Could you survive on just $4 per day without going hungry? Experience what life can be like for millions of low-income Americans who receive SNAP benefits.
Take FRAC’s SNAP Challenge!
Most participants take the Challenge for one week and discover they have to make difficult food shopping choices, and often realize how difficult it is to afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy. While living on a SNAP budget for just a week cannot come close to the challenges encountered by low-income families week after week and month after month, it does provide those who take the Challenge with a new perspective and greater understanding.
For the past 10 years, FRAC has supported and fostered SNAP Challenges to help educate the public and opinion leaders about the important role SNAP plays in mitigating hunger and poverty — and the need to strengthen the program so beneficiaries can afford enough food for their health and well-being.
The Challenge first captured public attention in 2006 when FRAC allies in Philadelphia hosted one, followed by groups in Wichita, Kansas.
The Challenge took the national stage in 2007 when four Members of Congress — Representatives James McGovern (D-Mass.), Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) — pledged to live for one week on an average SNAP budget and blogged about their experiences.
Since then, hundreds — if not thousands — of people have taken the Challenge, including Members of Congress, governors, state legislators, mayors, celebrities, religious and community leaders, reporters, and average citizens.
Now you can too…
SNAP Challenge Toolkit
Includes Challenge guidelines, registration hints, host event ideas, media planning information, and more.
Recent Publications & Data
See More Resources- Report
School meals are an important tool for combatting childhood food insecurity, yet far too many children missed out on the nutrition they need for their health and learning with the expiration of the pandemic-era nationwide waivers that allowed schools to offer school meals to all students at no charge, according to FRAC’s latest report. Learn more in The Reach of School Breakfast and Lunch During the 2022–2023 School Year.
Read the report - Fact Sheet
Congress must adhere to bipartisan and public support to preserve consumer choice for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the FY 2024 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, the upcoming Farm Bill, and any other legislative vehicles. Learn more about preserving consumer choice in SNAP in FRAC’s latest-one pager.
Read the fact sheet - Report
School lunch participation in the five states that implemented Healthy School Meals for All policies during the 2022–2023 school year increased compared to prepandemic participation levels. Learn more in FRAC’s latest report, The State of Healthy School Meals for All: California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont Lead the Way.
Read the report - Fact Sheet
The bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to update the Thrifty Food Plan. The resulting update in 2021 was the first in the plan’s history and led to a necessary and long overdue increase in SNAP benefits. Learn why the Thrifty Food Plan adjustment should be protected from efforts to eliminate or weaken it in the 2024 Farm Bill and in other legislation in FRAC’s new one-pager, Continuing the Thrifty Food Plan Adjustment Is Good for Everyone.
Read the fact sheet
