Living Below the Line: Shopping Day.

Well, the Solidarity Sisters are in it, no turning back now. Tomorrow we start our five-day challenge to live on $1.50 a day for all of our food and drink needs. So today, the five of us spent a good part of the afternoon planning meals, shopping for provisions and divvying up group purchases.


Surprisingly, we got what seems like a good bit of food for less than $7.50 each, thanks to Susie's excellent recon missions (look at our purchases to the right!) Our stops included Aldi, Dollar General and the Dekalb Farmer's Market; we purchased a wide variety of items for so little money. Well, I say that now... check back on Wednesday and see if I'm still of the same opinion. My rations for the week include:

• rice
• beans - pinto and black
• cornbread
• bread
• peanut butter
• yogurt
• bananas
• lettuce
• carrots
• corn tortillas
• margarine
• ginger snaps (I mean, a girl's gotta have some snacks...)
• saltine crackers
• herb de provence
• garlic
• onion
• frozen corn
• frozen peas

Not bad, eh? I'm feeling pretty good about it, especially since we were able to get some "luxury" items like yogurt and ginger snaps. We have two group meals planned: Nicole and I made some black bean burgers for tomorrow night and Vanessa graciously offered to make some cornbread and pintos. Yummy! Though it feels weird to comment on the quality of the food... in my little Q'eqchi village in Guatemala the women found it funny when we would say that the food was delicious. I guess as Americans, taste is often more of a focus than the fact that we are able to feed ourselves. But it's not as if poor countries have no flavor, to the contrary. I had wonderful eats in Bangladesh thanks to my dear friends Anika and Alamgir... and Guatemala has the best tortillas anywhere... and if you've never had Ethiopian food, you are really missing out! I'll even give a shout out to the cous cous Sarah B. made us eat every day in Sierra Leone (you know i'm kidding, Sarah!) No, it's not that the world doesn't have flavor, it's just secondary to sustenance.

I'm planning to track my nutritional intake each day: calories; protein; fats and carbohydrates. Is it possible to eat a balanced diet on so little money? It could be an eye-opening experience! Check back each day to see how we make out.

To a great week for my Solidarity Sisters!

Living Below the Line: Anticipation.

Next week i'll be taking the Live Below the Line Challenge to raise awareness and money for people living in extreme poverty. For five days, i'll live on just $1.50 a day for all of my food and drink needs... $1.50. Sounds crazy, I know. But for the millions of people who live in extreme poverty, it's a reality EVERY day.

So, some friends and I have formed a team, Solidarity Sisters. In essence, we are a "family" and we'll pool some of our resources to get through it: a group shopping trip to take advantage of bulk purchasing; supper parties to provide not only a social support system (hello... solidarity!), but also a more efficient use of our food resources; and a frenzy of emails about what kinds of items we can purchase on the cheap. For me, it's a reminder of a few things I know to be true...

1. It's going to be tough, very tough. I guess that's why it's called a challenge, right?

2. Families are not just important, they are critical to survival. People need people... for psychological support, to pool resources and for emotional stability. But many family arguments stem from money... so how is that exacerbated when the income in question is a mere $1.50 per person per day?

3. As an American, I have a lot of choices. This isn't news to me, i've lived in the developing world and returning to the US was a bit of a culture shock. But in thinking about this challenge, my choices seem to paralyze me from making decisions. With only $1.50 to work with, the options I like are out of reach and the ones in reach, I'm not crazy about. It reminds me of something my mom would say every time she offered me something I didn't like as a kid, "Well I guess you're not hungry then." While this drove me crazy as a child (and still does as an adult), she was right. In this coming week i'll no doubt eat plain white rice, drink nothing but water and long for things like fruit and vegetables.

So there you have it... the planning has begun, fundraising emails have gone out (thanks to those of you who have donated!) and thoughts of food are far more frequent than I'd like. I've seriously spent the last few days calculating how many scoops i'll be allowed for one cup of coffee per day. Can I reuse the grounds and add one additional scoop the next day? Yikes, the thought itself is giving me a headache in anticipation of the withdrawal i'm about to experience! I've given up coffee before, but it's not fun.

Admittedly, i'm not much of a planner when it comes to grocery shopping and meals... but this challenge is going to test so much more than my food planning skills. Like how am I going to continue my workout regimen each morning? Will I have enough energy for the 4-5 mile runs or the weightlifting sessions? What will be my calorie intake?

Excited isn't quite the right word, but I am looking forward to the self-exploration this challenge will provide.  While my Solidarity Sisters and I are taking this on to raise awareness for the struggles that people living in extreme poverty face, I am certain we will be the ones who benefit most from the experience.

Stay tuned, check back to see accounts of our progress and challenges, lend your support or a favorite "cheap eat" recipe... and take a moment to learn about global poverty and what you can do to help.