Montgomery Community Media

It’s SNAP Challenge week. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called Food Stamps. I—along with professionals and individuals from Maryland, DC, and Virginia—am attempting to shop for my household for one week on $33. While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles Manna families […]

Guest host Susan Heltemes engages in a lightning round of discussion of several topics with the “21 This Week” panel. Topics included recognition of Ronald Reagan Day, the SNAP Challenge, and corporate sponsorship of Montgomery County Parks. Panelists Cynthia Rubenstein, Mark Uncapher, and Jerry Cave speak out on these topics. Take a look. The next […]

Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro met with the media on Feb. 11 for her weekly press briefing. Among the topics Navarro addressed were poverty in the county, the SNAP the silence challenge, the need for transportation funding dollars, the smoking bill, artificial turf, accessory apartments, Glenmont sector plan and more.

The recent SNAP The Silence Challenge brought on a range of emotions from particpants as well as observers. Some appreciated the effort to understand just how difficult it is to eat for less than $5 a day, while others were furious that ‘rich people’ were just going hungry for a week and not doing more […]

When strangers start acting like neighbors… communities are reinvigorated. ~ Ralph Nader This week was one of ups and downs, highs and lows but ultimately it was an amazing showing of people committed to building a community of people who are unafraid to show their empathy and determination to shine a light on poverty and […]

I was interviewed yesterday for the Segye Times, which is a Korean newspaper. The reporter was interested in the SNAP Challenge and couldn’t believe that in the U.S. there were people who go hungry every day. He was particularly interested in what I had to eat and wanted to take pictures of my lunch that […]

I know my experience this week is not comparable to many people who survive with the help of government assistance for food. However, there are bound to be some commonalities.  “The end of the month was really hard.” One of my friends shared that with me a few days ago as she remembered the time […]

Will the SNAP challenge really improve the plight of Montgomery County’s poor? MCM’s Merlyn Reineke ponders potential outcomes from this week’s activity:

I am on day four of five of the SNAP Challenge, eating with only $5. For breakfast, I had boiled eggs, toast and water. For lunch, I had tuna, carrots and water. For dinner, I will be having baked potatoes, carrots, and a can of chicken noodle soup. I really understand how difficult it is for low […]

MCM’s Merlyn Reineke talks about the challenges to eating healthy on only $5 a day, in today’s edition of his SNAP the Silence video blog.