Quote: "A hungry man can't see right or wrong. He just sees food.' -- Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

Pendleton, Indiana – According to a story in the New York Times published in May of this year, over 36 Americans, with includes 40% of the children in the U.S., rely on Food Stamps for the daily survival. It also stated that, because the current economic conditions, these numbers are growing at a rate of some 20,000 people a day.

Recently, under the guidance of the Pendleton Community Library in Pendleton, Indiana, 5 people spent a week living on the average food allowance Food Stamp recipients receive under this Federal program. I spoke with two of the people who undertook this challenge, Lynn Hobbs, Director of the Pendleton Community Library, and Tyler Gough, also with the Pendleton Community Library, about their reflections of what just one week living on a program such as this is like.