Day 1

My name is Shon Griggs Jr. I attend Paul Quinn College; I'm a second semester sophomore from Atlanta, Ga. For spring break we have essentially been sequestered for an entire week to experience what it is like to reside in a food desert. The irony behind this entire food desert issue is the fact that the college, in which I currently attend, is actually located in a food desert. Hence this is why this experiment is taking place on our campus. My preconceived notion, in relation to the food desert, was that of slight ignorance. Mainly because I neglected to pay attention to the fact that this community does not have immediate access to a grocery store or fresh produce. Moreover, initially I considered a food desert to be a place in which people were literally starving. After researching food deserts, I concluded while people aren't necessarily starving, there are some gross health concerns that accompany food deserts. Normally, I eat what I want, literally. In fact, there are days that I spoil myself and order thin crust pepperoni pizza, with extra cheese and sauce; please don't forget the double breaded spicy barbecue chicken wings on the side, totalling exactly $26.75. Moreover, when I'm not eating Pizza Hut or raiding Wing Stop, I'm usually in the cafeteria here on campus, super excited about fried chicken Wednesdays (which is the best day of the week I must add). All in all, I said all that to say, I love food. As you have probably concluded from the food choices depicted above, I do not cook. Honestly, I hate cooking. If it were up to me, I would be absolutely content with eating fast food everyday. OK, ok not everyday, but most of the time. Surprisingly, despite the absolutely horribly terrific food choices above, I would describe myself as a healthy guy. On a scale of 1-5, I rank in at a firm 4.67, with the potential to increase this number by two tenths of a point if I include arugula and spinach in at least one meal out of the week.( not a factual statement). Our day began at approximately, 10:48am, March 11, 2013. Slightly, 18 mins behind schedule, but hey who's counting. The meeting began with the usual introductions, everything flowed smoothly. President Sorrell began to outline the program, when out of nowhere came this 200mph curve ball thrown by former Atlanta Braves (my home team) baseball player John Smoltz, that came directly at me. The curve ball had the number 4.32 written all over it. Prez explained $4.32 represents the numerical value of federal financial assistance allotted daily to each single family household. Subsequently, Prez noted that we were going to experience the painful hardship people in this community endure daily, trying to survive on a $4.32 lifestyle. Immediately, after my brain processed this detrimental news, it was like a 2 year old child watching their only birthday balloon that was decorated with their favorite cartoon character, fly way to be one with the endless sky. I felt sick. My mouth begin to dry up, sweat matriculated, I felt dizzy ok, technically my body didn't experience these different states, however on a dangerously excessive level, I pondered all these emotions, almost to this brink of exploding. Amazingly, I snapped back to life when I began to remind myself that it was only for a week. The meeting continued, but all I remember is hearing "you will be living off $4.32". Obviously with a weekly net income of $21.60, I'm not going to be this rich guy that has the ability to "ball out" lavishly on gourmet hot wings. Pardon  the sarcasm, but lets be real,  I usually spend more money on one meal than many families weekly  grocery store budget; I'm afraid something terribly is wrong. The initial obstacles we encountered included but are not limited to: clearly outlining our assets, simply having enough money for food, procuring food that suits everyone's life style, and perhaps most important obstacle is access to fresh produce in walking distance. What stood out to me the most during our decision making process better known as preparing a grocery list, was the fact that sacrifices were abundant due to cost. With respect to all that live on $4.32 per week, we ended up with a relatively basic menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Trust me when I say basic, I'm being generous. Lunch was crispy chicken from the corner store. The unfortunate thing about working on a strict budget is the fact that quality is non-existent and quantity is incredibly small. . For instance normally I eat white meat chicken meat,which includes fries and a drink. However for lunch today dark meat was on the menu, and sadly I was not able to include a side! I was severely parched after eating greasy, spicy chicken. I must add the walk back was even more miserable due to the fact that my mouth was dry, cotton mouth was a understatement. We began work around 1:30, the intense labor was not that big of a deal personally given the fact that I'm a "farmer" by occupation, which translates to working hard daily. The addition of the Abilene students made work unbelievably easy, mainly because they are incredibly hard workers as well. During work, we all engaged in utterly intriguing and arguably controversial dialogue to say the least . I strongly feel as though everyone's opinion was well respected; this was completely healthy conversation coupled with a cool learning experience. Dinner was absolutely amazing, the only negative was the fact in relation to dinner was that it was served slightly after 10:00 pm . All in all today was incredibly interesting day and I'm anxiously anticipating what is in store for tomorrow. Buenos Noche, mi amigos!!!