Picture of siblings living in extreme poverty in El Salvador. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Wow…it was much more difficult to do this today…just 2 days in…I kept thinking about getting something from the vending machine…then had to keep telling myself that someone living in extreme poverty probably wouldn’t have the dollar to waste. So I did manage to resist. But I did find myself hungry this afternoon while I was working, really hungry by the time I made it home.
Today’s food and costs are as follows…
Breakfast:
2 slices toast .10, 1T peanut butter .06, 6 oz oj .14, cup of hot tea .04
Total for breakfast 34 cents
Lunch:
pot pie .35, 1 celery stalk .08, carrots .07, water free
Total for lunch 50 cents
Snack:
1/2 serving crackers .07, water free
Dinner:
baked potato .20, 1/4 C cottage cheese .18, hot tea .04, banana .18
Total cost for the day…$1.51
So, I did eat a little healthier today, but it wasn’t the tastiest of diets. I think it would take some major planning for me to eat like this all of the time…well, that or extreme poverty, I suppose. This kind of makes me think that we should have cooking, shopping, gardening, food preservation, and nutrition classes for the poorest among us…something to help them eat as healthy a diet as possible given the financial limitations they face. Of course, in our current political climate, people don’t seem to be willing to provide any kind of funding to help the people who are faced with abject poverty. Do I think this is a political issue? You bet I do.
Related articles
- Extreme Poverty in the United States, 1996 to 2011 (policyabcs.wordpress.com)
- Live Below The Line – A Week’s Worth from Woolworths. (yearofexperiences.wordpress.com)
Filed under: food, social issues | Tagged: Live Below The Line, Poverty |
Run4joy59's Blog 
Oh my gosh I can’t believe you ate another pot pie. Ick. But I couldn’t find those where I live for .35 either. Hope you’re taking vitamins because this isn’t looking good.
I have those stupid pot pies in the freezer…had coupons and bought them when they were on sale..otherwise they would be way over my food allowance for this challenge…hey, they’re convenient for work!! Well, I am taking vitamins and supplements, but wouldn’t be able to afford them if that was really all of the money I had to live on every day. Now I see why my mom cooked a lot of beans and cornbread…
Oh, that’s good and I’d guess they’d have at least 3 food groups, right? Yeah, I can’t afford vitamins but I’m eating way more healthy than you have the last two days.
Ever had rabbit and dumplings or scrab and dumplings? You might have to do some trapping and/or foraging. I can do these where I live but they have all the dumpsters padlocked so no food for me there. That is one fun part about being poor, if there can be such a thing, I’m always thinking…harhar.
okay, you are kidding, right? no, I’ve never had any of those things and hopefully will never have to. I remember my grandmas hunting rabbit and squirrel when I was really little, but I don’t remember eating it…but who knows…she might have told me it was chicken…isn’t that what everyone says? It tastes like chicken?
It may be difficult sometimes, but suffering through discipline and deprivation can do wonders for your belief in yourself to achieve. 🙂
Now I just wish you could tell those kids in the picture the same thing. Hug and tell them everything’s going to be okay, that life will get better. After all it’s what happens in fairy tales. Where’s their Prince Charming?
Good question…and we seem to be living in an age where we blame poverty on the poor, thinking we don’t have to do anything to help these people or improve our systems so they can find a way out…very sad and discouraging…
Personally, I’d rather have homemade rabbit and dumplings than one of those frozen pot pies. But for .35 I’d eat one.
I do like your concept of empowerment as a weapon against poverty. It’s going to be fun learning what you come up with in this experiment.
Empowerment and education are probably the two most potent weapons in the war against poverty…
Good job on Day 2. I love the idea of community gardens, where everyone can work in it and reap the benefits.
I so agree with you on that, Patti. Actually, here in my town, there are a couple of community gardens…one adjacent to a lower income housing area, the other affiliated with the university…both areas where people can use the produce they grow to augment their food supply…