SAN DIEGO – Imagine buying all of your meals, drinks and snacks for $4.27 each day. Could you do it?Sept. 19, San Diego Hunger Coalition begins its annual CalFresh Challenge to help locals experience what it’s like to eat for only $4.27 per day, a reality for many of the 423,000 county residents struggling with hunger.
$4.27 is the average daily allotment for someone in San Diego County enrolled in CalFresh, a monthly supplement to a household’s food budget. The CalFresh Challenge is a unique opportunity for the public to raise awareness about the one in eight people in San Diego County who don’t have access to enough food. This year, the Hunger Coalition added a one-day challenge option to complement the weeklong challenge.
“The CalFresh Program, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, is one of the most effective anti-hunger programs available,” says Anahid Brakke, executive director of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.
In San Diego County, 46 percent of CalFresh recipients are children, and the average CalFresh household receives assistance for less than two years. “The critical nutrition support that families receive from CalFresh dwarfs what even the most generous food pantry or church could provide. Efforts to reduce SNAP at the federal level compromise the future of our children and our community,” says Brakke.
The CalFresh Challenge — which occurs during September’s Hunger Action Month — is part of San Diego Hunger Coalition’s work to raise awareness about this important resource in the fight against hunger.
“CalFresh Challenge participants quickly realize the difficulty of providing healthy meals on such a limited budget,” says Brakke. “Last year, a child of one of our Challenge participants left the fridge door ajar and all her food went bad. When life happens, that $4.27 daily budget feels impossible.”
State Assemblymember Shirley Weber, who took the CalFresh Challenge in 2015, says that the shame and stigma associated with government assistance, the daunting application process and the lack of public awareness about who is eligible are some of the reasons that many continue to struggle without enrolling in CalFresh.
During the week of the CalFresh Challenge, San Diego Hunger Coalition encourages participants to share photos and videos of their meals on social media using #CalFreshChallenge. Participants are also invited to support the Hunger Coalition’s work to end hunger in San Diego County with their own crowd-funding page.
To take the CalFresh Challenge for one day or for up to a full week, visit www.sdhunger.org/cfc.
On the face of this, this sounds impossible. Heck – even the dollar menu at Wendy’s wouldn’t work out.
But looking at the program, it is for everyone in the household. So for my household of my wife and I, along with our 4 boys, it adds up quickly.
$4.27 per person per day * 30 days * 6 people = $768 per month.
This is actually more than our grocery budget for the month, which is just north of $600.
Add to this, it is supposed to be “a monthly supplement to a household’s food budget”.
I’m looking forward to seeing how we can do!