Last Thursday night, Rachel and I attended a documentary screening called Food Stamped, put on by CitySquare (formerly Central Dallas Ministries). The documentary was about an hour long, an informative and humorous story following a couple in their attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget for a week. The "budget" for a food stamp recipient equates to about $1 per meal per person, or $3 a day. The couple also consulted with members of Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to get further opinions on America's food system. More on the film here.
I have to say, it was pretty insightful. At the end of the week, the couple took their menu to a nutritionist for evaluation, to see if they had been healthy in their choices of fare. The result was that while they had done well at hitting the correct percentages in targeted areas (carbs, proteins, etc.), their calorie intake was well below what it should've been. Had they continued on the food stamp diet, they both would've suffered unnecessary weight loss, tiredness, etc.
Sort of a predicament if you're trying to feed your family and must sacrifice eating healthy food for 'getting enough', but this is a harsh reality for the more than 26 million people who are currently using food stamps to purchase food for themselves and their families.
Makes one think.
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