As part of your Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, consider holding a SNAP Challenge.
The SNAP Challenge, sometimes called the Food Stamp Challenge, is an event where participants attempt to eat on a food stamp budget for a week. Being forced to live on that budget and make difficult choices — trying to avoid hunger and still find nutritious food — can be an eye-opening experience for participants.
The Challenge has been taken by thousands of activists and volunteers, as well as by reporters, celebrities, and members of Congress.
By hosting a Challenge, you can help raise awareness of hunger in your community and the need to keep the federal SNAP program strong. While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles encountered by low-income families, it does provide Challenge participants with a new perspective and greater understanding, plus the ability to more effectively advocate for the SNAP program. Your participants can also educate the public about SNAP by documenting their experience on social media.
Download the SNAP Challenge organizing toolkit on FRAC’s website.