So, Did Gwyneth Paltrow Really Fail the Food Stamp Challenge

This post is written by the Kelly Royce Williams portion of OUTSPOKEN_DIVA personality. Please refer to the post HERE for further information about Kelly Royce.

Oh, America and her Food Stamps! Some feel she can live without them. Some say fighting to keep her on them. Some people are on the fence and are trying to understand how the system works and maybe fix the system. A few of those trying to understand the system take the Food Stamp Challenge.
Food stamp or SNAP challenge is a trend in the United States popularized by religious groups, community activists, and food pantries, in which a family of means chooses to purchase food using only the monetary equivalent of what a family that size would receive in the US federal government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially called food stamps.[1] In 2012, this amounted to US$133.41 per person per month or $4.39 per day.
CNN reporter Sean Callebs did an experiment where he spent the month of February 2009 eating only as much food as what a person could get with the maximum possible amount of food stamps. Since he was living in New Orleans, Louisiana, this amounted to $176. At the end of the experiment, he said that he had eaten pretty well and that the biggest drawback was a social one, not a nutritional one because he could not go out to eat at restaurants with friends.
In June 2013, Donny Ferguson, the communications director for Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), attempted to counter the popular opinion that food stamp funds were not enough to survive on. He spent $27.68 without a shopping list or coupons or discounts and argued that at such rates, the government could afford cuts to the SNAP program as deep as 12%. He further argued that savings could be made by buying vegetables instead of rice and beans, advanced planning, and pooling of resources with a larger family stipend. Ferguson failed the challenge when he went 14% over budget. The items he purchased were highly processed, high in sugar and sodium, and included no fresh fruits or vegetables. Thank You, Wikipedia
While some criticize those that are trying to understand the system by calling them elitists, OUTSPOKEN_DIVA tips her hat to those who are trying to help fix the system. There is even a blog post (called Putting Your Fork in Someone Else's Plate) of me giving praise for even trying.

The latest person of influence to try to understand is Gwyneth Paltrow. She was challenged by Chef Mario Batali. Last week when it was announced that she was doing so I posted on Twitter that I do this blog and I am No Liar.

I looked at Paltrow's food buy and knew she was not going to be able to feed her family 7 days of a week on that. Paltrow is Not Jesus. But it was going to be interesting to see what she came up with. I believe that some fresh foods could be bought with food stamps. It is all about being educated about food pricing in my opinion. I think if not just food stamp recipients but all the American public was taught that it is cheaper to buy

a Bag of apples and cook them down to make applesauce instead of buying a processed squeezable product.

I think that if we all were taught Convenience costs are higher in making fajitas from preseason frozen than from fresh chicken.

All because I still remember when I was a preteen seeing someone buy an $80 cake for a 1-year-old's birthday party with stamps. I am still weirded out by that. Cake mix & frosting are so much cheaper.

I have to say though Paltrow didn't get to feed her family for a week on that bounty, what she did make looks very tasty. I especially like the black bean taquitos. The recipes are on her website. I actually don't think she failed completely. I will say she was wrong for eating at the Victoria Beckham event. That was clearly cheating. But she succeeded in showing it can't exactly be done. Her experience should show that the system is flawed. $29 (she spent under $25) a week for a family of 3-4 is not realistic. The food prices are rising and nutritional assistance benefits are not rising with them. It is easy to criticize and banish a flawed system instead of teaching and fixing it. But the elitists & lawmakers that sit and complain instead of experience and raise awareness are just as flawed.

Crazy that someone with the star power of Gwyneth Paltrow has so many of us talking about food stamps. Crazier to know if you think our system is flawed, take a look at the ramen noodles, doughnuts, and Kool-Aid the US sends to its territory, The Marshall Island (Here is the link). The craziest part is Mainstream Media will be onto something else within a blink of an eye.
*sigh*
Fix the System!!!

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms