According to the organizers of the Stanford Food Challenge, surviving on $3 a day is a reality that over 28 million Americans have to face, with federal food stamp payouts only covering $21 a week.

The Food Challenge, a week-long event that started Monday and culminates Friday with a dinner featuring hunger activist Norm Carroll, is meant to raise awareness of poverty and hunger in America. The event is led by the new student group Students Taking on Poverty (STOP) and co-sponsored by Stanford NAACP, Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO), Stanford Project on Hunger (SPOON), Stanford in Government (SIG) and Stanford Students for Relief (SSR).

For the challenge, students pledged to consume only $3 worth of food on Wednesday. Informational booths from the organizations involved as well as food for the participants were available at the entrance of Old Union. STOP Co-director Debbie Warshawsky ‘08 said that the food presented at the event reflected the poor nutritional options available to the poor, a problem which has contributed to the obesity epidemic among lower-income people.

According to Tommy Tobin ‘10, director of SPOON, an organization that provides food to homeless people in the area, the event also aimed to raise awareness about more nascent poverty activist groups on campus like STOP and galvanize the student population to get involved.

“We saw it as a great way to promote our organization and our goals while helping STOP out,” Tobin said. “So we are supplying some of the funding for the event and giving them some publicity.”

STOP co-director and Food Challenge coordinator Alyssa Battistoni ‘08 said that many Americans have misconceptions about America’s hunger issues.

“People think that America is the richest country in the world and hunger means that you’re in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Batistoni. “We don’t want to contest that that’s a very serious issue, but we also want to bring people’s attention to hunger here at home.”

According to Warshawsky, the food challenge is based on a similar event started by members of Congress last year in a bid to raise awareness of the plight of those relying on food stamps.

“We were really moved when we read about the many civic leaders and Congresspeople who participated in the Food Stamps Challenge last year,” Warshawsky said.