Next year when they do the Live Below the Line Challenge, I'd like to particpate. In this challenge you live for 5 workdays on US$7.50 of food (or NZ&AU$10 or 5 poundsUK). It's a hunger and poverty awareness challenge. You can split packages of items with other people to get more diversity in your food.

So far the challenge has been done in May, so foods that are usually frugal that time of year would be good to focus on.

In looking over the food choices of some of the other participants, some common favorities were rice, legumes, eggs, potatoes, pasta, oatmeal, flour, cornmeal, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, canned corn, carrots, greens, pumpkin, bananas, salt, pepper, curry.

The strategy that people seemed to most want to change for a future year was cooking a big batch of something and then needing to eat it repeatedly. So more variety of form or combinations of items would help there.

Any advice from people who have participated previously or who are thinking of participating in 2012 on shopping lists or menus?