Sodium per dollar spent.

It looks like I'm getting less "bang for my buck" as far as calories go. I spent very little on Monday for my meals ($2.06 to be exact) so I expected Tuesday's averages per dollar to be a little lower for calories. It's still not too bad though, getting 562 Calories into a buck is not an easy task.

Tuesday's Nutritional Value's

Here is a list of what I'll be eating tomorrow (Tuesday) and the nutritional information with it.

Breakfast: Banana and Cinnamon Bagel (Plain), 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium.

Snack: Fuji Apple, 80 Calories, .5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Bologna Sandwich, Yogurt, 450 Calories, 14g Fat, 62g Carbs, 30g Sugar, 19g Protein, 1,115mg Sodium

Dinner: One cup of rice, 1/3 ground chicken, 2 pieces of toast, half a cup of mixed vegetables.1,000 Calories, 10g Fat, 191g Carbs, 8g Sugar, 44g Protein, 565mg Sodium

Total intake for the day: 1,865 Calories, 25.5g Fat, 354g Carbs, 78g Sugar, 75g Protein, 2,013mg Sodium.


I think this menu is a little more realistic than Monday's menu. I have a few more calories (280 more), way less fat (22g), over 100 more grams of carbohydrates (definitely not good), the exact same amount of sugar, 24 more grams of protein, and over 2,000 less mg of sodium. Much more practical with the exception of the excessive carbs. I'm also going to try to make the apple an afternoon snack instead of in the morning.

Night time Snack

So I played my softball game, only water was consumed. I typically eat half of a small bag of sunflower seeds, but after calculating today's sodium intake, I would've voluntarily omitted them tonight. I played fine and felt physically well despite the cold weather (It's 48 degrees in Vero Beach right now). I think the lack of calories has contributed to my headaches all day, and I'm sure the sodium hasn't helped. I'm about to eat this pack of Ramen Noodles to finish off the night. I'm hoping this deters any hunger I would've had later. A video will be posted shortly.

Sunday evening

I just had most of my dinner. I had 2 hot dogs, with bread. I've also allocated Ramen Noodles for tonight, but I think I'm going to wait a bit to eat them. I was VERY hungry between lunch and dinner. I think I'm going to plan to have my apple as an afternoon snack tomorrow as opposed to in the morning or with lunch like I did today. I'll be posting a video this evening reviewing the day.

Mid-morning Day One

It's 9:30 on Monday morning. I've had my banana and dry bagel. As I've assumed, I'm missing my coffee. I'm yawning and looking for that caffeine fix. I had planned on waiting until lunch to eat my apple, but I may need it for a quick "pick me up". Apples have exponentially more "energy potential" than coffee and you don't have to worry about the caffeine crash after. We'll see how that works out. As of now, I'm not hungry at all, although I don't think I should be.

My Breakfast

This will be my breakfast every day this week. The raisin-cinnamon bagel is actually pretty good plain. The banana is good too, great nutrition for only $0.20.

Sunday, March 3, 2013



Here is my first video journal. Basically breaking down the nutritional value and worrying about not eating enough!

Monday's Nutritional Values

Here is a list of what I'll be eating tomorrow (Monday) and the nutritional information with it.

Breakfast: Banana and Cinnamon Bagel (Plain), 335 Calories, 1g Fat, 75g Carbs, 23g Sugar, 11g Protein, 331mg Sodium.

Snack: Fuji Apple, 80 Calories, .5g Fat, 26g Carbs, 17g Sugar, 1g Protein, 2mg Sodium

Lunch: Bologna Sandwich, Yogurt, 450 Calories, 14g Fat, 62g Carbs, 30g Sugar, 19g Protein, 1,115mg Sodium

Dinner: Ramen Noodles, 2 Hot Dogs (on bread), 720 Calories, 32g Fat, 84g Carbs, 8g Sugar, 20g Protein, 2,660mg Sodium

Total intake for the day: 1,585 Calories, 47.5g Fat, 247g Carbs, 78g Sugar, 51g Protein, 4,108mg Sodium.



I'm not sure how I'll do with only 1,585 Calories. I assume I consume nearly 3,000 Calories a day now. I'm pretty active and I have a softball game tomorrow. I typically would drink a lot of gatorade during the game, I'm also curious as to how I'll react to only having water all day. The sodium intake here is enough to make my head spin. I'm glad that I won't be having any sunflower seeds during the softball game, I feel my blood pressure already rising by looking at that 4,108g number.

I gorged this evening on a taco salad with all the fixin's. I also had quite a bit of ice cream and cake for dessert. We'll see how that leaves me feeling come tomorrow.

What I'll miss most


I'm going to miss you coffee...At over $1 a cup for a fast food coffee, and even at lower costs to make it at home, it's not quite worth the sacrifice of actual food for this delicious treat. I typically have 2 cups a day. Not this week.

