I (Larry) had an interesting conversation with a co-worker today that sparked thoughts through out. We discussed how many of the clients we work with often will eat only one meal a day, and as a result, their metabolism could be affected by slowing it, thus causing weight gain. But based on what Kathy and I have rationed, we could have easily taken all we ate on a daily basis and ate it in one sitting. At the same time, we talked about the post that went up yesterday (sorry, I recall who posted it, but it was a dietitian) and how a person, if spreading out the contents over the week, would be getting roughly a 1000 calories daily. For myself and most of the clients I serve, that would be about half of what our bodies require to function normally without physical activity. And yet, as helpers in the community, we encourage people to be physically active....how ironic...how do you be active when undernourished? And yet how many thousands of times have we heard about an "obesity epidemic"? Around and around in my head I go.
Kath put together a great rice/veggie/egg/spaghetti sauce thing for me for supper tonight. I have often marvelled at how she can take "nothing" and create something, bordering on masterpiece. As I pondered my bowl in front of me, I began to think, "Would I, if on my own, be able to whip something like this together?" A resounding no! I then thought of other clients who live on their own, but do not have a creative partner that can make a wonderful creation. What would they do with what we have left? Would they be able to create something as edible? I'm not so sure...I know I couldn't do it!
So, if I piece this all together as if I were a client I work with, it would go something like this: I get a box full of stuff from the foodbank, which is great, but then I am not sure what to with some of it, so I use what I know, but what do I do with the rest...well, I will eat only suppers for the next week...but then I am supposed to be active...but man, I am way to tired, so I think I will take it easy tonight...
By no means am I implying that those on assistance don't do much...I have met too many amazing people that do great things in our community...but after this week, I could completely understand if they didn't want to/couldn't be active.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Day Six - Support
Just a brief note to share today. My husband is out of town on business and the parenting is now all in my hands. Not a big deal… usually… But I am feeling lethargic (everything is a big deal) and just lacking in reserves, both physical and emotional. I cannot imagine the challenges of single parenting on a painfully tight budget with no end in sight. Kudos to the many, many of you out there that do – and manage to do it the very best you can.
Soup and cookies
We're in the homestretch now. I'm so grateful to my wife Karen who chose to make peanut butter cookies using the recipe on the side of the jar. One cup pb, one half cup sugar and one precious egg mixed together, separated into balls and baked. Delicious. The snack we needed. But even they are being rationed to last until Friday. We're down to just a few crumbs of cereal, a few drops of milk, a quarter cup of oatmeal and four slices of bread for breakfast. There's still one box of kd and tuna for supper tomorrow. There is absolutely no way the food would have lasted an entire week for our family of four. If we had not supplemented the kids lunches with our own food this week, we'd be eating rice, rice and rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (We still have a half bag of rice left.)
For whatever reason, I still am feeling fine. My wife however is sharing in the headaches and discomfort so many of you have blogged about. The children, not thrilled with our family dinners, forge on with their enhanced lunches.
The highlight of this experience for me occurred today: my visit to the food kitchen with my colleague at CBC, John Gaudi, who is also participating in the challenge. After enjoying a hot bowl of soup, meat on a bun and small sweet, we struck up a conversation with a few of our fellow diners. I brought along my tape recorder to record their thoughts on the food challenge. As people who rely on social assistance, I asked them what they thought about a bunch of Sudburians eating a food bank diet for seven days. Kim said we should all try it for 90 days. That's when you would truly feel what it's like to be on social assistance. Imagine. My conversation with Kim will be on Morning North Thursday at 8:15 (unless the lineup has changed since I left this afternoon). That conversation, along with a chat I had with Elvis will be posted on the Morning North website under audio features later tomorrow. I was moved by their honesty and willingness to share their stories.
For whatever reason, I still am feeling fine. My wife however is sharing in the headaches and discomfort so many of you have blogged about. The children, not thrilled with our family dinners, forge on with their enhanced lunches.
The highlight of this experience for me occurred today: my visit to the food kitchen with my colleague at CBC, John Gaudi, who is also participating in the challenge. After enjoying a hot bowl of soup, meat on a bun and small sweet, we struck up a conversation with a few of our fellow diners. I brought along my tape recorder to record their thoughts on the food challenge. As people who rely on social assistance, I asked them what they thought about a bunch of Sudburians eating a food bank diet for seven days. Kim said we should all try it for 90 days. That's when you would truly feel what it's like to be on social assistance. Imagine. My conversation with Kim will be on Morning North Thursday at 8:15 (unless the lineup has changed since I left this afternoon). That conversation, along with a chat I had with Elvis will be posted on the Morning North website under audio features later tomorrow. I was moved by their honesty and willingness to share their stories.
