SNAP Challenge reflections

So, I've come to the conclusion that eating healthy on SNAP involves using some of the other assistance available.  The food pantry and soup kitchen are great sources for healthy ingredients and meals, but there still is a way to personally coordinate all of these sources for the best impact.

One common tendency for people on SNAP is to use their foodshare benefits right away and then seek out the pantries and soup kitchens.  I've done this myself and I can completely understand why people make this mistake.  The SNAP money doesn't go that far, and leads to limited menu options.  When the beginning of the month rolls around again, it is an opportunity for different menu choices, so we blow through the SNAP money because everything in the store looks good.  For me, budgeting and planning go right out the window at the sight of fresh fruit and vegetables and a meat option that I haven't spent the entire last week eating.

The best way to get the maximum health benefits from SNAP is to look at the other sources you seek out and combine these resources throughout the month instead of always at the end.  Most food pantries will let you visit once a week, so plan that into your month.  Visit there before shopping at the grocery store so you don't buy duplicates and have more to spend on healthy options.  I recommend that even at the food pantry you have your shopping list.  That way, you are an active participant in your own healthy choices.  Don't just grab food and plan to use it later.  The worst thing you can do to other food insecure families is take something you won't really use and end up throwing it away when someone farther back in the line would put it to good use. 

If you tend to run out of food by the end of the month and spend the entire last week eating at The Community Table, plan those visits throughout your month.  If you normally eat there five times at the end of the month, plan at least once a week to eat there.  This allows you to work these visits more into your schedule instead of being at the mercy of the serving schedule they offer.  Also, The Community Table of Eau Claire posts their day's menu on the answering machine, so if they are serving something you don't like, you can go another day that works with your schedule. 

Whether you are on SNAP or not, just making a few changes to the way you use your food resources throughout the month can give you more control over your schedule and your food dollars and can take some of the stress out of food insecurity.

SNAP Real Life experience

Last night I ate at The Community Table as a guest rather than as a server.  It was a strange experience for me.  I was nervous and almost talked myself out of it several times.  I even almost drove past when I saw how busy it was.  I knew that if I did, though, that meager bit of groceries that I have left for the month just wasn't going to cut it.

I was a late straggler, so I was the only person in line.  There was a table there with a woman and a notebook.  I thought she was going to ask my name just like at the food pantry, but she was just making tic marks counting how many people had been served.  So, there was a slight pause for me and I got a little embarrassed not knowing the routine.

I stepped to the counter and the first group I encountered asked what I wanted as far as hot food.  It was very similar to a school cafeteria.  I got the Italian meatballs and carrots Au gratin.  I moved down the counter and got my tossed salad and fruit salad and declined the bread and butter.  Utensils and napkin next...grabbed a banana...and looked for a place to sit.

That's when I felt really weird for the first time.  There was a roomful of people who were laughing and talking; I felt like the new kid in school.  So, I did like the new kids do and found a table that was almost empty.  The gentleman who I was sitting with and I did not talk.  I hid myself behind eating my meal.

I looked around and saw some familiar faces.   I've done retail work and have waited on some of these people.  I started to relax. I wasn't really alone; like the new kid in school, I was just lonely in a crowd.

I settled into one of my favorite activities--people watching.  I was getting some odd looks from the regulars.  "Who's the new kid?" their faces were saying.  I did the Midwestern slight upturn of the mouth and nodded to the ones who made eye contact.  There wasn't any hostility in their eyes as if I didn't belong--just curiosity.

There wasn't any piano music this time, but the conversations made a music of their own.  Each voice lent a bit to the melody and the background music was of laughter.  That was the thing that threw me--there was so much laughter!  Didn't these people realize how hard their lives were?  What's with all the laughter?  Kids were playing with each other as if they didn't have a care in the world.  Parents were joking with their friends about sports and relationships and other life stuff.  Old men were making googly eyes at babies to make them laugh.  Older couples were lingering over a cup of coffee and fondly watching the chaos.  It was normal.  It was just such a normal event.

I wanted to be a part of the pulse of this community.  I wanted to be part of the love and friendship that they shared with each other over a meal.  I wanted to know the little family squabbles that kept some apart from others.  I wanted to know the inside jokes that caused some to say one or two words and laugh.  I wanted to be one of them.

I finished my meal and brought my empty tray to the dishwasher's area.  I took my banana with me for the road.  I left still feeling weird--but smiling.