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.