Lucky Choatmeal
For breakfast the past couple of days: oatmeal mixed with Lucky Charms. Or, Lucky Choatmeal. The name's pretty appropriate as it indicates my feelings toward the dish as well as what it looks like. Yet it's actually surprisingly tasty and relatively filling.
On the way to and from class, I was thinking about how Shakespeare writes about food. There is the famous banquet scene in Macbeth; in Pericles, Pericles delivers grain to the citizens of a starving city; and in The Tempest, an elaborate banquet is laid out for ship-wrecked and hungry characters, but it cruelly disappears when they try to eat from it. Also, Caliban itemizes the produce of the mysterious island. Another character, Gonzalo, imagines governing a commonwealth in which all resources are held in common and are available without undue hardship: "All things in common nature should produce / Without sweat or endeavour." According to Gonzalo, riches and poverty will no longer exist. He doesn't mention explicitly hunger, though.
Sometimes Shakespeare uses food figuratively. The opening lines of Twelfth Night, for instance, are: "If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it." In Coriolanus, battles are depicted as crude feasts, and Coriolanus (a heroic soldier) is depicted as a voracious eater of men. Recently, I heard a paper in which metaphors derived from sixteenth-century cooking techniques appeared with some regularity in Shakespeare's history plays.
In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruccio starves Kate, his newly-wed wife, until she agrees to submit to his authority. In one scene, Petruccio throws away their meal, falsely claiming that the meat was burned. In another scene, Kate begs a servant for some food, and the servant teases her by offering her unpalatable dishes, which Kate begs him to bring. Yet he refuses. Only when Kate finally obeys him does Petruccio permit them to travel to Kate's father's house for a feast.
Now that I think of it, Shakespeare repeatedly treats food in political terms. Kate is "tamed" in part by Petruccio's withholding of food, and, the disappearing feast in The Tempest functions partly as Prospero's revenge for his loss of political power and partly as one of his maneuvers to reclaim it.
A relationship between food and politics is explicit at the beginning of Coiolanus. The opening scene stages the beginning of a food riot. The rioters believe that the city's governors are hoarding grain (effectively starving the city's citizens) in order to drive its price up and profit from this higher price. One of the rioters rather astutely argues that the sign of their starvation--"the leanness that afflicts us"--also serves as a sign of the city elite's abundance: the more the rioters suffer, the more the governors stand to gain. One of the governors attempts to calm the rioters by telling them the famous parable of the body-politic. The city is like a body, he says, and the governors are its stomach, receiving food first before shipping it off to the other body parts. Unsurprisingly, the rioters aren't satisfied with this explanation. Nevertheless, the rioters are calmed: they receive both food and political representation among the governors.
Also, Coriolanus represents this political representation partly in terms of food. While the citizens now have a political voice, several of the elite deride this "voice," noting repeatedly that this "voice" reeks of garlic and onion, food commoners typically ate. In other words, this food marks the citizens' participation in political governance and marks a class hierarchy within that participation.
I'm struck, though, by the rioter's analysis of the situation, by his claim that his and his fellow rioters' (and their families') lean bodies have value as a sign of others' abundance, as if their bodies are status-symbols for the governors. He claims that their "misery is an inventory to particularize their abundance." Their lack of food itemizes how much the governors have.
On the one hand, his critique is an extreme extension of the "keeping up with Joneses" notion. Yet here the idea is not to keep up with the Joneses but to have more than them. Or, in the rioter's formulation: one succeeds when one sees that the Joneses have less.
Yet the rioter's critique is more radical than this because it does not focus on luxuries. It's focused on a fundamental need. It's an interesting critique because it brings to light the relativity inherent in a market of scarcity: one's success is marked by what others lack.
OK. I'm getting preachier the longer I write, and the entry's long enough already, so I'll sign off.
On the way to and from class, I was thinking about how Shakespeare writes about food. There is the famous banquet scene in Macbeth; in Pericles, Pericles delivers grain to the citizens of a starving city; and in The Tempest, an elaborate banquet is laid out for ship-wrecked and hungry characters, but it cruelly disappears when they try to eat from it. Also, Caliban itemizes the produce of the mysterious island. Another character, Gonzalo, imagines governing a commonwealth in which all resources are held in common and are available without undue hardship: "All things in common nature should produce / Without sweat or endeavour." According to Gonzalo, riches and poverty will no longer exist. He doesn't mention explicitly hunger, though.
