The Illinois Food Bank Association issued a challenge to Illinoisans — could they survive by spending only $25 a week for food? $25 a week is the average weekly food stamp benefit that an individual receives in Illinois. Could you make such a small amount last while still eating nutritious meals?
Every week, thousands of Illinoisans struggle to feed themselves and their families on less than $25 per person each week – or approximately $3.50 a day. If this sounds nearly impossible, it is. As a result, more and more of our neighbors are turning to food banks and pantries just to make ends meet.
The challenge is over now and the participants have shared what they learned about hunger and about frugality.
One poster, named Becky, was optimistic about the project. With $100 to feed four people, she thought she could clip coupons and make it work:
We all worked together to plan our menu (a lot of carbs, leftovers, and pb&j), collect coupons, and find the best sales. We between 2 coupons we had, a brand deal, and a store discount we actually got 6 boxes of cereal for free! However, at the store, when we had to stay away from our organic, whole grain, carbonated fruit juice all natural soda, and anything at all convenient the challenge began to be less of game and sunk in for real. We were terrified as our sub-total climbed and we still had meat, dairy, and produce on the list.
As the week has progressed, I feel an overwhelming sense of failure and guilt for not providing for my family. I cannot help but to think of the families who face this every week.
Now we are out of milk and fresh fruit. We have 6 boxes of cereal to eat, but no milk…
Another poster shared her shopping trip to Aldi, where she got a good deal on ingredients for chicken soup– but her family still craved between meal snacks, and her husband quit after one day.
I bought a whole chicken, a loaf of bread, a bag of salad, a box of rice, a bag of egg noodles, a gallon of milk, a box of grapes, a 24-pack of bottled water, a box of deli turkey for sandwiches, a bag of cheese and a 30-count package of eggs…all for $24.88.
Another participant was astonished at how grouchy and distracted the challenge made him:
I have lost a lot of concentration and patience due to the Challenge. I have become extremely agitated for no decent reason. Last night when I came home, my girlfriend asked me what I would like for dinner and said I wanted something I bought off my list. She said fine, but proceeded to fancy up the dinner by adding some things to it. My tone came off negative as I told her I could not have the fancied dinner because of what she was adding was not within my $25. I’m not sure if I was just grumpy because I hadn’t eaten much, but I did not like it. After I ate, I was cheerful again. It’s a weird conundrum.
The challenge is over, but that’s no reason not to challenge yourself. Can you feed yourself on $25 a week? Can you eat healthy meals? How do you save money on food?
Hunger Action Month [IFBA]
They tried eating on $25 a week [MSNMoney via Digg]
25 Dollar Challenge Blog
More From Consumerist
-
The Good News Is Consumer Spending Is Up — But Only Because Gas Is So Pricy
-
Consumers Get A Nice Bump In Income But Keep Wallets Tightly Closed
-
Supreme Court Upholds Corporations’ Right To Unlimited Campaign Spending
-
Analyst: Best Buy Employees Feel The Most Threatened By Amazon
-
U.S. Consumers Cut Back Spending On Everything Except Cellphones
…a whole chicken, a loaf of bread, a bag of salad, a box of rice, a bag of egg noodles, a gallon of milk, a box of grapes, a 24-pack of bottled water, a box of deli turkey for sandwiches, a bag of cheese and a 30-count package of eggs.
I have hunger pains just reading this. After three days, all they’ll have left is a dozen or so eggs and some bottled water. This person obviously has never had to spend such a small amount of money for the week. Grapes?! My boyfriend and I spend jointly $40-$50 a week and grapes NEVER fit into the budget.. sure they’re delicious, but apples are far cheaper and more filling. A box of rice?! Try getting the 20lb bag and making fried rice with sauteed onions and a little soy sauce. Pre-made salad?! A head of lettuce and some cucumbers will make 3x the amount of salad for the same price.
It’s hard to eat well when you’re on a strict budget, but I try to keep a large rotating menu so we don’t get bored. And you have to mix in as many cheap veggies as possible. Sweet potatoes are my favorite because they’re filling and all you have to do is bake them, no seasoning or butter needed!
People who believe that it’s cheaper to eat processed, fast food than homemade nurtritious food either don’t know how to cook or aren’t very savvy when it comes to grocery shopping. My husband and I easily stay within a $50 grocery budget per week. We buy in bulk when we can, stock up when staples are on sale, and plan meals ahead so that we don’t waste food. Yes, cooking takes some time and effort. That’s why we make large batches of food and freeze it for later use; an easy, nutritious meal for when we’re too tired to cook.
Here’s how to eat healthy for $25/week:
Lentil soup: chicken broth, lentils, veggies of your choice (get frozen or what’s on sale in the produce department). Freeze the leftovers for lunch or nights when you don’t want to cook.
Vegetable fried rice: Take the vegetables leftover from making last night’s lentil soup. Stir fry with some rice, a few eggs, and add some soy sauce, sesame oil, and seasonings if you have it/can afford it.
