This week, my husband, our three sons aged 15, 13, and 11, and I are doing the Food Stamp Challenge (see http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/c/627/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=9360 for details) as part of an effort led by a group of faith-based groups to bring attention to the importance of food stamps and the dire consequences of cutting this safety net. This means that we have $31.50 per person for food for the week, or a whopping $157.50 for our family of five.

Staying within the $31.50 per week allotment I knew was going to be a challenge – and so far I have managed to stay within these parameters BUT there are some other factors that have come into play and have risen higher up in my consciousness.

I took my first trip to the grocery store with the daunting task of buying enough food for a week for a total of $31. Why only $31? This is the amount that one week of food stamps would allow me. My head is spinning. I feel vulnerable, angry, tense and frightened.

We are passing through the final day of The Food Stamp Challenge and looking back. When our family of four began the challenge we wondered if we could actually have satisfying, easy to prepare meals on a very limited budget of $126. We have always been “thrifty” and we had many motivations for accepting the challenge.

I failed miserably at this challenge within the first day.