April 23rd through 29th was designated by the Oregon Food Bank as Hunger Awareness Week. You may have noticed that our governor, Ted Kulongoski, made national news when he accepted the "Food Stamp Challenge" and encouraged others (especially government, religious, business and civic leaders) to join him in the experience of living on a food stamp budget for one week.

The food stamp challenge encouraged participants to see if they could make ends meet for one week on the average Oregon food stamp benefit, which currently amounts to $3 per person per day. Kulongoski stepped out of his usual routine by shopping for the week's groceries for himself and his wife, while being followed by reporters. The event generated all manner of discussion about the wisdom of the governor's choices, the cost of food, food stamp allotments and the issue of food insecurity.

Because I had just written an article with tips for budget-minded and healthy shopping, I figured I should take on the food stamp challenge myself. But rather than go to the store with $21 per person for the week, I decided to do some food-costing and figuring ahead of time and then plan meals for the week that would meet the $3 per day challenge. I didn't insist that family members follow along, but did plan the evening meals to fit my daily budget.

What did I learn? That $3 per day for food is do-able, but the initial stress of not going over the target was somewhat unsettling. I was amused that I tried to "protect" my daughter from feeling like she wouldn't get enough, while still letting her know that I was making an extra effort to keep costs low. I imagine this happens in families where food costs are minimal and that parents find ways to cope with the difficulties of not being able to provide "the best."

Was I able to "eat healthy?" Sure, but I came to realize that I may be defining "healthy" in a different way than others. I have since learned that shopping expert Phil Lempert completed an analysis of popular diets in 2004, revealing that it can be darned expensive to follow meal plans recommended by diet gurus. One day on the Atkins diet averaged $14.27, and a day on the South Beach diet averaged $12.78. Because "healthy" is often construed as the latest weight loss diet, now I understand better where people get confused.

Lempert also determined the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, finding it to average $6.22 per day. Created by the United States Department of Agriculture, the thrifty plan is not designed for weight loss, but to help budget-conscious consumers meet the nutritional recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. USDA estimated that meeting the plan in 2004 would cost $4.67 per day. Lempert said he shopped as wisely as possible, but went over the USDA allotment by $1.60 per day. As of February, the Thrifty Food Plan is estimated by USDA to cost $5.05 per day per person. That cost is what is used to help determine how much assistance a person or family might be given in the form of food stamps.

So, the $3 per day per person for the food stamp challenge is even less money than USDA expects the thriftiest person to be able to eat relatively well on. If you're curious, you can find two weeks of menus and some recipes to feed yourself and your family at the USDA Web site: www.

pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/

rec-thrifty/recipes.htm. I used the recipes to get me started on my week's efforts.

Another resource that I found extremely helpful is a book entitled "Cheap. Fast. Good." by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. The authors conducted what they called the Grand Cheap Experiment, keeping track of every penny they spent for a week to see what they'd be cooking if they toed what was the government's thrifty line at the time (2003). How they did it provides excellent ideas for trimming your food budget:

• Figure out how much you have to spend per meal. (For a woman my age, a day's thrifty food costs would be about $4.50.) Because dinner tends to be the most expensive meal, shift costs between meals for more realistic budgeting. (For example, 75 cents for breakfast, $1.75 for lunch and $2 for dinner.)

• They did not include dessert as a general rule. They did, however, include fruit and dairy servings as desserts. (Examples: apple crisp, pudding, fruit/yogurt parfait).

• Except for milk, they didn't spend money on beverages. It is easy to spend a large part of the food budget on drinks.

• They didn't buy condiments or special ingredients that weren't needed beyond a single recipe. In general, they advise that making recipes using common, everyday ingredients will be cheaper.

• Plan to eat all the food you prepare. If you have leftovers, take them for lunch the next day, incorporate them into another meal or freeze for later use.

• Combination foods (soups, skillet meals and casseroles) tend to be less expensive than stand-alone meats and side dishes. Including frozen vegetables provides a way to fill the belly without too many calories.

• Their most important tips to trim the food dollar? Plan ahead to cook and eat at home!

Carol Walsh is a Registered Dietitian and certified diabetes educator who provides nutrition counseling services at the Corvallis Clinic and Albany Family & Specialty Medicine.