SNAP Challenge, Take 2

SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SNAP Challenge - Live for a week on the current assistance - Was $36 per person in DC, now $30.

I just completed my second SNAP challenge, $30 for a week of food.  I chose to do it again now, just after Thanksgiving, because of the cuts that SNAP faced at the beginning of November. The last time I did SNAP, I did it on $36 for the week. $6 may not sound like a lot, but this past week, I realized just how much that $6 was worth.

Bottom line, I was hungry. And it sucked, and I am angry. Not for me, because this was my challenge for just a week. I am angry because I am aware more than ever how many people in this country are hungry right now, and that Congress is to blame for it, and needs to restore that funding immediately. There was no human reason to cut that crucial assistance, and I challenge each that voted to cut SNAP to do the challenge for a week.

Since I had done the challenge before, I already had my plan of what to eat.  I don’t eat fast food, and I am mostly vegetarian, although I love bacon and a piece of steak on occasion, things that were definitely not on my shopping list last week. I also chose not to buy milk and cheese, for as much as I love them, they are expensive and could easily eat up half of my budget.

My list from the grocery store included half and half, coffee, chobani yogurt, fage, orange juice, bread, oatmeal, almonds, and luna bars.

My list from the farmers market included spinach, squash, onion, apples and eggs. I am so proud to support FreshFarms market in Dupont every Sunday. It is fresh organic produce and eggs at a reasonable price, and for every SNAP dollar, you get $2 in farmer market dollars.  That means even more now with the cuts. The soup I made from the market ingredients and the spinach I ate with eggs or in a smoothie was the best food I ate all week. Including vegetables in a SNAP budget is so important, and I am so thankful that FreshFarm understands that, too.

What can I say about the week? I started on Sunday after Thanksgiving, and I made it (barely) through Saturday. By Friday, I was pretty much out of food. That’s when that missing $6 reared its ugly head and I realized a luna bar and a chobani was all I had til the end of Saturday.

That’s when I got really mad. And that’s when I saw your tweet about the SNAP challenge, and here we are. I have gone back to spending about $50 at the grocery store, and thousands upon thousands are once again living on that next $30 for a week of food.

It’s wrong, and I hope that may more folks that do this challenge and talk about what it really is like. Then maybe it will become understood that it is imperative that Americans do not go hungry if there is anything can be done about it. And of course there is. Restore the funding to SNAP is the first thing.


* note - this was written upon being asked to share my reflections with DC Hunger Solutions, who works to create a hunger-free community and improve the well-being of low-income DC residents.

Suddenly Autumn

And so here we are, the Autumnal Equinox is upon us, and the weather is agreeing it's so.

I'm not sure when I fell in love with Fall, I used to hate it. The shorter days, those first cold winds that go right through you, lots of gray skies, depressing, right? Maybe it's climate change and I don't think winters are so dreary, maybe it's because Fall is just so beautiful in DC. If I were a tourist, I would come visit here NOW. These days into October remind me of what winters in Santa Barbara, CA where I went to college. Except it just stayed like that into Spring, without those harsh January/February days where everyone on the East Coast bails for warmer destinations. Remember that Bangles song - "Hazy Shade of Winter" - it was played at the beginning of the film, "Less than Zero" It takes place in LA over winter break. I was living there when it came out and the imagery of that song and those California winters are still my favorite. Those days, cold and night and in the morning, but clear days where you could stay in the sun and cling to that endless summer, or be in the shade and acknowledge the season in a sweater and boots. Alas, ultimately, DC could get another snowpocolypse and SB will not.

So with that in mind, the switching out of the wardrobe from Spring/Summer to Fall/Winter commences. I did mine yesterday, with the Skins on tv, the first squash-apple soup of the season on the stove, deep breathing throughout. As I live in a really tiny apartment - not complaining, love it - the closet space is, well, limited. So you take a former dress shop owner with over 100 dresses, and all the other clothing that takes up space, jackets especially, well, you can see why I've now added, have become an expert on small space wardrobing. I laugh now to think of my now sold condo in Rhode Island and its expansive closets, and additional storage space. I have about 1/4 of the space I once had, which means I have consigned, donated to charity, or given to friends more than 1/2 of my wardrobe, while my remaining exists in the closet, 2 dress bags under the bed, and a large plastic tote, that's it. And I love it. It's incredibly freeing to only own what you love, what you know looks great on you. There's simply no room for anything that doesn't.

dreamy closets...

closer to reality in a DC apartment...

So my closet is done, what about yours? Need help? I love doing closets, and now that mine is done, I can draw my attention to yours. 3 hours max, it usually takes closer to 2. Basically, we go through your wardrobe, keep what's great, donate/consign what doesn't, and make a list to get to update and go with what's staying. And of course you get my impeccable style advice. Don't worry, I'm not expensive, and I don't want to change your style, I just love to see it elevated, refined. It's fun, I promise. 

In the meantime, so looking forward to seeing the DC street style in the next few weeks. I'm still seeing some flip flops, which truly does kill me a little bit, but alas, I remain optimistic that the ladies will step it up. It's the gentlemen in DC I'm noticing are already looking sharp and in their Fall attire - less khaki, more dress pants, great jackets, and gasp, suits. Thank you, gentlemen. And Happy Fall! 

The March on Washington, 50 years later...

It is moments like this that I am especially glad that I live in Washington, DC.

