What does $1 a day look like?

July 27th 2013

I went shopping last night for a week's worth of food for $6 - that was a challenge. I can't imagine how families with only $1 a day to spend per person figure out what to buy. Here is what I will be eating for $0.99 a day this week: 1 cup of cooked brown rice three times a day, 1/2 cup cooked black beans three times a day, 6 cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup of mixed greens three times a day - that gives me protein, carbohydrates, some vitamin C and some leafy greens. I still have to figure out how to get some calcium. (I bought bulk rice and beans which cut down on the cost and bought mixed greens and tomatoes that were getting close to going bad so they were marked down for quick sale. Here is the breakdown of costs per day:

3 cups cooked rice: $.018
1.5 cups cooked black beans: $.018
6 cherry tomatoes: $0.34
1.5 cups mixed greens: $0.29
Total: $0.99 per day