lawmaker, faith leaders try living on $4.50/day – like 1 in 7*

from patch: A total food budget of $4.50 a day may be tough to swallow, but Congresswoman Jackie Speier plans to try. Starting Monday, the Peninsula Democrat will begin a five-day challenge to live on a food stamp budget. Participants, including faith leaders, anti-poverty groups, students and eight members of Congress, hope the Food Stamp Challenge will instill empathy, which they say is especially critical with Congress considering deep cuts to the $64 billion federal program.