November 18, 2012
Cory Booker Bets Twitter Follower to Live Off Food Stamps For a Week
For a public figure, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark is an uncommonly responsive tweeter. He banters with constituents and engages his followers in good-natured debates. (In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, he even scored city residents some free Hot Pockets after a humorous exchange with a city resident.)
Last night, though, he got into a back and forth with a man about the role of government. Booker tweeted that economic inequality was dangerous for the long-term health of societies, but another tweeter accused Booker of advocating for wealth redistribution.
“Nutrition is not a responsibility of the government,” the tweeter, whose handle is TwitWit, said. “We have a shared responsibility that kids go to school nutritionally ready 2 learn,” Booker responded.
And then this happened:
Lets you and I try to live on food stamps in New Jersey (high cost of living) and feed a family for a week or month. U game?@mwadenc
– Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 19, 2012
Great. Lets do this. I hope you live in New Jersey. Lets film it and see how we do. RT @mwadenc sure, Mayor, I’m game.
– Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 19, 2012
.@mwadenc We will have to get a referee – DM me your number so we can see if we can work out details.
– Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 19, 2012
The University of Bridgeport offered to play referee in this challenge, and laid out some ground rules.
3. During the Challenge, only eat food that you purchase for the project. Do not eat food that you already own (this does not include spices and condiments).
4. Avoid accepting free food from friends, family, or at work, including at receptions, briefings, or other events where food is served.
5. Keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week.
6. Take a photo of all food purchased for the week.
7. During the week post your thoughts here or on instagram, twitter and waywire using the hashtag, #UBSNAP
What do you think about Booker’s statements? And do you think you could survive on $35 of food expense per week?