Student reflection: "We had to decide between getting full and eating healthy"

The writer, Patrick, is an Operation Others Core Team Member and a High School Junior. 

On September 7 the Operation Others Core Team participated in a Food Stamp Challenge. We were divided into groups of three or four and were given $9 for a family of three, or $12 for a family of four (the average food stamp allotment for American families).  Each group had to use their money very carefully in order to buy enough food for the three meals. Three of the groups went to No Frills Supermarket and the other two went to Hy-Vee. The students were given roughly 30 minutes to buy the food, and it took a lot of work to stay under the budget while buying enough food for 3 or 4 people throughout the day. When we came back many of the items were very similar. Some of the most common were oatmeal, bananas, bread, milk, canned fruit, canned vegetables, and different types of cheap meat. It was a great opportunity for us to see how tough it is to stay under the food stamp budget. The one main point brought up with this budget was would you rather be hungry and eat healthily or be full and not eat healthily?

Click here for more information on the Food Stamp Challenge
Click here to learn more about Operation Others' participation in the challenge