Thursday, December 11, 2008

Food For A Buck A Day?

Terri Leonard and her boyfriend Christopher, both of them Social Justice teachers, began a long experiment to eat on $1 a day.

No matter what.

They did it -- and you can read their adventures here:

http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com/

(Needless to say, this means no meat.)

They relied heavily on potato/rice/bean burritos, oatmeal, homemade bread with peanut butter, polenta and some strange 'meat' cutlets made out of wheat flour. Oh yes, Tang and peanut butter cookies, too. At least in their soup choices, they had more variety...but I honestly think they could have been quite a bit more creative in their food choices.

In University of Michigan college days, I went through several periods of living on a buck a day, give or take 25 cents. I made it because I had a good friend who ate meals at a commune nearby...and invited me to go, too. Otherwise, I ate a lot of saltine crackers and canned spaghetti. One memorable week, I pretty much lived on canned green beans.

Terri and Christopher are getting lots of press now about their experiment -- but the deeper meanings are what count here. After all, much of the world lives on less than a dollar a day for their food.

Remember the country-wide experiments to live on $3 a day -- or food stamp limits -- that happened last year? This couple did it for a week:

http://foodstampfollies.blogspot.com/

Needless to say, their menus sound more appetizing. The recipes here are good, too.

I only have one question. What the heck is a Social Justice Teacher?

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Figures...