Phoenix Mayor attempts to live on food stamp budget

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Sep 7, 2012
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Think Progress on Sep 26, 2012 at 5:00 pm
When local activist groups challenged Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to live on a food stamp budget for a week to mark Hunger Awareness Month, he took them up on the offer and found out just how hard it was. Stanton kept a diary on the challenge, which allotted him roughly $29 a week, the same amount 1.1 million Arizonans receive from the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) each week.
By day four, Stanton noted that he was “tired” and “it’s hard to focus” after leaving the house for work without time to scramble eggs or eat a decent breakfast:
OK- ran out the door today with no time to scramble eggs or even make a sandwich. So I’m surviving on an apple and handful of peanuts, and the coffee I took to the office until dinner. I’m tired, and it’s hard to focus. I can’t go buy a sandwich because that would be cheating- even the dollar menu at Taco Bell is cheating. You can’t use SNAP benefits at any restaurants, fast food or otherwise. I’m facing a long, hungry day and an even longer night getting dinner on the table, which requires making EVERYTHING from scratch on this budget. It’s only for a week, so I’ve got a decent attitude. If I were doing this with no end in sight, I probably wouldn’t be so pleasant.
 
Jul 16, 2012
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Supplement "something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or extend a whole."
 
Sep 7, 2012
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Well dragon; rent cannot be paid with food stamps neither can toilet paper nor aluminum foil, there are many things required by everyone that are not covered by food stamps. Food stamps can only be used for things you eat. So frequently the 'supplementation' is really a replacement. Even so it provides so few calories that to get a full months worth of food into a house requires a Phd in nutrition, and a willingness to try low cost alternatives to foods you are used to eating. When I was on food stamps it usually ran out after about three weeks and needed to start using what little cash I had to fill out the month. Thankfully I no longer need them.