Do you ever reach that point, at the end of the day, as you look into your pantry or fridge and wonder - now what shall we have for dinner?  Then, despite there being a full cupboard of what can best be described as ‘stuff’, you head out to the supermarket, or worse, the takeaway, for something fresh or easy.

This is an all too common occurrence in the Vicarage, which this week, lead to sweeping reform.  At the behest (or is that command) of ‘the manager’, I trotted off to the bank and withdrew a solitary $20 note and, adding it to a sad looking dollar coin from the glove-box, relinquished the sum.  This, I was told, was our food budget for the week.

I imagine that the women’s magazines call it the $21 challenge.  The sum is only enough to purchase fresh bread and milk, and in our case, a bag of onions.  Then, taking on my ancient role of ‘hunter-gatherer’, the rest of our dietary needs were sourced from the freezer, pantry and fridge - left overs… long forgotten tins… meat that had been frozen for a rainy day.

As we come near the end of the week, I am poised to proclaim the challenge a grand success.  In fact, as I peer into the freezer, I imagine that we could extend the program… this could be (and probably will be) a monthly adventure.

I guess the message is simple enough.  The benefits are both financial and ethical - I love not spending money at the supermarket - and to do something that prevents the inevitable waste of food in a world where many are hungry - it’s simply what we ought to do, more and more.

Why not give it a go?