$1 a Meal

Four members of the House of Representatives - three Democrats and a Republican - are trying this week to spend only $21 on food, that paltry sum being the average weekly value of the food stamps doled out by the government to the poor.

It's not easy to live on a buck a meal. One of the reps, JimMcGovern (D-Mass - of course)

and his wife, Lisa, did their food shopping for the week with help from Toinette Wilson, a D.C. resident and mother of three who relies on food stamps. Wilson gave him some tips, but it was still a struggle, he said. "No organic foods, no fresh vegetables, we were looking for the cheapest of everything," McGovern said. "We got spaghetti and hamburger meat that was high in fat -- the fattiest meat on the shelf. I have high cholesterol and always try to get the leanest, but it's expensive. It's almost impossible to make healthy choices on a food stamp diet."

I'll bet Karl Rove drops $21 on his appetizers at dinner each night.