Unemployed steelworkers in line for food in 1983
Each year, to raise money and awareness, the San Diego Hunger Coalition puts on a Calfresh Challenge. This is an opportunity to empathize with people who struggle to get enough decent food to eat. In 2012, I noticed Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez talking up this CalFresh Challenge and I thought it sounded like a good chance to expand my own empathy and raise awareness. She wrote about her experience here. This year, I’ve got a couple trips that will get in the way of doing the challenge on time, but I’m hoping they’ll let me do an add-on in October. Until I figure that out, I wanted to share the informative and (hopefully) humorous trip down CalFresh Challenge lane from 2012. Enjoy (Update: I wondered why this year’s challenge equals $4.38 per day versus $4.90 per day in 2012. I’m looking into that and will report back. 52 cents doesn’t seem like much until you have to make every penny count)
Introduction: Living off $4.90/day…seriously?!?
Living off $4.90/day: Day 1 –It begins
Living off $4.90/day: Day 2 – Hungry!
Living off $4.90/day: Day 3 – Meditations on gum chewing
Living off $4.90/day: Day 4 – Alternatives to hamburger helper and the government
Living off $4.90/day: Day 5 – Turning down “free”
Living off $4.90/day: Day 6 – The joys of lemon chicken
Omar, thank you so much for highlighting this important issue on your blog!