Traditional CEOs and chief executives can afford to eat just about anywhere, but one CEO is attempting to survive on no more than $4.50 a day, as part of a personal experiment to view how people on food stamps live.
Panera Bread Chief Executive Ron Shaich called the experiment, the SNAP challenge. An experiment which involves buying food using what families and food stamp recipients would receive on the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Shaich has been blogging about his experience on the career site LinkedIn
"I can't stop thinking about food," Shaich wrote on Tuesday. "You probably think I'm joking (or think that must be normal for me since I work for a food company after all), but I promise you it's not."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Shaich's experiment comes just in time, as the House of Representative are reportedly taking up the proposal of cutting $40 billion from SNAP over the next decade.
Shaich's challenge also comes during Hunger Action Month.
For his first week, Shaich did all his shopping on a $31.50 budget. He tried to eat as healthy as possible, but was ultimately forced to rely on carb-heavy foods because he was unable to afford fruits and vegetables.
"I was forced to choose foods that were filling -- items that my Italian mother-in-law would have said will 'stick to my ribs,'" he wrote. "But it isn't lost on me that I wasn't able to afford the fruits, vegetables and meats that most would say belong in a balanced diet."
Shaich is not alone in his challenge. Joining Shaich is Feeding America CEO Bob Aiken, who undertook a similar challenge last year, According to USA Today, Aiken only spent &29.78 for a week of food.