Bean burritos: Boil some dried pinto beans with some hot peppers and onion. Either mash them up or eat them whole, whichever you prefer. Add some cheese on top if it’s on sale and wrap it in a tortilla. Make a few extra burritos, freeze, and save them for breakfast or lunch.
Snacks? Bake a batch of pitas–you can make about 8 whole wheat, non-HFCS pitas for less than 50 cents a batch. Don’t scoff at me–baking pitas only a little planning ahead and about 20 minutes of actual prep/bake time. Make a big batch of hummus or salsa or your dip of choice, eat with your homemade pitas. Congratualations, you just made a week’s worth of nutritious, filling snack food.
Breakfast food? Learn to love oatmeal. It’s cheap, easy to cook, nutritious, and can easily/cheaply be jazzed up in a million different ways (adding cinnamon, brown sugar, or dried fruit are my recommendations).
I could not, food in Alaska is worth more than gasoline. Course if i got a shittier job like at mcdonalds id be rollin in da food.
Oh, god – when I was single & broke living in a studio in Chicago and making about $18,000/yr I remember going to the store with $10 in my pocket for the week. I managed. I used to buy a lot of iceburg lettuce and off-brand mac & cheese.
Only time that I have been able to do $28.00 for 7 days of food has been in subsidized government worker housing. It was in a very remote and fairly deadly location.
@zolielo: That was for three squares a day.
$25 a week PER PERSON? HAHAHAHAHAHA!
[www.hillbillyhousewife.com]
Done.
If you can’t survive on $25 a week for food you need help. Welcome to the last 5 years.
I routinely live on much less than $25 a week.
I eat fruit, fresh vegetables, rice cakes, and cans of fish for protein.
Yes its boring, but its healthy, and fine for me. Americans are far used to eating the equivalent of three days worth of calories in one sitting – as shown by the obesity rates.
Most sane, well-educated-in-terms-of-nutrition people around the world, could live (and do live) very very well on $25 worth of food a week.
I eat a breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, and supper.
plain yoghurt – around $3
packet of rice cakes around $3
fresh veg (cauliflower or broccoli – around $3-4
fresh fruit (packet of apples, and/or bananas) $4
small cans of fish – @50cents a piece x2 per day $7
This gives me ALL the starch, protein, vitamins and nutrition that is needed to sustain a normal human adult.
The challenge is nonsensical – obviously if you take people with no clue whatsoever about the correct foods to eat, and ask them to live on $25 a week, it’ll be endless whining and ‘oh the poor people who have to do this.’
Meantime, the truth is, its VERY easy to do, and to end up much healthier than those around you, in the process.
@MrFrankenstein: You’re probably not going to die due to malnourishment anytime soon, but to think that your diet is healthy is deluding yourself. In order to really get “ALL the starch, protein, vitamins and nutrition is needed” to actually have optimal health (not just to remain alive) you would need to dramatically increase the variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. A few posts earlier I talked about how much I spend on food, and that amount is partly due to the fact that on a normal day I eat bananas, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, carrots, peas, green beans, a leafy green (spinach or kale), celery, tomatoes, bell peppers and some kind of squash (as well as garlic and onions). If you’re eating two cans of tuna daily (I know you might be eating other types of fish, but this is just a “what if”) your mercury levels are probably off the map.
@MrFrankenstein: Not much, there. I’m not really sure if it qualifies for nutritious…
Some of us can actually notice how much that kind of poor eating affects us on a daily basis. I’m trying to plan myself a good meal right now due to just that (IE, I’m not saying I eat wonderfully all the time, especially not the last few days).
@MrFrankenstein: Caloriewise, based on USDA data, this is less than a half a weeks worth of food. Since you’re up to $40+, you might as well spend it on a better, more varied diet.
Last year, Consumerist linked a post in the NYT re: research showing that healthy food costs more.
I have been reading Consumerist for months, and have never been compelled to reply….until now.
Food stamps, Welfare, and similar programs are intended to be SUPPLEMENTAL, and TEMPORARY. The whole point is to HELP people buy food, not completely supply them with food.
What disgusts me is not the 10-15% of people who genuinely need the temporary help and support, but the 80-85% of people who use these programs as a means to live, and exploit them. From this news report, Illinois is supporting the fact that people should be able to live on $25 per week, which is false, period.
@pnut333: I am curious as to where you are getting that 80-85% number from.
@pnut333: BWAH HA HA HA HA! If working hard made you money then why is it that the “working class” are the poorest employed people!
@Jeneni: oh I meant this as a reply to “The harder you work, typically the more you can earn. It’s not rocket science.” in your next post.
One more thing to add. I see from the above posts about income limits and would like to comment as well.
Working one 40 hour a week job at minimum wage will net $936 per week. Delivering pizzas at night and/or on weekends part time will net you just as much due to wage, tips, and mileage. That is almost $2k per month.
