Crestwood North Couple Spends $21 Per Week on Groceries During Lent
I’ve been keeping up with Katie Gilbert’s Lenten journey over the last several weeks on her personal blog, You’re My Rushmore, Max. Katie and her husband, Matt Lacey (who happens to pastor the Woodlawn United Methodist Church congregation), chose to cut their grocery budget to $21 per week during Lent this year because this is the amount of food stamps that an average family of 2 qualifies for in the United States. Katie kindly agreed to give us a little more information about how they’ve been impacted by this process.
Why did you and Matt choose this grocery budget project in observance of Lent?
With both of us being in ministry at different churches, Lent serves as a good time for us to take on a practice together. Traditionally, Lent is a time to prepare oneself for the Easter event once again through prayer, fasting, etc. Although giving up chocolate or caffeine is certainly commendable, it wasn’t enough for us. We wanted a practice that would not only prepare our hearts and minds for Easter but a practice that would help us learn about other people around us each and every day. As I was checking Twitter one day, I saw a statistic that listed the average SNAP budget for a family of two at $42 every two weeks. I could not forget that number and thus, the grocery budget practice was born.
What has been most surprising to you over the last six weeks?
Over the last six weeks Matt and I have been surprised by two important issues, issues we were both aware of but that became very real on our strict budget. The first is the hefty tax placed on groceries in the state of Alabama. Honestly, we hadn’t noticed the impact of the tax previously when we’d spend close to $100 at the grocery store. But when that budget dwindled down to $21 a week, that tax was a huge burden. The second is the lack of access to affordable (and good) fruits and vegetables even in our own neighborhood. We only shopped at Publix once and quickly realized we could get more for our money at a store like Aldi. And while much more affordable, the produce there can be hit or miss. I take for granted the ability to stroll into Publix and buy whatever good looking fruit is available, no matter the price.
Have you and Matt had to make any compromises regarding purchasing decisions? Did you have any “communication challenges” while making grocery lists or while shopping?
We definitely had to make some compromises with such a small budget. We rarely made lists on our trips to Aldi because we didn’t know what might be available or on sale. We actually came out in the end with very few arguments about what to buy and what not to buy–the choices were just plain limited. Although, I must say, I have greatly missed buying things that only I eat on a regular basis–things like Greek yogurt, apples, and my favorite brand of orange juice. They didn’t make the cut when we only had $21 for the two of us.
What practices are you going to continue based on your experiences?
We will definitely be adding a trip to Aldi to our “grocery routine.” If you haven’t shopped there, you are missing out. We realized we can be saving a lot of money by buying some of our basic essentials like bread, milk, and cheese there instead of Publix. I also think this Lenten practice opened our eyes to the amount of waste it is easy to create when you just go in and buy everything you want rather than focusing on what you need.
How can others learn more about these issues related to food and the impoverished?
When it comes to food and poverty issues in Alabama, I think the Alabama Poverty Project website is a great resource.
What are you and Matt looking forward to eating on Sunday?
I don’t know if it’s as much what are we looking forward to eating or if it’s just what are we looking forward to buying! I don’t plan to go crazy but it will be nice to head into a grocery store, see something yummy and be able to buy it.
Do you have any ideas yet regarding how you’ll observe Lent next year?
I have no idea where we will head next year. Last year, Matt had recently returned from Haiti where most of the people lived off of rice and beans. We took that on as a challenge for Lent to eat rice and beans for all of our lunches and dinners during Lent. It seems we like to challenge ourselves when it comes to food! Perhaps next year we’ll venture out into a different area of spending or daily life. I encourage everyone to find a practice that is meaningful to their own journey and give it a shot. We haven’t been 100% successful in sticking to our budget (or in eating only rice and beans last year) but we have certainly learned a lot about our own habits as well as recognizing the struggles of many of God’s children living right next to us. We will certainly seek to do that again next year.
Here are the links to Katie’s blog posts about their Lenten grocery budget:
Lent 2011
Groceries, Round 1
Groceries, Round 2
Groceries, Round 3
Groceries, Round 4
Groceries, Round 5
There’s a ton of other great stuff on her blog, so feel free to click around. You can also follow her on Twitter. Matt can be found on Twitter here. Keep up with WUMC announcements, news, meetings etc. on the WUMC Facebook page.
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