My Menu for next week


My SNAP Challenge Menu:

 

Monday:              Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                                Total: $0.50

                                Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                        Total: $0.39

                                Lunch – Yogurt ($0.35) and a Bologna Sandwich ($0.46)                            Total: $0.81

                                Dinner – Ramen Noodles ($0.20) and 2 hot dogs ($0.40)                           Total: $0.60

                                                                                                                                                       Day Total: $2.30

 

Tuesday:              Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                                Total: $0.50

                                Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                        Total: $0.39

                                Lunch – Yogurt ($0.39) and a Bologna Sandwich ($0.46)                            Total: $0.81

                                Dinner – Ground Chicken($1), Rice($0.30), Toast($.07) Veggies($0.40)  Total: $1.77

                                                                                                                                                       Day Total: $3.47

 

Wednesday:         Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                               Total: $0.50

                                Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                       Total: $0.39
                                 Lunch – Ground Chicken ($1), Rice ($0.30), Yogurt ($0.35)                      Total: $1.65

                                Dinner – Beef Stew ($1.50), Rice ($0.30) and Toast ($0.14)                       Total: $1.94

                                                                                                                                                       Day Total: $4.48

 

Thursday:               Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                             Total: $0.50

                                 Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                       Total: $0.39

                              Lunch – Yogurt ($0.35), Beef Stew ($1.50), Rice ($0.30)                               Total: $2.15

                                Dinner – Pasta ($0.45), Sauce ($0.50), Chicken ($1), Toast ($0.07)          Total: $2.07

                                                                                                                                                      Day Total: $5.11

 

Friday:                    Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                              Total: $0.50

                                Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                        Total: $0.39

                              Lunch – Yogurt ($0.35), Pasta ($0.45) Sauce ($0.50), Chicken ($1)            Total: $2.30

                            Dinner – Beef Stew ($1.50), Rice ($0.30), Toast ($0.14), Veggies ($0.40)    Total: $2.34

                                                                                                                                                       Day Total: $5.53

 

Saturday:               Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                              Total: $0.50

                                Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                        Total: $0.39

                            Lunch – Yogurt ($0.35), Bologna Sandwich ($0.46)                                         Total: $0.81

                              Dinner – Black Beans ($0.48), Rice ($0.30), Toast ($0.14)                            Total: $0.92

                                                                                                                                                        Day Total $2.62

 

Sunday:               Breakfast – Banana ($0.25) and Bagel ($0.25)                                                 Total: $0.50

                             Snack – Apple ($0.39)                                                                                           Total: $0.39

                             Lunch – Yogurt ($0.35) Black Beans ($0.48), Rice ($0.30)                              Total: $1.23

                             Dinner – Pasta ($0.45), Sauce ($0.50), Toast ($.014)                                      Total: $1.09

                                                                                                                                                       Day Total: $3.21

 

 

WEEK TOTAL: $26.72 IN CONSUMPTION


These are all estimates. I'll be posting an updated, accurate cost analysis after buying the groceries today.

Why I'm Taking the SNAP Challenge

Hello All,

Welcome to my blog site chronicling my experiences through the SNAP Challenge. For those of you that are confused, SNAP is an acronym for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This is basically a fancy term for food stamps. In future blogs, I will provide staggering statistics that will make your jaw drop describing how many people need SNAP assistance, how many people get it, how many people that don't and need it, so on and so forth. The purpose of this post however is to give a brief description as to why I'm participating and why you should too.

There have been hundreds of people across the country that are taking the SNAP Challenge to get awareness to the general public about a hunger epidemic in America, most notably Newark, New Jersey Mayor, Cory Booker. The SNAP Challenge basically consists of an individual or family, living, voluntarily, on what a typical food stamp recipient would receive. There are constant budget cuts to these programs and the demand for it continues to grow. As of now, the average SNAP recipient receives roughly $4 per day. That's my goal for one week is to survive for 7 days on $28 worth of food.

I'd read about people doing this Challenge and always thought it would be a humbling experience. I grew up in a single parent household in which we, for a short period anyhow, received government assistance, and I always had reduced, if not free lunch at school. I know first hand that these programs, more often than not, help people lift themselves from poverty and continue to become productive members of society. I caught some breaks through life, got a college education, I've never been unemployed, and I've since lived a comfortable lifestyle in which I haven't had to think much about my grocery bill. This will force me to realize the realistic lifestyle that over 46 million Americans feel. The social and moral benefits to this nation far outweigh the minimal fiscal costs. Congress sees these rising costs as numbers on a balance sheet, I see them as a life saver.

I've comprised a menu that I'll be sharing in my next post. This consists of a lot of rice, bananas, apples, yogurt, and bread. There's very little meat in the eating schedule, one pound of ground chicken and a can of beef stew is all that I've been able to fit into the budget. Those two items take up more than 1/5 of the entire week's allotment ($5.98 out of the $28).

In addition to this blog, you'll be able to follow my adventures with this program through facebook (https://www.facebook.com/curtis.carpenter.cos ) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/CarpenterCurtis).

Thank you for reading!
Curtis Carpenter