Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein is not having a financial issue in her family, but she decided to cut her food budget and live the way American people with limited resources are eating from day to day. Also preparing menus for the whole week, Margaret's husband, Simon Klein, participates in SNAP challenge like many others in the Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin, Illinois.
Cutting down the budget to $8.88 per day, the couple has no problem in combining their regular favorite dishes to the new recipes. Mrs. Klein has diabetes type 2 and she has to carefully choose the ingredients in her diet.
Her synagogue members, who also join her in the challenge, are participating in a discussion about food insecurity where many Americans with low-income are facing on each day. For the whole week, Klein and everyone in the synagogue family will challenge themselves with the cheap yet healthy choices of foods. During meetings, Mrs. Klein does not usually eat with the members as her diabetic restriction requires her to feed on home cooked meals.
The Rabbi who blogs regularly on her website theenergizerrabbi.org said that this challenge is not even close to a game - it's actually a respect on Passover Seder ancient invitation, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." However, not all Jewish community and Americans may have the heart to 'open their doors'. She explained that her congregation will conduct dinner for the public on April 23 - encouraging people to reserve a place for the occasion.
SNAP is not a new trend as many celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and communities have also taken their part in the challenge - living a life with food stamps. The idea is to encourage people from spending less on foods but still manage to live healthily. The challenge has created viral supports including tips and tricks to a successful well-balanced diet by planning days ahead, tracking the expenses and sharing them publicly by utilizing social media platforms.
