How much do you spend on food in a day? In a week? A month? Think about the check last time you ate out at a restaurant. How often do you go out? How much do you think you spend on groceries for a typical week?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor 2009 survey of Consumer Expenditures, the average U.S. consumer spends about 12.4% of salary on food. For those with a large income, this can be quite a generous allowance. For others on a tight budget, food spending can be stressful and challenging.
My Challenge: Create a food plan that meets the U.S. Dietary Guideline standards using only $155/month (roughly 12.4% of minimum wage salary of $8/hour for one month working in Massachusetts 40 hours/week).
So far, I have managed to meet this budget, achieving nearly all of the daily values (DV) for vitamins, minerals, macro-nutrients (carbs, fat, protein) using a 3-day diet average analysis. Two minerals (potassium and iron) were less than 100% but above 90%.
The project continues. You can help if you are interested by taking a 5 minute survey to help me learn more about people’s food buying habits! You can find the survey here: WHAT DO YOU EAT?
Stay tuned for more info about the project!
[...] easy-to-make, inexpensive foods to find at your local store? Here are some highlights from The Food Project, an independent study I worked on during my last semester undergrad at Tufts University. I will [...]