Black Tuesday effects particularly poignant for employees of Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks

Tuesday, August 10, has been dubbed Black Tuesday by anti-hunger activists. According to Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) director, that was the day that the United States Congress passed HR1586, which President Obama promptly signed. The bill does provide help for many educators who have recently lost their jobs, and is also touted as helping with “possible additional health care reform.” But there is a dark side to that bill. It comes at a tremendous cost. That cost is to slash the SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (formerly known as food stamps), by $11.9 billion by 2014, at a time when millions of Americans are out of work and struggling to keep food on the table.

“It is inconceivable that such legislation has been passed when Ohio alone has witnessed a nearly 18 percent increase in the number of households who receive SNAP benefits compared to one year ago,” exclaimed Hamler-Fugitt. “Our federal government should be ashamed of themselves that they would even allow for such legislation to pass at a time when one out of eight Americans receive SNAP benefits. The answer to an economic recovery is not taking from those who already have so little.”

To bring attention to the plight of those who rely on the SNAP program to meet the nutritional needs of children and adults, 19 members of OASHF pledged to live on the amount of money allocated per person in the SNAP program – just $21 per week. That $21 had to supply 21 meals.

“Our staff is dedicated to eliminating poverty and hunger for individuals and families in need across the state of Ohio and experiencing this part of an individual’s life firsthand will enable staff to rededicate themselves to our mission,” commented the OASHF director prior to the project. “This truly will be an eye-opening experience for all of our staff.”

The SNAP Challenge began on Friday, August 13, and ended the following Thursday night. Charles Barber, communications manager for OASHF, was one who took the challenge.

“It actually, in general, started as hunger, and turned into almost sickness,” Barber told The Bargain Hunter. “I’m a health nut person anyway, eating lots of fruit and vegetables. Having that mentality and then going into this, and having almost all carbs, because they were cheaper, was rough. Pasta and rice became my mentality. On day five, when I looked in the refrigerator and realized how many more times I had to eat rice and spaghetti, I almost went nuts. But I was at least grateful to have those still available. My body craved yogurt and other things that are normally part of my everyday diet.”

On day three of the challenge, Barber blogged: “Last weekend, before the challenge, I spent over $21 on pizza, chips, and drinks for a meal with family members who came to town for a visit. At the time, I did not think about how that one meal cost more than one person gets to eat for an entire week. I am thinking about it now. We all seem to have the same thought in the back of our minds: FOOD. Not so much because we are hungry but because we know it is limited. One coworker admitted that they think about food more than normal just because they are aware that there is not much left. I feel like I am in some sort of sick diet commercial– where I get nothing for breakfast, almost nothing for lunch, and slightly more than nothing for dinner… Most of all, I am feeling weak, not just physically, but in strength of character. Many Ohioans struggle with food security every day and do so with much more grace and much less complaining than I do…”

Barber admitted that at the halfway point, he was grateful that he was almost done. “Do the millions of Ohioans and millions of Americans that rely on the SNAP program ever get to think such things?” he stated. “I take so much for granted and should not. To think that the meager $21 weekly budget could be lessened in 2014 is unfathomable!”

To learn more about the SNAP Challenge and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, go to www.oashf.org.