Hi. It’s Bridget on Day 2 of the SNAP Challenge. Today has proven to be much more difficult than yesterday. Lunch today was extremely unsatisfying – yogurt with honey and Grape-Nuts. By the time I left work, I was starving and felt light-headed. Once again, I had to turn down a friend who wanted to go out to eat for dinner. Instead, I stayed home and made an omelet with ground turkey, bell peppers, and tomatoes. I cut up several tortillas and baked them into chips and made a simple corn salsa from the canned veggies I had. Dinner overall was not bad, but did not feel very nutritious, and I wasn’t satisfied when I was done.

One thing I have noticed thus far is my tendency to snack throughout the day. This week, I have zero “snack foods,” like chips, crackers, or popcorn. I did not realize how much I relied on these foods to tide me over between meals. But if I had bought a snack or two when I went shopping, it would have seemed silly and unnecessary to me. Then I thought about what it must be like for someone on SNAP. They must feel intense pressure and scrutiny at the checkout line. If they buy anything remotely unhealthy, they might face judgment from other shoppers or store employees. And yet, they are expected to analyze every choice they make when shopping and prioritize down to the last cent of their SNAP dollars. How can we put so much pressure on SNAP recipients if we don’t provide them with the resources to make grocery shopping easier?