Shopping With SNAP at the Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market

Yesterday, I went to the Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market.  I haven't been there in years, but I wanted to check out the new token program.  The token program allows those who have SNAP to actually use their benefits at the farmers market by having their Wisconsin Quest card (foodshare card) run through a mobile card reader and receiving tokens valued at $1 each.  Bank debit cards can also be run through if you have forgotten to bring cash for your purchases.

I love this program!  This is an opportunity for SNAP recipients to purchase the freshest fruits and vegetables they can find and the money goes to local farmers and businessmen.  Add to that the fact that people who are not on SNAP are getting tokens with their debit cards, so there is no stigma to using tokens at the different vendor tables.

The tokens can be purchased only from 9:00 to 12:30 on Saturday but can be used throughout the week at the farmers market.  Some vendors have signs up that say they take the tokens and some don't.  I spent mine at a vendor who did not have a sign; but when I asked if he took tokens he was quick to assure me he did.  The farmers trade in the tokens for cash value, so a lot of them are on board with this program.  If they don't display a sign, ask before you pick out your produce.

If you haven't been to the Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market, please go.  It is a wonderful experience!  There are vendors who sell plants and flowers, meat producers, cheese makers, coffee companies, bakeries, and of course produce growers galore!  A band plays every Saturday adding extra joy to the occasion.  Shopping should be fun, and shopping for healthy foods is fun thanks to the farmers market!

http://www.ecdowntownfarmersmarket.com/

SNAP discovery: Protein powder...food or supplement?

I've been toying with the idea of doing this SNAP Challenge longer than a month.  The garden will be in next month and it will be so much easier.  I could make fruit smoothies for breakfast instead of oatmeal and just add in a scoop of protein powder to make it more nutritious and make it stick with me longer.  Or can I?  Is protein powder allowed on SNAP?

Here's a quote from the USDA website:

"Energy Drinks

When considering the eligibility of energy drinks and other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:

• Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods
• Energy drinks that have a supplements facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible."

So what does this mean to SNAP recipients?  It means that you really have to know your labels and what is allowed and what isn't.  For instance, I have three different protein shakes in my cupboard.  The Chocolate Fudge SMART Smoothie from Complete Nutrition has a label that lists supplement facts, the Vega One vegetarian protein powder I got at Mother Nature's Foods has a supplement facts label, and the Pure Protein Whey Protein I got from Target has a nutrition facts label.  Of the three in my cupboard, the only one I could conceivably use on SNAP is the whey protein from Target.  What it boils down to is if the product has a nutrition label instead of a supplement label, it is considered food and foodshare money can be spent on it.

If I can spend some of my SNAP money on protein powder, that gives me more versatility in buying fruits and vegetables.  I can mix a bit of it with some fresh spinach from my snap garden and some wild berries and make a healthy smoothie to get my brain going in the morning.  I can mix a bit with my oatmeal and raisins to give it a creamy vanilla flavor and add the extra nutrition I need.

Now the flip side to this labeling story that drives me buggy!  Energy drinks that consist of mostly caffeine and sugar are also considered food products.  To me, there is little or no nutritional value in these items and I would much rather see the SNAP money spent on more healthful options.  If you are on SNAP, please don't fall for the marketing of these energy products.  It is a temporary energy that does not last nearly as well as the energy from a well-balanced meal.  It is not easy to live on SNAP, but find the healthiest options for yourself and your family.  You deserve it.

SNAP Challenge Personal Blog: Too much soup

In order to make the meat stretch, I've been eating a lot of soups and stews.  Chili, stew, beef soup.  This would be great, but I wasn't wise enough to purchase enough vegetables.  So, my soups and stews are sadly lacking the nutrition they should have.  And that's the thing--it isn't whether or not a person can survive on only 116.50 a month (the average Wisconsin SNAP amount in 2012), it is whether or not a person can eat healthy meals for only 116.50 a month.

