Apparently being the mayor of New Jersey’s biggest city is a job that doesn’t pay well, as head honcho Cory Booker announced Saturday that he will live on food stamps for a week.
The promotion is part of a social media challenge made last month via Twitter by a woman in North Carolina, asking the mayor to live on food stamps for one week. Booker said he will spend $4 per day on food for the next week–roughly $28 for the entire week. Booker, a vegetarian, tweeted a receipt of items he purchased over the weekend from a local grocery store. Items included beans, corn and apples. The gregarious mayor has made it a point of sorts to often be at the center of social issues–he once lived in a dilapidated housing project in Newark in order to call attention to unsafe and inadequate housing in the Brick City.
“I want to raise awareness about food insecurity and removing the stigma of [participating in social service programs],” Booker said in a release.
However, some Newarkers and others are not impressed by Booker’s food stamp challenge. One blogger posted, “No offense, but this is a joke! One week … try one month, working full-time and feeding three kids!”
Another blogger posted, “How did he get approved for food stamps so quickly? Most needy people have to wait for weeks and sometimes months to get approved.”
Finally, one Newarker said, “He [probably] has his cronies bringing him sandwiches!”