Living Below The Line: Day 1



I have taken on the challenge to "live below the line" for the next 5 days. This means, I am essentially eating only $1.50 of food a day in order to experience a few days of what billions of people living below the poverty line go through on a daily basis. Since I am living in South Africa, I will work out my budget based on the South African rand and convert it to American dollars. The currency exchange right now is 1USD to 7.87ZAR. I should spend a total of $7.50 (59.02 ZAR) over the next five days.

More information on the project and the cause can be found at www.livebelowtheline.com

Today I bought some inexpensive groceries to add to what I already have in the pantry.
Here is what I bought
Weetbix- a South African cereal that comes in the form of a biscuit   = per biscuit   .79ZAR/ .10cents
Rooibos- South African tea                                                                  = per bag         .20ZAR/ .02cents
Instant noodles- similar to American Ramen                                       = per packet  2.29ZAR/ .29cents
Cup o' soup- instant soup packets                                                         = per packet 2.89ZAR/ .37cents
Liter Bag of Milk- this was cheaper than any carton                            =                7.39ZAR/ .94 cents
White Bread                                                                                          = loaf          6.95ZAR/ .88cents
                                                                                                                  per slice    .31ZAR/.04 cents
Kidney beans- I will divide among the days                                         = can          9.79ZAR/ $1.24
Green apples- to  bring to class as a snack                                            = per apple   .93ZAR/ .12cents

What I already had
Corn meal- here they call it pap, or meilie meal.                                = half bag       3.99ZAR/ .51cents
I also have butter, peanut butter, spinach, feta cheese, and other perishable and non perishable foods that I may eat, and I will factor in those prices when the time comes. I do not plan to use any seasonings when I am cooking these 5 days because, although I have them in my pantry, they are luxuries and are quite expensive.



Day 1

Breakfast:
2 Wheetbix biscuits (at .10 cents a biscuit)               = .20 cents
Warm milk (divided the .94 cent liter into 5 days)    = .19 cents
Rooibos tea                                                                =  .02 cents
Total: .41 cents
Pouring my bag of milk into a beverage container

notes: the tea was a good idea because thinking about the fact that I can't snack on something automatically makes me want to snack on something. I usually eat huge bowls of cereal for breakfast, sometimes refilling the bowl right after I finish it. Drinking tea helps me indulge without over indulging, and its only.02 cents!

Lunch
two slices of bread  = .08 cents
Instant noodles        = .29 cents
total= .37 cents



Dinner
Corn meal               = .11 cents
Sour milk                = .19 cents
tea                           = .02 cents
total= .32 cents

Akhona helping me cook pap







letting the pap cool off out the window

Sour Milk on my pap!

Total for the day: $1.10

The last meal was made with the help of my kitchen mate. Corn meal (a.k.a. pap, meilie meal.. etc) is a traditional African staple food. Each country and region makes it their own special way, and though it is always the same ingredient, it manages to taste different. My kitchen mate, Akhona, showed me the rural South African way which is somewhat dry and clumpy and smells a little like popcorn. In comparison, my other kitchen mate from Malawi taught me her way which had the consistency of and tasted a little like grits. Both delicious, although different, and can be prepared with different dishes.  He also prepared it with "sour milk" which is called "amazi." In my opinion it tastes a little like sour cream and the meal reminded me of home made mashed potatoes with sour cream. It was yummy and filling!

I am keeping in mind that people living below the poverty line have $1.50-$2 not only for food, but for all of their daily expenses. Today I took free bus transportation to and from my university, had the luxury of showering, and will now sleep tight in my own bed... more to come tomorrow.

My boyfriend Joey and I are living below the line together on opposite sides of the world. If you would like to donate to the cause and help sponsor us click on the following link :-)  https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/joeybelanger

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