: 1180036428

Eric Gioia’s week-long hiatus into the life of those relegated to Food Stamp dependency is over. So what does he have to show for it?

How about being hungry and still gaining two pounds in a week.

That, in addition to fatigue and headaches, is what the Sunnyside Councilman endured through his “Food Stamp Challenge.” From May 10 to 17, Gioia lived on a $28 budget in an attempt to expose the deficiencies of the program and the devastating results potential cuts to the Farm Bill would render to the Food Stamps program. Gioia in turn quipped that more should be invested into feeding the hungry.

“[Those] seven days of my life [were] incredibly difficult,” Gioia said in a statement. “I didn’t have enough to eat, I felt tired, had headaches and for the first time in my life felt true pangs of hunger in my belly.”

Gioia’s diet consisted of low-end, unhealthy food products. He axed his coffee fervor, gulped tap water and lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or grilled cheese melts for lunch. Pasta and tuna were served up at the dinner bell and Gioia last week visited a food pantry because his cupboards were nearly barren before the week was through.

“The sad fact is that there are children in our city who will go to sleep tonight without enough to eat,” he said. “We must act now to end the scourge of hunger. By fixing this problem, we will change lives, improve our city and stay true to the values that make us who we are as New Yorkers and Americans.”

Gioia stressed the physical ramifications – heart disease, diabetes and fatigue, along with a plethora of other problems – go along with having to make diet decisions based strictly on fiscal limitations. The health effects saddle children in the long run, he said.

“As tough as this week has been for me, the sad fact is that it was nothing compared with what over 1.1 million New Yorkers face every day,” he said. “Far too many New Yorkers make impossible choices among health care for their children, paying their rent or putting food on the table on a daily basis.”

Gioia wasn’t the lone politician making a statement by living the Food Stamp lifestyle. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski also participated and lived a $3-per-day budget. U.S. Reps Jim McGovern (D-Mass) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo) also stepped into the shoes of the poor.

“The problem is we’ve just been reducing the money and the eligibility rolls of those who can get Food Stamps,” said Kulongoski, who lived in a home for boys as a child. “At the same time, those on Food Stamps are getting less.”

“All of us in Congress live pretty good lives,” McGovern, who lived on the equivalent of $1-per-meal, told the Washington Post. “We don’t have to wake up worrying about the next meal. But there are a lot of Americans who do. I think it’s wrong.”

Gioia ended the challenge with a lunch meeting with U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) in Washington, DC where he urged the Congressman to vote for increased Food Stamp benefits. He also met with U.S. Reps Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) and Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica), and an aide to Senator Hilary Clinton. When Gioia returned from Washington, he was greeted with a chicken cutlets and salad dinner prepared by his sister in Woodside. However, Gioia won’t soon forget what his week-long experiment taught him, and he urged that it doesn’t slip the minds of anyone else, either.

“Millions of New Yorkers will be relegated to unhealthier lifestyles, subject to diabetes, obesity and a host of other health issues,” he said. “Their lives will be shorter and less healthy, and the city will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in avoidable long-term health costs.”