WHAT IS THE SNAP CHALLENGE?

With the meager food budget, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients are allowed, they’re often forced to make difficult choices by forgoing nutritional value and buying cheap, processed foods.

These choices become more difficult when SNAP recipients are responsible for feeding other members of their household like children, seniors, or those with disabilities or diet-related illnesses.

The SNAP Challenge was developed by the Food Research & Action Center to show food-secure people the realities of what living off of SNAP benefits is actually like.

WHOLESOME WAVE GEORGIA’S SNAP CHALLENGE

Two University of Georgia (UGA) students — who were not SNAP recipients — were given a typical SNAP budget of $6.70 per person per day to spend on food for five days straight ($33.50 total).

Emmie Harvard doubled her budget for fresh fruits and vegetables at Athens Farmers Market through our Fresh For Less program. She spent her remaining budget on shelf-stable goods at the grocery store.
Peyton Walker spent her grocery budget on cheap, processed foods from grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores — the typical food outlets most shopped at by SNAP recipients.

Both participants documented their journeys on Wholesome Wave Georgia’s social media from December 1st to 5th, 2020.

By recruiting two UGA students to participate in the SNAP Challenge, Wholesome Wave Georgia shone a light on the struggles many college students face with buying fresh, healthy food on a limited budget.

MEET OUR PARTICIPANTS

GET TO KNOW EMMIE AND PEYTON IN UGA’S THE RED & BLACK

PEYTON WALKER

Peyton is a UGA sophomore and the Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.

A bunch of fresh options were harder to get because those foods are more expensive than frozen foods. Making that tradeoff was kind of eye-opening honestly.

— Peyton Walker

EMMIE HARVARD

Emmie is a UGA senior, member of UGA’s Talking Dog production team, and an avid veggie lover.

[This challenge] has made me realize that we should really try harder to feed our neighbors and find ways to help other people become aware of [SNAP] benefits.

— Emmie Harvard

NUTRITIONAL VALUE COMPARISONS

$6.70/Day Food Budget (Includes Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)