As part of Hunger Action Month, the CEO of Panera, Ron Shaich, has been taking the SNAP Challenge this week. In case you didn't know, SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps, and is a US federal-aid program that helps low-income individuals and families purchase food.

The SNAP Challenge is a voluntary exercise with the goal to increase awareness and understanding amongst those not affected by hunger, and to help get a better sense of what it is like to struggle with hunger by living on only $4.50 per day.

Below are some poignant sound bites of each of Mr. Shaich's daily posts to date.

Day 0:
We live in the “land of plenty,” and yet nearly 48 million people receive food stamps and 16 million children go to bed hungry.

Day 1:
I haven’t even felt the first pangs of hunger, and I’m already gaining a whole new perspective into challenges that so many people in this country face in dealing with food insecurity – from the embarrassment of having to leave items at the register to the diligence and ongoing calculation required to constantly prioritize and rank every purchase and potential purchase, big and small.

Day 2:
When I finally ate lunch at around 2:30 p.m., it really felt like a reward, and I didn’t take for granted the satisfaction that the meal provided... I was hyper aware whenever those around me consumed.

Day 3:
The face of hunger is as diverse as this country is.

Day 4:
This week, through my participation in the SNAP Challenge, I have had a glimpse into how detrimental and all-consuming hunger can be – and I’m barely halfway through my merely seven day challenge. I can’t stop thinking about food.

Day 5:
“It’s not just about food to fill a belly, it’s about life.”

Mr. Shaich's writing is insightful and raw, and hits sorely close to home.

I remember when I was in grad school— actually discussing the very issue of food insecurity, the SNAP program and Challege— one student couldn't understand (out loud) why those suffering from food insecurity couldn't just go out and get a job so they could pay for and get the food they needed. I interjected, asking, How can these people get jobs if they don't even know how to pack a grocery bag? [We had just finished talking about food banks]. I'm not sure he really understood concepts, yet, such as the basics of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but don't blame him either as it is extremely difficult to understand issues at the core when you haven't experienced them yourself first-hand.

I've never gone hungry because I couldn't afford it. But I can tell you the symptoms, experiences, and consequences of hunger, as Mr. Shaich describes, due to the struggles of income are the exact same as those due to mental illness and, more specifically, anorexia.

To re-iterate, in both instances, you really can't stop thinking about food when you're hungry nor can you really be productive (if at all); it really isn't about the food; and it really is about life— trying to figure out how to build one worth living given the very dire, arguably extremist, circumstances. Every day is a battle.

For me, it was a 10-year battle that crept into my life silently and one that is now silenced because of hard-working efforts and achieving a life of recovery. Yay! Well, not so yay. Because I still live with the consequences of the silent disease, unemployed and in silence about it.

Despite two degrees from an Ivy League university, functional brain, good health, and eagerness, how do you explain to potential employers what the hell you've been doing the past 10 years of your life while everyone else you graduated with are now managers and directors? You've been TO hell and back but that isn't exactly the experience employers want to hear about.

The effects of hunger are profound. This always brings up the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, which is a HealthyButJuicy recommended read, if you don't know about it already. It's nearly impossible to be productive when you are starved— physically, mentally, and emotionally— and when the elemental need of food and nutrition, and focus on survival become your world and all-consuming.

This post isn't just about food insecurity and eating disorders, though. It's about raising awareness, increasing compassion, and bettering ourselves and each other. Before we can solve or address issues, whether they be our own or others', we need to begin to fundamentally understand them first. And, by asking ourselves things like 'In what kind of society do we want to live?' and What kind of life do I?, perhaps, one day, we can reach our goals.

You matter. You can make a difference. And you can be the change.