I've already had two meals at The Community Table and am signed up to volunteer again this weekend.  There, I've been getting a balanced meal with nutrients and fresh fruits and vegetables. They still have their full flavor and nutrition.  Really, the meals there are incredible!

As I said yesterday, I have less than eight dollars left to spend for the next two weeks.  I've got enough oatmeal and rice to make it and I'm good with the baking supplies like sugar and flour.  If I'm not wasteful, the bottle of oil and the remainder of butter will last out the two weeks.  Sometime this weekend, I'll post what I've purchased and what I have left.

In another week, I should be able to start to harvest baby lettuce leaves from my garden and a couple of hot peppers that were on the plants when I bought them.  The onions are coming in nicely, and I should be able to add some green onions to the mix.  The berries surrounding me are starting to  turn a bit pink.  They will ripen within the next few weeks.  I've already asked my neighbor if I can pick berries on his land, so I'll have something for the freezer.

I'm lucky...in a couple of weeks, I will be surrounded by good food in nature.  The normal SNAP recipient, though, can't just go to the country to pick berries.   Transportation is a huge concern as well as childcare.  There aren't any bus routes that run out here and someone needs to watch the kids to keep them out of the poison ivy.    

SNAP Fieldtrip: St Francis Food Pantry

As I was saying this morning, I went to the St Francis Food Pantry last night to how things work there and ask where they get the food from that they need and Minette was kind enough to show me around.  The process there is pretty simple.  First timers get taken into the office to register and get a card that authorizes you to "shop" there once a week.  Those who already have a card stand in line and wait for their turn.  The first step is to sign-in for your shopping.  You present your card and let them know how many you have in the household:  adults and children.

Next, you take a cart and start shopping.  First is the produce room.  Right now, there are a lot of potatoes and fresh tomatoes in there.  There are also bags of produce that have been removed from the shelves at the local grocery stores.  Volunteers go to the stores daily and get the day old bakery and deli products and the produce that is set aside to be destroyed (aka. reclaimed food.)  Some of the produce comes from Feed My People Foodbank.  They get food in huge quantities and supply a 14-county area.  The food shelters and other organizations under the FMP umbrella fill out an order online and it gets delivered to them. http://www.fmpfoodbank.org/order_form.phtml  St Francis Food Pantry usually receives trucks from FMP Foodbank four times a week.

In the next room, you will find the rest of the groceries.  There is a cooler with reclaimed dairy, the day-old bakery stuff as well as other bread, and a lot of different groceries--canned fruits and vegees, crackers, cereal, etc.  Some is limited to only one per family because of cost or quantity, but if there is a lot of something, there isn't a limit.  The limits are marked on the shelves.

The groceries are a mix of new and reclaimed.  There are single donations, government commodities, and some canned goods and boxes of food that are purchased from Feed My People.  And there is the reclaimed food from the stores.  This is food that the store would have thrown away because the can is dented, the label is bad, or the item is expired.  Before you freak out about expired food, have I got a website for you to check out! http://stilltasty.com/  Seriously...before you throw something away because you think it is too old to be healthy, check the item against the website.  You could save a ton in groceries!

The final stop is the scale in front of the freezers.  In these freezers is the frozen meat--often commodity.  The choice this week is ham slices or pork patties.  They also have farm fresh eggs available thanks to some fantastic area chicken farmers!  They weigh the food to keep track of how much goes out and that's it.  You are on your way.  They recommend that you bring your own box or bags to pack up the food--I noticed a lot of clients using laundry hampers and hard plastic crates when I was there.

The St Francis Food Pantry has a staff of only three with two senior aides.  Other than that, the rest of the help sorting groceries, stocking shelves and helping people with their week's groceries is all done by volunteers.  They are a great group of people; and if you ever need them, they will treat you well.

I am longing for...

I am longing for fruit.

Oranges and peaches that are so ripe the juice drips off my hands and face as I eat them.  Berries that are bursting with flavor...each one an explosion of pleasure.  Limes and lemons and grapefruit that in their perfect tartness make my lips automatically pucker.  Watermelons that I can eat in the yard and spit seeds like a kid.  Pears that in their gritty sweetness make me grin in pleasure.

