Foodstamp challenge over – thank you Mark Lino!
Since May when I first wrote about my concern with the Food Stamp Challenge, which was not the $21.00 figure, it was based on the concern that an opportunity to really educate/share/enlighten was being missed with the focus on poor eating choices and poor purchasing choices by the public officials who have taken this challenge. I’ve yet to find one who actually did the challenge the right way without cheating and who ended up eating healthy, in other words, their hearts may be in the right place and they deserve credit for doing more than many but more needs to be done. Including more from the USDA. In the Blade’s article about how difficult it was for the Commissioners, which I’m sure it was difficult, especially since they like the majority of those out there facing a tight food budget did not have the tools/assistance they needed to be successful; Mark Lino states what some of us have been trying to point out, over and over again:
Mark Lino is an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food assistance program. He said that the $21 figure used in such challenges may be an accurate representation of the average received by food stamp recipients, but the figure doesn’t include other income that would be used for food in such circumstances.
“It is possible to eat a nutritious diet at a low cost,” Mr. Lino said. “You couldn’t do that [$21 per week] for an adult. That’s low.” He said focusing one’s shopping on foods like bananas, apples, potatoes, and spinach, that are relatively cheap compared to their nutritional content is the key to eating healthy on a tight budget.
Mr. Lino said that the USDA estimates that, using national averages for food costs, it would take $126 per week to feed a family of four using a nutritious diet that conforms to the USDA’s food pyramid.
What would have really been helpful would have been Mark Lino sharing this Thrifty Menu Plan that according to this research he was involved in.
You can eat on $21.00 a week per person, it requires preparation and planning but at least there was finally some advice. Granted not much advice, and those that were so focused on the $21.00 a week should be happy since the numbers Mr. Lino quoted are $31.50 per person. Here’s my advice, if you have a tight food budget or if you want to eat healthier? Don’t buy convenience foods, it’s easier to cook large quantities of food on the weekend with a menu plan and then heat up what you’ve cooked through the week. This also saves time and energy and you don’t have to eat the same thing every night. You can do amazing things with chicken, rice, beans, potatoes, spinach and pasta. Even if you don’t have to worry about your food budget, setting aside a day to cook frees up time during the week, and it eliminates the temptation of turning to a fast food dinner when there doesn’t seem to be enough time to cook. It’s also a great way to get your kids involved in cooking…
Take the time to look at labels and remember…it’s said You are what you eat.
good points, Lisa!
September 25th, 2007 at 1:56 pmLisa,
I agree with Maggie that you make good points, but will not give credit to a rigged game. Ben Konop was quoted as saying that the object of the challenge was to fail. Only an honest effort will win my admiration, no matter how noble the cause.
Don’t we already have a local investigation going on regarding point shaving?
September 25th, 2007 at 3:01 pmTim, the Commissioners and the staff who did participate just as all of the other elected officials nationwide who have participated in similar Food Stamp Challenges do deserve credit for the attempt. Even they thought they would fail they were basing this on trying to get information out there and to be fair had the original premise of the food stamp challenge been based on really trying to educate the public they would have given the public officials and staff who volunteered information that the USDA has created. The USDA does not make this information readily available, they should…Imagine if armed with the suggested menus/shopping lists the outcome that could have happened. The focus would have been on the difficulty, but it also could have turned to ways to make more fresh produce available, how we can encourage healthy eating of less processed foods, how through batch cooking some of the previous family cooking experiences could be restored…
Considering how many months this challenge has been out there and done by others – the USDA could have taken the opportunity while it was in the news to share what they have as far as resources. The media could have done exactly what some of us did. While it wasn’t easy to find the info on the USDA website, if a mere blogging mom from Ohio can find it, surely some of the national reporters who have covered this topic could have…
The next time around for this challenge, and I’m sure there will be a next time, one of us can easily share the information that is out there, and perhaps it will have an even better outcome as far as creating positive change.
September 25th, 2007 at 4:13 pmMy original post on this subject – relating my joy at hitting the McD’s dollar menu – was an ironic, sarcastic, but apparently to sublte an attempt to highlight the unhealthy nature of living on such a low budget. The entire exercise was for political gain, but an opportunity to address the health aspect was missed.
And, of course my real goal was to express my right wing, racist, white male, republican distain for anyone NEEDING help from other citizens or Uncle Sam. After all, I must be those things, I am an A-Hole lawyer.
The A-Hole.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:13 pmI got the irony in your dollar menu statement and I agree with you that reliance on heavily processed food and fast food while cheap, is part of the reason why so many Americans are not healthy.
As to the second part? I won’t try to ruin your image by trying to expose the soft marshmallowy side of you…
September 25th, 2007 at 5:58 pmah – Lisa – always looking for what’s good…sadly, I’m rather jaded…I don’t think the point was to succeed and show how it can be done…the point was to fail and generate nation-wide stories of how it’s just not enough and the food stamp program needs more funding.
If people actually showed how it was possible, it would defeat the purpose of the stunt…and what’s really sad is that an opportunity to truly ‘help’ got pushed to the wayside by the political game.
Hopefully, the next time someone wants to embark upon a public awareness campaign, they’ll accept my ‘BETTER Food Stamp Challenge.’
September 25th, 2007 at 6:59 pmI am so confused by the sentiments about food stamps and the people on assistance and how they need to do better so we can not expect more assistance for them when times are tough.
