New Meaning to the "Dollar Menu"

The average food stamp recipient receives just $21 a week in food stamps. When distributed between seven days and three meals a day, that leaves just $1 a meal. And that is the average food stamp recipient.

Taking note of these figures a group of Congressmen, including the two leaders of the House Hunger Caucus and two others, decided to take part in the “Food Stamp Challenge” where they would spend a week surviving on just $21 a week for food.

During the challenge, which actually took place back in mid-May, the representatives discovered that surviving on $21 a week was no easy feat. Forced to put aside their often lavish eating habits, the participants instead found themselves eating what amounted to high calorie, low nutrition-filled meals.

Michael Pollan highlighted this trend towards unhealthy diets among low-income citizens in his New York Time’s article. In the article he attributes the trend to government initiatives, including the just-passed Farm Bill, that have resulted in unhealthy “junk” food being overproduced at low costs due to the various agricultural resources that are needed to produce them.

Inspired by their research and the challenge, the two leaders of the House Hunger Caucus have drafted an initiative that would add $4 billion dollars to the annual federal food stamp budget.

Regardless of this bill’s future, the “Food Stamp Challenge” has sparked a much-needed discussion on the eating habits of the nation’s poorest citizens.