The Social Action Committee of Congregation Beth El of Bucks County is hosting a Snap Challenge as part of its current Poverty Awareness Campaign. The program challenges participants to eat well on $4.75 per day, the daily average amount Pennsylvanians receive from SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, formerly known as food stamps).
The program is designed to give participants a glimpse into some of the struggles faced by millions of low-income Americans who are trying to simultaneously avoid hunger, eat nutritious foods and stay healthy with limited resources. Participation in the SNAP Challenge is open to the entire community.
The challenge kicks off Saturday, April 24 with a dedicated Poverty Awareness Shabbat Service. The service will feature guest speaker Gwen Johnson, co-founder of Hemphill Community Center’s Black Sheep Brick Oven Bakery and Catering in Kentucky. She will share her personal experiences with food insecurity and her journey to help others facing ongoing poverty resulting from the steady downturn of the Appalachian coal industry.
Lower Makefield resident Felice Bernstein Weitz will also share her experience as a 30-year elementary school teacher in Philadelphia public schools serving a high poverty community. Her remarks will focus on how pervasive hunger impacts a child’s ability to learn and thrive.
Shabbat services will begin at 9:30 a.m. with guest speakers beginning at or before 10:30 a.m. Members of the community are invited to attend by visiting bethelyardley.org.
The week-long SNAP Challenge ends on Sunday, May 2 with a wrap-up discussion for participants to share experiences and insights and discuss further actions for fighting hunger in the community.
To learn more about the SNAP Challenge and sign up, visit snapchallenge.org. The site also contains resources about additional ways of helping to fight hunger in the region.
Call 215-493-1707 or email socialaction@bethelyardley.org for more on Congregation Beth El of Yardley.