Sometimes Shakespeare uses food figuratively. The opening lines of Twelfth Night, for instance, are: "If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it." In Coriolanus, battles are depicted as crude feasts, and Coriolanus (a heroic soldier) is depicted as a voracious eater of men. Recently, I heard a paper in which metaphors derived from sixteenth-century cooking techniques appeared with some regularity in Shakespeare's history plays.
In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruccio starves Kate, his newly-wed wife, until she agrees to submit to his authority. In one scene, Petruccio throws away their meal, falsely claiming that the meat was burned. In another scene, Kate begs a servant for some food, and the servant teases her by offering her unpalatable dishes, which Kate begs him to bring. Yet he refuses. Only when Kate finally obeys him does Petruccio permit them to travel to Kate's father's house for a feast.
Now that I think of it, Shakespeare repeatedly treats food in political terms. Kate is "tamed" in part by Petruccio's withholding of food, and, the disappearing feast in The Tempest functions partly as Prospero's revenge for his loss of political power and partly as one of his maneuvers to reclaim it.
A relationship between food and politics is explicit at the beginning of Coiolanus. The opening scene stages the beginning of a food riot. The rioters believe that the city's governors are hoarding grain (effectively starving the city's citizens) in order to drive its price up and profit from this higher price. One of the rioters rather astutely argues that the sign of their starvation--"the leanness that afflicts us"--also serves as a sign of the city elite's abundance: the more the rioters suffer, the more the governors stand to gain. One of the governors attempts to calm the rioters by telling them the famous parable of the body-politic. The city is like a body, he says, and the governors are its stomach, receiving food first before shipping it off to the other body parts. Unsurprisingly, the rioters aren't satisfied with this explanation. Nevertheless, the rioters are calmed: they receive both food and political representation among the governors.
Also, Coriolanus represents this political representation partly in terms of food. While the citizens now have a political voice, several of the elite deride this "voice," noting repeatedly that this "voice" reeks of garlic and onion, food commoners typically ate. In other words, this food marks the citizens' participation in political governance and marks a class hierarchy within that participation.
I'm struck, though, by the rioter's analysis of the situation, by his claim that his and his fellow rioters' (and their families') lean bodies have value as a sign of others' abundance, as if their bodies are status-symbols for the governors. He claims that their "misery is an inventory to particularize their abundance." Their lack of food itemizes how much the governors have.
On the one hand, his critique is an extreme extension of the "keeping up with Joneses" notion. Yet here the idea is not to keep up with the Joneses but to have more than them. Or, in the rioter's formulation: one succeeds when one sees that the Joneses have less.
Yet the rioter's critique is more radical than this because it does not focus on luxuries. It's focused on a fundamental need. It's an interesting critique because it brings to light the relativity inherent in a market of scarcity: one's success is marked by what others lack.
OK. I'm getting preachier the longer I write, and the entry's long enough already, so I'll sign off.
The Next Steps...
Good Morning All! I was reading over your blogs and WOW... I'm sure I'm not the only one you have struck a cord with. For those of you who have dropped out... thanks for your courrage in taking on this challenge... and for those who are still holding on... GO TEAM!
John, thank you for putting it out there about how we continue this work even after the challenge is done... Thanks as well to Alice for providing the information about how we can connect with people already doing this work in the City. This is an issue that will not resolve itself over night... it's going to take a lot more work to get people living in low income up to par... and even then it may still take time before they can get adjusted. But until then each and every one of us can make a change... donating healthy food to the food bank, changing your perception about those on social assistance or just being more mindful of the difficulties many in our community face are ways we can continue the work we are doing. We can take even bigger steps by talking about this with others in our respective networks... it's about getting the word out there and creating extended understanding of these issues... not having healthy food does more than just affect one's physical health... it affects the way these individuals are able to be human beings... it affects them socially, economically and culturally... and by getting more people to understand these implications we are already affecting change...
As a community... and more broadly we need think as a province... collectively about how poverty affects each and everyone of us... some more than others... and how we need to work together to create a better place to live for everyone. It's not by ignoring the problem that it will go away... rather by talking about it we have the opportunity to enlighten others and truly provoke change...
