Dining on a dollar a day

A California couple’s experiment in extreme food budgeting taught them a lot about how the poor eat.

By Eilene Zimmerman | Correspondent / December 29, 2008 edition

Encinitas, Calif.

At first glance, there’s nothing extraordinary about the kitchen in Christopher Greenslate’s house: plenty of cabinets, colorful tile countertops, an island in the center with a few stools, and the requisite KitchenAid. It’s not until you see several green bins with bright orange lids lined up against the wall labeled “cornmeal, $.51 per lb. 1 cup = $.19” and “rice, .51 per lb., 1 cup = $.22,” and the large sacks of potatoes, onions, flour, and pinto beans, that you realize something unusual is going on.

Those bins and bags – as well as a handful of clear plastic storage containers inside the cabinets – are what remains of an experiment Mr. Greenslate and his partner, Kerri Leonard, conducted in September. The couple, who are both teach English and social justice in southern California high schools, tried to live for one month eating no more than a dollar’s worth of food a day each. (That required buying in bulk; hence the green bins.) Although the project ultimately raised the public’s awareness of poverty and hunger, it started out as a way to lower the couple’s food bill.

“Kerri noticed it was pretty high, about $100 to $150 a week. We were buying prepackaged foods, frozen foods, soy milk, lots of organic fruits and vegetables,” says Greenslate. (He and Leonard are vegans and do not eat animal products.) When they compared their own food costs with the international poverty rate – $1.25 today, according to the World Bank – Greenslate says they were astonished. “Here we were spending all this money on food every week, and the contrast between that and what those in poverty live on was stark. I wondered if we could actually feed ourselves on a dollar a day,” he says.

In September they began eating less and blogging about it on their website. In the beginning, Greenslate was hungrier than Leonard. But after the first three or four days, “I had more energy, and my appetite decreased,” he says.

By the second week, however, it had become much harder. “There were days where I would hold onto my lectern in class because I felt too lightheaded. It became harder and harder.”

http://features.csmonitor.com/backstory/2008/12/29/dining-on-a-dollar-a-day/

snip:
On a more somber note,“Carleeny” wrote, “The only thing that disturbs me about this is the idea that you think this is ‘inspirational’ and ‘new.’ I’ve been living off about $20 a month for food. It’s called ‘welfare.’ ”

K&R

their experiment is flawed, mostly because they didn't produce what they ate.

God help you if the Homeowners' association gets wind of it.

I haven't seen food stamp allotments as low as $20 per month. Are you also employed?

Unless you're already applying for something else and the food stamps comes along with it, like medical care. So yeah, that part bugged me too. Although, if you're working, paying day care and other bills, you usually are barely making ends meet before you buy food. I don't know who could live on the actual allowances that welfare claims you could live on.

I admit, I have only gotten unemployment once...11 jobs since 1975, fired 4....I considered it my job to at least get what the government gave me.

That is pretty low hanging fruit.

No. It's not worth the stress and it's nothing like applying for unemployment.

I had to chase all kinds of tails. I understand that. That was the job.

I have always had a job.

Why didn't you go get them?

Most people who are unemployed would qualify for more than $20, so yes, then it would be worth it. in order to only qualify for $20, you would probably be working and so it would not be worth the time, and more importantly, the humiliation. It is not like applying for unemployment, they treat you like dog shit. You have to have piles of records. They pry into every aspect of your life. It's awful. It is most certainly not worth $20.

I never took foods stamps except as bets on the pool table.

What a crock of B.S.

It is every citizens duty to explore the system implemented by the Government that presumably provides assistance.

Your blanket statement that "it isn't worth it", "is humiliating", "forces you to keep records", (god forbid), and "ask questions" sounds like fearmongering at best. Only the gullible and the ignorant would fall for such words as you dish out.

I guess you would say it's not worth it to complain about corrupt government officials, poisoned food GMO's that are sanctioned by your government regulatory agencies, or to convict Bush and his cronies for the inept handling of Katrina. It's just not worth it!

