Shira and Yoav Potash’s Food Stamped (2010) is an informative, but sliver of insight on the realities of what individuals who are on the SNAP program face. The nutritionist and her husband set out to see if they could live a week on an average food stamp budget and also incorporate many individuals from the public ‘s views and thoughts on the diet individuals have while being a part of this program and on healthy eating. The couple struggled to make a week’s worth of meals utilizing only a low budget of fifty dollars, all while incorporating their healthy eating diet. Watching this couple use themselves as an experiment to explore a healthy eating manner on a fixed budget was incredible to see because light was shed on the relation between food quality and their cost. This relation itself, affects the health and diet choices of many families in America.
My initial reaction to the film was that of a surprise being that there were many facets that affected the prices of certain food products which in turn, affect the selections that families make based on their financial budget. The consumption of a healthy diet is critical because individuals from low socioeconomic groups have a higher risk of diseases than individuals from higher socioeconomic groups who could afford these healthy diets (Rao, Afshin, Singh, & Mozaffarian, 2013). The price gap between healthy and organic food products such as dairy, vegetables, fruits, compared to unhealthy consumables such as snacks, fast foods, and sweets are a bit more than one might believe. An example of this shown in the film when Richard, who has Diabetes Type 2, is shopping on a budget of about $170, but purchases three cases of ramen noodles which he states, “has no nutritional value, but is cheap” (Potash & Potash, 2010). Growing up in a home that received food stamp benefits, this is something I understand all too well because the sad reality is that a we can get more food to feed the family purchasing ramen and processed meat compared to organic products that are more often than not, too expensive for a smaller amount.
The film did a decent job in touching on many public portrayals and societal beliefs that majority of food stamp recipients are of not white, when in actually it is by over 40%. I would have liked them to touch more on race because it does tie in with economic and health status in different communities. Being that I have lived in both communities of poverty and median class, it is incredibly easy to notice the differences such as the products that are available within the community that can help promote a healthy lifestyle. Just as the film showed, farm stores are on a rise and are coming into low income communities, which typically have corner stores with nonperishable foods and fast food locations as primary sources of food.
I enjoyed this film because it expanded my knowledge on a topic that I am familiar with due to personal experiences, but also because I learned a number of new things such as the history of the Food Stamps program, (Potash & Potash, 2010)
- Potash, S., & Potash, Y. (2010, October 09).
- Food Stamped | Full Movie | Movies on Cartoon HD. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from http://cartoonhd.online/food-stamped-full-movie-free-putlocker-353
- Rao, M., Afshin, A., Singh, G., & Mozaffarian, D. (2013, December 01). Do healthier foods and diet patterns cost more than less healthy options? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/12/e004277
- http://www.foodstamped.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/FPWF-Food-Stamped-Discussion-Guide.pdf
- http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Response-or-Reaction-Paper.
