I don't spend time in low-income areas but as I was reading up on this challenge I heard complaints from people that said it is impossible. I then read the excuses and decided to prove them wrong. One of the excuses was that they lived in a food desert. Supermarkets close up because of huge amounts of theft and problem customers - it just wasn't worth the effort.
I live in southern Arizona along the main transportation route of Mexican produce - it is super cheap! I can get a box every Saturday that has a random amount of vegetables, up to 60 pounds in total, for just $10. It is veggies and fruits that won't make it to their intended destination before going bad. Here is a post with pics: https://steemit.com/food/@getonthetrain/how-i-get-40-60-lbs-of-produce-for-just-usd10
I would like to see you do the challenge. A week is nothing, easy street! :D
Neat! Offers like your produce box are rare up here since there's very little in terms of local produce other than potatoes and occasionally apples in the summer. Anything heading here on a truck is usually destined for a store in my city.
I have had some luck with Walmart deals. They used to throw out the remaining produce when they went to restock, but lately they've started bagging it up and selling it for $1 per bag. Most of it's perfectly fine, although you run across the occasional bad apple (Pun intended). Just today I got three cucumbers, four avocados, and about fifteen bananas for $3 total. Normally this would have run between $10 and $15.
I'll try to remember to tag you when we try the challenge. My girlfriend previously talked about this sort of thing and seemed pretty interested in giving it a shot.
PS - I was in Bisbee a few years ago on vacation. We flew into Tucson and took a car from there. The desert was an awesome change of scene from our Canadian winters, and the heat was a welcome break :) Nice area you live in.