Amanda Thompson had some trepidation about being involved with the Humanity House SNAP Challenge — pretending her family receives financial assistance to buy food in July, and thus must spend only a certain amount for the month.
First of all, her family of five must spend no more than $738 for the month.
“It sounds like a lot,” she said. “When I first heard about it, I thought, well this would be easy.”
But the $738 accounts for all food spending, and Thompson and her family — fiance Chris Belknap and their three children, ages 10, 8 and 5 — travel a lot during the summer. Thompson is a math instructor at Iola High School; Belknap is a buyer technician at Gates Corporation.
Traveling, of course, leads to meal or drink stops.
“We usually go out to eat, stop at a gas station and grab drinks while we’re traveling,” Thompson said. “We won’t do any of that this month. Convenience stores are off limits.”
That requires planning ahead, she continued, by packing coolers with snacks and drinks.
And her youngest child, at 5, is far and away the family’s most picky eater, adding another layer to Thompson’s challenge.
“We usually wound up making two meals, one for him, and one for the rest of us,” Thompson said. “We won’t be able to do that.”
And while her two older children aren’t nearly as finicky, Thompson’s oldest daughter has one no-go on her menu: beans.
“That removes a pretty big staple, like beans and rice,” Thompson said.
THE FAMILY’S first trip to the grocery store last weekend went as well as could be expected.
Thompson gave her youngest child a Kindle game tablet to keep him occupied while she shopped.
“We just sat him in the cart with the Kindle, so he didn’t ask for anything,” she said with a laugh. “It made it easier.”