I’m not saying everyone CAN do this, I know there are limitations such as single parents wihtout family support, people with disabilities, etc. Those are the people this program is intended to assist. What I am frustrated with is how few people even attempt to do this to keep afloat. To earn money takes work, period. The harder you work, typically the more you can earn. It’s not rocket science.
By the way, I have a family member who works in Social Services, so what I am saying is not conjecture, but their experience directly with the receivers of some of these types of benefits.
It’s not that hard to do if you don’t mind a little work and if you’re vegetarian. The trick is portioning out things and using beans, eggs and cheese for protein. Don’t buy anything that comes in individual sizes. Buy the large package and portion it out yourself. Another thing I do is buy the frozen loaves of bread dough. It tastes way better than regular white bread and you can get 6 loaves for $3. It doesn’t take up too much room in the freezer and you can use it when you want. I also love gardening and grow as much as I can in my little garden. I always have tons of tomatoes and can them so they don’t go to waste- plus they can be turned into salsa, marinara, pizza sauce or chili with a few (cheap) additions later on. It really doesn’t take that long to do once you have a system. Using beans is a good way to stretch meat. For exaple, if you’re making tacos, use 1/2 ground meat and 1/2 mashed black beans. You can also stretch ground beef with lentils, rice, bread crumbs, barley, cooked oatmeal, beans, etc. Just add an egg to it so it will stay together if you want to make patties. Also, try re-inventing leftovers. If you have a roast for dinner, you can use the leftover meat on sandwiches, in hash, an omelet, pasta dish, pizza topping, boil the bones for soup, etc.
I went out to do some cherry-picking at the grocery stores today and found that, much like the great Rice Scare of 2008, all of the basic loss leaders I’d planned to stock up on were gone – the shelves wiped clean with no more inventory expected before the end of the sale.
So it appears that the people who can afford to are buying large quantities of these items, which I now realize means people who can only afford to buy one or two of an item are going home empty-handed or with pricier alternatives.
We’ve started budgeting to send my mom, living in a rural area on a small Social Security check, a $50 grocery gift card the last week of every month, quite literally so she won’t go hungry and jeopardize her health.
“Working one 40 hour a week job at minimum wage will net $936 per week.”
Whaaaat? Minimum wage for Ohio is $5.15 an hour… that’s around $200 a month. And I don’t know about you but i’m ordering less pizza and when I am, I certainly don’t tip well.
Part of this might be where you live. My husband and I just went to the grocery store last night and we spent about $120 which will probably last us maybe 2 weeks. That’s just over this $25/week challenge and I would say that was about average for us.
Actually, that’s not true. Prices have been climbing, so earlier in the year we were buying 2 weeks of groceries for $70-$100. We weren’t just buying junk either. We got dairy and meat and plenty of frozen vegetables which last a lot longer.
I grew up on this for most of my life after my parents got divorced and I lived like this after college. For the first 4 months after college I had less than $20 a MONTH in groceries including one month where I had only $5 and the leftovers from the previous months. Basically, I bought pasta, butter, a bag of generic puffed rice cereal, and a bottle of vinegar. My daily meals were a cup of puffed rice cereal that I would eat throughout the day and pasta, which I rotated between butter and vinegar for toppings.
I don’t get everyone here talking about balanced diets. Even now I don’t pay attention to that kind of thing and I don’t hurt for money. Growing up, it was just normal for me to have a diet that consisted entirely of toasted cheese sandwiches with the cheese sliced from that gigantic brick of cheese. I occasionally had ramen, peanut butter sandwiches, or pretzels, but that was about it for variety. Basically, you adapt to your circumstances. I went an entire year without any meat at all and the only meat I had during about two years was a hamburger for my birthday and I think we got a turkey for thanksgiving.
Anyway, when you are in that situation, you don’t notice it. When I got to college and had dining commons food, it was nearly a shock to my system to eat such variety.
When I was young and really broke, I took a P/T job at a hotel/restaurant because while the pay was a joke, you got one free meal a day from the buffet (plus whatever you could get the cute busboys to fetch you at night).
With 3/4 of my income going toward rent, utilities and transportation to said crappy job, that one free meal a day kept body and soul together.
I’m amazed at how spoiled and unknowledgeable people are about nutrition. There are plenty of alternatives to eating healthy at a cheap price. For one, Americans eat far more than their body needs, therefore just eating less saves money. For a good diet to live cheaply, I drink lots of filtered tap water (more water allows your digestive system to work at full efficiency of transferring nutrients to your body), take vitamin supplements such as spirulina (which has many of the daily nutrients your body needs), and eat things like short grain brown rice, honey, cheese, eggs, and nuts (which I usually just make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). If you add all that up, it’s far less than $25/week and probably a lot more nutritious than the average American diet.
@Justin Link: Oh yeah, and eat superfoods like eggplant, pumpkin, berries, avacodo, etc.
It’s better to eat quality than quantity. Then potatoes and pasta for filler. That is plenty of options for a weekly change.
You save money in the long run by just giving your body the nutrients it needs instead of loading it full of junk food like fast food.