SNAP Challenge: Shopping at Walgreens

By Kevin Winge

Day one of my second annual SNAP Challenge is off to a good start. Knowing that some SNAP recipients have transportation issues, this year I’m shopping for all of my food at my nearest convenience store – Walgreens. My SNAP week is off to a good start, not because of the kind of food I was able to purchase at Walgreens, but because – with careful shopping and coupon clipping – I was able to really stretch my $30.25.

Open Arms’ registered dietitian did a great job of creating a Walgreens menu. What she didn’t know, however, is that many of the items on my menu would be on sale this week. For example, a gallon of skim milk was $2.99 instead of $3.49. Although I really dislike canned green beans, and probably haven’t eaten any since elementary school back when Lyndon Johnson was President, I was excited to see that a single can was only .69 with a coupon compared to its usual price of $1.79.

The bottom line is that I spent $8.09 less than I thought I was going to. That meant I could splurge on a box of Grape Nuts cereal and still have $5.30 remaining in my budget for the week. I’m holding off until Walgreens coupons come out next Sunday to see what else I might buy for later in the week.

Here’s my grocery list so far:

Ramen Noodles (6 pack) - $1.89

Coffee - $3.99 on sale (not food, I know, but I gotta have it)

Gallon of Milk - $2.99 on sale

Dozen Eggs - $1.89

Wheat Bread - .99 on sale

Yogurt - .69

Oatmeal - $2.59

Peanut Butter - $2.99

Can of Green Beans - .69 with coupon

Can of Fruit Salad - $2.19

Raisins (1 oz. 6 pack) - $1.00

Grape Nuts Cereal - $2.79 on sale

Now it’s time to enjoy my first SNAP breakfast: a cup of coffee, 8 ounces of milk and one cup of oatmeal.

SNAP Challenge: And so it begins...

By Ellen Klahn

T-minus two and a half hours until the start of the SNAP Challenge. I'm currently enjoying my "Last Supper": veggie burgers with cheese and lettuce on whole wheat tortillas and oven fries with olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Also, I enjoyed a chai with chocolate and espresso earlier this evening. YUM! Hopefully that will sustain my chocolate craving for the next week [doubtful].

Here's where I'm coming from:

-I went grocery shopping earlier this evening at Target and Cub Foods with a rough list and no real plan. I have a feeling I will regret this later as I have very few options for meal variety.

-I spent $30.45...I'll allow myself the extra $0.20 because I happened to find a quarter in my jacket pocket.

-I had to make the decision between fruits and vegetables [which I currently eat approx. 8 servings per day of] or protein. I chose produce. The only protein sources I purchased were peanut butter and black beans...oops.

-I live in an intentional community of six women [via my volunteer program] and although we only have a monthly food budget of $600 (coming out to be $25 per person per week), we still manage to eat pretty well. We rarely eat meat and instead receive our protein from beans, lentils, quinoa, tofu, TVP, etc. If we do happen to eat meat, it's because grass-fed/cage-free chicken is on sale at our co-op or because someone's parents donated us venison or something of the like. It also helps that we buy in bulk, bargain hunt like mad, and get extra produce from our plot in a community garden or from generous friends of our program who have more produce than they can manage to consume themselves. However, this week is still going to be a great challenge for me! Growing up an athlete, I have always had a larger appetite than normal and as I still run and stay relatively active, I have managed to maintain a pretty high metabolism. I am a bit worried about maintaining my weight this week and becoming distracted with hunger.

Anyway...good luck to everyone this week! I'm eager to learn of everyone's experiences as we go through this together!