What’s the difference between the 10th of May and the 17th of May?
The answer is simple..7 days!

Want to know of a way to make 7 days seem like 70? Easy.
Sign up for Live Below the Line next year!

During 2010 I participated in Live Below the Line (LBL) for the first time and I did it for a month! So why is it that when I took part this year, eating just $2 worth of food for 7 days that it felt like the longest week of my life! (Possibly exaggerating there, but it was hard!) I kept a journal of what I felt and ate during the week and would love to share some with you.

Tuesday 10th May 2011

Okay, so day one of LBL and by 11:30 and I was already hungry….This could be an interesting week ahead.

I went food shopping last night, scored a pumpkin on sale at Woolworths for just 92cents a kilo! Decided to make pumpkin soup…problem being, I don’t know how to make pumpkin soup, everyone kept telling me to put potatoes and cream and all this other stuff in it but I don’t want to, I want to keep it as cheap as possible. Okay made my soup..well puree really..but it made for a good dinner!

Breakfast: Half a cup of oats (made with water) and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. (25cents) (added 8cents for brown sugar)

Lunch: One egg on a slice of bread and a mandarin (80 cents)

Tea: Soup with two slices of bread (54cents)

Day one totals up at $1.59

Saturday 14th May 2011

Pretty sure I feel like I am dyeing today! Started work at 7 this morning and finished at 4 this afternoon..a 9 hour shift on an empty stomach is deadly!

I imagine this is hard for everyone but working in a supermarket, 9 hours straight touching everyone else’s food items basically feels like torture. Work mates are a great support though, except for those letting me know they just brought chocolate worth more than $2. I just have to remember why I am doing this, why LBL is such an important campaign. There are people living in such extreme poverty stricken areas that are lucky to have a glass of water…even luckier if the water is clean!

Was lucky to be in Woolworths when they were selling off their old fruit and vegies, basically you have a freezer sized bag and can fill it with whatever fruit/vege is on offer for just $1! I got myself some peas, mushrooms and zucchini

Breakfast: Half a cup of oats (Made with water, no sugar) (17 cents)

Lunch: One pack of home brand noodles and a piece of plastic cheese (39 cents)

Tea: Half a cup of rice mixed with peas, zucchini and mushroom ($1.00)

Day 5 of LBL totals up at $1.56

Tuesday 17th May 2011

So this morning when I woke up I went to the kitchen and reached into the cupboard to get my oats when I suddenly remembered that I had officially finished participating in LBL 2011!!! I quickly chucked the oats into the back of the cupboard and grabbed the fruit loops ready to dig right in! Halfway through breakfast I was too full to even finish eating but was definitely pumped for Lunch!

Breakfast: Fruit loops
Lunch: 6inch vegie sub at subway
Snack: Mandarin
Dinner: mashed potatoes and gravy, with a vegetarian snitzel
Dessert: ICECREAM!

Reflection

After 7 days of eating just $2 worth of food a day I found myself unenergetic, hungry, unable to concentrate, at times faint and extremely lethargic.

This is just how I felt in a week, when you times that by the 1.4 billion people living in poverty, how does that make you feel?
It makes me upset to know that we have everything handed to us and the less fortunate have to work extremely hard for what little food they do get.

I’m happy to have participated in Live Below the Line as I have fund raised and made a small contribution to a big problem, (my team raised just under $900) if we were to all make a small contribution then we wouldn’t have such a big problem.

For more information or to find out how to be involved in Live Below the Line go to:
http://www.livebelowtheline.com.au/

A huge well done to Caitlin a fantastic effort. You can also check out more about Live Below the Line on our Own the Issue page

Thank you to Student Edge for supporting the development of this blog through the provision on a rather fantastic Goodie Bag for Caitlin – most deserved.

Becoming a Youth Content Producer

Would you like to see you blog feature here? Check out our Be Involved page for how too.

Images by: Red Ant

Tags: live below the line