Could you live on food stamps for a week?

Several members of Congress are seeing if they can to raise awareness about poor Americans. From May 15-21 four lawmakers are buying food based on the average food-stamp benefit, which is about $3 a day. They are blogging about the experience on the Congressional Food Stamp Challenge site.

Rep. James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, writes that the toughest obstacle he faces is attending fancy political dinners and ignoring the scrumptious food. During a National Immigration Forum event at the Mayflower Hotel, “I was extremely hungry. The hors d’oeuvres looked terrific — so did the red wine. I settled for a glass of tap water,” he writes.

Eventually his wife, Lisa, brought him an egg-and-cheese sandwich on a tortilla. “I ate it in three seconds (people looked at me as if I were crazy),” the congressman writes.

Lisa McGovern, who is also participating in the Food Stamp Challenge, writes that it is a “publicity stunt,” but with Americans inundated with so much information today, antipoverty advocates need to find new ways to cut through the clutter.

“As we all know, some people — far, far too many people — are already painfully aware too of the reality of hunger and living on $3 a day. But for others, an article or a challenge like this might help direct attention to this problem and create the understanding and will — both at the grassroots level and in Congress — to make better policy,” she writes.

The other lawmakers in the challenge are Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican from Missouri; Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Illinois; and Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio.

Do you think you could live on $3 a day for food? Will the Food Stamp Challenge raise awareness for antihunger efforts? Or is it just good public relations for the politicians? Click on the comments link just below this post to share your thoughts.