Day 4: Cheese Toast is the Meal of Champions

The rules of the Poverty Challenge ask us to blog at least twice per day. I didn't have any Earth-shattering revelations to share today, it was literally back to business as I headed to work with an All Bran bar and a banana in my purse for breakfast.

The title of this blog is an homage to a meal that has become a staple of my Poverty Challenge diet. It turns out, if you're not picky about labels, you can get plenty of bread and cheese to feed a single person for around $6.  Today at lunch, I looked forward to a piece of toasted store brand whole wheat with a few slices of my coveted no-name cheese melted on top.

Ok, I admit it, cheese melted on basically anything is a staple of my normal diet too.

In my view, the toughest part of buying groceries for the Challenge is not strictly whether you can afford enough food to make it through the five days.  Of course you can afford enough food.  If you are an otherwise healthy and well-fed person going into the Poverty Challenge, you will invariably be able to purchase items with enough calories to survive until the end.

The toughest part of buying groceries, and biggest drawback of shopping for food on a strict budget, is thinking ahead to what you might be foregoing later in the week (or month, as the case may be) if you spend your available cash on food today.

The second biggest drawback is a near total lack of variety.  Fresh meat and vegetables are out of the question.  Fresh fruit is possible but has to be rationed.  Basically anything else you buy, you will end up eating several times in a row due to the sheer fact that you can't afford anything else.

My takeaway from this one is that it turns out simply being able to have a variety of meals is a luxury some people can't afford.  Certain food items and certain brands are luxuries in and of themselves too.  My mom told me before the challenge started that she always spends the extra few dollars to donate Kraft peanut butter instead of generic.  Now I know why.  Thanks Mom, on behalf of all the recipients of your high-end peanut butter!