Eating on $4.44 | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When I read "SNAP Challenge: Could you eat on $4 a day?" (Tribune, May 20th), I thought: Yes, you can, and well.

I feed my family of three on $400 a month — $4.44 a day per person. We eat three filling and nutritious meals, with fresh or homemade snacks in between.

When we don't eat our homegrown and preserved fruits and vegetables, we buy organic ones (conventional store veggies are much cheaper and work, too). Some days we eat steak, but we also eat rice and beans. We eat nothing processed and have profoundly better health for it.

It's a choice. If you choose to buy low-grade, pre-made food items with no fiber or protein, you are going to be hungry and need more to eat, which will cost more.

If you take time to buy ingredients and cook whole foods, instead of microwave-ready meals, you can easily live on $4 a day in Utah. It just takes a little nutrition education, thrift, ingenuity and effort.

Seriously take this "challenge." You'll surprise yourself with what you can do.

Christina Hatch

Bountiful