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MISSOULA- Reporter Dennis Bragg recently looked at living on SNAP, more commonly known as food stamps, and found he had a hard time staying full and finding variety, not to mention nutrition.

MISSOULA- Reporter Dennis Bragg recently looked at living on SNAP, more commonly known as food stamps, and found he had a hard time staying full and finding variety, not to mention nutrition.

Folks who are on SNAP have about $4 a day to supplement their food budgets and the limitation will obviously have nutritional challenges. But Dr Brad Pickhardt talked with Registered Dietician Kelsey Gauthier to try to find some solutions.

"First thing you need to do is plan ahead. You need to make a week's worth of menus, snacks, meals and shop according to that menu. You need two incorporate lean protein, beans are great source of protein, also high in fiber. Fiber is going to make you feel fuller longer, so brown rice, whole wheat pasta and whole grain breads," Gauthier advised.

"In order to get all your vitamins and minerals, a great source of that is fruits and vegetables. That's where shopping on sale and buying your produce in season. Protein can be really experience that's where beans come in handy. They are cheap [and are] high in protein. [You also should] shop the sales. When meat goes on sale, buy it in bulk and freeze it," she continued.

"Obesity is a huge risk. When you are on SNAP, you are trying to stretch your food dollars, [so] you are purchasing those high energy dense foods, loaded with fat and added sugars," Gauthier added.

"{When] on SNAP work with your case manager. They will give you more information about which local resources there are. Utilize the food banks if you can and be aware of WIC, [which] provides a food package for women, infants and children. Also make sure your kids are going to school every day. There you maybe eligible for free or reduced price meals [and] most schools will offer breakfast as well," Gauthier concluded.

The bottom line is that healthy eating on a limited budget definitely takes thought and planning ahead, but there are other resources in the community that may be additional help.

THOMPSON FALLS- It's estimated the SNAP program, what we commonly call "food stamps", brought in more than $16 million to the Montana economy last year and as Dennis Bragg has discovered in his special reports this week, those dollars are especially important in the state's small communities.

Thompson Falls, the county seat of Sanders County with one of the highest unemployment rates in Montana. Yet here community spirit and ingenuity are rising up to fight the recession and at one small store, owner Marty Weaver has built a business around the products the big supermarkets discard.

"They buy too much product or it's close dated. And we buy it in big pallet quantities, pay so much a pallet, or so much a semi load and hope there's good stuff in it," Weaver explained.

Over the past eight years the bustling little store on the outskirts of town has done a booming business. Weaver says the bargains are especially welcomed by people on the Supplemental Assistance Program trying to stretch their dollar at the first of each month.

"It's a very depressed area economically. And there's no big factories, schools or big hospitals or nothing like that. And people just trying to get by as cheap as they can."

Weaver has a 100% guarantee on his products, and shoppers will find a few dented cans among the bargains, but also a mix of local products as well.

"One thing Dennis says he's learned about being on the SNAP challenge this week is that you have to look for the bargains. Earlier in the week he paid about $2 for a smaller jar of peanut butter than one he found for $3 in Thompson Falls. It's also organic and it's from Colorado- a good bargain that's going to stretch the budget."

Working with stores like Weaver's is critical for the town's food pantry, with money that's keeping people employed.

"Last year in 10 months we spent well over $21,000 at the local store...Harvest Foods. So, that's quite a bunch of money to spend," Denny Pargeter with the Community Harvest Food Bank explained.

""It's really rewarding. It's very rewarding. It's not just about ourselves. And it seems the more, the cheaper we make our prices the more people come in and buy and it just works," Weaver added.

THOMPSON FALLS- Montana Food Bank Network officials say that most people could only survive two to three weeks on the food paid for by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program each month.

That's where the state's network of food banks and pantries come in to make up the balance and as Dennis Bragg is finding in his reports this week, without that supplemental food, surviving just on SNAP is nearly impossible, especially in the smaller towns where prices are higher and selection is limited.

Smaller communities like Thompson Falls see a combination of programs like SNAP and the local food pantries that help to feed hungry Montana families.

Sanders County has some of the highest unemployment in the state and while there's renewed activity and a few more jobs than two years ago, it's nowhere near historical levels. That leaves a lot of people without jobs, struggling to feed themselves and their families.

But Thompson Falls is also a perfect example of how people are pulling together as their tiny food pantry is making up the gap between SNAP and what people need to eat for a month.

"It's phenomenal. Last month we went through 7,246 pounds. I mean 3½ tons going out the door of this place is unbelievable. And prior to that, the month before it was a little over 7,000 pounds. And just trying to keep this place restocked so people can come and in and get the product they deserve and need is a real blessing, you bet," said Denny Pargeter with the Community Harvest Food Bank.

Erected through a tremendous community effort more than a decade ago, this operation is one of the most organized I've ever seen in a small town. Dedicated volunteers pitch in twice a week to prepare food boxes and re-stock shelves in work generating its own rewards...

"Some of the older folks who've just got too much pride. And they don't want to come in. And I've delivered food to some of the families like that as well. And it's nice to help them out. I enjoy it," Pargeter observed.

That careful balance between the SNAP allocation, local stores, and the food pantries is the "small town DNA" that makes up a very complex structure that's keeping people fed. A classic situation where those who have help those who have not.

"Well it saves a lot of hardship that's for sure. And that's the name of the game to keep people sustained. And keep the families basically alive," Pargeter concluded.

