{"id":672,"date":"2015-05-25T06:46:12","date_gmt":"2015-05-25T13:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=672"},"modified":"2015-05-25T06:46:12","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T13:46:12","slug":"gwyneth-paltrow-living-off-of-food-stamps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=672","title":{"rendered":"Gwyneth Paltrow living off of food stamps?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The writer of this Business Insider article decided to take the Food Stamp Challenge to see if he could live on them for a week. \u00a0Gwyneth Paltrow took the challenge as well.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to the fact that while in my area we don’t see a lot of EBT users (EBT being the food stamp program in California) \u00a0but often when we do, they are definitely not buying the types of food below. \u00a0I’ve seen them buying candy, unhealthy snacks and even beer and liquor (although I’m pretty sure the card shouldn’t cover alcohol, perhaps they used a different card for that part of the transaction.)<\/p>\n

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Last week, Gwyneth Paltrow accepted<\/a>\u00a0Mario Batali’s\u00a0Food Stamp Challenge<\/a>, designed to raise awareness about obstacles that low-income families face. For a week, participants live off of roughly $31 worth of food \u2014 $1.48 per meal.<\/p>\n

Paltrow\u00a0dropped out<\/a>\u00a0after four days when she realized her\u00a0seven limes and bundle of greens<\/a>\u00a0was unsustainable for an entire week.<\/p>\n

I decided to craft a more realistic grocery list and give the challenge a go.<\/p>\n

SNAP\u00a0(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)\u00a0recipients receive a daily average of $4.17<\/a>, so I chose to limit myself to a budget of $29.19.<\/p>\n

Since this challenge is an extreme version of the realities that low-income families face (the SNAP program is meant to be supplemental),\u00a0I know that this week did not\u00a0authentically replicate food insecurity. I did hope that it would help me better understand the day-to-day struggles that millions of people living off SNAP\u00a0benefits face.<\/p>\n

It turned out to be one of the most physically and mentally grueling weeks of my life. Here’s how it went:<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/a>Business Insider<\/span>My basket consisted of mostly grains, a few fruits and veggies, and unfortunately \u2014 no coffee.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Monday: I made a mental grocery list, packed a calculator, and went out to collect supplies for the week.<\/h3>\n

On Monday night I headed to the most affordable grocery store I could think of: Trader Joe’s.<\/p>\n

I was super conscious of sales as I wove through TJs, and the steals of the night included:\u00a0sweet potatoes ($0.49<\/strong>\u00a0each), bananas ($0.19\u00a0<\/strong>each), and a 16-ounce bag of bowtie pasta ($0.99<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

A breakdown of how I spent my $28.27:<\/p>\n