Food stamp test leaves city exec hungry, tired

Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 11, 2007 at midnight

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She scrimped a bit at breakfast, often eating a banana or a baked potato with a glass of water, so she could look forward to a slightly bigger portion for dinner.

Still, Roxane White, manager for Denver Human Services, said she went to bed hungry and was tired most of last week.

"I wanted some type of protein for dinner," White said Sunday.

White took the 2007 Food Stamp Challenge, in which participants survived for a week on $3.57 a day to spend on food. The intent was to highlight the plight of millions of Americans and about 250,000 Coloradans receiving food stamps who have an average weekly food budget of $25.

After the sparse breakfast, White would have soup for lunch and a frozen dinner or turkey meat in the evenings.

For one luncheon meeting, she went to So All May Eat cafe on Colfax Avenue, an eatery where patrons give donations or volunteer in exchange for food.

White donated $1.19 for the green salad she ate.

White said she pushed her shopping cart up and down the food aisles at Target with a calculator in hand. She'd reshelve items that busted her budget and avoided the milk and dairy products entirely.

"I was shocked to see how some things became luxury items, like having two bananas a day," she said. "I really wanted an onion and I couldn't afford an onion. I really wanted a green pepper but I couldn't do the green pepper and the bag of potatoes."

White said eating so little caused her to sometimes forget the names of people she knows well and made her feel sluggish in the afternoons.

"My thinking capacity had diminished," she said.

The experience personalized some issues, such as the trouble children who often go hungry have paying attention in school.

"Hungry kids don't perform well in school," White said, adding that she didn't want her 14- year-old daughter to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge because it was finals week for her.

White said she became more concerned about the rising costs of Medicaid because of diseases that result from people being unable to afford nutritional foods.

"If we want to solve some the health crisis for people that are poor, we need to help people eat better," she said. "When I was making these choices, I knew it was going to be high carbs."

White said shopping on a food- stamp budget was more time- consuming that she anticipated.

"I was really angry at the end of it, knowing that I hadn't gotten very nutritional food but that I was out of money."

Anti-hunger groups are hoping the 2007 Farm Bill Reauthorization will streamline the food stamp application process and give more funding to the program. The bill is expected to be discussed by Congress in July.

In his own words: Mayor John Hickenlooper

When Roxane White, Denver's manager of Human Services, asked if I wanted to sign on to last week's Food Stamp Challenge to help increase awareness of the difficulties faced by people living on food stamps, I was happy to comply.

It would mean shopping and eating for a week on $3.57 per day ($24.99 for the entire week). Surely, anyone could do that for one week. If my participation would help increase public awareness, I was game.

Two days into the challenge, I began to realize how difficult - almost impossible - such a budget is, even just for a week. I was hungry when I woke up and when I went to bed. It affected my physical energy and my mental energy. Food and the cost of food took up much of my time. I took no morsel for granted.

I learned quickly that it's very difficult to eat nutritiously on $3.57 a day. I'd never considered fresh fruit, vegetables and coffee luxuries, but they are. I realized, too, that with time to cook, I could eat more cheaply. For example, an egg on a tortilla costs far less but requires much more time to prepare than a quick bowl of whole- grain cereal with milk and fruit.

Whining and personal anecdotes aside, the Food Stamp Challenge was an eye-opening experience. I certainly don't regret participating. For me, it was a weeklong experience that was a choice and an experiment. For 57,000 Denver residents and 251,000 Coloradans, however, it's reality, sometimes for months on end.

We thank the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute and the Colorado Anti-Hunger Network for sponsoring this important educational campaign. Thanks also to our many city employees and others in our community who participated, deepening their awareness of how difficult it is for families and children who rely on food stamps to stay adequately fed and healthy.

Congress is currently considering whether to increase the food stamp budget for a family of four by $48 a month. After what I experienced last week, I'd say they could use the increase.

Roxane White's shopping list

• 7 instant soups $5.46

• 7 bananas $2.28

• Jar of peanut butter $3.97

• Bag of potatoes $1.99

• Lettuce seed 79 cents White said she planted the seed two weeks ago. Seeds are allowed on food stamps.

• Five prepacked frozen meals $7.45

• Turkey meat $2.98

Total $24.92

ramirezr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5067

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