All this in a country called a super power in the world.
Yet we have people in the administration calling for vehicles in excess of 750,000 to one million plus for the war in Iraq at time when the economy is faltering here and chains like Menard’s are laying off thousands more people.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:14 pmMaggie, it’s hard to not become jaded, as you know at times I struggle with that. NC, it is confusing, and that’s one of the biggest disappointments when stories like this are out there, they could be a chance to end some of the common myths out there about people who do rely on assistance. As well as actually help people no matter their food budget to save money as well as eat just a bit healthier.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:24 pm“NC, it is confusing, and that’s one of the biggest disappointments when stories like this are out there, they could be a chance to end some of the common myths out there about people who do rely on assistance.”
What I find ironic is that the President states the economy is just fine yet we have more and more people out of work with less jobs being created than those lost and more people are looking for assistance even though the standards have been tightened to make it harder and harder to get assistance and yet the same people in office for years and years speak of entitlements and they are not going to have people looking to the government for help.
If the government will not help or wants to cut back and as people age it becomes harder and harder for them to live and the community can only do much to help, who do we turn too.
Frankly the food stamp challenge by the commissioners does little for me and I wish they would concentrate on what they have been doing, helping Lucas County grow and prosper.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:31 pmRecord low unemployment.
Record job creation over the last 5 years.
Record stock market, nasdac, ans S&P 500 totals.
Record housing numbers until this year.
And yet, people are convinced we are in an economic crisis. I wonder who told them that?
Is everything coming up roses? No. Does the midwest auto and manufacturing sector have to grow out of the mentality of the 40’s-80’s, yes.
Did the Bush tax cuts make economic survival and growth through 9/11, Katrina, rolling blackouts, and war spending possible. YES.
The A-hole.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:03 pmIf we are ever to survive as a democracy, we must be able to separate fact from fiction. If ever we are to find real solutions to the problems of the poor in this country, it is not by silly fictions that bare more resemblance to a Monty Python episode than to reality. This example, however well intentioned, has less relation to reality than a Clive Cussler novel or a reality show.
The poor will always be with us, and we need to make every effort to better their situation in as much as we can, recognizing that we cannot cure all evils in the world. Cheap stunts and cheaper fiction do disservice to the efforts of good people in this effort. We should strive for better, and our representatives should lead by example.
Let us hope, that if and when there is a next time, as Lisa says, that we make a better and more importantly, a more honest effort, to ease the situation. Let us also hope that our representatives have more faith and trust in us than to attempt another version of the bad acting and cheap deceptions that they have perpetrated on us in this case.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:23 pmWell said Tim.
The A-Hole.
September 26th, 2007 at 6:25 am“Record housing numbers until this year.”
This will be updated to reflect the downturn due to the mortgage market debacle and the resulting losses to businesses like Menards that is laying of, around 3500 people, because of slow down in sales related to home building.
September 26th, 2007 at 6:44 amThis pdf has some interesting facts and figures:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf
September 26th, 2007 at 6:49 amThis is good up to date economic news?
“The dollar has fallen to yet another all-time low against the euro, after further weak US economic data.
Figures showed that US consumer confidence has fallen to a near two-year low, while house prices have seen the sharpest drop in 16 years.
Analysts said the data boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates still further. ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7013608.stm
Bush’s fault? No, normal cycle.
Massive debt for Iraq invasion, Bush’s fault.
September 26th, 2007 at 7:21 amnice BBC UK quote source.
A weak dollar is a misnomer tactic used to indicate economic trouble when it does not exist. A “weak” dollar increases purchase OF AMERICAN GOODS ABROAD which helps domestic producers and exporters.
Consumer confidence a two year low — ok confidence influence by the never ending characterization of our economy as bad by the media. Lowest in two years – two years – right in the middle of Bush’s boom.
Housing sharpest drop in 16 years. What does the degree of short term drop matter. We have experienced the largest, fastests housing econmy in history over the last 5 years. Is is slowing, stalled? Sure. Normal recovery after boom and bust growth…….YES.
PLEASE READY THOMAS SOWELL AND WALTER WILLIAMS. PLEASE.
http://www.townhall.com or linked from my blog, theassholelawyer.blogspot.com
The A-Hole
September 26th, 2007 at 5:29 pm” A “weak” dollar increases purchase OF AMERICAN GOODS ABROAD which helps domestic producers and exporters.”
Well………
“Weak Dollar Good?
This may be good news for some U.S. manufacturers, especially those threatened by foreign competitors. However, it they rely on foreign parts or materials, they will have to pay more as the dollar continues its fall.
American consumers will see some of their favorite products rise in price as imports reflect the devalued dollar used to buy them. Foreign governments continue to try to slow the fall of the dollar by investing heavily in U.S. Treasury notes. Their efforts may have slowed the decline, but not stopped it.”
http://stocks.about.com/od/advancedtrading/a/weakdoll120604.htm
“We have experienced the largest, fastests housing econmy in history over the last 5 years. Is is slowing, stalled? Sure. Normal recovery after boom and bust growth…….YES.”
Yes and the adjustment is hard on some people that depend on the housing trades and so on for employment.
And the mortgage debacle is rippling through the global market place.
Boom and bust….great line that Tony Blair oft repeated at the Speakers Box when the Tories complained about the Labor Party results.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:29 pm