Could you live on $4.50 a day?

Most of us don’t think twice about adding a piece of
cheese to a burger, or an extra shot in our latte, but
for far too many living on food stamps, that’s the cost of
an entire meal.

Could you live on the $1.50 recipients of
the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program get
to eat?

Cori Kauk is finding out if she can do it. The Issaquah
Food Bank executive director and her fiancee have
committed to taking the Food Stamp Challenge
for the next two weeks. It limits people to just $4.50
per day, the amount people getting state assistance
receive from the program formerly referred to as food
stamps.

“I think there are a lot of individuals who are very far
removed from what it might actually feel like, including
myself,” Kauk says, “So I think when you experience
something it, gives
you greater understanding and empathy.”

Kauk says even though there’s plenty of wealth on the
Eastside, there are also plenty of people struggling with
food insecurity. She says the food bank is serving more
clients than ever since the start of the economic
downturn.

“I think it’s a huge misconception that there aren’t
people who aren’t hungry and homeless out here on the
Eastside. It is an issue,” Kauk says.

For Kauk and others taking part in the challenge, planning
and nutrition are the biggest challenge. Fresh produce
and protein are often out of reach for many families,
leaving them to rely on cheaper processed food.

“Unfortunately, I think I’m finding that foods that are
not
as healthy and nutritional are more affordable, so clearly
we have lower income families who are not having as
healthy options.”

97.3 KIRO FM’s Luke Burbank found that out himself when he
undertook a similar challenge for his hit radio show TBTL.
Burbank and several others limited themselves to just $12
for an entire week of food.

“The stuff that was affordable was all the bad stuff. It
was things that were just laden with carbs. You could buy
lots of noodle based things like ramen that were just
laden with MSG. If you wanted to get a protein, just a
piece of chicken or something like that, that was really
expensive. And then fresh fruit and fresh vegetables were
really expensive,” Burbank recalls.

As she plans her menu for the next two weeks, Kauk also
realizes she will have to give up quite a bit, including
condiments like ketchup and salad dressing.

Even then, she says many families still come up short.

“It’s a clear case that most people who are on food stamps
are probably in need of additional food sources like food
banks and hot meal programs.”

Burbank says it made him a lot more empathetic to the
struggles of those having a hard time keeping their
families fed in tough times.

“You know, it’s that whole walking a mile in someone’s
shoes thing. Most of us can probably go into a grocery
store and buy what we need to buy most of the time. Maybe
we get some coupons, maybe we try to get the deals, but
it’s not this thing where you’re walking through the store
where you’re saying ‘I have actually $4 here to spend on
trying to get the food together to make a meal for 6
people.’ And that’s a thing that really happens to
people,” Burbank says.

Kauk says the sacrifice she’s most unhappy about is her
daily cup of coffee. But when compared with a hungry
family, she realizes it’s a small price to pay to raise
awareness that hopefully leads to increased donations
heading into the busy summer season.

“I like to think, ‘Wow, my coffee budget is what an
individual gets from food stamps for a day.'”