It's just not worth it to buy American products since they don't make much anymore, plus, I may have to drive a few miles out of my way to find one.

It's just not worth it to avoid WalMart, because I can save a few cents by buy cheap chinese crap.

Thats the trouble with America. Nobody tests the systems that are in place to see if they work or not. It's not worth it...

You are wrong, the exercise alone is a great educational experience and you meet wonderful people who really want to help. It is doubtful that you have ever explored the process in any depth, since you denigrate the labor it take to succeed at the process. I see it as any other task. Planning, Outline, Application, Interview, Results. This applies to any business undertaking and returns value for those who try.


People like you that are too lazy or too specialized to care, are exactly the kind of people the Government wants. Trained to never ask for anything because "It's not worth it".

after you've actually gone through the process.

I went through the food stamp "process" and it was not only well worth it
but simple and easy.
Maybe I was treated "better" because I was old <78> when I applied, a couple of years ago.
Maybe because where I applied was in a small town, and there weren't too
many people asking for help, then.
Maybe because I was polite, instead of defensive/angry that I needed to apply.
Maybe just because it was Tuesday and the worker was in a decent mood.
Whatever the "reasons" I was treated considerately and competently.
The evidence used to calculate my "eligibility" and "benefits"?
Copies of my yearly social security "award", bank statements, a rent receipt, a utility bill.
Time it took, including waiting?
Half an hour.
My "rewards" since then?
Food every week. Enough food.
Without people behind me in the checkout line getting peeved
when I have to put back the stuff I don't have enough money to pay for.
The luxury of knowing I won't be hungry before the week is over.
Like I said, WELL worth it.

I've been to the point of tears trying to explain my situation to others. Often times people who need help are in unique situations that don't fit the check boxes in the paperwork. Sometimes, you need help but are not so desperate to think you deserve it. Whether it's pride or confusion - getting help is not always easy.

It took getting a union job at a University and paying my way through school before I was able to be self-supporting.

of food stamps, so it's not worth the stress to go through what you just described, even though you absolutely know you deserve it.

and felt it was worth it...The only responsible thing I could do if I wanted to get a job...going to interviews feeling weak or with my stomach growling was more humiliating than applying for food stamps and unemployment...this was just this last summer...finally found a job and I'm glad I took the step to get the benefits for which I worked for when I was working...that's what we and our employers pay for - a safty net...starving is not responsible or stoic...


On edit: I have to add, if you have kids and refuse to apply for food stamps because it is "humiliating" you are irresponsible and abusive to your kids...

as well as they can bitch.

I specifically said that someone on unemployment is in a different situation but that, for the most part, people will qualify for a lot more than $10-$20 if they aren't working. The reason people don't usually get $10-$20 is because that's all they qualify for because they have a job, and so it is not worth it and yes, welfare case workers are rude, dismissive, judgmental and humiliating. If it's worth ten bucks to you, knock yourself out.

many folks were thrown out of work some for weeks, had damage to their homes, no power for weeks. Folks went in to get temporary aid-many for the first time ever and walked away crying because all they got was 20 or 30 dollars to feed their families. Now how are you going to feed your family on that and you have no power. And so many stores were closed anyway (for at least a week.

Thank god for the food bank and peoples creativity. The best were the neighbourhood pot luck dinners and folks clearing out their freezers before things thawed. Poor people don't have that. One take away lesson-government aid (from Bush admin) is non existent and crap. I have more faith in my city and state government.

She was in school(community college). Somehow that made her need to eat less, apparently.

Remember Food Stamps are governed by FEDERAL LAW and tend to be more generous then State's Welfare allotments. The fact that SSI is set at the 100 % of the "Standard of Need" as opposed to the fact ALL states set lower amounts for Welfare grants, affects people's Food stamps eligibility. This is how most of the people I know who gets $10-20 in Food stamps get only $10-20 in Food Stamps.

threads where DUers whinge about how misunderstood they are....

THIS is what real poverty looks like. As a food bank worker, I just have to say it is imperative that we feed our people. Our children. Our elderly.

