U.S. Rep. Courtney spent less than $40 on the food he ate last week

In May, some 381,000 people in Connecticut were receiving federal food assistance, what we used to call food stamps but which is now known as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.

That's the final food safety net, and if you've finally run out of unemployment benefits, for instance, it might be one of the things that keeps real hunger at bay.

That statistic comes from the New London County Food Policy Council, a nonprofit consortium of institutions interested in nutrition and food health, like the region's hospitals.

Last week, the council, following the lead of similar organizations around the country, sponsored a challenge of sorts, suggesting people try living on the typical SNAP benefits, an average of $32.59 a week.

Part of the idea of this "SNAP Experience" is to increase awareness about poverty and hunger.

Judging from a blog the council has been keeping of remarks by participants, it's also a good way to hone your shopping and cooking skills.

Given the meager budget, I was surprised to see such appetizing choices listed by some bloggers as kale and cumin tuna on toasted bread for lunch or sweet potato and split pea shepherd's pie for dinner. One woman was proud of herself for scoring an organic chicken from Walmart for $3.20.

The council was lucky to enlist U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney as one of its Snap Experience participants. As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Courtney is part of the oversight of the SNAP program.

The Democrat might also likely have to come to its defense soon, when the budget ax really starts swinging in Washington.

When I caught up with Courtney last week he owned up to some cravings, but he said he's been coping, not really hungry. At the time we spoke early one afternoon he said he was munching on some carrot sticks.

Courtney was joined in the deprivation by his wife, Audrey, and their 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who took some of her new food lessons to school to share with classmates.

Courtney credited his wife's savvy shopping and cooking skills as one of the reasons he made it so well through the challenge. When he flew back to Washington after a weekend at home, she gave him a bundle of food ingredients for the week to take along on the plane.

But he said the quality of food definitely began to deteriorate when he left home.

One of the food highlights of the week, he said, was a black bean enchilada made with a can of 99-cent organic beans. They attended a family birthday party over the weekend and brought a contribution: a $1.19 bag of chips and brownies made from a box mix that cost 99 cents.

One of the moments of truth, Courtney said, came when he had to pass up some fresh Noank oysters while attending the opening of a new restaurant in Mystic, the Oyster Club.

One of the biggest lessons, he said, is that generic cereal is just as good as the name brands.

"I think our days of buying Cheerios is over," he said.

Spoken, I might add, like a congressman whose district produces submarines and not name brand cereal.

This is the opinion of David Collins