Here are some of the prices we’ve found for fresh foods, converted to US dollars: $7 for a whole chicken (fresh); $9-12 for a birthday cake (about 12 inches in diameter); $7 per pound for carnitas (fully prepared); $2 for a cantaloupe; $0.65-0.85 for a bottle of soda (500-600 ml.); $1 for a gallon of purified drinking water; $1.75 for 8 small apples; warm, freshly made tortillas: $0.37 per pound in town, or $0.43 per pound from the truck that delivers them throughout the neighborhood (literally to your front door).

For comparison, we heard an example of wages paid in the neighborhood: an experienced brick layer earns about $18 per day, and his helper earns about $12 per day. Many of the prices seem reasonable when thinking in terms of dollars earned in the US, but for locals in a small town like ours, a significant portion of their income goes toward food.