Author Leanne Brown moved to New York from Canada to earn a master’s degree in food studies at New York University. Facing the reality that 46 million Americans have to survive on only $4/day, her focus soon became food insecurity, and more specifically the question: how well can someone really eat on $4 a day? That’s the amount provided through the U.S. government’s food stamp program. To determine the answer, she took to her kitchen, developing resourceful recipes made of whole, unprocessed foods that promote the joy of cooking and that show just how delicious and inspiring a “cheap” meal can be when cooked at home.