$3 a day

Yesterday was Fasnacht Day. I have many fond memories of coming home from school to donuts coming out of the fryer from when I was growing up. I didn’t have time to make donuts this year since I was busy studying for a test.

Today marks the beginning of Lent. Last year I ate one meal a day of plain rice to try to identify with Cambodians around me who had little other food available to them. This year I will be spending $3 a day for food during Lent. As an MCCer, my food budget was $3 a day; in Prey Veng $3 bought lots and lots of vegetables. I love vegetables so I was quite happy. However, in America vegetables are expensive, and since it’s the middle of winter, there’s not an abundance of fresh food. Lately I’ve been noticing what people eat…and it’s not real food. It’s fake packages of crap, but this is what is affordable for low income families. So, for Lent I will be living off $3 a day to try to identify with a part of my society and to learn first-hand how to eat on a very limited budget. MCC has a flat allowance of $3 a day for food no matter which country you are a service worker in; I often wondered if this was possible to do in the States without being a farmer.

Here’s the guidelines I set up for myself.
- $3 a day ($21 a week) for all food and beverages eaten at home and out
- Any food that is in my cupboard at the house is fair game (I haven’t gone grocery shopping in the past 2 weeks so it’s starting to get bare. Also, the small stash of home canned food from my grandparents’ garden is fair game)
- I will continue to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day
- I cannot go dumpster diving or mooch food off others
- I must purchase my food within the Philadelphia City limits (no running off to the country to buy cheap eggs)
- I must maintain my current weight

So here’s to the next 40 days of eating well in Philadelphia on $3 a day!