This coming Wednesday, August 28th, is the 50th Anniversary of The March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, the most iconic moment to have evolved from that day, is an image that I hope every American sees, as it was truly a moment to dream of what could be in this country of ours. Although his speech is especially remembered as a comment on race, the March itself was far more encompassing. People marched for Jobs and Freedom as the title says, but also for voting rights, for dignity, for the end of Jim Crow, and yes, for DC Statehood.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be a part of the commemoration of that March, on the same land that 50 years ago, America had a dream. The dream is still a work in progress, for sure. But what I saw yesterday was the very best and most intense moment I have had in a long time that left me overwhelmed by hope. And I believe that hope is a crucial component to the dream becoming real.

For a reminder of what hope is...

Definition of HOPE

intransitive verb

1

: to cherish a desire with anticipation <hopes for a promotion>

2

archaic : trust

transitive verb

1

: to desire with expectation of obtainment

2

: to expect with confidence : trust

It really is a fantastic word, isn't it? 

Waking up yesterday morning, even going to bed Friday night, I was feeling a palpable buzz in the city. After a rainy Friday, the sun made a spectacular appearance for sunset, and the air cooled and dried of humidity. Waking up to the air coming in through open windows on Saturday morning, I had that great feeling when you get when you just know it's going to be a good day.

I had wanted to begin my day at the DC Statehood rally at the DC War Memorial on the Mall before going to the events and speeches at the Lincoln. But alas, Saturday was a required work day for me so I had to figure out a different plan.  Having looked at the schedule, it looked like the Lincoln part of the program would be over by 3 so I could go for a few hours leading up to that, and that's what I did.

By the time I got to the Mall at about 12:30 (SO thankful that Capital Bikeshare had bikes and spaces available where and when I needed them!) people were coming in the opposite direction, and I was so worried that I had missed it, and that the March had left the Lincoln earlier than I had planned. But alas, as I made my way across the Mall towards the Lincoln, I saw that I was right on time...

As I was on my own, I wandered through the crowd intensely present and observing it all. I was so struck by the thousands of people gathered and the t shirts and signs that most clearly said why they were there. And it was voting, and dignity, and the end to the new Jim Crow, and jobs and freedom, and equality and yes, DC Statehood.

  

As I wandered towards the Lincoln, I was struck by not just the sheer number of people, but how many types of people were there. I saw every age and color, men and women, thousands and thousands of them, all having made the effort to come be part of this moment. And although their specific causes may have differed, it was overwhelming to see so many people gathered in support of what the 1963 March on Washington meant to them, and the hope that they all still have that the causes are still worth marching for.

As I walked and realized this all, listening to the speeches over the loudspeakers, I saw that people were smiling at me, as I pardoned myself past in the very crowded paths and meandered my way closer to the Lincoln. I realized that I was smiling as I walked through, and folks were smiling back. Such a simple act really, but it was that interaction that made me feel very much a part of where I was and what I was experiencing was an amazing sense of community on a pretty profound level.

By the time I made it to the Lincoln, Bernice King was speaking. In the spirit of her father, she spoke about unity and equality and dignity and asked us all to join hands. And we did, my left hand clasped in the hand of an elder black man, my right clasped in the hand of a younger black man. And we prayed for hope and that the dream would be fulfilled. And the older man hugged me and I hugged the younger one, and the event was over in advance of the March. 

I continued on my way, as it was time to go back to work, so content that I had come to witness this wonderful moment, and with a truly renewed sense of hope that the dream will be fulfilled by me and all those people just like me on the Mall.

Voting Rights Victory in Arizona and for All

As the 10 am hour came and went this morning, upwards of 30,000 people followed scotusblog.com to find out what opinions the Court had rendered. As we speed towards the end of June, truly important cases and issues lie in the balance and that includes Shelby v Holder.

But alas, and nearly amazingly, after 4 opinions were read this morning, the final one was Arizona v ITCA! And as Justice Scalia stated that federal law preempts Arizona's proof of citizenship requirement,  we who support access for all Americans to the vote had a victory in the first of the two voting rights cases the Justices are considering this term.

The funny thing is, in Arizona, this is a BIG deal, and has been the hot issue there for months. Perception among people outside of Arizona though, not so much. A reaction along the lines of, it's not a big deal. That kind of pisses me off. It is a big deal to all the people is has easily enabled to register to vote, and to people like me who were there advocating for its passage as Bill Clinton became our President.

In 1993, the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) was passed in Congress. NVRA is more commonly known as "Motor Voter" and its intent was to make it easier for people to register to vote. That's always a good thing, you know, helping people access democracy and their civil rights and such. And what a great idea to be able to register to vote when you get a drivers license. I will in fact be doing that tomorrow, when I surrender my Rhode Island license and get my DC license (and lose my voting rights and be taxed without representation, but that's another post altogether!) Fill out a form, check the box that asks if you would like to register to vote and WHAM! You are a voting member of our democracy! It was cool when I was 23 working on it, it's still a great addition to the voting process 20 years later.

Ah, but Arizona. Arizona wanted to impose its own regulations to the NVRA, and today SCOTUS said they could not. Phew. This gives the responsibility of the U.S. Congress to control the voter registration laws of our country, and states must yield to those laws.

I could go on and analyze this for you, but of course it was done hours ago by many. I direct you to Lyle Denniston, who has been writing on the Supreme Court for 55 years here. Yes, 55 years. He knows his stuff, I am a fan. http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/06/opinion-recap-one-hand-giveth/ 

So it was a good Monday in DC. Next opportunity to get the Shelby v Holder opinion will be Thursday morning at 10 am. Stay tuned...

Spring has so sprung in DC!

Ok, so it is FINALLY Springtime in DC in all of its glory! All of a sudden (haha) in the past few days, everything just popped, and it is beautiful.

I have been so busy enjoying the fabulousness, that I have neglected writing, so I'm going to cheat a little bit, and let the pictures I can't stop taking, bring you into Springtime, too. Wherever you are...