(the names have been redacted to protect the guilty)
There is a local government with ‘nutritionists’ on staff.
These nutritionists go out to schools and churches, etc. and ‘educate’ the local folks about good nutrition. For their events, they require some supplies depending on the subject they are discussing. Those supplies are acquired from local grocers at the retail rate.
The nutritionists do not stop on their way to work or their events to pick up their supplies. They give those tasks to office assistants also employed by the local government.
In this, not unusual, case, a nutritionist was teaching about ‘spa water’ and needed One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
They sent an office assistant to get those supplies the day before.
The office assistant went to the grocer and bought those items for less than $4 using the purchase order system they have set up with the grocer requiring the grocer to process paperwork for One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
The office assistant was required to fill out all the paperwork for One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
The office assistant used a government vehicle to get to the grocer for One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
The office assistant was paid an hourly wage in the mid twenty dollar range for a trip that took over an hour for One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
So…
This local government spent between $30 and 40$, not counting vehicle expenses, for One cucumber and One package of fresh mint.
Neat, huh?