Congress SNAP Challenge: Can You Live On Food Stamps? Sure. Should Congress Encourage It? Definitely Not

The House farm bill, which aimed to cut $20 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food-stamp program, has prompted Republican staffer Donny Ferguson to experiment with and prove firsthand that the proposed budget cuts are not only reasonable but actually quite generous. However, while this may be good policy today, it could very well lead to more harm than good in the long run.

SNAP currently gives participants $31.50 per week to spend on food, which averages to $4.50 per day or $1.50 per meal. Over two dozen House Democrats have already attempted the SNAP challenge and failed miserably. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) only made it through one day of the challenge before he felt “terrible, absolutely terrible” because he was not able to purchase nutritious foods with $4.50 per day. Most others echoed his sentiments.