It is a longing...a yearning...a hunger...for fruit!

Signing up for SNAP benefits

Yesterday, I spoke with someone at Human Services about SNAP.  If someone has just lost their job, they don't always qualify for SNAP because they may still have income coming in that after the final calculations puts them over the income threshold.  There will be final paychecks and perhaps a severance package.  If they DO qualify, they don't always qualify for the total amount of benefits because the formula to determine qualification takes into account the amount of people in the home, childcare costs, energy costs, disabled or elderly family members, etc.  It isn't just a matter of a person going in because they just can't budget well and having to get food stamps.

If there is no income coming in, the person/family can get an express application where they will be issued a card that day with enough benefits on it to get them started.  Otherwise the application takes 30 days to go through the system.  Meanwhile, many of them go to organizations that deal with hunger insecurity:  food shelters, community meal programs, churches, etc.  SNAP is supposed to be supplemental, but it turns out that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program often needs to be supplemented.

Through my time on this challenge, however long I last, I will go into the different parts of the hunger network and see how they work together to help keep people fed.  I will be focusing on my area of western Wisconsin and will try to get stories from cities and small towns.

As for my own time on the challenge...I've had popcorn on the stove for dinner two times this week.  I'm afraid to eat too much because I can see everything that is left for the month.  I have my own shelf of groceries in the house.  That's right--shelf!  I also have my own shelf in the freezer downstairs because I figure a lot of families don't have a freezer to store extra food in, so they usually have only what is attached to their refrigerator.

As for the feeling of frustration and anger that comes with being hungry, my Human Services friend said that they refer to it as being hangry.  I wonder how much bad behavior nationwide is due to hangry people?

Is coffee a luxury on SNAP?

My coffee isn't going to last the month.  For many, that wouldn't matter, but I'm of Nordic descent, and there is always a pot of coffee brewing.  Over the years, the coffee has gotten more and more expensive.  I still buy it at the store, but it isn't the cheap stuff one gets in a can.  That may change very rapidly.  I have a bit of money left for the month's supplies and may get a small can of cheap-o coffee.

 SNAP benefits include food AND beverages, so a person's morning coffee counts toward that.  You could make the argument that someone on assistance doesn't need a luxury like coffee.  I disagree.  The English have their tea, and the Scandinavians have their coffee.  It is the start of the day and breakfast for some.

Where we have gone awry, is to have turned a simple beverage into a luxury by adding stuff to it.  When it comes in a special cup with its own little cardboard wrap...when it contains flavored syrups...if it is topped with whipped cream or frothed milk...if it has a cutesy little name...

If your cup of  coffee costs as much as a meal on the SNAP benefits, then it is a luxury.  If someone on SNAP can find a can of coffee that costs less than what we spend for a designer coffee drink and they consider that stuff to be a luxury to them...I say let them have it and don't give them grief about it!

Ahhh...rhubarb. Cheap and versatile!

Pardon me if I wax poetic about rhubarb.  I am of Scandinavian descent, so it has been a part of my life since I was yay high.  One of the first plants I learned about was rhubarb.  Mom gently steered me away from the burdock toward Nordic nirvana.   "Shiny leaves, Cissy, shiny leaves.  Don't eat the leaves, just the stem."

In the summertime, when we visited cousins or they visited us, the adults could entertain us by just giving us a glass with some sugar in the bottom.  The oldest child would have a knife to cut the leaves off the rhubarb and we would rub the dirt off and dip it in the sugar and eat it.  One sugar glass was usually good for three or four kids.  If we got scrappy or hoggish on the sugar, any random adult would just holler, "Share!"  If things didn't settle down, the sugar went back in the house and we got no more of the tart treat.

This morning, I spent a few hours making rhubarb lemonade.  It is really easy to make and I am going to can my bounty.   Here's how to make it:  Take 8-9 nice sized stalks of rhubarb and cut it in chunks into a large pot.  Cover with 8 cups of boiling water.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to get all the flavor out of the rhubarb.  Strain it into another large container and add 1/3 cup sugar and 5 drops of red food coloring while it is still hot.  Cool, pour over ice and enjoy!

