A local woman named Maria is spending only $30 for food over the next month (April 10 - May 10) as a fundraiser for Blanford Nature and Mixed Greens. Maria, who is chronicling her experiment online, is donating the remainder of the money that she isn't spending on food each month--usually around $220--to the two charities. As part of the experiment, she has set the following rules:

"1. I can spend up to $30 in the next 30 days for food.

2. I can barter for locally grown food. In this case, "local" means anything within a 100 mile radius of my workplace in downtown Grand Rapids.

3. I can forage for food such as wild onions, wild garlic, and dandelion greens. Stay tuned for more on this.

4. "Gift food" is forbidden. This means no coffee and donuts from the office, no friends buying me dinner, and none of mom's cookies (sorry Mom!) for the month.

5. DRY Spices are excepted from all of this. According to my estimates, I spend far less than $.01 per day on basic spices like salt, pepper, and oregano so I won't count them. Wet spices like sauces and condiments DO count in my $ figures - even ketchup packets."

When it comes to local edible and wild plants, there are several plants that grow in the wild in Michigan that can be obtained for next to nothing. In this video, Maria shows how to clean and prepare dandelions:

The experiment also raises larger issues about access to healthy food and the money required to eat healthy in the United States.