Hunger Challenge: Day 1
I'm taking part in the United Way of King County's "Hunger Challenge," as part of Hunger Action Week. (No, this is not a tie-in for that stupid movie, although I wonder if perhaps the United Way didn't miss an opportunity to guilt trip and/or inform a lot of adolescents this week.) The "challenge"? I have to subsist on a budget of $7/day from now until Saturday, March 24. That's the maximum amount a single individual can receive in food stamps in King County.
I went grocery shopping to lay in supplies. Here's what I got:
Old-fashioned (i.e. whole oats) oatmeal
Soy milk
Bread ("baked with" whole grains)
Red beans (dried)
Pinto beans (dried)
Brown rice
Peanut butter (crunchy, all-natural)
Vegetable oil
Vinegar
Brown sugar
Carrots (big bag)
Dried cherries *
Apples (Granny Smith, 4 total)
Bananas (one bunch)
Onions (2)
Garlic (one bulb)
1 lb can of diced tomatoes
1 box dried pasta
Green tea
Frozen collard greens
Total cost = $39.78.
I made a lot of choices based on cost (i.e. tea over coffee, vegetable oil over olive or canola, cheap bread). It probably comes as no surprise that processed foods are cheaper than "whole" foods. I'm very glad that I've been eating more and more like a vegan of late.
I'm already chaffing at some of the rules (no tasting samples at the grocery store? There's nothing about foraging, though). I may resort to "stealing" condiments from the station. We have a whole drawer of abandoned mustard and soy sauce packets that I could put to good use, rules be damned. I'll probably drink coffee from the communal pot at the station, too.
* This is not something I'd normally buy. But they were marked way, way down, priced to move, and much cheaper than anything else in the way of dried fruits or nuts. I figured they'd add some variety to meals if used creatively.
I went grocery shopping to lay in supplies. Here's what I got:
Old-fashioned (i.e. whole oats) oatmeal
Soy milk
Bread ("baked with" whole grains)
Red beans (dried)
Pinto beans (dried)
Brown rice
Peanut butter (crunchy, all-natural)
Vegetable oil
Vinegar
Brown sugar
Carrots (big bag)
Dried cherries *
Apples (Granny Smith, 4 total)
Bananas (one bunch)
Onions (2)
Garlic (one bulb)
1 lb can of diced tomatoes
1 box dried pasta
Green tea
Frozen collard greens
Total cost = $39.78.
I made a lot of choices based on cost (i.e. tea over coffee, vegetable oil over olive or canola, cheap bread). It probably comes as no surprise that processed foods are cheaper than "whole" foods. I'm very glad that I've been eating more and more like a vegan of late.
I'm already chaffing at some of the rules (no tasting samples at the grocery store? There's nothing about foraging, though). I may resort to "stealing" condiments from the station. We have a whole drawer of abandoned mustard and soy sauce packets that I could put to good use, rules be damned. I'll probably drink coffee from the communal pot at the station, too.
* This is not something I'd normally buy. But they were marked way, way down, priced to move, and much cheaper than anything else in the way of dried fruits or nuts. I figured they'd add some variety to meals if used creatively.