Children cannot function in school when they are hungry. It's no wonder that inner city poverty stricken schools are filled with crazy kids. They are frantic with hunger and deprivation of all kinds (physical, nurturing, spiritual etc.)

If there is any justice in this world, this thread will explode with recs. Please?! Read the article. It's so real. So true.

Thanks, n2doc, for posting this.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

In all seriousness, I have recommended this thread. I can be serious and laugh simultaneously.

I saw it on MSNBC earlier -- wtf?? This guy will NEVER live this down, I hope he's prepared.

...but the man in the animated gif above is actor Robert De Niro. I could be wrong but it sure looks like him.

Knock me over with a feather. Dude should give up his day job and be a De Niro impersonator. At least, that way, he won't go poking bears and getting people killed.

:)

Bananas are really filling. And if you need meat, a brick of Scrapple only costs a little over $2.00 and lasts for several days, depending on how much you like Scrapple. Cereal is pretty cheap too if you wait for the 2-for-1 specials. Eggs are still doable, but they've actually gotten a lot more expensive over the last year or so.

Oatmeal is good and cheap. So are bean soups.

Scrapple is what's left on the machinery when they're done making sausage.

It's yummy, at least. And cheap.

Scrapple is a cornmeal slurry flavored with spices and the bits of pork too small to glean for the sausage and too big to put into the rendering pot. Modern commercial scrapple is made from cheaper cuts. The slurry is put into pans and congeals when cooled. The loaf is then sliced and fried.

I agree on the yummy part, especially with maple syrup.

-Hoot

It ain't cheese, but it is made from the hog's head. It is a delicacy down in Cajun country. And it is spreadable and delicious on a cracker. It is also known as "head cheese" in those parts. Yummy!!

Indeed it is great on a ritz.

-Hoot

I have never seen it in the PNW....especially good with the outside fried to a crisp, and covered in Maple Syrup....LOVE IT!!!mmmmmm...wb

I suppose if you didn't put anything else in them, and only ate one bowl of soup a day, you could live on beans for less than $1.00 a day.

Granted, I have a car and I am able to shop around with ease. And I have the option of eating other foods besides soup to balance out my diet, while others may have a smaller variety of food per day.

So, maybe delicious bean soup with garlic, celery, carrots, onions and bouillon costs more than $1.00 per day, but if you can afford it, that's still amazing flavor and nutrition for a low price.

I haven't seen a pound of beans for less than a dollar in a long time. In addition, it makes about 6 bowls of soup, unless you count beans floating in water soup. The rest of the items add up to at least $5.00, and I don't make white beans without milk, or ham hocks actually. So unless a person were on a starvation diet, and needed 3 bowls of soup throughout any given day, that's at least $3.50 for just that food alone. Which is why many people go get a dollar hamburger and dollar fry. No it isn't as nutritious, but beans day in and day out isn't either. I get so sick of the fantasyland that people spout around here about eating cheaply and truly nutritiously. You really can't.

For more than a week? I have: by the end of that month, I was ready to kill for a caesar salad. You may be able to get enough calories to keep going, but it's neither palatable nor particularly healthy.

wreck your health, and gain a bunch of weight in the process. If you prefer to eat crappy food, that can also be purchased more cheaply in the processed & frozen section of the grocery store.

Black beans or kidney beans or whatever are maybe $0.89/lb.

Eggs at Horrocks here (good, local eggs) are $1.19/doz. Cereal at Big Lots is $2/box ($3 for the really big Cheerios boxes). The bakery outlet has loaves of bread for $0.79 each (up from $0.59, and boy, were people upset). Aldi here is on a major bus route, and they're one of the cheapest places in town, as is the Sav-A-Lot, though that's a bit off of a bus route, so people have to walk.

I'm so with you on the cereal part though! :)

My ex's in-laws used to make it (farmers in ND) :puke:

Eggs have really gotten expensive unless you can find a good sale. You can make quite a few meals from a carton of eggs. In my leanest days, I usually relied on oatmeal to survive. It was filling and nutritious. Rice and cornmeal were frequent staples as well.

