Day 2 for our family on food bank rations was my husband’s birthday. But, he’s a trooper and didn’t complain while he and I continued to eat what was “in the box” for the second day. Peanut butter and the remaining hamburger/hotdog buns continued to be a staple for breakfast and snacks. With my husband home from work on his day off, we shared the second can of soup for lunch – a vegetable noodle soup that was far from appetizing but filled the hole. And, we broke out the can of peaches for dessert. My kids continued to eat their own groceries for breakfast and lunch.
Supper was the remaining spaghetti casserole, which had just enough to feed our family of four a second time. Because the organizers of this experiment knew my husband’s birthday was on June 2, they were kind enough to provide a box of six tiny chocolate bars, which we shared among ourselves after singing Happy Birthday.
Now, that the two days are over, I have to say I’m relieved to be putting fresh fruit and vegetables, along with some meat back into my diet. I found myself participating in a “mindfulness exercise” promoted by yoga teachers and meditators as I crunched down on my carrots at lunch today, savouring the taste and chewing slowly to be really mindful about how good it was and how full of nutrition. This experience has reminded me of the need to be grateful for what we have.
While it’s been great to put a bunch of journalists and media “personalities” through the experience, it seems to me that next year, a concentration should be put on politicians, those people who are actually in a position to make political change to a system that has created the need for food banks. Perhaps Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell and Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb could be persuaded to participate so they could gain some firsthand knowledge about how people are forced to live while on unemployment insurance, welfare and other forms of social assistance. As the numbers of people grow – in some cases doubling since last year – it seems apparent that food banks, who depend on the generosity of donors, aren’t going to be able to meet the need forever.
While we might think we understand intellectually about poverty and what it’s like to need a food bank, there’s nothing like eating for two days from someone else’s food box to get a real taste of it.
ruralfoodbank
Marian
susanch
kvarley
shawnycitizen
pmain
allyanderson
cathyelliott
