Buying into Veganism: The Shopping Experience

I've never understood why good food costs so much. It is one of the great paradoxes of the modern world: a large majority of the "good stuff"--the delicious and oh-so-nutritious fruits and vegetables and grains--are rendered inaccessible to many on the lower end of the income scale due to their high costs. It only makes this idea more troubling when you consider the correlation between poverty and obesity. Those with less money in our society are being dealt a less nutritious and often harmful (in the long run) diet. Five bucks can go a lot further on the dollar menu at McDonald's than in the organic section of a supermarket. I would imagine when someone is barely getting by, their fiber intake and Vitamin A levels may not be of utmost concern. 
When I embarked on this veganism kick (diet, experiment, fluke…whatever you want to call it), I initially intended to fund my end of the project myself. I figured buying a month's worth of vegan groceries for only one person would be affordable and manageable under my budget of about $75 scrounged from babysitting money and a savings withdrawal. Of course, in the world of a *shopaholic*, that quickly depletes to $50, but even then, I thought I would make do (how very wrong I was!)  
After adopting Blogilates' Vegan Challenge Meal Plan (http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2012/05/28/blogilates-vegan-challenge-meal-plan/), Steph and I made our first grocery shopping stop at Trader Joe's. Though I knew Trader Joe's to be the *new wave* *fresh and organic* *indie/hipster genre in terms of grocery stores*, I had never before made the pilgrimage to the idolized mecca of all things good and wholesome. 
Overall, the experience was pleasant and exciting. I was slightly put-off by the high prices and long grocery lists, but my surroundings in health-nut heaven left me in a kind of content and dazed stupor. 
Here is the result of my "Katherine…Jot It Down" lists finally becoming useful:

We didn't end up purchasing nearly as much as we intended and hardly made a dent in the three-page long list. However, we figured we'd save some money finding some products elsewhere and we are very busy people with very busy schedules. Total damage for this trip:

The booty:

The second stop on the journey toward veganism was Shoprite. I consider myself very fortunate to have a generous and trusting mother that was willing to lend her debit card to the cause after the money funds were depleted at TJ's.
Maybe it was the dozens of obscure grocery items on my list, or maybe it was the mounting cost of these items, or maybe it was the time constraint of one hour. Whatever it was, solo vegan food shopping in Shoprite was a desperate and overwhelming experience. My thoughts sounded a bit like "Now, where did I see those asparagus stalks?" and "$5.99 for amaranth plus $2.49 for vegetable stock added to $65.00 of other groceries…" as I circled through the produce section about four hundred times and then sped past the meat  department on my way to find soy yogurt. In the end, I left off a number of goods in my haste but was nonetheless relieved to be done with shopping…for now.
Here is the receipt of this trip, which filled me with buyer's guilt and dread as I calculated how many hours of babysitting would be needed to pay off this debt:

And here is a lovely display (if I do say so myself) of the purchases arranged by moi:

All in all, I don't regret this shopping experience. It exposed me to the injustice of high food prices and the rip-offs of many luxury grocery chains. I realized $50 can only go so far in terms of grocery shopping and, as a soon-to-be college student, I ought to get used to the taste of ramen. I also realized adult responsibilities like buying one's own groceries are full of compromises, and sometimes, when you just can't seem to find psyllium husk, you just have to let it go.