Back in October, during week 5 of my dietetic internship, I completed the SNAP Challenge. For those who aren’t familiar, SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as “food stamps”). It’s a federal food assistance program for low-income people experiencing food insecurity. Participants in the program receive monetary benefits monthly on an EBT card (similar to a debit card). These funds vary by state, and can only be used to purchase food from EBT-approved stores. For my SNAP Challenge, I tried to eat for one week based on the maximum amount of benefits I could receive from Illinois SNAP for a one-person family. This amounted to $48.50. While SNAP is intended to be a supplemental program and not a family’s sole source of money for food many families rely on SNAP to provide most or all of their food budget.
My goals:
- Stay in budget.
- Eat meals as nutritionally balanced as possible.
- Incorporate as much variety into my weekly meals as possible.
Pre-SNAP Challenge
Before my challenge even began, I had to prepare for it. Since beginning my dietetic internship, my meal planning has become extremely minimal. I essentially just grab some foods from each of the food groups and call it good. I just don’t have a lot of time to cook more complicated meals, so as long as I’m eating something I don’t really worry too much about it. For this challenge, I wrote a menu plan to ensure I’d have something to eat every day for every meal. This took a considerable amount of time since I wanted to try and incorporate a little variety and balance into my daily meals. As a dietetic intern though, this wasn’t too challenging for me since I’ve spent years studying food and nutrition. The hardest part was finding time to actually do it before leaving for the grocery store.
I’m also used to shopping on a pretty tight budget since I’ve been a student/intern for the last 4.5 years. I know, in general, which foods are generally more inexpensive and where I can find cheaper groceries. I decided to shop at Aldi which is about 4 miles from where I live. I’m fortunate in that I have a lot of grocery stores to choose from nearby to where I live. I also have a reliable car, so I have the option to drive a little further if necessary to save money on groceries.
During my shopping trip, I noticed that SNAP seems to be geared towards having people cook all their meals. While this makes a lot of sense to me from a health and nutrition standpoint, I quickly realized how challenging this can be. I worked as a cook for a couple of years, and consider myself to be a very competent cook. However, even I struggled with finding time to cook all of my meals during the week. Especially on Wednesday, when I have a night class until 7:30pm and don’t get home until almost 9pm having to cook was really difficult.
SNAP Challenge
Throughout the week, I wrote short journal entries every day to track how I was feeling and my general insights about what I was eating.
- Sunday: I’ve completed the SNAP Challenge before, so I have an idea of what to expect. I already anticipate it being challenging because I couldn’t afford caffeine at the grocery store, and because I have a sweet tooth for chocolate. So far though, I feel moderately satisfied with my foods. I miss being able to have more choice in what I eat though. I feel like my meals are completely scheduled and dictated and that makes me feel uncomfortable.
- Monday: Today was a long day, and I didn’t have a chance to eat any snacks like I usually do, which made me very hungry in between meals. I’ve been hungry most of the day because my meals aren’t as filling as I’m used to. When I got home, I was really tired and didn’t want to cook, but wouldn’t be able to eat otherwise. Even though I made a tasty dinner, I wasn’t very satisfied with it because I was in a bad mood.
- Tuesday: This morning I accidentally slept in, so I grabbed a granola bar and some fruit to eat in the car on the way to my rotation. I generally eat protein bars for “emergencies” like these which are much more filling, but out of my SNAP budget. By the time I got home, I was ravenous and impatient having to cook my own food. Dinner was a lonely and somewhat isolating experience. I also started to feel more deprived from lack of caffeine all week. My productivity is down, and I’ve started going to bed earlier to try and have more energy the next day.
- Wednesday: I’ve discovered throughout the day, that while I’m not hungry all the time, I have limited satisfaction with the foods I’m eating. I think being so busy all the time contributes more to my lack of hunger instead of adequate food intake. I’m also sick, which has contributed to my crankiness over having to eat foods based off my meal plan. Today was a long day too, and I haven’t been able to snack as much on this diet as I normally do, so when I got home I was ravenous. I ended up making a lot more spaghetti than I ordinarily would because of this. This made me feel bloated and uncomfortable the rest of the night.