Fair warning....rhubarb has laxative properties for some people, so you might not want to make this a steady part of the diet.  Here's more about rhubarb...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb

While the rhubarb was simmering, I tilled my garden plot from last year.  I wasn't going to plant a big garden, but this adventure is teaching me that even if I can't use it all, someone else can.

Shopping is a SNAP...maybe

At the risk of this sounding cheesy and cliche', my decision to do the SNAP challenge really was a snap decision.  I am an impulsive person by nature who doesn't put a lot of deep forethought into life decisions.  I go a lot on instinct and it seems to work for me.  Granted, I've had some hair-raising experiences; but I've had some fun along the way and have learned about different ways of life and different philosophies.

I digress.  Back to SNAP...after I googled the SNAP challenge rules, I thought it would be an easy little adventure.  How hard could it possibly be to live on $4.50 a day?  I am the youngest of seven kids from a poor farming family, so it isn't like this is something I've never been through.  I condescendingly convinced myself this would be a cakewalk.  Then I went shopping for my food...

Initially, I was only going to do SNAP for a week.  I just needed to buy $31.50 in healthy groceries and live on them.  Total breeze.  I stopped at the grocery store on my way to work to pick up an ad to make a list.  I would be in and out of the store in the usual half hour it takes me to shop.

The ad itself is a lesson in how we eat in the United States.  As I read it over, I was struck by the sheer volume of prefabricated food that we have available.  We have so much that is convenient and easy to make, but it is filled with preservatives and flavor enhancers.  But, boy is it cheap!   I got a sense that the reason some people on SNAP don't always buy the healthiest options is because if they did, they would run out of food by the end of the month.

So, I got to the store and picked up the stuff on my list and added a couple of things that I totally forgot to put on there.  I scored big on rice...it was .68 a pound!  Chicken breasts...mock tenderloin...beans...dry cheese soup...vegees...coffee (yes, dammit! I'm human!) Thing is, my normal 20 minute shopping expedition took 90 minutes.  It takes a lot of brain power to actually think of healthy and inexpensive.  I kept backtracking...doing recipes in my mind.  One cut of meat could be four different meals, but I would need this...and this...and this....and that.  Still, I thought I did pretty darn well and was proud of myself.

Until the checkout clerk told me that the total was $37.75.  Epic failure!  I was sure I had done it!  Then it dawned on me that if I was an actual SNAP recipient and had reached the end of my benefits for the month, I would have had to decide in line at the checkout what needed to be put back.  I could not imagine how embarrassing that would be!

I've been behind that person before.  I've been the one to give that unkind, dehumanizing sigh.  I hope I never do that again.  It's hard enough to do the math on returns and redo the meal planning without a jerk behind you making noise.

What is SNAP and What is the SNAP Challenge?

I'm still new to the world of Twitter, so I'm often looking up what some of the acronyms are that people use.  RT is a retweet, MT is a modified tweet, etc.  Add to that, each party affiliation has their loving little acronyms for each other that save space on a tweet.  I ran across one recently that I just couldn't figure out and had to google to find the meaning--it was #SNAP.

SNAP is the acronym for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which is  known to many as Food Stamps.  SNAP has gotten a lot of press lately because a large cut to it was attached to the Farm Bill that was submitted to the House.  I started  to see more tweets about the SNAP challenge, but what is  the SNAP challenge?

Again, I relied on my friend google to give me the answer.   The SNAP challenge rules are simple:
*Exist nutritionally on what a person receives on the SNAP program--$4.50 per day
*Do not eat any food purchased before the start of the challenge
*Eat as healthy as possible

I decided to do it.  Spur of the moment...seat of my pants...I can do this!

So, folks (if anyone ever reads this), this is my life on the SNAP program...

http://mazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/SNAP-Challenge.pdf