Reflect on Food Shopping
- How did your shopping experience on a food stamp budget compare to a typical food shopping experience?
- Did you shop at your normal grocery store?
- Were you surprised by the prices of any foods you bought/chose not to buy?
- Did you take advantage of sales/coupons?
- What, if any, are some favorite foods you had to leave off your shopping list this week?
- How did what you purchased for the week differ from your usual grocery list?
- How closely did what you bought meet the MyPlate requirements (see Budget and Nutritional Information page)? How much did that differ from a typical week?
- Did you buy more or less of particular kinds of foods?
- Did you buy more generic items?
- Share a copy of your receipt
- How, if at all, was your food preparation different this week from a typical week?
- Does it take more or less time preparing meals? Conventional cooking or microwave?
- Are your meals simpler or more complex than a typical week?
- How is the experience of planning meals on a food stamp budget? How is it trying to meet the MyPlate requirements (see Budget and Nutritional Information page)?
- Share a photo of a meal you prepared
- Share a successful recipe
- Were you able to stick to the budget?
- Have there been food temptations this week?
- In what situations do you find sticking to the food stamp budget difficult?
- Have you been able to eat out this week? If so, how did this affect your food budget?
- Have you found creative ways to stick to your budget?
- Share strategies for coping with food temptations
- How has participating in the Challenge supported or changed your perceptions of food stamp participants in your community?
- What are some of the challenges faced by low-budget shoppers?
- What are some additional challenges to low-budget shoppers looking to buy healthy food?
- What are some important differences between participating in the week-long Challenge and living on a food stamp budget long term?
- Do you think $23 per week is enough? Why or why not?
- What have you learned through participation in the Food Stamp Challenge?
- What surprised you the most during the Challenge?
- If you had to spend another week on a food stamp budget, how would it affect you, what would you do differently?
- How easy or difficult was it to meet the budget requirements? How easy or difficult was it to meet the MyPlate recommendations while sticking to that budget (see Budget and Nutritional Information page)?
