Food Stamp Challenge -- Day 1

The day started off with a shopping excursion at the Smith's in Draper with Rep. Seelig.  We had a reporter and photog from the SL Trib in tow.  I'm always game for a good challenge (particularly when someone says something can't be done), so I had signed up for the Food Stamp Challenge last week.  I thought it would be appropriate that at least one fiscal conservative try the experiment to show what can be done.  The interview consisted of many of the basic questions:

• Q: How does this differ from your typical shopping trip?
  A: My wife didn't give me the shopping list like she usually does.
• Q: How are your buying habits different?
  A: I don't typically worry about the price, but right now I have to keep track of prices.
• Q: Why are you buying 15 lbs of potatoes?
  A:  Potatoes will last several weeks and the 5lb bag costs $0.30/lb while the 15lb bag costs $0.266/lb.
• Q: Why are you buying 5lbs of ground beef?  Won't that kill your budget
  A: The 5lb package costs $1.50/lb and I can store the extra in the freezer, while the 1lb package costs $1.99/lb.  That's 33% more expensive.
• Q:  Is your family participating?
  A: Unlikely.  (Why would a couple of teenagers give up a good thing like all-you-can-eat on the house?)

As I understand the rules, I have to live for 1 week (that's 7 days) on a daily food budget of $3.15 ($1.05/meal).  That equates to a grand total of $22.05 for the week.

I have several goals for the experiment:

1. Eat a well-balanced diet based on the Federal government's food pyramid
2. Eat a significant amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, supplemented by a modest amount of frozen vegetables
3. Don't eat anything from a can
4. Don't eat ramen noodles
5. Have variety in the menu
6. Measure everything as precisely as possible, tracking cost and caloric content
7. Not be too extreme in the purchases (picking the store brand over the ultra low cost FMV brand for everything except the pasta)
8. Avoid have my family kick me out of the house

Assumptions:

1. Staples like salt and black pepper have negligible cost (Note: 1/4 teaspoon of salt costs $0.001)
2. Basic food staples (such as flour and sugar) that are already on hand can be used, but they must be measured and allocated the actual cost that would have been incurred if they had been purchased this week
3. Only the cost for food actually consumed will be factored in the cost.  Unused food (e.g. potatoes, meats, food staples) that continue to have a shelf life in the future will not be counted as part of the total cost.
4. I will factor in the price of milk ($0.125/cup x 3 cups daily) even though I won't drink it (don't tell Rep. Gibson)
5. Food stamp purchases are not taxed, so sales tax is not included in the food costs
6. Using a Fresh Values card is smart shopping
7. I can't count the 5 cent per gallon discount on gas that I earned at the register

So how did it go today?  Here's the menu:

• Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs, toast, oatmeal, grapefruit, (milk)
• Lunch:  PB sandwich, banana, celery, OJ, (milk)
• Dinner: Beef & broccoli stir fry, rice, (milk)
• Snack: 1 chocolate chip cookie (actually just a scoop of dough) -- cost 6.6 cents

Total cost:  $3.04 (with $0.11 to carry forward).  Also, I had all my daily recommended food intake of fruits, vegetables, grains, (and milk), but had a little extra meat (8 oz rather than the recommended 6.5 oz).

What has been the hardest part of the challenge so far?  Planning the menus, analyzing the food costs (Note: homemade bread costs 2.7 cents per slice, while the bread at the store typically costs between 4 cents and 10 cents per slice), measuring everything precisely, and remembering not to snack between meals.

I thought "day 1" went pretty well.  I just don't understand why Rep. Seelig was on KCPW complaining about having to eat ramen noodles for breakfast and lunch today.  (Note:  she doesn't like my assumption #3 above.)

Comments

[Jesse Harris]

Good job on taking the challenge! It sounds like you aren't deprived all that much while still keeping an eye on the budget. Of course, farm subsidies make it tough to eat both nutritious and cheap food. The NY Times had a great article recently on how junk food is made cheaper than healthy food via subsidies. The Consumerist linked it back on Apr 24 if you wanted to search their archives.

The FDA carries some resources that may prove helpful for meal planning including a recipe database complete with costs and a meal planner for those on a budget. I'd link it... but your comments don't allow HTML.