SNAP Challenge

Tuesday evening, a number of people gathered at the Charter Oak Cultural Center for a wrap-up session regarding the Hunger Action Month SNAP Challenge, in which people tried to live on a $4 a day food budget.

In talking about her experience with the challenge, Deb Heinrich, Nonprofit Liaision to Governor Malloy, said that she was not prepared for the depth of issues she experienced, including eating beans and rice over and over, and oatmeal for breakfast every day.  She said that she started to get headaches, not because she was hungry, but because she was not getting the right nutrients.  She felt very isolated even though it was only for a week and commented on it taking a lot of planning. 

An audience member who had also taken the Challenge said that a friend who grew up hungry told her that the Challenge is limited because you don’t realize all of the other issues affected by being hungry, including family violence.  Deb Heinrich commented that her husband and kids, who were not taking part, called it the “SNAP at you challenge.”

Panel members talked quite a bit about the challenges with the outdated technology at the Department of Social Services.  Foodshare volunteer Betty Domer, who is retired from a career managing IT said that they are using technology from the 1970’s and practically hand-delivering these services as a result.  Heinrich noted that investing in technology will save the state money in the long run.

If you were not able to attend and would like to view the panel discussion, there is now a video up on the Foodshare website.