- Thursday: Today actually wasn’t that bad! I started a new rotation at the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, and all the employees there are doing the SNAP Challenge too. I felt less alone being around people who were going through the same things I am. Hearing their struggles also helped validate mine and just made me feel better about myself overall. I have noticed, however, that I have been thinking about food a lot more than I usually do. I’m always thinking about what I’m going to have at my next meal, and trying to plan for the next day. I usually don’t have to do this much cooking, and it’s taking a lot of time out of my days.
- Friday: I’m really missing my caffeine today, and chocolate too. I’m experiencing overall low energy, and low motivation to do anything. After each meal I felt full, but dissatisfied. Tonight, since I had more time, I made some stir-fry which is one of my favorite meals. I didn’t have enough money in my budget to get all the vegetables and seasonings that I would normally use which was disappointing. It still felt good, however, to have one of my favorite meals even if it wasn’t quite as tasty as I would normally make it. I’ve also been having cravings and have been planning what I’m going to eat once this week is over in my head.
- Saturday: I can’t stop thinking about food! I spent all my free time thinking about the first foods I’m going to eat when this challenge is over. I can’t imagine having to eat like this for longer than a week. The only thing getting me through it right now is the day I can be done. While I don’t constantly feel hungry, I never really feel comfortably full either. I’m getting increasingly dissatisfied my food, and can’t stop thinking about my next meal. Tonight, I even meal prepped for next week which is something I haven’t done in a long time. My anxiety around food this week makes me want to be as prepared as possible for all my future meals. I feel as though, if I don’t prepare these foods in advance, I’ll go hungry. I know that this challenge is over tomorrow, however, which means I won’t have as restrictive of a diet. Despite knowing this, I’ve still been mentally planning my meals for next week and even physically preparing some of them in advance.
Overall, my menu plan worked well, I just wasn’t satisfied with it during the week. Some days, I had to move meals around based on what I had time to prepare/eat. Even though I knew I wasn’t eating enough, I didn’t really have a desire to eat more of my SNAP foods because they didn’t seem that desirable to me. I felt a loss of agency and wasn’t able to satisfy any of my “less healthy” food cravings. To cope with this sense of loss, I ended up watching more Netflix, and sleeping more to “reward” myself. I felt more tired than I usually do, and was much less productive. I didn’t work out at all this week because I didn’t have the motivation, energy or time. I spent more free time thinking about and preparing food than normal which impaired my ability to participate in other activities.
My Barriers
The barriers I experienced during the SNAP Challenge that kept me from eating a healthy diet were:
- Budgeting. While, as mentioned above, I’m used to shopping on a tight budget my budget has never been as tight as it was during the SNAP Challenge. I rarely, if ever, leave the grocery store with less than $50 worth of food (more than my SNAP budget limit).
- Time. I completed the SNAP Challenge as a full-time Dietetic Intern (DI) working at least 8-hour days with a 30-60 minute commute each day one-way. One thing I immediately noticed, when shopping for my SNAP Challenge, is that SNAP seems to be designed to help people afford foods that they have to cook. While I completely agree that cooking meals at home is a much healthier way to live, it also assumes that people have the time and skill to do this. As a DI, I certainly have the skill to meal plan and cook, however, I didn’t really have the time to do this all week. I barely make it out the door on time some mornings and have to grab something quick to eat that’s pre-prepared. This is something that’s almost impossible to do on a SNAP budget because these convenience foods (especially the healthier options) are pretty expensive. I didn’t feel like I had time to cook during the week I did the SNAP Challenge, and I’m a skilled cook who only had to prepare food for and take care of myself. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like if I had to cook for children or had other people I was responsible for during this week besides myself.
- Taste. Like most people, I like food. I like having the ability to choose which foods I want to eat, when, and how. With such a tight budget and limited time, I was unable to do this. I had to follow my menu plan exactly even if I wasn’t really hungry for whatever was on it because that’s the food available to me. While I planned for foods that I like, I felt much less satisfied than I otherwise would have. I also had to reuse a lot of foods during the week that I wouldn’t normally have to. For example, I bought a bag of apples during this challenge. Since apples last more than a week, I ordinarily wouldn’t eat all of them in a week. During the SNAP Challenge however, I felt like I had to eat everything because it was part of my budget.
