Can You Feel My Pain?
April 19, 2015 2:09 PM - InsertSnappyNameHere
Have you heard of the Celebrity SNAP Challenge? Basically, one celebrity dares another celeb to, for a period of one week, live off of the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) budget for one person. The stated cause is to bring attention the difficulties faced by poor families and individuals affording healthy, fresh food options while limited to a SNAP budget. Many have praised the celebs for their attempts to highlight the struggle of the low income persons among us. Others have denounced the stars, claiming that they are engaging in "poverty tourism." What's your knee-jerk reaction to this? Do you give the celebs cheers or jeers? Why?
Now read this quick article about one celeb's experience with the SNAP challenge.
http://tinyurl.com/oshd88c
Now that you've read it, are you inclined to change your answers to the questions above? Or did you find that the article strengthened your original position? Do you think that celebrities have some sort of moral duty to use their stardom to benefit the less fortunate?

Thanks for participating!

5 comments
April 19, 2015 5:06 PM - Deleted
The What
Someday this war is gonna end...
#1
April 19, 2015 5:28 PM - InsertSnappyNameHere
that is true for some folks, what.

will you answer the questions i posed above?
#2
April 19, 2015 6:06 PM - petebklyn
It could turn it into some 'fun' reality tv show and then miss its intention. Also if not more accurate with actual numbers - can turn people off. The challenge in the write up is not maximum benefit. The amount of food stamps you receive is based on income....and the food stamps are supposed to supplement what you are paying in cash. Not the same thing as the food stamps are all you have to purchase food.
#3
April 19, 2015 8:58 PM - ilovestoops
First, Paltrow's attempt was an embarrassment. she didn't take it seriously. if that's how celebs would do the challenge, it definitely wouldn't help. not sure it's a good idea in any case. the article suggested having celebs use their microphones to have those living with little, who could integrate all the issues of extreme poverty, tell the true stories.

Also, it would be a shame if the challenge got everyone to focus so narrowly on SNAP instead of overall problems and causes and ways to ameliorate the problems.
#4
April 20, 2015 8:49 AM - BoerumHillScott
I had a hard time reading the article, with the middle half going off topic and turning it into a general piece on the problems of being poor.
Not that the problems of the poor are not worth discussing, but as injected into the article it really made a mess of things.

After reading the article, I really don't have enough information about her intentions and the intentions of others to answer the questions.

My gut feeling before and after the article is that the SNAP program is a good one, and the amount it pays out to recipients is pretty close to an appropriate level, especially given the other factors Pete mentions.
#5