I hope we can all continue this work in one way or another after the challenge is done...
As a side note there will be a reflection session for the participants on the week of October 18th... I haven't set a date yet but I'm hoping all of you can attend.
GO TEAM!
Steph
John, thank you for putting it out there about how we continue this work even after the challenge is done... Thanks as well to Alice for providing the information about how we can connect with people already doing this work in the City. This is an issue that will not resolve itself over night... it's going to take a lot more work to get people living in low income up to par... and even then it may still take time before they can get adjusted. But until then each and every one of us can make a change... donating healthy food to the food bank, changing your perception about those on social assistance or just being more mindful of the difficulties many in our community face are ways we can continue the work we are doing. We can take even bigger steps by talking about this with others in our respective networks... it's about getting the word out there and creating extended understanding of these issues... not having healthy food does more than just affect one's physical health... it affects the way these individuals are able to be human beings... it affects them socially, economically and culturally... and by getting more people to understand these implications we are already affecting change...
As a community... and more broadly we need think as a province... collectively about how poverty affects each and everyone of us... some more than others... and how we need to work together to create a better place to live for everyone. It's not by ignoring the problem that it will go away... rather by talking about it we have the opportunity to enlighten others and truly provoke change...
I hope we can all continue this work in one way or another after the challenge is done...
As a side note there will be a reflection session for the participants on the week of October 18th... I haven't set a date yet but I'm hoping all of you can attend.
GO TEAM!
Steph
Tuna and pasta and sauce... oh my!
English will follow
En ce mercredi matin (jour 5), je me sens correcte. Du gruau (nature - yuck) ce matin et un bol de céréale pour Denis. Je me sens mieux les matins comparativement au début de la semaine mais c'est clair que par la fin de la journée, je deviens assez irritable. J'ai fait ce constat hier soir en conduisant à la maison lorsqu'un chien a traversé la rue et que j'ai failli klaxonné parce qu'il ne traversait pas assez vite à mon goût... Je me suis surprise à pensé... ouains, peut-être que le manque de fruits, de légumes et de viandes commence à m'affecter!
Le souper d'hier consistait de nos pâtes, la cane de sauce tomate tout-usage (je rebaptiserais sauce tomate sans-goût) et la fameuse canne de thon sans nom. C'était...correct. Pas de la haute gastronomie mais j'avais l'impression que les pâtes étaient un peu plus santé que le macaroni du Kraft Dinner. On mange la même chose pour dîner. Ce soir, nous nous rendrons au Centre Samaritain proche de la maison pour le souper et je suis un peu nerveuse. Nerveuse à deux niveaux... Premièrement, je me croise les doigts que ce n'est pas un souper spaghetti parce que je vais crier si j'ai d'autres pâtes. Deuxièmement... si le constat du peu de nourriture santé accessible aux gens qui visitent la Banque alimentaire ET le peu d'argent alloué par la prestation mensuelle m'affectent émotivement comme ça le fait présentement, je suis nerveuse à l'idée des émotions que je vais vivre ce soir en allant à la Soupe populaire. Je suis nerveuse mais j'ai également très hâte de vivre une telle expérience et je suis d'accord avec l'inscription d'un des participants qui disait que tout le monde devrait vivre cette expérience une fois dans leur vie. Nous serions tous un peu plus conscientisé des défis que vivent certains nos concitoyens.
Je vous en reparle demain...
ENGLISH
On this Wednesday morning (day 5), I feel ok. Plain (yuck) oatmeal this morning for myself and Denis had a bowl of cereal. I feel better than Monday morning but it is clear that by the end of the day, I get more irritable if not agressive! I realized this last night as I was driving home from work. A dog was crossing the street and I almost honked my horn because he was not crossing fast enough. At that point, I realized that maybe the lack of fruits, veggies and meat was getting to me!
Supper last night consisted of our pasta, the all-purpose tomato sauce (that I would rename all-tasteless tomato sauce) and the famous no-name tuna can. It was...ok. Not a 4 star meal but I did feel as though I was getting better pasta than the macaroni in the KD box. We are eating the same thing for lunch. Tonight, we are heading to the Samaritan Centre for supper and I am a bit nervous. Nervous on 2 levels. First of all, I hope that it is not a spaghetti supper because I will scream if I have more pasta tonight! Second of all - if the realisation of the non existence of fresh fruits and veggies from the Food Bank AND the amount of money allocated monthly to live (I would say survive) is getting to me like it is right now, I cannot imagine the overflow of emotions that I will feel tonight going to the Soup Kitchen. I am nervous but also excited to live such an experience. I agree with one of my fellow participants who says that everyone should go at least once in their life to a Soup Kitchen - it would make this world a better place I think because we would probably be a bit more sensitive to the hardships of our fellow citizens.
