You can read the rules here to see what the official answer is. When I read that I found out that I'm already cheating.
First of all, my strategy is to take advantage of every opportunity I can to get a free meal. Our church has a breakfast program three mornings a week that I plan to attend. I also have a few church events this week that meet over lunch. The big question is about the pancake breakfast fundraiser for the feeding programs at FOCUS Churches - the very program for which I am undergoing this challenge. Does it count?
Additionally, you will read in the fine print that condiments do not count, which has lead to a boisterous conversation in my household on what counts as a condiment. Spices, sure. What about soy sauce? Maple syrup?
Some people have asked me if we can technically get 3 food stamp allotments if we count my 6 month old. Not only is he not really eating food, but even if we were on food stamps and he needed expensive formula, for example, it would be covered under WIC and therefore would not count toward our food stamp budget.
Plus, who wants to admit they're eating the baby's share of food?
Barbara Ehrenreich faced a similar challenge of setting parameters when writing her book Nickeled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. She set out to work and live on minimum wage. As she laid out her approach, she struggled with what was a reasonable amount of money to start out with that would simulate someone getting help from a friend or relative.
Any time you set up a scenario like the one Ehrenreich and I are taking on, you run into the problem of authenticity. This is fake. I'm not on food stamps and no amount of restricting my spending is going to put me in the shoes of someone who is actually on food stamps. It's just not the same.
Still, I think there's value in going through the process with prayer and humility. Thanks for following with us on this journey. Let's see how it goes.