On a Dollar a Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures in Eating in America by Greenslate Christopher & Leonard Kerri

Author:Greenslate, Christopher & Leonard, Kerri [Greenslate, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2010-01-20T16:00:00+00:00

10

Food Fight

Christopher

With only six weeks of the school year left, the pressure was on to help students prepare for finals, get the last couple issues of the student newspaper out, and wrap everything else up in time for summer. The end of the school year is both a time of great stress and great relief, as it is challenging to manage the progress of 150 students all heading for the finish line. In addition to advising both the journalism and social justice programs, I could feel summer coming, and as the final days grew closer, the heat in my students grew as well.

By the third week of the experiment, we had pretty much figured out how to work within the USDA’s plan, but working with each other proved a little more daunting. Kerri was sprinting to close the school year. While students stress about grades and finishing assignments, we teachers work extra hours to provide support for them, leaving less patience for one another. After being flexible all day for students, problem solving at home—especially for mundane things like cooking and laundry—was nearly impossible. There were times when the added stress elicited rolled eyes and snippy comments in the kitchen as we struggled to follow the Thrifty Food Plan. While our experience at the Food Justice conference was both enlightening and motivational, the reality of working as public school teachers made everything a touch more difficult during the week.

It was only Tuesday, but for both of us, it felt as if we had been working all week; we were exhausted. Kerri looked at the menu: crispy chicken, lima beans, and canned peaches. Having adjusted the menu to allow for leftovers, we turned one of the lunch options into a dinner dish. The only problem was that we were out of seitan, our cheap go-to meat alternative. The recipe instructed that you bread the chicken in a seasoned flour mixture and then roll the pieces in cornflakes before baking and eating with barbecue sauce. I was actually looking forward to the dish, but one thing I never look forward to is running out to the store to pick up ingredients after having been at work all day. We had misjudged part of our shopping and left out this key ingredient.

“Could you go to the store?” Kerri asked.

I continued staring at my book.

“Hello?”

I had no interest in putting my shoes back on and getting in the car to run a grocery errand. For the record, I didn’t want Kerri to have to go, either. Kerri was pissed. Even though I knew it wouldn’t fly, I tried one of my usual excuses.

“I’m in my underwear.”

Kerri stared in utter amazement at the banality of my response.

“Oh, really?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

Before I could turn to defend my position, Kerri had kicked off her shoes and was in the process of unbuttoning her work pants.

“You don’t have to do that,” I offered.

“Apparently I do! Whenever we need something from the store, I’m always the one who has to go and get it!” she said.

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