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Darshana Challenges Herself to Eat On $1.50 Per Day

We often hear people say that eating vegan is more expensive than not. Darshana Thacker shows us it’s not true.

I recently took on a personal challenge to eat on $1.50 a day for five days. I was apprehensive and didn’t think I could do it. Here’s my story…

Knowing that so many people struggle to feed themselves and their families made me feel obligated to give it a try. I wanted to understand what 1.4 billion people experience in their daily lives. Also, as a person on a whole-food, plant-based diet, I wanted to see what such a diet would look like on an austere budget.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

I realized early on that three important factors would make my five-day trial a success.

The first was knowledge: what food items are cheap and provide an adequate amount of calories and nutrients per dollar? I found that starchy plant foods ⎯ lentils, beans, rice, potatoes, carrots, corn tortillas, and beans would meet these needs. Whole-grain pasta and flour, though moderately processed, also fit the bill and seemed an appropriate compromise under the circumstances.

The second factor was accessibility: where could I find cheap ingredients and how easy or difficult would it be to obtain them? I found that nearby discount stores (like 99-cent stores) had the basics that I needed.

The third factor was time: I needed to find the time to cook. In order to get an adequate amount of food for the money, I could not eat pre-made meals. I planned on being efficient by cooking several meals at a time.

Here is Darshana Thacker’s article from the Forks Over Knives website and the amazing results of her challenge.

The next Advanced Study Weekend is September 5 – 7, 2014. Speakers include Dean Ornish, MD, founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Neal Barnard, MD, founder of the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Marc Gosselin, MD, Patient Advocate at OHSU.