- Mood. This whole challenge made me very crabby. While there’s no way for me to know for sure, I’m guessing that this can be attributed to the fact that I wasn’t eating enough, was eating foods that I didn’t really want to eat, and felt otherwise trapped by my meal plan. I’ve made meal plans for myself before and had a great time with them. Every other time I’ve done this, however, I still had the option to choose something else to eat instead of the assigned meal. During the SNAP Challenge, I didn’t have this option because my budget was too tight to grocery shop again for an entirely different meal. This made me feel constrained, and like I had no agency over what I was eating (even though I created my meal plan for this challenge).
SNAP Challenge Nutrition
As part of my SNAP Challenge I analyzed each day of my meals in the nutrition analysis software program NutritionistPro.
Calories
My average caloric intake each day was 1200-1400 per day. Enough to keep me alive, but much lower than my recommended intake of 2000-2200. This is probably why I felt so sluggish and tired all week. I wasn’t eating enough to be more active.
Macronutrients
Surprisingly, my protein intake was adequate throughout the challenge. I prioritized protein going into this challenge knowing that it might be harder to get since it’s generally more expensive. I think doing this helped ensure that I got enough protein throughout the week. Both my carbohydrate and fat intake were very low during this challenge, however. It surprised me that my carbohydrate intake was so low. It felt like all I was eating during the week was carbs. My total calorie intake was so low, however, that even though I felt like I was eating all carbs, I simply wasn’t eating enough total to meet my carbohydrate needs. My fat intake being low didn’t really surprise me. I knew based on the foods I selected that I might be deficient in fat. Once again, meeting my overall calorie goals would have helped me meet my fat goals.
Micronutrients
Iron was a major concern for me during the SNAP Challenge. My iron intake was so low that if I continued on this diet long-term I would be at serious risk for developing iron-deficiency anemia. Iron and I have a rocky relationship to begin with since I don’t eat red meat (personal preference) which is very high in iron. I normally meet my iron needs through fortified foods. Iron is a very expensive nutrient, however, and these foods were way out of my budget for this challenge.
There were several other micronutrients that I was very low in including: zinc, Vitamin B12, folate and molybdenum. Most of these would be easy fixes, however, if I ate more than 1200 calories per day.
Post-SNAP Challenge Thoughts
My SNAP Challenge experience was very difficult, and concerning when I analyzed my nutrition at the end of the week. Even with an educational background in nutrition and food, I experienced many challenges.
This is actually my second time attempting the SNAP Challenge. The first time around I was very low in protein (which is probably why I overcompensated this time). Overall, I think it’s difficult to live on SNAP as your sole source of food while living a regular life. If I had abundant time to plan and prepare my meals it might have been possible, but I’m still skeptical. If I tried this challenge again I would put my planned meals into a food tracker before shopping. Then I could adjust my meal plan to meet my needs before beginning the challenge. Looking at food deals and finding a cheaper grocery store definitely help as well. Doing this challenge with another person may have helped as well because then I would’ve had some help cooking.
I understand that my experience attempting to live on a SNAP budget for a week may not be representative of others’ experiences. I’m privileged in that I have a reliable vehicle, live in a safe location where grocery stores are readily available, have a backup source of money for emergencies, have an educational background in nutrition, have a lot of experience cooking, am only responsible for myself and my own food needs, do not actually need SNAP benefits, and did not have to use an EBT card while shopping.
I encourage everyone to try the SNAP Challenge. It helped me better understand what it’s like to experience food insecurity. If you want to help combat food insecurity there are many ways you can do this:
- Support SNAP and WIC funding, and vote for politicians who will continue to fund these programs.
- Donate money to your local food pantry. You can search for food pantries in your city here.
- Donate food to your local food pantry. This article does a great job explaining what to think about before making your food donation.
- Volunteer. Most food pantries rely heavily on volunteers to do the wonderful work they do. Even if you’re short on money too, volunteering your time can be a great way to help out.
Have you tried the SNAP Challenge? What was your experience like?