FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE Understanding Hunger and Poverty Purpose: To provide students a more grounded way to imagine the material and emotional realities of hunger and poverty. The United States is facing a significant problem with food insecurity, with many individuals not knowing where their next meal will come from. We have a system of local relief organizations, one of which is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or CalFresh in California. There are those who believe this program provides adequate food for individuals/families to have good nutrition and optimal health status. Can you eat healthfully on CalFresh? This project will test your ability to do just that by experiencing what life is like for millions of Americans facing hunger. I know for some of you this is a reality and for many it may become that as our current economic situation becomes more challenging. Procedure: 1) Using the SNAP assignment provided on canvas: • Find out how much money you would qualify for monthly as an individual (if you have children, you may use the amount you would qualify including children, spouse, etc.) • Find out what you CAN buy with food stamps and what you CANNOT buy 2) Using the monthly budget you are provided to buy food and beverages allowed on CalFresh and record the following on the worksheets provided with this assignment: • Keep track of all virtual food and beverage purchases for 30 days (4wks) • Keep track of all food and beverages consumed daily for 2 weeks (14 days) • Do not include food and beverages that you purchased prior to the challenge, offered to you by friends/family or at work as many who are food insecure do not have these resources 3) Complete a profile and enter daily food and beverage consumption for 14 days on MyFitnessPal or any other free food tracking app, i.e., Cronometer, etc. • Based on the nutrition reports from the food tracking app, do you think your nutrition status is sufficient and promotes optimal health? • What do you think would happen to your nutrition/health status over a month or a longer period of time? 4) Keep a weekly journal of your thoughts, feelings and experiences and include the reflections with your final project. 5) At the end of the challenge, provide answers to the following questions: • How far did you have to travel to a grocery store? How would that impact people who use public transportation or walk to get their food? • How did your virtual shopping cart look as compared to your usual shopping trips? What were you not able to purchase that you normally do? • What choices did you have to make about the types of food you could afford, where you shopped, or the nutritional quality and variety of food? Are the cheapest foods the most nutritious? • What did you have to cut out to stay on the budget, i.e., coffee, eating out, fresh produce? • If you used this budget regularly, would you run out of food before the end of the month? What would you do then? • Many Americans are forced to make choices about whether to buy groceries, gas, prescriptions, utilities, and other necessities. After virtually living on a limited budget for a month, how has your perspective changed about the decisions people facing hunger must make? • Did you account for the fact that you may not have the resources that you are accustomed to, such as transportation, access to credit, employment, etc.? • How did this virtual experience make you feel about the emotional realities of poverty? • Based on this project, do you think the current SNAP benefits are adequate for meeting nutritional needs and preventing compromised health status? Be sure to follow all the steps and include SNAP assignment, food/beverage worksheets, printouts from the food tracking app and your analysis of how this compared to your nutritional needs, your weekly journal reflections, and the answers to the questions about the challenge. RUBRIC CRITERIA Completed/uploaded MyPlate Plan Completed/uploaded SNAP assignment Completed/uploaded all food/beverage purchase worksheets for 30 days and consumption worksheets for 14 days Completed/uploaded food/beverage input to food tracking app and included nutrition reports; answered questions about differences between needs and intake from data provided by food app Completed/uploaded weekly journal reflections x 4 weeks Completed/uploaded all assignment questions TOTAL POINTS 15 15 30 30 20 15 125 FOOD AND BEVERAGE PURCHASES WORKSHEET PURCHASES COSTS TOTAL $ ESTIMATED # OF SERVINGS FOOD AND BEVERAGE PURCHASES WORKSHEET PURCHASES COSTS TOTAL $ ESTIMATED # OF SERVINGS FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 1 DAY 2 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 3 DAY 4 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 5 DAY 6 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 7 DAY 8 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 9 DAY 10 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) DAY 11 DAY 12 FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET FOOD EATEN DAY 13 DAY 14 AMOUNT EATEN (APPROX) EVALUATING YOUR 14-DAY DIET FOR QUALITY AND ADEQUACY Use the nutrient report from the food tracking app and comment on any discrepancies between your needs and your intake: • • • • Is there a large difference between the calories you need and the calories you consumed? Did you meet the recommendations for each food group related to your calorie needs? (grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein, oils, etc.) Did you get the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals? What changes to the types of foods you purchased/consumed would you have to make in order to improve your nutritional status? SNAP Activity (25 points) (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) There are many government programs available to meet the needs of individuals dealing with hunger who may be eligible for assistance to access food. It is helpful for you to be aware of these programs and what it takes to qualify, not only if you are in need of assistance, but also to be able to direct someone else to receive the help they need. This assignment focuses on SNAP or CalFresh (Food Stamps), as just an example. The goal is to be generally familiar with the program, not an expert! You will use this assignment to determine how much you would get monthly for your Food Stamp Challenge project. Provide the following information about Food Stamps: • • • • • • • Who can get food stamps? o Qualifications, i.e., income, allowable assets, etc. How much does an individual/family get? How does one apply for Food Stamps? o Is there assistance available to help someone apply? How long can one be on Food Stamps? What can you buy with Food Stamps? What can you NOT buy with Food Stamps? What is your personal feeling about SNAP? o Do you think it’s a successful program? o How would you improve it? o Do you think it’s a realistic intervention that would be helpful for a low-income individual who needs to increase access to healthful foods? (i.e., is it adequate?) 
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