Washington Post had an article yesterday on the Food Stamp Challenge, in which four members of Congress are attempting to eat on $21/week - the average per person allotment for food stamps in this country. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA.) and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO.), who co-chair the House Hunger Caucus, called on all law makers to take the challenge though only two Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) stepped up to the plate.
Not surprisingly, the lawmakers found it nearly impossible to build any protein of fresh produce into their diets on the budget. (Note that they will not be eating or drinking anything at fundraisers or other events). Tim Ryan’s diet this week is limited to the following:
Yellow cornmeal $1.43
2 jars strawberry preserves 4.80
1 jar chunky peanut butter 2.48
2 packages angel-hair pasta 1.54
Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee 2.50
3 cans tomato sauce 4.50
2 containers cottage cheese 3.00
1 loaf wheat bread 0.89
1 head of garlic 0.32
Total: $20.66
That’s not much for anyone, much less for Ryan who is pushing 6′4″ (I know this because I have a mini-crush on him and met him at a DCCC fundraiser last year. I like tall Midwesterners like myself - sue me!)
What I found interesting about this great effort is the way that the members of Congress are utilizing social media tools to promote the initiative. McGovern, his wife and Ryan are all blogging on their daily experiences. Many of the posts are thoughtful and lengthy - generating dozens of comments a piece as individuals offer encouragement, or advice on recipes, rationing and purchases. Tim Ryan has also posted a video of his CNN interview on the challenge to his YouTube channel (though it’s not tagged well and doesn’t come up with a search of Food Stamp Challenge). The effort has also generated some buzz in the blogosphere where dozens of bloggers have mentioned the Challenge in the past few days.
Good to see a reminder that politicians can use new media not just to get elected, but also to advocate for change issue by issue.
(Via We’ll Know When We Get There)
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