toledoblade.com --

The three Lucas County commissioners spend millions each year running the county, and get paid a nice salary to do so.

But for the next week, Tina Skeldon Wozniak, commissioner president, Pete Gerken, and Ben Konop have pledged to live as the least among their constituents do, spending the same amount - $21 a week per person - that the U.S. government believes is adequate to feed themselves.

And they're scared to death.

Mrs. Skeldon Wozniak has convinced her husband, Russ, and 23-year-old son, Aaron, to go through the weeklong challenge with her.

Combined, the trio can spend $63 on food for the week.

"We're appropriately frightened to live on that little money," the commission president said. "I purposely have put off shopping this week until this starts, because we won't be able to use the food [already] in the pantry. As I told my husband, that food wouldn't be there if we were living on $21 a week."

On average each year, more than 67,000 Lucas County residents receive food assistance through the county's Department of Job and Family Services - a number that is continuing to rise, said Deb Ortiz-Flores, executive director.

Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak spent $32.16 on groceries — about half of her family’s allotment for the week.
( THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH )

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Fifteen employees in her department, including Ms. Ortiz-Flores, also are putting themselves in the shoes of poor individuals and spending a week on a limited budget.

"We see them and we're saying, 'We are empathetic to struggles and challenges you face so we're going to try this ourselves,' " she said.

A host of officials nationwide has undertaken a similar challenge.

Mrs. Skeldon Wozniak said she and her fellow commissioners believe that the challenge will leave them more understanding toward those on food assistance - even if the commissioners aren't in a direct position to improve their lives.

"We're going to have to make those choices, like 'Do I buy milk or do I buy peanut butter?' that they have to make every day," Mrs. Skeldon Wozniak said.

The commissioner and her son spent almost an hour yesterday walking the aisles of Kroger on Monroe Street strategically picking and choosing food they could afford - not necessarily the most healthy or best tasting. Rather than buying fresh produce or a variety of foods, the limited budget of Mrs. Skeldon Wozniak and her son forced them to buy inexpensive foods like pasta and hot dogs.

"We found we could get basic meals; there are no extras," Mrs. Skeldon Wozniak said. "You can get spaghetti, but no garlic bread and salad."

Other items in their cart included a large bag of carrots, canned green beans, milk, cereal, oatmeal, spaghetti sauce, two 2-liters of soda pop, and one pound of hamburger.

Mr. Konop said he has trepidation about how the experience of going hungry will affect his daily decision-making.

"My guess is we'll fail in some way," Mr. Konop said. "That's really the reason for the challenge is to [show] just how ridiculous the federal [assistance] guidelines are."

While his two colleagues are married, Mr. Konop is single and dating - not an easy life to lead on $3 a day, he said.

"I spend $3 on a cup of coffee some days," Mr. Konop said.

Mr. Gerken said he usually drinks tap water during the day, so he won't miss coffee as much as he will amenities like wine and fresh food.

"One thing we find out about people in poverty is that they're the greatest problem solvers in the world, because they have to solve a new problem every hour of the day just to live," he said. "I started planning ahead this weekend, cutting coupons and looking for ways to buy food in bulk. It's not going to be fun, and it's not going to be healthy."

Mr. Gerken said while the challenge forces elected officials to confront poverty on a limited basis, the self-imposed restrictions only provide a small taste of the challenges people in poverty face daily.

"It doesn't really address transportation. For instance, rather than spending what money they have on gas to go to a grocery store, people will just walk to what's in their neighborhood," he said. "Believe me, $3 doesn't go very far in a convenience store."

Staff writer Laren Weber contributed to this report.

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.

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