Good news for those of us already cooking at home! We can easily meet the Slow Food challenge for Saturday, September 17. If we're willing to grow or buy food to cook ourselves, we're very likely to be able to meet the challenge of having a meal for less than $5 per person. If you don't usually cook at home, check out the Slow Food site for direction on how to get started. Although some Slow Food members are self-professed foodies or chefs, it's a movement that everyone can get involved in even if we're just preparing basic meals.
I pulled out the official USDA Food Plans to be sure. This report gauges real market prices for foods. When you break down the numbers per person, per meal, it ranges from $1.50 to less than $3.50 per person. Even when you add a premium for organic or specialty foods, that leaves a little room for spending up to $5 and still having a wonderful home-cooked meal.
I wish I could brag about having a fabulous gourmet dinner planned for my entire block this weekend. I don't. But I do have fresh vegetables left in the refrigerator and ingredients in the pantry to make something like homemade veggie pizza for our family.
Fast food prices and quality these days make it mostly something that falls into the category of a treat or entertainment instead of nutrition. I have come to believe that value in a dollar-menu is a myth. I care enough about my family to try serving them slow food instead of fast food whenever possible.
Do you have plans to take the $5 challenge? Please add your comments below.
Very cool challenge! Thanks for sharing! I wish more people understood how much healthier and affordable home cooked meals are. I spend on average $1.50 per meal per person in my household of 2 -- and I only buy organic (and fair trade where it's an option)! I recognize that even $1.50 is too much for really low-income families, but I feel confident that I could do it for less than $1.00 a meal without cutting health corners.
ReplyDeleteI won't participate in the challenge, because everyone I know eats meat and dairy! But, I bring in home-baked snacks to meetings instead of bringing in store bought doughnuts and cookies!