Shopping for the Food Bank

There have been a lot of layoffs in the Racine area over the past year, on top of the many layoffs in the years before that. I've been thinking about how many families in the area must be struggling to make ends meet. For the first time since TheBoy was born, we're actually making progress against our debt, and not feeling more than a moderate crunch on our budget.

So, we decided to do some shopping for the food pantry. And it was actually a lot of fun! TheGirl was put in charge of selecting items within our $50 budget. The food pantry provides a list of items they need. By the time we were done, we had half a cart full of everything from salt, pepper, ketchup and mayo to chicken noodle soup, baked beans, peanut butter, and tuna. Twenty-four items in all, for a grand total of $50.18. On the way out, we emptied the whole cart into the collection bin at the exit. What a strange feeling to spend an hour grocery shopping and head out to the car empty-handed. But it was a nice feeling, too.