What $10 can buy—and what it can give

Ten bucks can buy any number of little indulgences. In the hands of Feeding America, it can also feed 100 hungry people.

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It was recently announced that, by 2020, a woman’s face will grace our ten-dollar bills. That got me thinking about what a Hamilton (or Tubman or Roosevelt or…?) will get you these days.

Here are some things you can buy for ten dollars or so:

A 16-ounce marshmallow chocolate latte with whipped cream and graham sprinkles, plus a cupcake on the side

A tube of sunblock

A tube of volumizing, waterproof, cat-eye drugstore mascara

A bottle of Hitachino White Ale imported from Japan

A bottle of nail polish in Chillato or Liberty Pixie Dust

A bandeau bikini top on sale at Forever 21

A movie ticket

A car wash

Part of one really good burger or two okay ones or ten dollar-menu ones

Three rides on the CTA, plus change to throw on the tracks

Or you can give that ten dollars to your local food bank. Summer vacation is here, and with it, the annual crisis for America’s food banks. According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, more than 22 million children currently receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, and 4 out of 5 of those children lose access to those meals as public schools close for the summer months.

I don’t care who you are—you know some of those children, probably without knowing the dire straits of their lives. In 2013, one in five households with children was food insecure. For many of them, and their parents, food banks are the only recourse. The Feeding America network of food banks have figured out how to make $10 provide 100 meals for people facing hunger.

Look, you already have nail polish and lattes. But a lot of people out there—many of them people you pass on the street every day—do not have enough to eat. On the Feeding America website, you locate a food bank near you to help. Or you can make a donation and let them feed those most in need, wherever they are. Please do.

7 thoughts on “What $10 can buy—and what it can give

  1. City Harvest, a wonderful New York City food rescue and redistribution non-profit, is one of my favorite places to give an extra Tubman or two. Thanks for a great reminder, Marion. Although giving up that bandeau bikini top will be mighty tough.

  2. Wonderful post, Marion! I’m ashamed to say it never occurred to me that the children who get free meals at school miss out during the summer months. I just signed up to give to a local food bank. Thank you for the inspiration.

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