That is the question the Food Research and Action Council (FRAC) is asking people to do March 18th through the 20th. This challenge is based on the amount of money provided to a single individual receiving SNAP benefits or food stamps. That means that you would need to budget $18 for food for three days. FRAC’s recommendation is for people taking the challenge to shop on Monday, prepare food from shopping Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and reflect on the experience through the weekend.
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the number one way that those with very low incomes can get their nutritional needs met. In Pennsylvania, 60,528 Veterans rely on SNAP each month. In addition, 41% of the households who receive SNAP have children under 18, 41% of households have older adults in them and 52% of households have at least one person with a disability. SNAP also supports working families in Pennsylvania - 78% of those who receive SNAP have at least one household member that works. Many don't think about SNAP this way, but for every $1 of SNAP, $1.80 is generated in total economic activity. In Pennsylvania in 2023, SNAP was accepted at more than 10,000 retailers, generating revenue of $5,197,794,052. Now with significant cuts proposed for SNAP, food security is in jeopardy for millions of our most vulnerable poulations including children, Veterans and seniors. As a food pantry who supports families after SNAP is exhausted, The Open Link is deeply concerned about the impact SNAP cuts could have on our ability to serve those in need.
So, how does the challenge work?
1) All food purchased and eaten during the challenge, including dining out, must be included in the total spending.
2) During the challenge, only eat food that you purchased for the challenge. If you eat food that you already have at home or that is given to you by friends, family or work, account in your SNAP challenge budget.
3) Food cannot be hot, like a rotisserie chicken, because that is not an allowable expense.
4) Keep track of receipts for food purchases and take notes/photos/videos of your experiences through the week. For example, you can take videos while you grocery shop to highlight the difficulty of choosing between food items and settling for the cheaper item, which may not have the nutritional value that you need or are used to.
For more information about the challenge, visit FRAC’s site - https://frac.org/snap-challenge-2025 or download the toolkit here. https://frac.org/research/resource-library/take-action-snap-challenge-toolkit
Several of us at The Open Link are signing up for the challenge and we invite you to do so as well! Then, share your experience on social media or email us with how it goes - mariannel@theopenlink.org.
