Day 5
I woke up on day 5 dreading the fact that I’d have to eat oatmeal again for breakfast. I couldn’t even bring myself to make it at home, so I ended up packing the oats in a Tupperware container and bringing them to work. I made oatmeal in the microwave around 9:30 when I really started getting hungry. Here are my meals for day 5:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: 2 eggs, a piece of toast, 1/2 a banana
Dinner: Black and red beans, rice
I know I’ve said this before in a previous blog post, but doing this challenge made me feel differently toward food. Eating becomes a more of a necessity, almost like a chore. It really takes the enjoyment out of it when you’re eating the same foods over and over not because they taste good, but because they’ll keep you full. And being full is something I take for granted. I have snacks at my desk in case I get hungry at work. I have a pantry full of food. Even when I don’t have much in my fridge, I live within walking distance of a grocery store and am able to get groceries when I need them.
I’ve been reading other people’s blog posts and thinking about this challenge in a general way. Is it possible to live on $4.15 a day? Yes, it seems as though it is. Is it possible to live on $4.15 and eat a variety of nutritious foods? No, absolutely not. That’s the part that’s really getting to me. And it seems our food system is designed to market the cheapest, least nutritionally dense food to consumers. I’m thinking about my “imitation pasteurized process cheese food” from Bi-Lo. “Real” cheese cost something like $3.79, and these imitation cheese slices were only $1.49.
I’m lucky, and I’m realizing that more and more. I can stop the challenge today and resume eating at restaurants, picking up Starbucks on the way to work if I want to, and not adding up every purchase on a calculator at the grocery store. However, I think I’ll do so with a much greater appreciation for the things I have, as well as an awareness of SNAP and changes that need to be made to our food system.
Thanks to everyone for the opportunity to participate in the SNAP Challenge!
I woke up on day 5 dreading the fact that I’d have to eat oatmeal again for breakfast. I couldn’t even bring myself to make it at home, so I ended up packing the oats in a Tupperware container and bringing them to work. I made oatmeal in the microwave around 9:30 when I really started getting hungry. Here are my meals for day 5:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: 2 eggs, a piece of toast, 1/2 a banana
Dinner: Black and red beans, rice
I know I’ve said this before in a previous blog post, but doing this challenge made me feel differently toward food. Eating becomes a more of a necessity, almost like a chore. It really takes the enjoyment out of it when you’re eating the same foods over and over not because they taste good, but because they’ll keep you full. And being full is something I take for granted. I have snacks at my desk in case I get hungry at work. I have a pantry full of food. Even when I don’t have much in my fridge, I live within walking distance of a grocery store and am able to get groceries when I need them.
I’ve been reading other people’s blog posts and thinking about this challenge in a general way. Is it possible to live on $4.15 a day? Yes, it seems as though it is. Is it possible to live on $4.15 and eat a variety of nutritious foods? No, absolutely not. That’s the part that’s really getting to me. And it seems our food system is designed to market the cheapest, least nutritionally dense food to consumers. I’m thinking about my “imitation pasteurized process cheese food” from Bi-Lo. “Real” cheese cost something like $3.79, and these imitation cheese slices were only $1.49.
I’m lucky, and I’m realizing that more and more. I can stop the challenge today and resume eating at restaurants, picking up Starbucks on the way to work if I want to, and not adding up every purchase on a calculator at the grocery store. However, I think I’ll do so with a much greater appreciation for the things I have, as well as an awareness of SNAP and changes that need to be made to our food system.
Thanks to everyone for the opportunity to participate in the SNAP Challenge!