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Source: http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/050107LA.shtml
New Appreciation for Working Poor
By Harry Esteve
The Oregonian
Saturday 28 April 2007
Food stamps - Gov. Ted Kulongoski gets the nation's attention by eating on $3 a day.
Salem - Midway through his pledge to eat for a week on a food-stamp budget, Gov. Ted Kulongoski found himself at dinner with his wife, Mary Oberst, facing a hot bowl of - something.
"I asked her what it was, and she called it chicken chowder," the governor said Friday. He ate it without complaint.
Kulongoski said the "food-stamp challenge," which ends Sunday night, has given him new insight into the plight of the working poor and just how stressful and time-consuming it can be to lay in groceries that are nutritious, much less tasty.
The low-income diet, which commemorates Hunger Awareness Week, also may go down as one of his most successful publicity moves.
Kulongoski's decision to limit his food spending to $3 a day - a first for a U.S. governor - has been chronicled by CNN, ABC and CBS, along with local news media. A New York Times reporter was working on the story Friday.
"I never had any idea it was going to take off like this," Kulongoski said during a round-table assessment of the challenge. "I thought it was going to be one of those things that I would do and no one would notice."
Meant to call attention to the benefits of food stamps, Kulongoski's highly public shopping trip and open-book menu stoked an outpouring of response. Some praised him for making the effort to see what it's like to live on a shoestring budget. Others panned his choices, saying he was sending the wrong message about what kind of food to buy.
"He bought a number of foods I thought were very low in nutrition," said Linda Hendrickson of Southeast Portland, naming noodle soup and macaroni and cheese. "I really felt he could have benefited from some education about nutrition density."
Hendrickson said the governor should have bought bulk grains instead of processed and packaged foods. More than a dozen people who called or wrote The Oregonian after seeing a story about the governor's shopping trip to a Salem Fred Meyer had similar comments.
But Kulongoski and several others who attended Friday's roundtable discussion said it's not that easy. Often, the best foods are too expensive for someone making do on food stamps, and the affordable items tend to be high in fat and carbohydrates.
Normally, "I have to have fresh produce," said Lisa Wenzlick, who represents a group of Oregon churches that are battling the state's hunger problem. But Wenzlick, who also is sticking to the food-stamp budget this week, said she resorted to canned vegetables because they were cheaper.
Patty Whitney-Wise, director of the Hunger Relief Task Force, said her stomach hurt and her head went fuzzy because of the sudden diet change required by slicing her food budget. "I was hungry all the time, but I gained three pounds because of all those empty calories," she said.
Also attending the discussion was Christina Sigman-Davenport, a state employee who works in the food-stamp office and who has spent the past six months on food stamps because her husband lost his job. She was featured prominently in news stories about Kulongoski's food-stamp challenge because she accompanied him on his shopping trip and gave him advice on what to buy.
Many readers questioned how a state employee who makes more than $33,000 a year could qualify for food stamps. Sigman-Davenport said she qualified for temporary assistance because of her income level and her three children, including one who is disabled.
Asked if state workers are underpaid if they qualify for food stamps, Kulongoski said that's not the issue.
"This is a classic example of a two-parent family, who work hard, try to get ahead and achieve the American dream," Kulongoski said. "But sometimes fate deals you a very bad hand."
Kulongoski said he may try the challenge again next year and try to expand the number of people who take it. He doesn't necessarily look forward to it, however.
"It's been a surprise to me," he said, "how hard it is to do this."
New Appreciation for Working Poor
By Harry Esteve
The Oregonian
Saturday 28 April 2007
Food stamps - Gov. Ted Kulongoski gets the nation's attention by eating on $3 a day.
Salem - Midway through his pledge to eat for a week on a food-stamp budget, Gov. Ted Kulongoski found himself at dinner with his wife, Mary Oberst, facing a hot bowl of - something.
"I asked her what it was, and she called it chicken chowder," the governor said Friday. He ate it without complaint.
Kulongoski said the "food-stamp challenge," which ends Sunday night, has given him new insight into the plight of the working poor and just how stressful and time-consuming it can be to lay in groceries that are nutritious, much less tasty.
The low-income diet, which commemorates Hunger Awareness Week, also may go down as one of his most successful publicity moves.
Kulongoski's decision to limit his food spending to $3 a day - a first for a U.S. governor - has been chronicled by CNN, ABC and CBS, along with local news media. A New York Times reporter was working on the story Friday.
"I never had any idea it was going to take off like this," Kulongoski said during a round-table assessment of the challenge. "I thought it was going to be one of those things that I would do and no one would notice."
Meant to call attention to the benefits of food stamps, Kulongoski's highly public shopping trip and open-book menu stoked an outpouring of response. Some praised him for making the effort to see what it's like to live on a shoestring budget. Others panned his choices, saying he was sending the wrong message about what kind of food to buy.
"He bought a number of foods I thought were very low in nutrition," said Linda Hendrickson of Southeast Portland, naming noodle soup and macaroni and cheese. "I really felt he could have benefited from some education about nutrition density."
Hendrickson said the governor should have bought bulk grains instead of processed and packaged foods. More than a dozen people who called or wrote The Oregonian after seeing a story about the governor's shopping trip to a Salem Fred Meyer had similar comments.
But Kulongoski and several others who attended Friday's roundtable discussion said it's not that easy. Often, the best foods are too expensive for someone making do on food stamps, and the affordable items tend to be high in fat and carbohydrates.
Normally, "I have to have fresh produce," said Lisa Wenzlick, who represents a group of Oregon churches that are battling the state's hunger problem. But Wenzlick, who also is sticking to the food-stamp budget this week, said she resorted to canned vegetables because they were cheaper.
Patty Whitney-Wise, director of the Hunger Relief Task Force, said her stomach hurt and her head went fuzzy because of the sudden diet change required by slicing her food budget. "I was hungry all the time, but I gained three pounds because of all those empty calories," she said.
Also attending the discussion was Christina Sigman-Davenport, a state employee who works in the food-stamp office and who has spent the past six months on food stamps because her husband lost his job. She was featured prominently in news stories about Kulongoski's food-stamp challenge because she accompanied him on his shopping trip and gave him advice on what to buy.
Many readers questioned how a state employee who makes more than $33,000 a year could qualify for food stamps. Sigman-Davenport said she qualified for temporary assistance because of her income level and her three children, including one who is disabled.
Asked if state workers are underpaid if they qualify for food stamps, Kulongoski said that's not the issue.
"This is a classic example of a two-parent family, who work hard, try to get ahead and achieve the American dream," Kulongoski said. "But sometimes fate deals you a very bad hand."
Kulongoski said he may try the challenge again next year and try to expand the number of people who take it. He doesn't necessarily look forward to it, however.
"It's been a surprise to me," he said, "how hard it is to do this."
