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26 Lawmakers Take Challenge to Live on $4.50 a Day

by Katherine Johnson

Proposed changes to the Farm Bill, including cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), would leave 2 million Americans without access to food stamps.

To protest these cuts, 26 members of Congress (all Democrats) announced they will try living off $4.50 worth of food per day, for one week.

Representative Barbara Lee of California, who's taking the SNAP challenge, chronicled her shopping trip with a blog post. Before the rise of her political career, Lee used to receive food stamps for her and her sons as a single mother. Without public assistance, "I wouldn't be where I am today," Lee said.

"I spent hours debating what to buy and what to skip, all the while keeping my sons in my mind. I could go without breakfast; my sons couldn't. I went through the grocery store today thinking about what I wanted, not what my sons would eat, but that wasn't always the case," Lee wrote.

Other politicians have participated in the SNAP challenge, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Senator Chris Murphy.

Check out some of the legislators' SNAP challenge struggles, with a little over $30 to spend for a week, on Twitter.

Image: Unsplash