I'll let you know tomorrow.
En ce mercredi matin (jour 5), je me sens correcte. Du gruau (nature - yuck) ce matin et un bol de céréale pour Denis. Je me sens mieux les matins comparativement au début de la semaine mais c'est clair que par la fin de la journée, je deviens assez irritable. J'ai fait ce constat hier soir en conduisant à la maison lorsqu'un chien a traversé la rue et que j'ai failli klaxonné parce qu'il ne traversait pas assez vite à mon goût... Je me suis surprise à pensé... ouains, peut-être que le manque de fruits, de légumes et de viandes commence à m'affecter!
Le souper d'hier consistait de nos pâtes, la cane de sauce tomate tout-usage (je rebaptiserais sauce tomate sans-goût) et la fameuse canne de thon sans nom. C'était...correct. Pas de la haute gastronomie mais j'avais l'impression que les pâtes étaient un peu plus santé que le macaroni du Kraft Dinner. On mange la même chose pour dîner. Ce soir, nous nous rendrons au Centre Samaritain proche de la maison pour le souper et je suis un peu nerveuse. Nerveuse à deux niveaux... Premièrement, je me croise les doigts que ce n'est pas un souper spaghetti parce que je vais crier si j'ai d'autres pâtes. Deuxièmement... si le constat du peu de nourriture santé accessible aux gens qui visitent la Banque alimentaire ET le peu d'argent alloué par la prestation mensuelle m'affectent émotivement comme ça le fait présentement, je suis nerveuse à l'idée des émotions que je vais vivre ce soir en allant à la Soupe populaire. Je suis nerveuse mais j'ai également très hâte de vivre une telle expérience et je suis d'accord avec l'inscription d'un des participants qui disait que tout le monde devrait vivre cette expérience une fois dans leur vie. Nous serions tous un peu plus conscientisé des défis que vivent certains nos concitoyens.
Je vous en reparle demain...
ENGLISH
On this Wednesday morning (day 5), I feel ok. Plain (yuck) oatmeal this morning for myself and Denis had a bowl of cereal. I feel better than Monday morning but it is clear that by the end of the day, I get more irritable if not agressive! I realized this last night as I was driving home from work. A dog was crossing the street and I almost honked my horn because he was not crossing fast enough. At that point, I realized that maybe the lack of fruits, veggies and meat was getting to me!
Supper last night consisted of our pasta, the all-purpose tomato sauce (that I would rename all-tasteless tomato sauce) and the famous no-name tuna can. It was...ok. Not a 4 star meal but I did feel as though I was getting better pasta than the macaroni in the KD box. We are eating the same thing for lunch. Tonight, we are heading to the Samaritan Centre for supper and I am a bit nervous. Nervous on 2 levels. First of all, I hope that it is not a spaghetti supper because I will scream if I have more pasta tonight! Second of all - if the realisation of the non existence of fresh fruits and veggies from the Food Bank AND the amount of money allocated monthly to live (I would say survive) is getting to me like it is right now, I cannot imagine the overflow of emotions that I will feel tonight going to the Soup Kitchen. I am nervous but also excited to live such an experience. I agree with one of my fellow participants who says that everyone should go at least once in their life to a Soup Kitchen - it would make this world a better place I think because we would probably be a bit more sensitive to the hardships of our fellow citizens.
I'll let you know tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Eating What the Locals Eat
It's Tuesday night. And I'm okay. That after a few slices of whole grain bread, some rice with margarin, and a fried egg. I picked up the food box on Friday at the Sally food bank early in the morning. There was extra bread there for the taking. So, I grabbed a couple of loaves -- and lo and behold...they were whole wheat. I'm lucky. Supplies are running low. The pasta is now finished. And I just cooked up half of the rice to eat with a half can of tuna with cream corn mixed in for tomorrow's lunch. It actually doesn't taste half bad.