The stuff my PA Dutch husband gets when we travel back to PA isn't bad, but anything we've found in central IN is awful!

Fortunately my daughter loves cereal and sometimes asks for that for supper!

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

A dollar can you a lot more in certain parts of the world than in others. Did they take that into consideration?

...not just food. And because people live in extreme poverty it does not necessarly follow that food is "cheap" or that $1 can buy more food than in the US.

in third world countries as much as an actual lack of food.

last I read, there was, still, enough food in the world to feed everyone. the problem is distribution and price. Too often, it is assumed that food is "cheap" in countries with extremely low GDP, which is not the case.

And many others, did a 'Foodstamp Challenge' and lived on $3 a day, or $21 a week, same amount as Oregon citizens get in food assistance. This was in 2007. If more people tried that, there would be more understanding for those who need help getting enough food.

It might make poverty a more mainstream concern.

Probably not, though.

and she gets $10 a month in food stamps...she used to get $40...but when she got a raise last year in SDI...they took all but $10 of her food stamps away....yeah...in OREGON...wb

tell the press about it. Why not, you know, talk to actual POOR PEOPLE?

Whatever it takes to get attention paid to poverty... and then have that attention followed up by actions.

is my guess.

More and more of us are going to be eating for pennies a day.

I suggest we call these Bush Buffets...

http://www.off-grid.net/2008/12/20/dumpster-diving/

Section:

* CITY SCAVENGER

— by Carolina Ribeiro @ 20 Dec 2008

Dive, dive, dive Alex Barnard knows Dumpster diving.

He got about half his food digging through supermarket trash last summer while he was living in New York City.

All the furniture in his Princeton University dorm room came from things other folks threw away.

Even his favorite pair of jeans - Banana Republics - were scrounged up from somebody else’s garbage.

There are thousands just like Barnard across the United States, he says.

They call themselves freegans, or Dumpster divers. They rescue furniture, clothes, household goods and even food cast off by others as a way to exit what they see as out-of-control consumerism and corporate greed.

--snip--

of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging
by Jeff Ferrell

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Scrounge-Underground-Alternative-Criminology/dp/0814727387/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230653654&sr=8-1

I used to do estate sales for extra money years ago and the woman I worked with introduced me to dumpster diving. She had two step stools and one was for outside and one was for inside. I thought she had lost her mind. Until I started putting what she handed me into the boxes. It is incredible what people will throw out. Not to mention furniture that apartment complexes will put out by the dumpster when someone leaves it behind. And tons of foodstuffs in unopened packages. Canned goods in particular. From time to time I still do a little dumpster diving. I found half of one of those large cartons of cat food not long ago. At 50 cents a can, there were ten cans so $5 worth. Which was $5 I didn't have to spend. People move and don't want to pack everything up I guess.

Quite a few of the "trash and treasure" shops as I call them and even some of the "antique" shops send out "dumpster divers" the last days/first days of the month when most people move. There is often a lot of treasure in the trash so to speak.

The grocery stores tend to have their dumpsters in locked enclosures at least in Texas. But they throw out a lot of food that is still good. It's actually a shame they do that. But I was told it had to with liability if they gave it to a homeless shelter and someone became ill. Same principle I suppose applies to someone rummaging through their dumpster. I would be afraid of the meats since most of them are thrown out after they've been in the "mark-down" section and I've bought bad meat that way to begin with. But even most of the produce can be "revived" and that is what they mostly throw out and what most people don't get at the food pantries. One grocery store had left their enclosure open once and I brought home a box of lettuce and several boxes of apples and pears and bananas and oranges and two boxes of soups and canned vegetables and fruits that were just a couple of days past their "expiration" dates. All were still good. I shared it all with neighbors. The outer leaves of the lettuce heads had to be removed. All but one head was still good. The rest were put in bowls of ice filled water and then into the refrigerators.

