Meet the Mendozas

The Mendoza family. From left: Susana (47), Ignacio (15), Cristolina (19), a family friend (standing in for Marcelucia, 9, who ran off to play), Fortunado Pablo (50), and Sandra Ramos, live-in helper (11). Not pictured: Xtila (17) and Juan (12).

Deep in the rural town of Todos Santos in Cuchumatan, Guatemala lives the Mendozas, a family of eight. For the Mendozas, the center of family life revolves around the kitchen. This is the typical week's worth of food for the Mendozas, and it all comes to the cost of 573 Quetzales, or about  $75.70 in U.S. dollars.

The majority of the family's diet consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, which cost the family around $34.75 a week. Most popular are dried black beans (13.2 lbs), green squash (12 lbs), tomatoes (10 lbs) and bananas (7.4 lbs). Also important in the Mendoza family's diet are grains and other starches, which the family spends $11.49 on each week. 48 lbs of homegrown corn are eaten every week, as well as 20 lbs of potatoes. $8.85 each week is spent on condiments such as salt, pepper, oil, and cinnamon, and $7.93 is spent on 4.4 lbs of chicken and 30 eggs. The drink of choice is water, as 5 gallons of bottled water are consumed each week. Not much is spent on snacks, dairy, or prepared foods, which have a combined total of $7. 

The Mendozas seem to have a very healthy lifestyle, since almost all of their weekly foods are fresh and virtually none of it is processed. Their foods are prepared using a gas stovetop and a wooden stove, and they are preserved in a refrigerator. Cooking and eating in the Mendoza house helps to bring the family closer together, and according to Fortunado Pablo Mendoza, he is "happiest when I'm eating [my wife] Susana's rice and beans, her homemade tortillas, and her turkey soup."