Coming during Friday's 10:00 News, Dennis will show us how an innovative small store is helping families meet their meager SNAP budgets, while helping the economy at the same time.

MISSOULA- When you can only spend $4 a day on food, and even simple staples like peanut butter or ground beef cost far more than that, planning your meals with nutrition and variety can be a major challenge.

That's what more than 130,000 Montanans are facing every day as they try to make do with a combination of donated food from community pantries and what they can purchase through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Reporter Dennis Bragg is spending this week living entirely on a SNAP budget, and he's finding it takes a lot of inventing in the kitchen to get through a week.

One of the temptations of the SNAP program might be to just rush through the store and buy a bunch of pre-packaged foods. That's not very healthy and it's also not going to stretch your budget very far.

Dennis took some of the produce he bought, an onion, carrots, trusty potatoes and a dwindling package of ground beef to make a hearty stew.

Dennis' little stash of groceries seemed very, very small for a big guy with a pretty fair appetite at the beginning of the week and by the second day, he's already been finding that some of those choices made on Monday can be a real problem later in the week.

For example, Dennis' "gamble" to spend his last dollar on three Cup O' Noodles was about as worthless as feared, providing a lunch that helped for less than an hour. He says he'd have been better off to eat the styrofoam cup.

He'd been warned variety and stretching my supply going in to the challenge.

"The foods that you're used to buying you're probably not going to be able to buy any more. You're going to have to pay attention to if it's a brand name or a store name and notice the difference in price," Montana Food Bank Network Policy Officer Kate Devino explained.

"You're going to have to be comparing a bag of apples to a bag of potato chips unfortunately. And looking at the calories, how many calories in order to get enough food that you're not going to feel hungry and I think it will be a struggle to eat nutritious food," she added.

Dennis aimed for redemption on the second night, using carrots, spuds and hamburger for a stew that not only gave him the most satisfying meal all week, but also one created enough leftovers for later in the week.

However, it also emphasizes the problem for SNAP recipients of finding variety in a limited diet. But that's a problem Dennis will worry about later in the week. He said for now, he's just happy to not be hungry.

MISSOULA- More than 100,000 Montanans depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to put food in their cupboards each month but as grocery prices continue to skyrocket, and the economy struggles, the few dollars allocated to SNAP recipients are becoming harder and harder to stretch.

This week, reporter Dennis Bragg is getting first hand experience of the challenges of spending just over $4 a day for food as well as the choices that Montanans using SNAP face every week.

Dennis went through his shopping list several times trying to get it down to the budget of $22.45 that he has to spend on food this week.

SNAP is designed to be supplemental, and most individuals and families find it's not enough food to get through more than two or three weeks, and that's when they turn to the state's network of food banks make up the difference.

But even with limits, not everyone that's eligible for SNAP in Montana participates in the program.

"We're only at about 65% participation rate for those that are actually eligible. We've got a ways to go to get more people stabilized on the program, which would actually relieve some of the pressure on the local food pantries statewide as well," Montana Food Bank Network CEO Peggy Grimes explained.

Dennis found that buying entirely on SNAP forces a radical change in shopping, with expensive items like meat left on the shelf, unless you plan entirely around sales. But the program is a lifeline that keep evolving.

"It used to be that you had to go into the office and wait for a long time and go back and have your appointment. Now you're actually able to apply on-line," Montana Food Bank Network Policy Officer Kate Devino said.

Grimes says she believes more people would participate in SNAP if they completely understood the program. "There is a sense that government programs do, are invasive into your lifestyle. And some people do not want that invasiveness."

But they do need food and as Dennis is finding out just two days into his challenge, every dollar and calorie counts. You can follow Dennis' experiences on his Facebook page.

MISSOULA- More than 100,000 Montanans depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to put food in their cupboards each month.

But as grocery prices continue to skyrocket, and the economy struggles, the few dollars allocated to SNAP recipients are becoming harder and harder to stretch.

This week, reporter Dennis Bragg is getting first hand experience of the challenges, and choices Montanans using SNAP face every week. Armed with just a budget of just $22.45, or $4.49, for every day, Dennis launched his "Montana SNAPshot" report on Monday.

"The biggest surprise so far was how thin my shopping list became as I pared it down to get within budget," says Bragg. "It took five or six tries, and dropping healthier, and more expensive choices to come in under $22.45. I couldn't buy a single item over $4 and that really limits your choices when prices are so high."

SNAP is design to be supplemental, and most individuals and families find it's not enough to get food for more than two-to-three weeks. That's when they turn to the state's network of food banks and pantries to make up the difference.

But even with limits, not everyone that's eligible for SNAP in Montana participates in the program.

"We're only at about 65% participation rate for those that are actually eligible," notes Montana Food Bank Executive Director Peggy Grimes. "We've got a ways to go to get more people stabilized on the program, which would actually relieve some of the pressure on the local food pantries statewide as well."

Grimes believes more people would participate if they completely understood the program.

"There is a sense that government programs do, are invasive into your lifestyle. And some people do not want that invasiveness. Other people clearly do not understand the program. If they understood the program better I think we would see more participation."

You can follow Dennis' experiences this week here on our website, and on his Facebook page.

For more information on the SNAP program in Montana, click here to view the legislative chart shows the amount of dollars being spent, and people participating in our state.