Can Food Stamps Buy Organic?

"A few members of Congress have recently taken a challenge to see if they can subsist on $21 a week, the average amount a food stamp recipient receives.

Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo. -- co-sponsors of legislation that would add $4 billion annually to the $33 billion food stamp program that feeds 26 million low-income Americans -- challenged their colleagues to join them in trying to eat for just $1 a meal.

McGovern conceded it was a struggle. "No organic foods, no fresh vegetables, we were looking for the cheapest of everything," he said as a food stamp recipient helped him shop. "We got spaghetti and hamburger meat that was high in fat -- the fattiest meat on the shelf. I have high cholesterol and always try to get the leanest, but it's expensive. It's almost impossible to make healthy choices on a food stamp diet."

Is it?"

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