The joys of poverty. And dumpster diving!

The coming of peak oil will force most of us to drastically reduce our animal protein heavy diets. Sad but true.

I went awhile trying to live on about that same amount (minus a kitchen to cook in). It was pretty much impossible.

everything in bulk, homemade etc. but did they account for the price of using the oven all the time? And why couldn't they buy whole wheat flour?

That way the third world vegetarian diet is tasty and you can stick with it. Black beans and rice much more delicious IMO than pinto. Get chick peas and make your own hummus. Make your own yogurt. Make your own bean sprouts with a variety of beans. Grow your own vegetables, berries, fruits. Also, shop at Latino and Asian grocery stores. Better prices.

I still have my old beatup paperback from 1971.

Well it's Canadian Welfare so I don't know all about the American Welfare system so feel free to

fill me in.

My food budget for a month is $200 and I buy the cheapest food I can find.

And I don't get a lot.(Oh,and I forgot to mention that I have more than most peoples because of my

health problems).

So I'm wondering how peoples on Welfare in the U.S can manage

to have decent meals 3 times a day with what they get.

That was just my 2 cents.

-Jeff

a month worth of food stamps....$10 a month...sure buys a lot of food for her and her 12 yr old son...wb

It depends on the state you're in. And of course the state of mind of the social worker who makes the determination. Not all states as I understand it receive the same amount of money. I believe it is similar to many other programs and the amount a state receives depends on how much the state is contributing. I cannot imagine anyone believing $10 a month is sufficient. I would take that to my representatives in Congress and ask them if they think that is sufficient.

There have been a lot of accusations about racial bias that according to some may have some basis but that is the fault of individual social workers rather than the system. Most of it really is related to fraud with a social worker getting a "kickback" from the client for awarding more than they should be awarded.

The reality of the system is that it is better in some states than others. In some states it truly is horrible. As is housing.

Thus, while State welfare amounts affects Food stamps amounts, The total of Welfare and Food stamps tend to be uniform across the country (i.e. is state that pay less Welfare, the recipients get more food stamps). SSI and Sociel Security are also set by the Federal Government, botha ffect how much food stamps one gets (i.e. The greater income from whatever source, the less Food stamps you get).

And how much of that is left over after she pays her share of subsidized housing, power and medical. That's her food budget, not the $10 of food stamps. It's ridiculous, I know, but unless people understand how the system works, it will never be changed.

I don't know what her medical costs, or her power...I know that by the time she's done paying for her prescriptions, there isn't a whole lot left...I was just telling how much she gets, because I believe someone said people in Oregon get no less than...I can't remember the amount specified..but it was NOT $10...I know, people who are in situations like she is, do what they must do..they survive somehow...wb

that I know of, although I'm not sure they would process the paperwork for $1, for instance. Also, food stamps are a federal program and the rates are approved by them. The income levels are based on local economies, but they don't really vary all that much. I had read that they were going to recalculate food stamp benefits, so hopefully they haven't done it yet and she will get a little bit more to help her. Some of this stuff hasn't really gone up since the 80s, and it wasn't enough to live on then.

as well as volunteers to do things like shelving, inventory, etc.

Many people do not realize that food pantries buy the food, albeit at low-cost, from the food banks. And a growing number of food pantries are having to cut back because they don't have the funds to buy the food. It's a problem that if not addressed will result in food banks having inventory sitting on shelves because none of the food pantries have the funds to buy the food with. Writing a check to a food bank or dropping off the sack of pre-packaged groceries in the red barrel at the grocery store may give you a good feeling. Better to write a check to a food bank and take the sack of pre-packaged groceries to a food pantry. Or write a check to both. Or buy two sacks and drop one in the barrel and take one to a food pantry. It really is getting bad. And it will only get worse.

For example, if I send say, a week's household budget at my house, for example purposes: $100.00 to the Food Bank, they are able to purchase a larger amount of food than most as they purchase in bulk and get discounts etc. They then sell this to pantries? I thought they were a distribution point for food pantries, and food pantries, in turn, are distribution points for the food to the people. My understanding is sending this money to a food bank will feed people without cost to them.

