Food Assistance APPROVED

Yippee! My food assistance was finally approved here in Franklin County.  Every step of this tedious, frustrating and confusing process made me thankful for the Benefit Bank.

Navigating the system = success.

http://www.oashf.org/

Cut Off

"Based on the current call volume, your hold time is 39 minutes, 11 seconds.  Please hold for the next available representative."  *click*

When I talk about living in solidarity with the people I am serving, I am not joking around.  Despite the fact that I am an educated, literate, capable human being who in fact works for a program that helps people sign up for public benefits and access things like food assistance, if I do not get through to JFS within the next three days, I will loose my food assistance.

ARGGRAGARSRAGAGGGG!!!!!

I even went through a contact I have at JFS to transfer my case from Delaware County.  Since Franklin County is so populated, I am assigned to a different Opportunity Center than where my case got transferred to.  So it's in the right county, I just have to do a Inner County transfer.  I've called at every time of the day and been disconnected due to call volume every time.  I've sternly emailed the center to inform them of this and request a contact that way as well.

It's not working.  I am frustrated.  I have In Service Training for AmeriCorps all day tomorrow, and the next day my mother is dragging my family to Pittsburg to see Celtic Thunder (it's okay Mom, I love them too), so the only time I can go into the office is on the 30th.  The very last day.

If you are a case worker at the North Community Opportunity Center, please call me.  My number is 614.357.6146.  Please give me a chance to interview.  I understand your staff has been cut, your budget has been cut, and more people in the community have been visiting you than ever before because of the state of the economy.  But I am a person.  Who likes to eat.  Let me speak for every other person out there fighting the system and trying to work through all your barriers: give me a chance.  And add more open lines to your phone.  I can wait 40 minutes on hold if it means I can get food assistance for the next 9 months.  Thank you for the work you do.

Food Stamp Challenge: Grocery Shopping

I went grocery shopping Friday night, armed with research from my fellow challengers of the past, outlining purchasing and saving strategies.  I most notably discovered that chicken is the cheapest source of meat/protein, and that you shouldn't be afraid of leftovers to stretch your budget.  Considering I love chicken and a I grew up in a very fiscally minded family (read: fridge is full of leftovers), I didn't think this shopping/eating experience would be that difficult.

Until I got to the canned chicken isle. 

Canned chicken?  My grandpa is a farmer and I grew up in rural Ohio, so I have seen chickens all the way from chicken coop to church chicken BBQ.  But in a can? It just seems wrong.  I opted for chicken in an airtight, sealed bag, which seemed less unnatural to me than canned chicken.  Lesson 1: Exploring different packaging options is important in saving money.  Especially if I am just shopping for myself, I can't buy expensive fresh chicken or a big bag or frozen chicken breasts as I usually would. 

From the bagged/canned chicken aisle I grabbed some Taco seasoning and tortillas.  I couldn't pass up Ramen, at 18 cents a packet, as it seems like the quintessential cheap food purchase.  Planning for breakfast, I grabbed a half carton of eggs, and decided an onion would supplement my chicken tacos AND my eggs wonderfully.  After navigating the "peeled onions" (how nice of them! how expensive of them!) and avoiding the ever sneaky organic labels, I found a cheap white onion.  Off to the checkout to see how I did, purchasing enough food for two days.  Lesson 2: Purchasing taste boosters like Taco seasoning and onions will drastically help improve cheap food quality.

This is a pseudo-challenge for me, considering I already use the Ohio Direction Card (aka SNAP, aka food assistance, aka food stamps).  It is a work SUPPORT program and food ASSISTANCE, so I'm not always constrained to the 3 dollars a day regulation.  I use it, as hopefully others do, as a leg up to self-sufficiency during my time of low wage employment.

It also helps (at least at Kroger) to bring your own bag.  I believe it's a 3 cent credit on your total.  I have a couple big bags from Kohls that I keep in my car and use whenever I shop.

With my Kroger card discount, I totaled out at 6.46.  That's a little over my budget for two days...

It all evened out in the end, as I got a meal Saturday afternoon at the Lifting the Families Back to School Event.  I was working this event with a volunteer who is on cash assistance, meaning he is earning 50% or below the FPIG.  I told him about the food stamp challenge, and we both concluded as people on strained budgets, that we would accept free food whenever we got the chance.  I guess that's not part of the official challenge, but I think letting go of pride and being creative in ways to attain food is a part of the challenge in any capacity.  Lesson 3: Know when to follow rules and when to bend them, especially when free hot dogs and cookies are involved.

See my latest post to view how I cooked what I bought!

Foodstamp Challenge, Commence!

nourishedkitchen.com

The Foodstamp Challenge begins today at the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.

Which means that I am only allowed to spend $3 per day on food, the same amount that someone surviving on social services would spend.

Which means that I am going to have some trouble finding a $3 Subway sandwich when I meet a friend there for lunch.  Which means I'll have to spend $5 for a footlong (are you singing that jingle in your head now? *evil laugh* What a catchy song...), which means I can essentially only spend ONE dollar tomorrow.  The rules say I am allowed to use condiments and spices that I already own.  Ranch dressing has a lot of fatty goodness, right? 

This is just like the 30 Hour Famine.  I'm hungry already.

Hopefully this will raise awareness and encourage policy makers and other people who may not be aware of the difficulties people have with food insecurity to try the challenge themselves.  It's been done before in a couple instances, like back in 2007: Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn't Buy a Lot of Groceries

http://www.ashleycecil.com/

Food Stamp Challenge!

Despite the fact that I am already on food assistance, I am participating in an office-wide "Food Stamp Challenge."  Here is an overview:

Everyday individuals all of Ohio call the Ohio Benefit Bank hotline, come into the Site Support Office for the Ohio Benefit Bank, or visit an Ohio Benefit Bank counselor because they find that they are having difficulty surviving the difficult economic circumstances.  Unemployment benefits are expiring for many Ohioans, and they will turn to Food Assistance and other programs to meet their basic needs.  In an effort to show solidarity with the people whom we seek to serve, we are challenging the staff of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks to live off of a food stamp diet. 

For one week, starting August 13^th, we are challenging you to take part in the challenge and live on the nationwide average food stamp benefit.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nationwide average benefit in FY2005 was $94.05 per month, per person, or approximately $3 a day.  

Do you think you can do it?  Do you think you can:

1.       Only spend a total of $21 on food and beverages during the week

2.       Follow SNAP rules as to what can be purchased and only shop at stores that accept EBT cards. (No prepared foods, no dining out)

3.       During the Challenge, only eat food that your purchase for this project.  Do not eat food that you already own (except for spices and condiments)

4.       Avoid accepting free food or beverages at work.

5.       Please keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week

The office will be recording their experiences on the intranet, but I'll keep blogging  on here about the Challenge.  If YOU want to particiapte starting August 13, I would love to include some guests posts or your thoughts about your own experience trying to live on the above guidelines, even if just for one day.

“Change will not wait for some other person or some other time. We are the one’s we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek!”

-President Obama