This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By Gina Cornia,
KATHLEEN Hunt
and Naomi Silverstone
Staff of Mayor Ralph Becker and Rep. Rob Bishop have committed a week to it. So has University of Utah College of Social Work Dean Jannah Mather. All 75 students in the U's Communication and Social Responsibility class will do it, too.
For one week, Utahns who accept the Utah Food Stamp Challenge agree to live on a food stamp budget of $4 per day per person, $28 per week. Meeting basic food needs on this budget? Not simple. Yet, hundreds of thousands of Utahns do it every day.
Since the nation's economic recession began in 2007, the number of food stamp recipients in Utah has risen by 112 percent. How many paychecks are you away from potentially needing this assistance?
Each year, the Food Stamp Program — now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the federal level — helps nearly 46 million low-income Americans purchase food for themselves and their families. In September of 2011, that number included more than 293,000 Utahns.
The program is designed as a safety net to help ensure that people have access to food during difficult times, with the majority of people leaving the program within nine months. More than half (58 percent) of Utah's food stamp recipients are children (Utah has the highest rate of child recipients in the nation), and 9 percent are over 60 years of age. In short, food stamps are primarily utilized by our most vulnerable neighbors.
Food stamps not only benefit individuals and families, but also our nation's economy. Food stamps have a huge economic impact and are one of the most effective responses at the federal level to the economic downturn. On average, $34 million in benefits are spent each month in Utah, and every $1 spent generates $1.73 in economic activity.
At a time when Congress is making critical deficit reduction choices, it is important for Utahns to understand what's at risk for basic food security. While we are generous with our local emergency food providers, the emergency food safety net cannot fill the gap that would be created by unraveling this already modest resource. We must advocate for adequate food security and protect this program.
Community leaders, elected officials and the general public choose to accept the Utah Food Stamp Challenge in order to gain a personal understanding of how the program works. The challenge also gives us an opportunity to tell our congressional delegation about our experiences and explain why we must not allow any further reductions to the Food Stamp Program.
Here is how the Utah Food Stamp Challenge works:
1. You have a daily food budget of $4 per person, $28 per week.
2. All food purchased and consumed during the week, including any eating out, is included in total food spending.
3. All of the food and beverages for the week must come from your food stamp budget. You cannot eat food you already own.
4. You cannot procure free food from friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.
5. Keep a log of your spending, as well as the kinds of food you are and are not able to buy.
We invite you to join us and many others by taking the Utah Food Stamp Challenge next week through Nov. 14, then coming to the University of Utah at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 15, to share your experience and hear from others who took the challenge. Commit to the challenge and reflect on the experience online through Utahns Against Hunger (http://www.uah.org).
Gina Cornia is the executive director of Utahns Against Hunger. Kathleen Hunt is a doctoral student in the University of Utah Communication Department. Naomi Silverstone is research associate professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work.