On the last night of their challenge, dinner consisted of boiled potatoes and grilled cheese sandwiches. Still, Rob and Robin Pollock offered thanks to God, as they always do before a meal: "Give us grateful hearts, our Father. For all thy mercies. And make us mindful of the needs of others."

Actually, the Pollocks were being especially mindful.

This past week the couple ate on a budget of $21 per person -- or the average weekly allowance for someone living on food stamps. The idea was to try to relate to the 26 million Americans -- including 854,407 in North Carolina -- who rely on food stamps year-round.

The Pollocks are among 15 middle-class people at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Raleigh who took on the one-week challenge. They are only the latest to do so.

In April, 85 members of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Ore., tried it. So did that state's governor. In May, four members of the U.S. Congress took it up.

Each had their reasons. Episcopalians are supporting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, chief among them halving extreme poverty. Others have taken the challenge as a way of advocating for increased food stamp benefits as Congress takes on rewriting the nation's farm bill, which pays for the program.

In all cases, participants say it has been a consciousness-raising experience.

"It's not right to say solidarity with the poor," said Eve Vitaglione, a member of St. Mark's who together with her husband, Tom, made do with oatmeal and peanut butter and jam sandwiches last week. "I don't think one week's experience is solidarity with the poor. But it's given me an awareness of what it's like to shop on $3 a day."

One of the first lessons the couples realized was that it took a lot of planning to stretch each dollar, and that bulking up on carbohydrates was the cheapest way to go.

The Pollocks, for example, figured out soy milk, which Robin likes to drink, was too expensive. So too that fresh tuna they love to grill and serve on a bed of lettuce. With their $42 ($21 for her, and $21 for him), they went to Food Lion and stocked up on potatoes, bread, canned tuna and prepackaged pasta mixes -- the most inexpensive items they could find.

"Not only has our diet become less healthy, but it is also extremely boring," said Robin Pollock, an accountant who lives in Raleigh.

By midweek, Robin Pollock's hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, was acting up. On Friday, she felt too lightheaded to exercise.

"I can't wait to eat a big huge salad," she said.

Things they do without

Most couples found that buying a whole chicken was a wise decision, because it allowed them several days' worth of leftovers. Some bought a head of cabbage and a small bag of carrots -- the cheapest of the vegetables they could afford. Good cheese was out, as was olive oil. And forget about those $3.15 grande cappuccinos at Starbucks -- that's more than a day's worth of benefits.

To qualify for food stamps, a person has to earn $26,000 a year or less. The eligibility formula is complex and involves deductions for household expenses, rent, utilities and child care. But generally, families with children get more in food stamps than individuals. The average benefit across the nation and in North Carolina is $1 a meal, or $3 a day and $21 a week, said Colleen Pawling, a policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit organization in Washington.

The food stamp program, which had its origin in 1939 and was signed into law in 1964, no longer relies on stamps. These days, recipients get what's known as an "electronic benefit transfer," basically a debit card. But it won't accept any paper products such as toilet paper. Cigarettes, vitamins and any kind of alcohol are also not allowed.

The Jesus connection

The Rev. Jim Melnyk, the co-rector at St. Mark's, started his challenge on Monday, largely as a way of supporting what members of his church were doing. After his first lunch of Ramen noodles and carrots, he already had drawn the most obvious conclusion.

"I'm not going to end up really hungry, but I'm not going to end up having eaten very well," he said.

Still, Melnyk added, the benefit of the exercise was to be in the midst of folks whom Jesus regarded as neighbors.

"What we're doing is trying to experience for ourselves what people experience every day of their lives," he said. "That raises our consciousness, which motivates us to take further action."