December 04, 2012
Could
you survive on thirty-one dollars and fifty centsper
week? During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, some of us
were forced to live for a few days with limited food supplies but
do we, as Americans, really know hunger?
To raise awareness about real hunger and
food scarcity, students in Dr. Robert Meyers psychology courses
took the challenge to only eat what they could purchase for $31.50
for the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Why $31.50? Because that
is how much is given to the almost 47 million who currently live on
food stamps in our country.
“It was hard,” commented Michael Batres.
Brooklyn Do reported that she had to live off of a lot of starches
such as pasta and rice to make her meals go farther. Rochelle
Guevara kept a photo journal of her eating experience, “I was able
to find some low cost chicken legs but otherwise I was eating a lot
of carbs.”
“I was very impressed with the number of
students who took part in the Challenge,” said Dr. Meyers. In the
wake of Hurricane Sandy, we have been discussing how fragile our
lives are and how easily they can be interrupted or destroyed.
Learning first hand what it means to get by on so little is a
valuable life experience that I am glad I was able to present to my
students. I hope they can take it with them and help to make
a difference in our society.”