The Challenge: Eat for 46 days (that time period known to Christians as Lent) like you were living on food stamps.  National average for food stamps is $21 per person.  43 million people in the USA receive some food stamps.

Meet the challenger:  Beth Ann Johnson, Chair of the SWWA Synod Hunger Committee; reads cookbooks for fun.  Single. Works in a small nonprofit, where a large portion of the clients rely on a mix of food stamps and the food bank for their daily food.

So where did this idea (lunacy, one friend calls it) come from?

Well, it isn’t new.  The Food Stamp Challenge is part of a national strategy by hunger advocacy groups to make politicians and everyday people aware of what it is like to live on food stamps.  Usually they ask people to spend a week walking in the shoes of a food stamp client.

Of course, if you make $110,000 a year or more (like many of our DC politicians) the idea of eating 3 meals a day for a $1 apiece may be unappealing.  And even if you do it, you are only going for a week, right?  And the challenge usually allows you to incorporate any food you have on hand into your meals. 

For me, in some ways it is a return to a former life.  I was on food stamps for a while when my daughter was little.  It was, at first, very difficult to buy the groceries I was used to with so little money, but as time went on, it became easier.  I benefited from having a college education, a love of cooking, and the ability to think outside the box.  I want to really remember what that struggle was like for me—and what it is like for millions of families in our country.

But even with all of that, I wasn’t sure that I would do this—I mentioned it to a couple of friends, who yes, thought I was nuts for attempting it.   I was inclined to agree.  I knew enough about this, why go back to the beginning?  My cousin Diana pointed out that I love fresh fruits and vegi’s—how would I make this work?

Super Bowl Sunday decided the thing for me.  I went grocery shopping during the game (I doubt that there is a soul on the planet who cares less about pro sports than me—and the stores are amazingly empty).  I left with $42.00 worth of groceries.  And as I was putting it away, I realized, it wasn’t even a week’s worth of food.  And I am single.  And I barely eat breakfast (yes, I know I should).  And I would like to put more money away in savings.

Two nights later, in a meeting with Diane and Alison (yeah, did either of you suspect you would make an appearance in my blog), I mentioned that I was going to do this as my Lenten practice, to re-center myself on the issue of hunger both in the USA and in the world.

So, starting Monday, February 11, 2013, I will be spending the next 6 weeks (up until Easter) living on $21 of groceries a week.  I have selected several books to read to help me along the way, and I will share them with you, as well as my grocery receipts, recipes, and other thoughts I have along the way.

Any thoughts you have are welcome, just remember, this is a family blog, so keep it clean.