Forty Area Residents to Live on $21 Worth of Food for One Week

For Immediate Release
August 16, 2007
Contact: Chuck Warpehoski, chuck@icpj.net
w: 734-663-1870 c: 734-972-8304      

(Ann Arbor, MI.) Over forty Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti residents have pledge to live on only $3 worth of food a day — the average Food Stamp Program benefit level — from September 4 to 10. These families are taking part in the ICPJ Michigan Food Stamp Challenge to raise awareness of how difficult it is to purchase a healthy and nutritious diet on a food stamp budget.

“This week living on an average food stamp budget won’t come close to recreating the worry and anxiety that millions of low-income people feel every day when they’re not sure where their next meal is coming from, but we do hope to shine a light on the importance of the program and the need for increased benefits,” said Chuck Warpehoski, Director of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, the organization organizing the Challenge.

Established in 1939, the Food Stamp Program helps more than 26 million low-income people each month. Eligibility is based on income and assets depending on household size. Eligibility in the Food Stamp Program also includes work requirements, with all non-elderly adults required to be employed or to register for employment.  Many are also required to participate in work training and job search programs.

The Farm Bill, which includes funding for the Food Stamp Program, is due to be reauthorized in Congress this year.

“President Bush has called for cuts to food stamps, citing how the war in Iraq has put pressure on budget. Anyone who is considering cutting food stamps to pay for the war in Iraq should take the Food Stamp Challenge first, then let’s talk,” said Chuck Warpehoski.

“We believe we have a moral responsibility to end hunger in America,” Joan Doughty, Executive Director of Community Action Network and a Food Stamp Challenge participant, said. “The Food Stamp Program plays a vital role in providing nutrition assistance to low-income families, but the current benefit level makes it very difficult for many recipients to make ends meet.”

A blog that participants in the ICPJ Michigan Food Stamp Challenge can use to describe their experiences while living on the food stamp diet has been created at http://blog.MichiganFoodStampChallenge.org