I work with Markus Schwabe at CBC Radio. He tells me how he's rationing food during the week with his family. And I think this challenge is harder for folks with kids, for sure.Markus told me he was going to be sharing a can of soup with his family for supper last night. Makes me think of famlies, those who aren't doing this for fun. I did offer Markus a loaf of bread and some soup today. He said his wife wouldn't allow him to take it. It would be cheating. I said, "Markus just take it in case you need it." He refused.
There's one thing I'm just wondering about. We're doing this challenge because we want to. But, at the end of it, we're going to be eating at a nice community luncheon and sharing stories about our experiences. Some of us will congratulate ourselves on making it. Others will not. All of us will likely reflect on what this means for people who depend on a food bank to get by. But, is what we're doing a kind of tourism? Dropping in, but then leaving as it suits us. See the locals, eat the what the locals eat, tell stories about what it's like, and then beat it.... Of course, it's all fine and dandy for me to wax philosophical on a full belly ...even if it's stuffed with what the "locals" eat. Thankfully, I have the whole wheat bread to sustain me.
I work with Markus Schwabe at CBC Radio. He tells me how he's rationing food during the week with his family. And I think this challenge is harder for folks with kids, for sure.Markus told me he was going to be sharing a can of soup with his family for supper last night. Makes me think of famlies, those who aren't doing this for fun. I did offer Markus a loaf of bread and some soup today. He said his wife wouldn't allow him to take it. It would be cheating. I said, "Markus just take it in case you need it." He refused.
There's one thing I'm just wondering about. We're doing this challenge because we want to. But, at the end of it, we're going to be eating at a nice community luncheon and sharing stories about our experiences. Some of us will congratulate ourselves on making it. Others will not. All of us will likely reflect on what this means for people who depend on a food bank to get by. But, is what we're doing a kind of tourism? Dropping in, but then leaving as it suits us. See the locals, eat the what the locals eat, tell stories about what it's like, and then beat it.... Of course, it's all fine and dandy for me to wax philosophical on a full belly ...even if it's stuffed with what the "locals" eat. Thankfully, I have the whole wheat bread to sustain me.
Day Five - Kinda Angry
I have been reading the blogs of other participants and am sorry to hear how hard this Challenge is on many. I am glad to hear though that people have stopped if they were having health problems. That is such a strong message in itself – good that you/we have that option. I am getting through and would say that I feel more annoyed/discouraged/angry than anything else. I don’t like the food. I feel “full” but not satisfied after eating. I want to be able to make other choices. I am counting the hours until noon on Friday. But I will get through with bread, buns, one can of tuna, lots of margarine, M&C, a can of corn, soup and crackers left (and a few cookies…). (I feel a little guilty – so other participants, please call if you want anything!). I am annoyed/discouraged/angry because it just isn’t “right”. In a country as rich as ours, people should be better supported. This isn’t just about better quality foodbank food. I think that it is about our society better supporting people (i.e. social assistance rates, minimum wage levels) so that they can afford to make choices that are good for their health… so they can participate in society fully… so that they can be great moms and dads and letter carriers and teachers and politicians and…
The Numbers are In
With the approval of my manager at work (thanks Joanne!) I was able to use the nutrient analysis program at work to evaluate the nutritional value of our food box. The numbers are not stellar but considering that this is food donated by well meaning community members I think that it is certainly better than nothing.
Both Ernst and I are getting an average of about 1175 calories per day. This is about 1000 calories shy of what Ernst would need in a day and 300 calories lower than my requirements. This is basic requirements, mind you, not taking into consideration the walking we do to and from work, Ernst's hockey and our busy lives. I have found that although I do get hungry between meals, the meals do fill me up. Unfortunately the fibre content is quite low (9 g each per day when we need between 25 and 35 g) and so the full feelings don't last long.
Interestingly, 60% of the calories come from carbs when we should be shooting for 50% at most. This will come as no surprise for all of us who have been eating white rice, bread, pasta, cereal, crackers and cookies for the last few days.
Despite the lower calorie intake we are meeting maximum levels for one nutrient: sodium. At 2000 mg we are within recommended levels (for someone eating adequate calories). Other vitamins and minerals are low, however, including:
Potassium
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron (for Alice only)
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Folate
Pantothenic Acid
Biotin
Vitamin K
Magnesium
Zinc
Copper
That is quite a list of deficiencies. The best way to meet the requirements for these nutrients would be to increase our intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. It is a good thing that most people have the option of taking advantage of the additional perishables that we were not able to go pick up. A prolonged lack of these nutrients in our diets could lead to increased risk of heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, perhaps multiple sclerosis and probably many more chronic illnesses. Hopefully regular users of the food bank are able to eat better earlier in the month when they have more money available. Of course, there is the issue even then of the expense of healthier food choices.
