Crime and the belly

On November 1, I started an "experiment" to see how well I could feed myself on $100 for the week. That would mean no purchasing "outside food" (from restaurants, fast food outlets, bakeries, etc).

With the increasing cost of living, surviving on that budget would require me to prepare all my meals at home, using whatever the $100 could buy and whatever little foodstuff I already had at home.

On the first day I "broke" the $100 bill early in the morning on a medium-sized bag of Jose Cuevo coffee. At $20 I had to ask myself if I really needed it. I didn’t, but bought it anyway.

Later, I purchased a bag of small Irish potatoes from a bargain shelf, a pack of carrots and a hand of ripe bananas. The day’s total was $58, leaving a precious $42 remaining for food for the rest of the week.

When life gets super-busy, I often purchase "outside" food for convenience, bypassing food items that have been sitting in my fridge, freezer and cupboard, waiting to be used. I was relieved to rediscover the following (among other things) at home: three unopened packs of tofu, a bag of black rice, an unopened bag of cassava flour, ziplock bags with frozen pumpkin, mango, stewed lentils, banana and some dry goods like quinoa, dhal, spaghetti and popcorn.

At this rate, I would be eating more healthily than I do when lazily "buying out."

I prepared what would be lunch, dinner and probably food for the next day – stir-fried marinated tofu chunks, grated carrot, black rice, ginger, onions, garlic, Jamaican thyme (from the garden).

At one point, when I developed a sudden chocolate craving, I was not inspired to spend any of the remaining $42 on cheap chocolates. Instead, I purchased a tin of Goya black beans and a small pack of oats, leaving me with a balance of $25.10. At home I had the other items required to make vegan black bean chocolate brownies:

Recipe:

1.5 cups black beans (one 15 oz can)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

½ cup oats

½ tsp salt

½ cup honey

¼ cup coconut oil

2 tbsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking powder

Blend everything together. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool for ten minutes. Refrigerate if still soft.

Chocolate craving quickly and healthily fulfilled.

By the end of week one I had $1. Should I roll it over to next week’s budget or spend it? What could $1 buy anyway? I asked at a small parlour shop. Two Bobbie chocolates or a lollipop or a Pennacool.

I did not have to, but bought the two chocolate Bobbies – just for fun. Frivolous spending?

“Wow. All you can buy for $1 is junk!” the shopkeeper exclaimed, her simple comment highlighting a serious issue – the cost of nutritious food to support our nation’s general physical, mental and emotional health.

In some ways, commitment to this experiment shows me the world of food through the eyes of someone who cannot afford to be luxurious about it. Outside of the experiment, I can afford to buy food that I need or want, whenever I do.

Even while experimenting, I can still be "low-budget-luxurious" – coffee I don’t really need, two Bobbies "just for so," a tin of black beans for a homemade gourmet snack, when a (cheaper) bag of dry beans would make a few meals.

Many do not have the option of stopping “the experiment” and buying whatever they want or need –whether to satisfy an idle food/drink craving, feed a family or make healthier food choices. How does someone with only $100 and no other food at home survive?

Many stereotypically view "crime" as an act motivated by the frivolous need for expensive phones, clothing, guns and other material status symbols.

However, no human being can eat those items. Hunger (which we all experience regardless of social status) can be a major motivator for crime, especially when long-term or even intergenerational.

Studies have shown links between poor nutrition during pregnancy and later crime, poor nutrition and its resulting mind alteration/impaired brain functions that potentially cause anything from depression to social anxiety to violent criminal tendencies – common social problems existing throughout TT...even, increasingly, in our schools.

In our nation, poorly fed on many levels, the root cause of many of our increasing crime problems may be related to the deep, unsatisfied hunger in many bellies.