the hunger challenge

[dyskodyke]

Last week, a bunch of SF bloggers participated in a challenge to raise awareness and funds for the SF food bank.

The challenge was to eat on $1 per person per meal (3 meals a day) -- or, put another way, $3 per person per day, $21 per person a week for groceries.

Cooking with Amy was my starting point in reading about this challenge. She talks

Comments

[sharkysmachine]

I think is this is such a great idea particularly for those who have never had to survive on a 20 bucks a week (oh I remember that from living in LA and being estranged from my family.) It was humbling and exhausting trying to find things that were cheap, didn't involve a lot of extras and were mildly tasty. I haven't had Ramen, Kraft MacNCheese or 3/.99 tacos/burritos/hamburgers from ANYWHERE in over a decade.

I think some folks get all haughty because many food co-ops take EBT and WIC cards, but that doesn't change the damn price of the food. I don't even shop at co-ops because I find them cost prohibitive (and I hate hippie culture).

When I was doing case management with HIV client, I was heartbroken at how I was having to augment their food budgets with 30.00 worth of grocery giftcards when I would do shopping for the very ill. And even then it was barely enough to ensure they were getting three well balanced and nutritious meals (plus hefty snacks to fight wasting syndrome) they needed.

Some of these clients had families they were also trying to feed and even in this supposedly hippie place there were very few resources (outside the usual crappy food banks and non filling offerings from the "Starvation Army") to access.

Food insecurity happens so much in our rich nation and just because poorer folks might be fat doesn't mean they aren't basically malnourished and starving.

I was just looking over the stats for a grant I'm writing for a fruit/veggie bank and approx. 48% of the community (where the agency seeks to provide services) describes itself as "food insecure". Meaning having restrictive food budgets of less than 30 bucks a week, or factor in at least one free meal into their food budgets. (Free school lunches, free food at work, etc)

It's just so scary.

[dyskodyke]

It IS scary.

One of the women doing the hunger challenge talked about feeling sickly and run-down all week. And she was a healthy woman just making a temporary change. I hadn't even thought about ppl who are seriously ill and whose bodies are even less equipped to handle reduced calories/nutrition.

And yeah, I feel really blessed not to be food insecure. Like you, I've got some tight budget moments, but I know I can fall back on my family, or (more often) my credit cards. That's a luxury not everyone has.

[sharkysmachine]

Yeah, it always pisses me off when I see the crap people put into food bank donation boxes. It's all processed and it's all low in nutrients and stuff most people wouldn't want for their precious families to eat. I prefer donating money towards bettering nutrition programs offered by Meals on Wheels, which in my area anyway, works extremely hard to create low cost, high nutrition value meals that are also tasty. I also try to at least once a month donate food, time and cook a meal at the local hospice. Actually Mr. Angelina's been doing this for nearly five years and so I took over his slot when he moved to Seattle earlier this year. Though now that his Seattle deal fell apart he's done it twice.

I worry lot about food insecurity as it relates both to people and animals (don't get me started about animal shelters and starving animals.) and try to do tangible things to alleviate some of the suffering, though I don't know, it feels very overwhelming at times. Especially when I am fighting both the actual issue and the "mythology" around it.

So when I sound snarky about vegans, hippie lifestyles and foodies, it has a lot to do with my annoyance with unchecked privilege rather than the actual merits of the lifestyles/interests themselves.

[cabarethaze]

I'm glad someone else thinks this - I was raised by a (poor) mother who made sure every year we bought $100 of food to give away. Good stuff, easy to make, pretty healthy. Peanut butter, good cereal, cans of decent soup, canned veg, pasta and sauce, etc. Stuff we'd eat. We'd wait until there was a super sale and grab a bunch to donate.

Then you get to the donation bin and there's a pile of sardines, expired instant mac and cheese, some weird flavour of something, a broken bottle of soy sauce. Ugh. It's just insulting.

I really wish it was possible to set up a mini soup kitchen on my front stoop - make some burritos or a stew with rice and serve it up to anyone who is hungry. Thanks for reminding me I should really make an effort to find somewhere to volunteer now that I've moved :)