AfterMath SNAP + Match +local

I realized I misrepresented my last entry that says Day 4. This was after the fifth day, because I had added an additional SNAP only day at $4.40.

Since the completion of the challenge, I have gone back to the market and also the supermarket and found the farmers market a more pleasant experience. I found I was one of the people standing on the sidewalk in the middle of the bustle, talking to a volunteer I worked with during the summer. I went back and spoke to Jeff, the oatmeal guy, to share my experience of the challenge and to thank him for the way the oatmeal kept me going.  I struck up a conversation with a new vendor, and it felt like a genuine interaction that is sustainable into the future. I plan to ask him if I can visit his farm some time. Other vendors I bought from recognized me. I have become part of the market community.

Most importantly, I conclude that despite what everyone seems to believe, it is very possible to eat well at the market on a severely limited budget. When I went back, I only spent approximately the same amount as I did for the entire 5 day challenge, but I am eating VERY well with the addition of some fermented vegetables and greens. I am convinced buying at the market is a healthier way to eat, it does support local farmers and food producers, and it is reducing my dependence on manufactured and processed supermarket food, which tends to be more expensive. I am trying to buy mostly locally produced foods at the supermarket as well (ex. Surata tempeh and tofu). Overall, I believe I will spend less money on food using this methodology. Since I have been tracking monthly food expenses for the past several years, this will be easy to determine within one full month.

What is unknown is the status of labor in connection to the local food purchases I am making. It appears that some of the smaller scale vendors might be the primary laborers on their farms. Speaking to them over time might reveal if they hire additional seasonal or permanent labor, and where that labor originates. I would like to do some farm tours to get a sense of the labor issues.

What is wrong with the federal SNAP program

I call this section AfterMath, as it is not just about my own SNAP + Match + local challenge calculations, but a disturbing realization that presented itself during the course of the challenge. We are using the average $4.40 per day per person figure for our challenges. I went to the Federal SNAP website to understand more about the program and how SNAP benefits are determined. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility#Income

It says:

“The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household’s allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food”.

The maximum allotment for 1 person is $194 per month.

Using their not so handy calculation guidelines, I calculated my allotment based on a gross earned income of $1,000.

First I would deduct a standard 20% to determine net income = $800, then deduct a standard $155 for a family size of 1-3 = $645.

If my shelter costs are more than half of my income, (let’s say I am renting a room at a friend’s house for $350 a month), then I would deduct the difference from this adjusted amount or $645/2 = $322.50 (for 50% of net income). $350- $322.50 = $27.50 excess shelter cost.

$645- $27.50 = $617.50 x .3 = $185 adjusted net income.

$194 max allotment – $185.25 = $8.75 allotment benefits per month.

(If someone wishes to check my math, I would appreciate it, as this is not my forte).

Now I understand why when I applied a few years ago as a student on a limited budget and after being put on hold for about 10 minutes while the woman crunched numbers, I was offered $16 per month. I told the woman to withdraw my electronic application and went to the local food bank instead.

Fancy math is being used to systematically discriminate against our society’s most needy individuals. The fact that the allotment is tied to income is terrible, as it means that those who need the most assistance receive the least amount. People with less income are no less hunger that people who earn or receive more income. Poorer people are being treated as if they were less than one person!!!! All people need a minimum number of calories per day to maintain normal biological functions. Those engaged in more strenuous physical labor require additional calories and nutrition to replace greater caloric expenditures.

If we are really going to talk about food justice and food being a human right, then each person in need of food assistance should receive a set amount per day that is a realistic amount to purchase food for a day in a variety of environments (supermarket, farmers market, online, etc.) and not some fraction of that amount.

Food workers are disproportionally paid the least amount of money for their labor. Yet only a small percentage of these workers receive food assistance in the form of SNAP benefits.

Perhaps my own self-imposed $2.20 per day limit during the first 4 days of the challenge begins to approximate the higher end of the eating budget of a farmworker, but their diet would necessarily involve other food choices based on availability and cultural choices.

My simple analysis of the inhumane and discriminatory practices of the federal SNAP program points to the need for advocacy work to change the benefit guidelines policies. In my mind, I see a campaign poster that shows a line of photos of a whole person and others that are shown as partial people with percentage number underneath, with a clear message that all people are equally hungry, not half hungry or a quarter hungry. The poster would show how much each person receives per day.

Below is my chart of meal descriptions and photos from the challenge.

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