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May 16, 2007
Weekly Pick- the House of Representatives?
Okay, so not the whole House of Representatives, but our pick of the week this week are three Congresspeople - Janice Schakowsky, Jim McGovern, and Jo Ann Emerson - for accepting to take the Food Stamp Challenge. They each decided to live for a week on the equivalent of food stamps - which is $1 per meal or $3 per day.
What did that mean? Almost no fruits or vegetables and higher starch foods. Peanut butter and jelly counted for quite a few meals.
Maybe this is a publicity stunt, but there's no better way to know how someone else lives than to put yourself into their shoes and walk a few blocks. This is being done to try to increase funding for public nutrition programs, including increasing amount of money for food stamps, because the Farm Bill is again being debated.
Maybe we should all try this for a couple of days - not only can we see how some people in this country live, it will most certainly make us more appreciative of what we do have. So kudos to the three House members! And to the state of Oregon for hosting their own Food Stamp Challenge in April.
Source: New York Times, "US Legislators on $1 Meal Diet to Boost Food Aid", May 15, 2007
Posted by diane at May 16, 2007 03:09 PM
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