Celebrity chef Mario Batali • Discussing the diet he’s currently on — he’s eating like he’s on food stamps (an average of $1.48 per meal, or $31 per week) in protest of potential cuts to the federal food stamps program. His family was nice enough to join him in what he calls a conversation starter about being hungry in the U.S. Unlike most people on food stamps, he knows ways to make the best of a bad situation, smartly sticking to foods like lentils, apples, rice, beans, peanut butter and jelly. But the problem is, eating good on a diet like this is tough, so many do not. Think his family’s experiment will be effective? (via shortformblog)

I think this is the key argument for those who think that poor people could eat better if they just tried harder. This guy prepares food for a living and he still cannot manage to do this without feeling like he’s going hungry. This is a problem.

(via killsmedead)

Thanks for posting this. I work for a food bank and I really don’t like these types of temporary challenges, because they’re exactly that: temporary challenges. It’s almost like a game. Batali doesn’t have to worry about making rent on disability payments or working a job that doesn’t pay all his bills. He doesn’t have to choose between food and medication, like a lot of our elderly have to. He isn’t one financial crisis away from losing everything.

Cuts to programs like SNAP are devastating, and while I’m encouraged to see high-profile people drawing attention to the issue, it’s not a game. It’s not an experiment. It’s real-life for far too many families in the U.S. If Batali had to actually live like many food-stamp recipients actually live, I wonder if he would be making as many “smart choices”.