Poverty Challenge: Day Two
No Cell phone, no driving. In order to make a little more room to eat, I will also forgo internet at home, and post from church.
Leftovers from last night’s dinner were breakfast today. That, plus my morning cup of coffee takes me to about $1.50. I started to look in the fridge for more after my breakfast, but then I remembered that I have to eat the rest of the day, so I should budget myself a little bit more carefully.
After I started riding my bike to the church, I remembered that I left my lunch at home. That meant that I will have to ride back home or find another way to eat.
I decided to find another way to eat. Elmwood Tacos and Subs was out of the question. I considered Loaves and Fishes, the soup kitchen that is our churches basement, but remembered that I would count the full value of each meal, even if I didn’t pay for it. So instead, I visited loaves and fishes, but just got some bread. I’ll value the bread at $1.50. It would have been more when it was fresh, but it isn’t fresh right now.
Dinner was broccoli and black beans. My wonderful wife cooked if for both of us, and I would estimate the value of this meal at $3.00. Later on in the evening, I ate some donuts and drank some milk with the guys from the church’s youth group. That finished my budget for the night, which was too bad, since I craved popcorn during Law and Order. (I also craved internet, but that was out, too).
I felt bad asking Karen, our wonderful Christian Educator, to drive one of the guys home. She has enough to do, but all I had was my bike (which I haven’t figured into my budget–it cost just under $300 three years ago–so if we pro-rate the cost, it is less than $.50/day), so she took him home.
Being able to be nice is a luxury that I can’t afford. Well, I can afford it, but I have to do it another way.
TinyPliny said:
I have a couple questions. How do you approximate the cost of each component of your meal? Take a glass of milk, for instance. I am assuming that you took the cost of a gallon of milk and divided it by the number of serving glasses in it. If that is correct, doesn’t it indicate an implicit assumption that the poverty-stricken would have access to not only electricity but also a fridge for storing the rest of the milk? Would the poverty-stricken be likely to buy perishables in bulk (even 1/2 a gallon) if they have no way of ensuring if the food-stuff would last more than a night? Would they not prefer the single-servings that might be costlier but require no storage? Aren’t the appliances and the food processing that everyone does automatically, and without a second thought, also relevant to the poverty-cost equation?
drew said:
I just estimate.
And yes, it assumes that the bulk that I buy things in is accurate, and that people have a fridge, and stuff like that.
This really isn’t intended to be a perfect simulation, but it does increase awareness and solidarity.
Thanks for reading/commenting!