Stewardship of Life

SNAP to it Food Stamp Challenge–Day One

By Sharron R. Blezard, June 1, 2010

Today is the first day of the SNAP to It Food Stamp Challenge. At this point, having just visited the grocery on Saturday, it doesn’t seem too real right now. If I had to, I could probably live on what’s in the house for three weeks, maybe even the whole month. I’m not the only one in question, however, and my daughter prefers considerable more variety in her meals along with lots of convenience items like granola bars and yogurt cups. The challenge could become pretty interesting as we negotiate our pantry differences, but then again she may surprise me.

One thing I know for certain is that there will be very little meat consumed during the month of June. We’re not big meat eaters anyway, especially during the summer months. My daughter isn’t fond of chicken or pork (unless it’s bacon or barbeque), but she does love beef. I, on the other hand, will eat meat but could easily live without it, aside from a fondness for salmon that hasn’t been farmed or flash-frozen and imported from China. We also have no way to grill in our present location due to fire codes (no open flames on the covered balconies), and I won’t be heating up the apartment with lots of stove top and oven cooking.

Instead I plan to focus on salads, lots of raw and lightly steamed veggies, rice, beans and nuts. I found out that Grace Episcopal Church has a farmers’ market every Saturday, so I’ll probably try to stop by there when visiting my mother.

I’ll try not to bore you with too many details, but I will share an occasional money-saving seasonal recipe and some facts and stories about the food industry and our sisters and brothers who live with food insecurity on a daily basis. I would also welcome your comments, ideas, and stories.

As promised, I will now catalogue everything in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer on day one of this adventure.

Freezer: Two packages of Edy’s no-sugar-added fruit bars (2 for 1 special), two small beef chuck roasts (another 2 for 1 special), four barley grass cubes, two tubs of beef stock from crock-pot roasts, five hamburger patties, and a half bag of wild blueberries.

Refrigerator: ½ gallon of skim milk, 1 ¾ containers of orange juice, an almost empty jar of Schmucker’s natural peanut butter, an almost full jug of maple syrup, two six packs of yogurt, a large ¾ full jar of salsa, an unopened jar of banana pepper rings, three sticks of butter, an almost full tub of Smart Balance spread, an almost empty jar of organic brown mustard, a random apple juice box, Hellman’s light mayo, three half bottles of salad dressing, almost empty bottles of organic soy sauce and Thai chili sauce, and part of a bottle of Sprite (the daughter’s). There’s also a cut up watermelon, a bag of apples, a handful of strawberries that need to be eaten today, about a pound of cherries, three petite sirloin steaks (Laura’s Lean Beef (bought on sale with a coupon), three carrots, three peppers, three heads of organic romaine lettuce, four lemons, four tomatoes, part of a garlic bulb, almost full bags of cornmeal and flour, four eggs, three full containers of sour cream (bought on a very good sale) and one almost empty container, a container of parmesan cheese, a bag of mozzarella cheese, a partially full bag of cheddar cheese, 21 cheese sticks (the daughter’s favorite snack), the Brita pitcher, ¾ of a loaf of whole wheat bread, and two leftover ears of corn and some sautéed squash. (Note: The two plastic water bottles are refills belonging to my daughter. She’s totally bought into the bottled water is cooler thing, even though I won’t buy them for her. She has a wonderful Camelback stainless steel bottle but still prefers to refill empty plastic bottles despite her mother’s protestations.)

Pantry: One banana, almost full bags of espresso blend and Kona coffee, probably 50 assorted bags of tea, an almost full bottle of Torani sugar free chocolate syrup, an unopened bottle of Sprite and honey, baking powder, baking soda, an almost full bag of dried pinto beans, one can black beans, three cans vegetarian baked beans, two cans green beans, one can collards, one can diced tomatoes, three cans soup, four cans tuna, one box each whole wheat rotini and penne, 1/5 boxes whole grain angel hair pasta, two jars spaghetti sauce, 2/3 bag brown rice, unopened bottle balsamic vinegar, 2/3 full large bottle extra virgin olive oil, 1 random bag microwave popcorn, 1 granola bar, a handful of almonds, about six oz. of walnuts, an almost empty box of grits, almost a full pound of old fashioned oats, an unopened box of Strawberry Honey Bunches of Oats, half a bag each of white sugar and brown sugar, two small yellow onions, two pounds of Vidalia onions, peanut oil, canola oil, Smart Balance spray, 10 pounds of potatoes, and 10 assorted individual drink packs (coffee, propel, lemonade).

There you have it. It seems like an abundance of food when I write it out, but I bet you a granola bar and a juice pack that I hear, “Mom, there’s nothing to eat” within 24 hours.