Also, if you have good knowledge about this system, what foods are best to donate when donating food directly? In the past I have looked to donate beef stew, tuna, peanut butter, sardines, dried beans, rice, pasta, canned chicken and canned vegetables. We have a food drive with our Christmas tea at my sewing guild every December and I try to pick stuff that will help make a meal for a family that has hit hard times.

Your donation to the food bank allows the food bank to buy in bulk at wholesale and in some cases below-wholesale prices from grocer supply companies and from grocery chains that occasionally have ordered too much but they also depend on those sacks of "pre-packaged" groceries that some grocery stores still offer although the grocery store of course donates the sack of groceries but keeps the profit. The things we never think about it.

Some food banks donate a certain percentage of foodstuffs depending on their budgets as I understand it but sell most of it and do make a little profit which pays for the administrative costs of running the good bank as does part of your donation. They skirt the issue of selling the food to the food pantries but in fact they do. Some, again, do donate a certain percentage. But not all. In normal times, many of the food pantries don't have a problem since most of them are supported by church groups whose members donate to them for not only the food pantries but other services such as rent and utility assistance. But these are not normal times. And they've seen their donations fall during the past year. Particularly the past six months.

If you are willing to buy and donate directly to a local food pantry, the best thing is to ask them what they need most. Usually what they need most are the canned "meats" such as tuna, ham, chicken, the canned lasagna and spaghetti, pasta and tomato sauce and canned tomatoes, soups, and breads. And the canned fruit juices. Food pantries do not usually have refrigerators so they don't offer milk and cheese and other foodstuffs that require refrigeration. They love produce that doesnt' require refrigeration. But some do have refrigerators. They simply don't have anything to put in them. The ones that do like the rolls of hamburger and of course chickens. Those are "out of the budget" items and they usually don't offer them unless someone has donated them. Been there, done this as both a volunteer and a client. It is shocking to realize what you have to do without when you have to depend on a food pantry.

If you are friendly with your grocery store manager, ask if they will sell to you in bulk if you promise not to tell anyone. Sometimes they will sell you the foodstuffs that are about to be put in the "markdown" section of which much is then thrown away. Some will, some won't.

And some of the grocer supply companies will sell direct to the public but only in bulk. Most of us cannot afford to donate several cases of tuna or several cases of orange juice. But I can guarantee you that the food pantries would love those who can and in fact do.

And watch the markdown sections and the specials. Once when I had the money one of the grocery stores was clearing out their tea section. I bought 100 boxes of flavored teas for 50 cents each. They were normally $2.50. Not nutritious but the food pantry I donated them to loved them. Knowing the clients would love them. The poor deserve a treat just like the rest of us.

I think those who can should maybe divide what they would donate between the food bank and the food pantry. And ask the food pantry what they need most.

Apologies if it's mentioned in this thread - couldn't go all the way through it - but she basically took a year trying to see if she could survive working minimum wage jobs. It's a very interesting read, and dovetails with this topic on subsisting on a tiny food budget (the budget is tiny, not the food).

It's too "cute" and almost demeaning in its "cuteness" particularly with regard to their attempts to have "gourmet on a budget." The thought of someone trying measure out grains and flours not only to fit a daily budget of $1 but also to fit a vegan diet.

It was pointed out that $1 a day in a Third World country is not the same as $1 a day in this country. But it sounded, well, "cute," right?

There are ways, better ways, to try to survive on a limited budget. But I'm not sure anyone really can on $1 a day.

If nothing else you have to get creative with pasta and rice and beans and canned tuna and ham and chicken and canned fruits and vegetables and often little else. It can be done. But it sure isn't the same as having a budget that allows you to have a variety of food in your diet. Longing for a nice steak or a nice chicken breast. Most Americans really don't know what it's like not to be able to have meat or chicken except for what is processed and canned. But a growing number of them are finding out. Most of them I hope will not attempt to be "cute."