Living on less than $18.00 a day for a family of four is insanely difficult alone, but now add living healthy on $18.00 a day and it becomes near impossible. This is the challenge families on food stamps are confronted with daily. In 2006 impoverished states such as Alabama, West Virginia and Louisiana have had growing rates of obesity. For example in 2006 Mississippi was the first state to have 30% obesity among its population according to WebMd.com. USA Today reports five of the poorest states were in the top ten most obese states (Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia and Alabama) showing a direct link between income and obesity. USA Today also explains, poverty areas are generally unsafe, have few grocery stores which offer fruits and vegetables, and many housing developments in these areas are not built with sidewalks for exercise. All of these contribute to the obesity epidemic.



The average family of four can get up to $542.00 a month in food stamp assistance according to fns.usda.gov. While this may seem like a lot, when looked at over a 30 day period, this amount breaks down to about $18.00 a day to split between four people. Living on this strict budge is only made more difficult when trying to buy healthy items at the grocery store.

The typical American family of four spends roughly $600.00 per month on food and more if the foods are organic, low fat, soy based or trans fat free. For an impoverished family, they need to stay within their allotted amount, and this means buying less healthy items and buying in bulk. For example, Ramen noodles are about ten cents a package which means a child can have one a day for a month for around $3.00. However not all that glitters is gold, one package of Ramen is equal to two servings. Each serving has 194 calories in it and 1960 mg of sodium (82% of our daily value). Many food stamp shoppers also shy away from buying fresh product because if not eaten right away it can go bad which means wasted money. So instead they buy fruit snacks packed with sugar, pasta, rice, tacos and greasy chips. These are all things which can be bough for cheap and on a food stamp program, however it is not helping the family to be healthy.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and his wife decided to raise awareness about hunger and poverty. So they tried living on $21.00 a week (the food stamp budget in Oregon for a family of two). The governor was in for a rude awaking. Gone were his organic foods, Swiss cheese, and lunchtime favorite Progresso low sodium soups. He would learn to make do with some cheap junk foods such as Cup O'Noodle, generic peanut butter and a half of banana. Workers from the Department of Health and Human Services offered him strategy, buy cheap staples such as Ramen, Cup O'Noodle, macaroni and cheese, beans and rice. All of these choices lacked nutritional value.

The Federal Nutrition Assistance Program brings nutritional education and a helpful diet for those on food stamps but it does not give more money to families to buy healthier products all it does is educate them which will hopefully help them make better nutritional choices. Dietary changes in schools have made it possible for children of low income families to at least get one healthy meal a day (lunch) and for those who qualify two healthy meals (breakfast and lunch), while they are at school.

The obesity epidemic is out of control as is the poverty level. It is difficult to fix one without fixing the other. Each problem also snowballs into other problems such as healthcare costs, disability cases, and unemployment. Obesity is not just one problem requiring a solution, it is a whole mess of problems which need multiple solutions.