U.S. Rep. Levin Shops for SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge

This article was reported and written by Leslie Ellis.

It was an eye-opening grocery shopping trip Monday as Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter and United States Rep. Sander Levin prepared to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge.

The men shopped for a week on a budget of $31.50, the average food stamp benefit, to show the challenges low-income Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assistance face and to highlight a House bill set to be voted on the week of June 17 that would cut $20 billion over 10 years from SNAP.
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Coulter and Levin, D-Royal Oak, will eat only what they purchased Monday for a week beginning Wednesday. Both men opted for staples such as bread, pasta and peanut butter, with a limited selection of fresh produce and other items.

"What I wanted was a personal experience of what it's like to (shop on a SNAP budget)," said Coulter, who spent $30.85 compared to his usual weekly budget of approximately $100. "A lot of things I would like to buy, I either can't afford or don't like."

Not in his shopping basket were coffee, beer, ice cream and meat, other than hot dogs he found on special. 

Levin – who spent $20.12 Monday and will buy peanut butter, milk, margarine and diced tomatoes with his remaining funds once he returns to Washington, D.C. – had to forego many of the fresh fruits and vegetables he loves.

"This is a thing of what I want versus what I can have on my budget," said Rachelle Bonelli from the Cooking Matters program at Gleaners Community Food Bank, who advised Coulter and Levin on making healthy, budget-conscious choices as they shopped. 

Low-cost food often is high in fat and salt, which keeps consumers satiated, but also contributes to obesity and health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hypertension, she said.

The choices SNAP beneficiaries have to make aren't just about nutrition though, Bonelli said: "They're buying medicine and paying their light bill and saying, 'Can I get this oatmeal?' "

The Associated Press reports SNAP has more than doubled in size since 2008, to $78.4 billion last year. People still will be able to sign up for SNAP benefits if the proposed cuts pass; they just won't automatically qualify when they register for certain other programs, as is the case currently, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla, told AP.

"We just want to make sure everyone demonstrates they qualify," Lucas told AP. "If you need the help I have to believe there would be someone there to help you. This isn't going to be as draconian or as dramatic as some people will paint it."

The proposed SNAP cuts, which are part of a larger farm bill, would eliminate assistance to approximately 1.8 million people nationwide; 133,000 Oakland County residents utilize SNAP, according to Coulter. The bill also would impact students who receive free or reduced-cost meals at school, food banks and food pantries, as well as local businesses.

For example, as many as 25 percent of customers at Ferndale Foods receive food assistance, manager Haitham Kamposh said.

"We're going to hurt too (if the cuts are passed), but I don't know how much," he said. "We're already going to hurt because the Meijer's going to open (near Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Detroit), plus you have the construction (along West Nine Mile Road in Ferndale). It's a no-good summer for us."

Eric Davis, who serves as director of community impact at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, said for every $5 that is spent on providing food assistance, there is $9 of local economic activity.

He said beneficiaries would be forced to turn to the emergency food system if the SNAP cuts pass.

"The interesting thing about Oakland County is the need for food assistance has really spiked since the economic downturn in 2008," he said. "You're going to put additional stress on a food system that doesn't have its legs under it yet."