Why Is Mario Batali on Food Stamps?

[Prism]

120. My food budget is $25 a person and we do just fine

I have mixed feelings on this topic, because I see a lot of DUers claim that no one could possibly eat healthfully on so little money. But that's untrue. I know it's untrue, because me and my boyfriend do it every single day. (Full disclosure: I can afford to spend more on food but don't out of frugality - trying to save for various reasons).

An average day for me, today for example.

Breakfast: Egg whites, a piece of toast, and milk/fruit smoothie.
Snacks: Mainly fruit today. An apple, banana, and orange.
Lunch: Lentils with red pepper and curry powder (it's kind of bizarrely delicious) and some cottage cheese
Dinner: Cauliflower/tofu indian dish with green beans and brown rice

For home snacks, we have some pop chips around that were 2/$4 at CVS and various Trader Joe's things you can get for $2 a bag. We're big fans of their Gorgonzola crackers, but I'm on a special work-out diet, so I prefer their multi-grain ones. We drink iced tea instead of soda (you can get 100 bags for super cheap). My one extravagance is coffee, but an $8 or $9 cheap can will last me about a month. We have chicken and fish in our weekly diet as well and cheap Pasta/Sauce from TJ's.

Now, in saying this, I am not for any kinds of cuts in any food stamp program whatsoever. In fact, I think it should be increased.

I'm just wondering what advantage I have that I can eat comfortably with delicious food on $50 a week for two people, but a lot of DUers think this is a total impossibility.

I understand the food island problem. I do live near a grocery store and a Trader Joe's.

But aside from that, why am I at odds with so many on this topic? I'm not talking about shoulds or shouldn'ts. I'm talking about cant's. It's said people can't live healthfully on little money.

Ok, but I do.