Tomorrow marks the start of my participating in the Hunger Free Vermont Hunger Challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to see what it is like to have to live on a Food Stamp budget.   For one person (my husband and daughter are not participating) I have $36.00 to spend for the week.  So far I have spent $13.00. I feel good about that knowing that I have not spent it all.

I have been obsessed with this and thinking about this for months now.  While the 'official' challenge runs from November 17 - 23rd, I am doing the Hunger Challenge with some of my graduate students from November 7 - 11.  I am currently teaching a graduate course at UMass Lowell called Promoting Healthy Lifesteyles Among Students and I have given my students the choice of assignments this week, one of which is the Hunger Challenge. So far, four have stepped up to the plate.

My one fear is being deprived of food. I am a very active person and eat quite a bit of food to keep my energy levels up. While I have never been on a 'diet', I feel as though this is what is about to happen to me tomorrow. It cannot be that bad, can it?

I have spent weeks outlining and costing out foods in bulk at our local grocery store, Healthy Living.

My main mission is to see how I can do this and still eat healthy foods. Stay tuned for more information and pictures.