Blog: Holly Alexandruk’s journey on the Poverty Pledge

WINNIPEG — On Monday, I was put on a story about Winnipeg Harvest’s Poverty Pledge, a commitment to live for five days on the same food budget as a single person living on social assistance.

A single person living alone gets roughly $3.96 a day for food, entertainment and personal care items, Winnipeg Harvest staff say.

And I thought, I can do that, how hard can it be?

READ MORE: Winnipeg Harvest challenges residents with Poverty Pledge

So I went grocery shopping to see what I could buy for $3.96 a day, or $19.80 for five days.

Let me tell you, it was no easy task.

I originally started to shop for groceries in the produce section, knowing the importance of having fresh fruits and veggies in my diet. Peppers were $3.49 a pound, far too much for my strict budget.

So I ended up buying a lot of canned items, for about $1 or $2 a tin. I picked up bread and peanut butter for lunch and eggs for breakfast.

I went through the till and realized I still had a few dollars left, so that’s when I hit the produce section. I was able to get a clove of garlic to add spice to my beans and lentils, two apples and three bananas.

Monday night after a long day at work, I went home to make dinner. A can of six-bean mix, a can of diced tomatoes, garlic, two stalks of celery, black beans and lentils, add some water and a soup was created!

READ MORE: Reduce income gap through guaranteed annual income, former Tory senator says

That will (fingers crossed) last me until Friday, eating the same food every night for five dinners. To add a little something extra, I had a piece of toast with my soup.

I felt full, but was certainly craving some fresh lettuce, cucumber — something with crunch. Not until Saturday, when my pledge is over.

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This morning, no coffee for me! Instead, a nice tall glass of water to go alongside my eggs and piece of dry toast (butter or margarine cost too much).

Feeling pretty good this morning, but I’m only at the start of this journey.

Lunch will be a banana today, and toast with peanut butter. Dinner?

You guessed it, my bean soup creation.