Our Weekly Bread

A while back, Julie D's food blog Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen linked to a photo essay in Time Magazine called "What the World Eats". It's a fascinating look at what people around the world eat in a week, and how much they pay for it.

There's probably enough gustatorial diversity in America to make up a separate study, as evidenced by my looking at the two American families featured and thinking, "That doesn't look anything like the way our family eats." And so as an experiment I offer a photo of last week's shopping.

The Darwins, Round Rock, TX
Total for this trip: $112.44
(not pictured: mid-week run to store, bringing weekly total to close to $130)

Now obviously this isn't everything we eat in a week. It doesn't take into account things already in the pantry, like refried beans or flour for the pizza or the farm eggs from the chickens that Darwin's manager raises. But it is a fairly accurate picture of how we shop for food (as this was a trip in which I didn't have to buy diapers, wipes, laundry detergent, or a new broom). We don't tend to buy packaged snacks (the pretzels were an impulse buy after a request from the ladies) or prepared meals, and we don't often eat fast-food or go to restaurants.

I'm curious as to how other families eat. I'll tag anyone who's interested to participate in my informal shopping photo documentary.