My Food Stamp Experience

I began this week doing the food stamp challenge & I am sorry to say that I have had to stop. The reason, I am a single mom & there isn't enough food in my house for me to make 2 meals each night.

I am one of the many men & women who have, at some time in their life, had to use food stamps. What I have learned is that the amount given never seems to cover a full month of food. We would always run out by the 3rd week & that is with bargain shopping. I have always worked full time & the money I make covered the bills & rent while food stamps helped bring groceries into the house.

The other thing I have learned (I have spoken to many that have had this experience also) is that when food is low, as a parent you do whatever it takes to make sure that your kids are getting the most balanced & nutritious meals possible. I would skip meals & sometimes go a day without eating just to make sure that the food would last as long as possible.

After years of eating this way, I find that I don't get hungry very often. I live in a constant state of starvation & although I don't eat very much, I also don't lose weight. There are still days when a muffin is all I eat b/c I know that what food I have, has to stretch until my next payday. My body stores fat instead of burning it b/c it thinks I am starving. This is one of the side effects of food stamps that are never talked about.

Another side effect of food stamps is the blow to your self-esteem. There have been many nights that I cried myself to sleep not knowing where the next meal would come from & upset at myself for not being able to provide for my 2 kids. Nothing hurt me more than to have to look into my kids’ eyes & explain why we couldn't afford simple luxuries (fresh fruit & vegetables, sodas, snacks). My shopping list was the bare necessities & my children learned early in life that extras were not an option. This made me feel like such a failure as a parent.

In closing, let me just say that there are many families that live just above the poverty line & can't even get food stamps, but they need help. We need to remember them as we think about creating a response that will help ALL families at risk of sacrificing their basic needs.