Hi! I’m Bridget Casey, No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador. I took a trip to the Walmart Neighborhood Market to stock up on groceries for the week. I’m taking the SNAP challenge – living on a SNAP (formerly food stamps) budget for all of my food, Monday-Friday. For all 5 days, I have just $22 to spend – or $4.40 a day. I knew it would be difficult going into it, but already I’ve encountered more problems than I could have anticipated.

At the store, I hit roadblocks every step of the way. I had to opt for 85% lean ground turkey, which is significantly fattier than I usually buy, but I literally could not afford anything leaner. I wanted to get some type of granola, but my favorite kinds were out of my price range. I settled for Grape Nuts instead, because they’re high in fiber and inexpensive. Typically, I’ll buy some type of frozen fish when I shop, but of course I couldn’t spring for that. Canned tuna, as well as canned tomatoes, canned corn, and canned black beans were added to my cart. I picked up a loaf of whole wheat bread and corn tortillas to use as multipurpose carbohydrates, and because they both contain fiber. As for fresh produce, well, I was left with only a few dollars to spend at that point. I picked out a head of romaine lettuce, a few bell peppers, and a lime to use for flavoring dishes.

Including the cost of the plain yogurt I already had at home, my total receipt was $21.98. I felt pretty good about my purchases initially, but after talking to the other interns I began to doubt myself. Why hadn’t I bought any fruit? Or milk? Or potatoes? Or cheese? I went home and made myself soft tacos for dinner, but could only think of what I should have bought instead.