In all, I do want to commend the food banks, emergency food providers, such as the missions and soup kitchens and other meal programs, as well as their volunteers. They are filling a much needed gap. Everything that we got at the food bank is better than the alternative: nothing.
Both Ernst and I are getting an average of about 1175 calories per day. This is about 1000 calories shy of what Ernst would need in a day and 300 calories lower than my requirements. This is basic requirements, mind you, not taking into consideration the walking we do to and from work, Ernst's hockey and our busy lives. I have found that although I do get hungry between meals, the meals do fill me up. Unfortunately the fibre content is quite low (9 g each per day when we need between 25 and 35 g) and so the full feelings don't last long.
Interestingly, 60% of the calories come from carbs when we should be shooting for 50% at most. This will come as no surprise for all of us who have been eating white rice, bread, pasta, cereal, crackers and cookies for the last few days.
Despite the lower calorie intake we are meeting maximum levels for one nutrient: sodium. At 2000 mg we are within recommended levels (for someone eating adequate calories). Other vitamins and minerals are low, however, including:
Potassium
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron (for Alice only)
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Folate
Pantothenic Acid
Biotin
Vitamin K
Magnesium
Zinc
Copper
That is quite a list of deficiencies. The best way to meet the requirements for these nutrients would be to increase our intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. It is a good thing that most people have the option of taking advantage of the additional perishables that we were not able to go pick up. A prolonged lack of these nutrients in our diets could lead to increased risk of heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, perhaps multiple sclerosis and probably many more chronic illnesses. Hopefully regular users of the food bank are able to eat better earlier in the month when they have more money available. Of course, there is the issue even then of the expense of healthier food choices.
In all, I do want to commend the food banks, emergency food providers, such as the missions and soup kitchens and other meal programs, as well as their volunteers. They are filling a much needed gap. Everything that we got at the food bank is better than the alternative: nothing.
Not Just Another Tues.
Kath and I (Larry) took our 3 children to the Mission tonight for supper. (I wanted to take her without the kids and could call it a date!...but she wouldn't go for it...something about a teaching opportunity for them...oh well!) We bussed it in from nearby Copper Cliff to round out the experience. When we arrived, I was surprised by two things: 1. the place was nearly full at shortly after 5:30 when supper wasn't being served till 6, and 2. the variety of gender, age and ethnicity. There was a grandma proudly showing off her youngest grandchild, a mom playing with her son, multiple games of cards, and lots of conversation. There was almost a sense of community. It was equally interesting to have one guy yell to others to watch their language because there were children present. There was even the sharing of uneaten food between strangers.
The meal itself was great. As much as I am a wee bit weary of eating high carb foods, I am grateful for what was provided. It was nice to have a full stomach for once this week. And the vegetable soup was great.
Most interesting, was the discussion we had with our three kids afterwards. When asked what their thoughts were, our 13 yr old commented on how he noticed he was the only one with braces...our 11 yr old son was conscious that he felt like we were different because we were dressed differently than others...and he astutely picked up the fact there were a few in the mission that seemed lonely. We had the chance to talk with them about why the mission is needed in the first place, and although the food tasted good, having an increase in social assistance would allow for people to make their own choices. There are some things that can't be taught in a classroom or out of a text.
Our 9 yr old daughter, when praying tonight, thanked God for the volunteers who helped, that there are places like this to help those who need food and asked for God to show us how we can help. Amen Kate, Amen
The meal itself was great. As much as I am a wee bit weary of eating high carb foods, I am grateful for what was provided. It was nice to have a full stomach for once this week. And the vegetable soup was great.
Most interesting, was the discussion we had with our three kids afterwards. When asked what their thoughts were, our 13 yr old commented on how he noticed he was the only one with braces...our 11 yr old son was conscious that he felt like we were different because we were dressed differently than others...and he astutely picked up the fact there were a few in the mission that seemed lonely. We had the chance to talk with them about why the mission is needed in the first place, and although the food tasted good, having an increase in social assistance would allow for people to make their own choices. There are some things that can't be taught in a classroom or out of a text.
Our 9 yr old daughter, when praying tonight, thanked God for the volunteers who helped, that there are places like this to help those who need food and asked for God to show us how we can help. Amen Kate, Amen
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