Photo: courtesy of Cory Booker on Flickr
Cory Booker has been mayor of Newark, New Jersey since 2006.
This week, Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker is living off the equivalent of what a single person in New Jersey receives in food stamps — about $4 a day.
Booker announced his challenge after engaging in a Twitter back and forth last month. He kicked off his week of eating on the cheap Tuesday to a flurry of media activity. A photo from Booker’s Flickr page shows the items he purchased include canned foods, apples, bagged lettuce and sweet potatoes.
While there are criticisms that the challenge is a publicity stunt, Booker argued there was a bigger purpose. He wants to “shine light on programs like this and dispel stereotypes that exist.”
You can track his progress on Twitter by following #SNAPChallenge.
Congress is considering $16 billion in cuts to food stamps, also called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Read More:
- Cory Booker’s Food Stamp Challenge Starts With A Grocery Bill (ABC News)
- Cory Booker’s Food Stamp Challenge (The Washington Post)
- Battle of the Budget: Cory Booker begins weeklong food stamp challenge (The Star-Ledger)
