Our SNAP Challenge: final shopping trip for the week (I hope). Whew. Let the eating begin....

My husband and I are going to take the Mazon SNAP Challenge from 7/16/12-7/22/12.  That means that during that week, we will eat no more than $63 worth of food, which is the same budget allotment as two individuals receiving food-stamps (now known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP).

SNAP/Food-Stamp Factoid That I'll Bet You Didn't Know #3:  Vegetables, fruits, grain products, meat, and meat alternatives account for most of the money value of food used by SNAP households. These food groups account for nearly three-quarters of the money value of food used at home. Lower-cost red meats (7.8 %) and milk and yogurt (7.6 %) account for the largest shares of food at home. SNAP participants were somewhat less likely to consume fruits or vegetables than other Americans. Most SNAP participants have adequate usual intakes for most vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients, with the exception of vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, and vitamin E. The goal of SNAP Nutrition Education (SNAP-Ed) is to improve the likelihood that persons eligible for SNAP benefits will make healthy food choices within a limited budget and choose physically active lifestyles consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. The Federal Government spent $375 million for SNAP-Ed in fiscal year 2011. Source:  Building a Healthy America: a profile of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (issued by the USDA, 4/2012)

I'll talk more about my impressions of eating on a SNAP budget as the week progresses and we actually start eating.  Until now, it's just been shopping and planning.

So here's the final shopping haul for my SNAP week:

• Costco has Kirkland Organic Vanilla Soymilk for $13.99 for 12 quarts. We'll drink a quart during our Challenge week, so that's $1.17.

• Sadly, (very, very sadly), I think our beloved Keurig is not going to be used this week. Sigh. I will miss my K-cup coffee, and my husband (who calls the Keurig "the replicator"), who has not balked at a single SNAP restriction so far, is not a happy camper about this. And so it goes. So, we're going to revert back to a box of 19-count Folger's coffee singles, which we bought back here for $3.90.

• We bought a SodaStream in April at Kohl's for $40.99. That was a GREAT investment in frugality and has paid for itself many times over. We're going to drink a ton of seltzer this Challenge week. Cost: $0.00.
• I'm pretty sure that food stamps cannot be used toward diet soda (can anyone confirm?) and I don't intend to spend a penny of my budget on soda. But, I do have 8 MyCokeRewards coupons for free 20 oz. Coke products sitting in my purse, and I will be cashing them in this week and we'll be drinking the free products. My rationale is that 1) MyCokeRewards is a free program that is accessible to everyone and 2) I am not spending nor counting these items towards our $63 budget.  In the interest of full disclosure, I did want to let you know that we'd be drinking these sodas.
• I can't eat most dairy products, but my husband is a major cheese lover. We bought two cases of Cabot kosher cheese back here, and he'll be eating one 8 oz. brick this week, for which we paid $3.63.

  

• I got 1 lb. of Walmart Great Value Brown Rice for $0.78. This is actually the rice eat normally, and it's really good.

    

• I also got a small bag of Mahatma Saffron Rice for $0.77. If you've never tried this, it's one of the best bargains around. Delicious stuff.

• I bought 1lb. of Great Value Split Peas (soup!) for $1.08.

    

•  I don't have the time or the patience to bake, and I don't have the budget to buy all the ingredients. We're going to use a 3 lb.package of one my favorite products, Rhodes frozen dough. Half will go to making challah for Shabbat, and the rest will work as our bread during the week. Walmart had a 3 lb. bag for $2.98 and I had a coupon for $0.50, so this will cost us $2.48.

   

• I bought Sabra chummus for $2.99 with a $1 coupon, $1.99.
• We do need grape juice for Shabbos, and we have a ton of Kedem 96 oz. bottles stockpiled in our basement. We bought about a dozen 2-packs of these bottles for $9.49  , or $4.25 each around Passover time at Costco. I don't think it's fair to count an entire 96 oz. bottle's worth, when we really only need about about a quarter bottle (if that) for two kiddushes and havdalah, so I'm only counting this item expense as $1.07. 
• Target Market Pantry fat-free Zesty Italian dressing is one of our staples. Delicious, kosher and cheap. $1.39  

Here's our total list:

Item	Purchased at:	Amount
5.62 lbs. of grass-fed  Empire chicken	Target	$7.62
14 oz. Costco salmon (2 portions)	Costco	$4.59
6 cans of Bumble Bee  chunk light tuna in water	King Soopers	$3.54
19 oz. Kirkland tofu	Costco	$1.15
Kirkland egg beaters, 16 oz.	Costco	$1.55
4 lbs. of organic carrots	Target	$1.29
6-pack romaine hearts	Costco	$3.29
2.29 lbs. of cherries	Sprouts	$3.41
3 Hass avocadoes	Sprouts	$2.31
0.34 lbs. of Roma tomatoes	Sprouts	$0.26
2 Del Monte pineapples  (sliced and frozen)	King Soopers	$0.50
1.82 lbs. yellow onions	Sprouts	$0.91
8 oz. mushrooms	Target	$1.79
3 lbs. bananas	Costco	$1.39
1.55 lbs. potatoes	Walmart	$1.36
Kirkland Organic vanilla soymilk	Costco	$1.17
19-count Folgers Singles	Amazon	$3.90
Seltzer	SodaStream	$0.00
8 20 oz. Diet Cokes	MyCokeRewards	$0.00
8 oz. brick of Cabot Sharp cheddar cheese	Cabot	$3.63
1 lb. Great Value brown rice	Walmart	$0.78
Mahatma Saffron rice	Walmart	$0.77
1 lb. Great Value green split peas	Walmart	$1.08
3 lbs. Rhodes frozen dough	Walmart	$2.48
Sabra chummus	Target	$1.99
20 oz. Kedem grape juice	Costco	$1.07
Market Pantry fat-free ZestyItalian dressing	Target	$1.39

Grand total $53.22.  That leaves us $9.78 (about 15% of our $63 budget) to spend. I'd rather just hold this amount aside for now and see how the week goes.  

Stuff I'm not including in this total:  all spices (I'm going to be using a ton of them) and olive oil cooking spray.

Overall, this shopping experience hasn't been the slightest bit stressful, but it has been rather unusual for me.  I don't normally shop this way. With the exception of produce, I don't buy food when I need it.  I buy food that I need when I get it very inexpensively, usually with a sale, or with a sale and a coupon.  I stockpile it (not hoard, but stockpile) and we eat from our fully loaded pantry, fridge or freezers.  My husband and I are mostly creatures of habit, and I know what we will eat, so I rarely run out of things.  I shop as things we need become available at good prices.

Buying a week's worth of food at once was a little strange for me, but I couldn't think of any other way to really account for all of the expenditures.  Frankly. buying this much food for this little money was not that challenging; it's my thing.   The challenge lies ahead of us, when we start eating.


Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to 85% of our SNAP budget ($53.22 worth of food):

   

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