Alanna, thanks so much for drawing attention to this effort -- it's one that can be replicated in any town, in any jurisdiction, across the country. As I've tried it, I've learned a ton, even though I had advantages -- good cooking equipment, a solid bank of food knowledge from which to work, access to a fairly yuppified grocery store with one of the best bulk sections I've ever seen -- that the average food stamp recipient would not have. But I'm thinking about these issues in ways I never have before, and I hope, through the efforts of everyone participating in this, we'll raise some more awareness not just in San Francisco and the Bay Area, but beyond. 

--- Genie, The Inadvertent Gardener

I've thought about doing this before but I know I couldn't do it. Impossible and now I'm off to donate to a food bank because you've reminded me of just how impossible this is.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

I think that this post will have a two fold benefit: 1) increasing food bank donations, 2) showing families who have recently been "hit" by the economic times that eating on less (though maybe a bit more than $3 a day...) can be done. No matter your economic situation, understanding want vs need is crucial to living/eating on less; though it would be wonderful if we didn't *have* to make this distinction.

www.katelynsfood.blogspot.com

Thanks Alanna for the informative post. I am going to try it. Sounds like a very difficult thing to do, if more people did this it would bring awareness to this global problem. All the money that this government spends on wasted stuff could be used on feeding the hungry. I am going to try this today, not sure if I can do it, but I will keep you updated. Thank you very much again for the post, I really liked it!

Challenges like these are useful for raising awareness of a host of issues. Like to do this it requires time to shop and cook. What if you live in a neighborhood where there are no grocery stores and getting to one requires traveling to another part of town? What if you don't have a car and have to take a bus or two? What if you have to do this after a long day at work or after your second (or third) job? And then you have to cook? And what if you don't have your own home and access to secure refrigeration & storage (so that nobody else in the living situation can help themselves to your food)? And what if you don't live in a place that has functioning refrigeration and cooking appliances?

This is why my local food bank, my local Habitat for Humanity chapter, and charities that address urban poverty are all on my planned giving list.

Thank you for writing about this challenge and I think I will give it a try. Though of course, as a single person, it is infinitely easier than trying to do this for a family. Being reminded of how fortunate I am and what I can do to help others is always worthwhile.

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Thanks Alanna for spreading the word about what we are doing. I hope our posts inspire everyone reading to take the challenge, try developing even more recipe that fits the budget or donate to your local food bank.

I think I've posted before that we have a grocery budget of $70 a week for two of us - so that's $5 a day.  And that is more than enough.  We eat a lot of veggies and buy our meat in bulk, and eat a lot of legumes.  But it's really healthy and I don't feel at all constrained by this.  We just choose not to buy anything pre-made.  (oh, and any time I entertain, that comes out of our 'entertaining' budget instead)

It's amazing how much difference those $2 a day make!  I'm going to see if I can make a menuplan for $42, on paper at least.

Can you add a link to the Hillbillly housewife's emergency menu?  She has a nutritionally balance weekly menu for a family of 4 for $40 - including all spices and condiments.  She rocks.

I think I have a recipe for that...

 I have been trying to live more conservatively this week. I wasn't aware of the challenge in the US. However, I was aware of a young lady in Honduras whom I have befriended who hasn't been able to afford to eat very well. In fact she was eating green bananas from a tree in her yard for four days. Since then, I have been very aware of  how I can cook and prepare meals in a cost-conscious manner.

Laurie, a gringa in Honduras,

 laurieishere.blogspot.com

Jill Silva, a wonderful food writer wrote a story on trying to feed her family on food stamps. Her story for the Kansas City Star was a finalist for a James Beard award:

http://www.kansascity.com/living/food/foodstamps//story/547630.html

Girl enabled... Wow, having lived through times where we looked at all the money and divied out a food budget until payday this hit a chord in me. Now that I never have to budget the food I forgot all about it. My favorites back when were boxes of macaroni and cheese. Rice and soy sauce and a tomatoe. Peanut butter and grape jam on "day old" bread. Yum !!! I am going to play a game and try to eat for one day on 3 dollars.

We've had to cut our food budget considerably since I started staying home with the kids and hubs launched his own business, but, wow, I don't know if I could ever do it on $3/day.  At least not consistently.

April

www.AprilsLittleFamily.blogspot.com

Interesting.  I have a couple of frugal bloggers in my feeds.  Here is a link to a ebooklet that describes how to feed a family of 4+ for $200 a month, which is basically $3/day.

Ok, so I am trying this for the second day, this is not easy. For one it is hard to find anything healthy for this price. Im going to keep trying but I am about ready for a lobster dinner.

Dana H

www.iopticsvisual.wordpress.com

www.iopticsvisual.com

I had a friend build an online calculator where you can choose a cut of meat (or fish), enter the cost per pound, and get an estimated cost per serving. Of course, if you serve smaller portions of meat than average, you can get the cost down but at least this lets you compare two different cuts of meat.  The calculator is here:

http://cheapcooking.com/costperserving.htm 

Ellen Ferlazzo
CheapCooking.com  

 Four years ago we were getting by on less then this. After 3 hurricanes boom boom boom rolled through, the governement handed out 1 month of food stamps to everyone living in the qualified areas. I remember feeling like I had hit the lottery. They gave me $200 more then I was spending every month. These days, we spend a lot more (2 more kids now, food allergies since discovered, general rise in prices, and more fresh foods) and it scares me to remember that time because in the current climate, any day could be our last of food "luxury" (using the term loosely here. We rarely eat steak but I do buy avocados)

Fidget
Finding Yourself Despite Yourself

Thanks so much for the coverage of the Hunger Challenge and the role the other bloggers and I have been playing in it.  It really has been a life-changing experience.

 Food banks across America are experiencing government funding cutbacks, a decline in donations and an increase in demand for their servcies.  Find out how to help your local food bank by checking out Second Harvest --

Faith - Blog Appetit

I think this Hunger Challenge and those participating in it are doing such an amazing, empowering thing for the poor.  I have posted some on my own blog once I realized that our family of six would be alloted $126/wk, and we currently spend only $150/wk, on all organic/pastured meat, produce, dairy, & eggs.

 There are some real obstacles to making this kind of shopping available to all (such as the inability to buy, same, a quarter cow, with food stamps), but I welcome thoughts on how to do so.  The first post is here. 

It is amazing that we have come to this. I never thought it would get this bad. Three bucks a day, need to start considering that.

Rebecca

AvaBaby's

www.avababys.com