Going Gourmet on a Food Stamp Budget

We've talked before about the "Food Stamp Challenge," wherein students, Congressmen and others attempt to live on the average food stamp benefit for a week or a month. It's more popular than ever for some of the 88 percent of Americans not on food stamps who want to know how the 12 percent who do receive food stamps live. (That's a whopping 38 million people in all, with 12 million of them joining the ranks in just the past two years.) Last week the Associated Press asked some noted foodies to give the challenge a shot, with the added conceit of cooking up delicious gourmet meals for under $70 a week.

$68.88 is the average benefit per week for a family of four. Food stamps are only meant to supplement a family's budget, hence the official name of the program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Many people rely on them for all or almost all of their food, however. Recipients, collectively, often come under attack. Should recipients be fingerprinted to avoid fraud? (No.) Should food stamps go to college students? (Yes.) Should they go toward organic food? (Yes.) As fellow blogger Megan Cottrell wrote recently, "We get angry with people who buy soda and chips with their food stamps. We get angry with those who buy organic produce. The bottom line is, we're uncomfortable talking about poverty."

Of course, just because innovative, healthful cooking on food stamps can be done by experts doesn't mean it should be expected from the average family. Families are busy, short on time, include picky eaters, have never been taught cooking techniques and so on. Then again, if one can't find work, there's plenty more time for cooking. Here's how the professionals fared:

Bill Telepan of Telepan restaurant in New York, which offers a $75 five-course tasting menu, wanted to stick with the sustainable philosophy from his restaurant; that meant organic ingredients and from-scratch cooking. He spent $31 on produce alone and let himself go $20 over budget. He produced a roast chicken dinner that became a chicken salad for the next day's lunch. Ziti with broccoli became ziti with meatballs.

Anna Last, editor of Everyday Food magazine, made chili garlic chicken legs and utilized special ingredients like buttermilk and andoiuille sausage sparingly. She said all leftovers should be used at the end of the week in a "kitchen sink stew." Last got 14 pounds of meat for $22.

Jose Garces, a Food Network Iron Chef and James Beard award-winner, relied heavily on spices, like adding paprika to roasted chicken and chipotle pepper to meatloaf. He suggests heading the library to find ethnic cookbooks. He spent $23 on meat including chorizo and bacon. Another $18 went to flavor-enhancers like roasted peppers and maple syrup.

The consensus: avoid processed foods, use leftovers in creative ways, don't overeat, no dessert, rely on chicken and spices. Is this realistic? Inspiring? Condescending?

Photo credit: freeloosedirt