Overall Thoughts
Before beginning the assignment and the challenge, I was excited and perhaps mildly anxious. I didn’t doubt that I could successfully complete the challenge, as I consider myself to consume a rather frugal amount of food on a weekly basis, especially compared to other college males. The biggest challenge that I had initially pondered was not consuming the recommended amounts of each food group and nutrient. Similarly to my normal diet, the SNAP diet did not provide enough nutrients to attain the recommended doses.
While the SNAP benefits were enough to fulfill my personal needs, I do not think they would supply adequate amounts of funding to support a large family. That being said, with the proper planning and diet, a family could successfully live off of the SNAP constraints. I back my opinion with the knowledge gained from class and the challenge itself. I would be interested in seeing what it would be like to live off of the SNAP budget for an entire month. Like previously stated, I believe that proper planning and a savvy diet and plan could lead to successful results in the long run. In addition, the snap benefits could add on to one another. That is, I would plan my first week to support the latter weeks. For example, I would purchase my bulk items, such as peanut butter, jelly, bread, pasta, butter, canned items, and other foods in the first week with the knowledge that those items could last an extended period of time. I would obviously adjust accordingly as needed.
Like stated above, I know that I fell short of the nutritional requirements that we all see on a daily basis. My normal diet does not even meet such demands, and I personally feel that it is unrealistic for most people, regardless of food budget, to meet those requirements. Of course, there are outliers to every statement, and each situation is different from person to person.
It is my opinion that a family, especially a small or individual family, could be sustained via SNAP benefits. With the proper planning, effort, and modesty, nearly anyone could be successful with the SNAP budget. It may take a little bit of work, self discipline, and experience, but living off of the SNAP budget is entirely possible. Personally, I planned ahead and sought out deals at the grocery store. I knew, simply by asking around, that Weis market discounts their meats every Monday, and therefore went shopping on a Monday afternoon. Moreover, I utilized the free Weis card to reduce prices even further (I also walked a mile to and from the grocery store). Additionally, saving foods as leftovers saves a ton of money and keeps a person from overeating. I think that modesty is generally lost when food choices are made by many Americans, but if used properly, it could go a long way.
Even if the government would reduce the budget, a savvy shopper and modest consumer could still have success, particularly in our area. By utilizing all sorts of resources, in addition to the techniques I briefed above, living off of the SNAP budget can be entirely possible. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule, and not every situation is similar, but all in all I believe most people could be successful.
