What happens when two high school teachers get fed up with their soaring grocery bills and decide to try to feed themselves on one dollar each, per day? Authors Kerri Leonard and Christopher Greenslate describe how they did it--and also include sections about eating on a little more than $4 a day, as well as on the actual costs of eating a healthy diet. On a Dollar a Day also includes fascinating facts about the way our food gets to the table and the hidden costs--both personal and financial--along the way:

• How food companies "short size" packages so that you pay more for less food
• Why one tablespoon of salad dressing costs as much as a whole orange
• How grocery stores auction off foods past their "sell by" dates
• Why processed foods have a higher markup than fresh foods
• Why it takes so long for food prices to drop, even after fuel and shipping costs go down
• How 36 million Americans have limited food options, even during a national obesity epidemic