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| Week 1 Groceries. Photo by Kelene Blake |
This month I am starting an experiment. Each week I will go
to the grocery store with only a $20 bill and attempt to buy healthy food to
last a week. People say that eating healthy is expensive and to some extent
that is certainly true. Buying organic tends to cost more. Healthier frozen
meals cost more. Yet I don’t believe that all healthy eating has to be
expensive, so I have given myself the challenge for November to eat healthily
5-6 times a day (3 meals, 2-3 snacks) on $20 per week. I’m doing this for 4
reasons:
- Because I told an acquaintance of mine that I would prepare a health workshop for low-income housing communities on eating healthy even with a low budget;
- Because this study (link) by Dr. Katz et al concluded that healthy food does not necessarily cost more and I want to see if it holds true for people with the tightest budget;
- Because many people’s food stamp benefits are being cut due to the U.S. government budget deadlock and people still need to eat, and eat healthily, but now have less money to work with;
- Because it’s just that kind of month (the kind where the less money I spend, the better). The struggle is real. But hopefully I can learn from it and benefit others too.
This isn’t a highly controlled research experiment. I am starting
off with some food already in my pantry – mostly rice and peas/beans,
seasonings, baking ingredients. This experiment is only for food and any
non-food items are not included in that $20 grocery list. What I am doing is a
real-world experiment. In the real world we don’t go to the grocery each week
with a blank slate. However the reality is some people do go to the grocery
store with very limited funds and they do their best with those funds to not go
hungry. They are forced by their financial restrictions to buy cheap bulk foods
just so they and their families have something to eat and avoid hunger pains,
even if that something has little nutritional value. Instead of foods rich in
vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber and other good things that help our
bodies function well, the cheapest foods in most grocery stores have mostly
empty calories, are nutrient poor and not particularly wholesome – made with
white flour, sugar, chemicals, preservatives and unhealthy fats. It is a
backward system where it is cheaper and easier to be unhealthy than healthy.
My hypothesis is that with $20 each week I can use the skill
set I have to prepare for myself healthy, tasty meals that are nutrient-dense,
full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals. It will be a mostly
plant-based diet but will still provide enough protein and healthy fats. It
will require more food preparation time than typical convenience foods, but
with careful planning and efficient use of time I will be able to fit it into
my schedule. I am hoping it will reveal what skills are most useful under these
circumstances so I, as a health
professional, can better educate the wider community. I also want to help those who have not experienced it understand some
of the basic health challenges of poverty.
I already have my first week of groceries as shown in the
photo. It came up to $18.91. I’ve already learned a bit in the process. I experienced
quite a bit of anxiety on the way to the grocery store; worrying about whether
I can actually do this, worrying what people would think of me, worrying about the
embarrassment of going over budget and having to ask to remove some items at
the cash register. That first worry I defied by actually doing it. The last one
I combated by plugging each item price into my calculator to check the total to
make sure I didn’t go over, and took note of which items were on sale to make
sure they weren’t rung up at full price. And the one worrying about what people
think… I came to the following conclusion:
When you tie your self-worth to how others think of you or
treat you, then you tie yourself to a burden that will inevitably drag you
down. Your worth as a human being, a creative, intelligent, magnificent
creature of this earth is intrinsic and unchangeable. No one can give you your
worth. No one can take it away. All that remains is for you to see and accept
your own immeasurable worth, wear it fearlessly and live your greatness.
The most difficult thing I learned so far is that in
addition to the tangible hardships of life, these anxieties are a constant part
of daily existence for many people in poverty. $20 U.S. a week, roughly $2.86 a
day, on food alone for a single person is still more than millions of families around
the world have to supply all their needs.
It is not fair. If this project can help people caught in this unfair
system to lead healthier lives even with financial restrictions, then that is far
more important than a little anxiety. I will keep you updated on this blog on
how this experiment is progressing. In the meantime I have some food prep to
do. Bless.
