Here We Go!

As Kath had noted earlier, she had picked up the food earlier today. When I got home from work, I was excited in anticipation to see what this weeks cuisine was going to be. I was amazed at what lay on the table and in the fridge. Amazed that two adults are going to be living off this for a week. As I felt my hunger pangs, the day old donut was looking pretty good.

What is more amazing, is that there are a number of clients I serve that live off this regularly. I only have to endure for a week. I have the knowing in 7 days I will can be back to "normal." But what would I do if the next week looked like last week and will look like the week after?

As I ate my beans on toast, my kids dined on New Orleans pizza...the drive home with it in the car was cruel. Kate, my 9 year old daughter, commented she felt sorry for us. My 13 year old son, Jordan, asked why I was only drinking water instead of the milk we were given. We talked of how Kath and I need to not use it all at once; theres a long week ahead. As I inhaled my beans on toast, I thought, "Crap, I can't even have chips while watching football this weekend!"

Already, the learning has begun.

I can't cook :(

Nothing spoils the great start to a limited food week than burning dinner. :( Burned rice tastes really, really bad.

Attn kiddos: If your parents are super, awesome, amazing cooks? Learn from them, don't be fed by them. My mom is a fabulous baker and cook, and I never learned for myself.

At least I didn't set the pot on fire (this time).

Day One - lots to learn

Day One began at 9:15 with a visit to the foodbank. I was impressed by the staff but discouraged by the food... white bread, pasta and sauce, soup, cookies (and more cookies!), KD, and some battered cans of peas and corn... also some milk and tuna. Thankfully the meat food was replaced by some more soup (I am vegetarian). I vow to donate baking powder and flour to the foodbank next time around... and freeze dried vegetables and vacuum packed tofu. and... I ran into a couple with a young child at the foodbank... now that put my ONE week into perspective... I was so busy that I could not plan ahead and ended up eating "lunch" at 4:45. It is Friday night, aka PIZZA night, at our house. I will have to pass which is hard as it is also time to connect with the kids. Food has such a social role in our lives...

How many things can I make with weiners?

Alice and I picked up our hamper today, the contents very similar to Genevieve and Denis'. Instead of Cheerios, though, we received Lucky Charms. I tried to trade them for Markus Schwabe's Life cereal, but he wouldn't go for it. Maybe he was holding out for a better deal.

For supper this week, the theme is weiners: weiners with pasta and tomato sauce, weiners with rice and green beans, weiners with canned baked beans, weiners with mac and cheese, weiners with soup.

We were fortunate to get a loaf of bread, so for lunch Alice and I each plan to have 3/4 of a sandwich, spread with tuna or maybe a mashed hard-boiled egg. I might mix some of the powdered cheese from the KD into the margarine to make a cheese spread. I was hoping for (and expecting) peanut butter, but there was none.

Breakfast will be oatmeal or Lucky Charms (you missed your chance, Schwabe).

We have a box of Ritz Crackers and 12 cookies to graze on when we really need a snack.

On another note, taking the bus was a bit of an adventure. I was travelling for 2.5 hours, catching the bus at Laurentian University, transferring downtown, visiting the food bank, catching the bus back downtown, transferring again, and then walking from the bus stop to my house.

Alice and I discussed who could visit the Food Bank on Monday or Wednesday to collect some veggies (on a first-come, first-served basis), but neither of us can really get away from work for that long.

So, Day 1: not a lot of veggies, not a lot of fibre, not a lot of nutrients, not a lot of variety. We'll see how this goes.

Whatcha Got In That Box?

Today, I picked up my box of food from the local Food Bank, that is to be my source of nutrition and sustenance for the next seven days. Box in hand, I headed home to inspect my wares.

I was immediately nervous. Having always eaten from scratch, and having a mother teach me how to cook, and make everything from scratch as a young child; I have been able to whip up interesting meals when my pantry was more Mother Hubbard, the Upper East Side. I had hoped to be able to combine a few of the five staples we as challenge participants were able to have with what I had been given into what I could surmise to be full meals.

I was dead wrong.

With the milk I had been given, and the Becel, combined with Flour, and salt/pepper, I could have whipped up a Bechemal Sauce and add stuff from the box to it (my tomato soup for example), for a different style of pasta sauce to get my through a day or two, but I would then need something to put it on, and having only received half a Ziploc lunch bag of pasta; come the time I would need to whip up something new, the pasta would have been used on the can of pasta sauce I had been given.

As a snacker, and constant muncher - I have found staring into the content of a box that has been termed the 3 Day Emergency Box, and trying to figure out how to make it last seven days (minus one meal at our local soup kitchen), I've needed to take a big, realistic breath in, and pray I can make this work.

Lunch: Which consisted of a few piecces of french bread (that expires today), and a bowl of cereal will not be enough to sustain anyone, but I am an nervous at portioning the food items I have been given. I knew this challenge would be far from easy, but have already been gripped with a severe case of worry, and a case of; "Is this what people must survive on?"

We should be lucky to have the food we do, from local individuals who donate, and stores who bring in items they may have thrown out, but the reality of this is that my three day kit would not feed a single person healthy and to a point to where the person could say "Wow, am I full" for more then a day and a half on the staples, then a day and a half of toast. Thank goodness for the bread, buns, and the milk.

This will prove to be one of the most difficult challenges I have faced in a long time, and truthfully; I hope I can mange.

Contenu de notre boîte / Content of our box

English will follow

Voici le contenu de notre boîte - c'est pour un couple. Le défi est d'être capable de faire durer ceci pour tout prêt d'une semaine. On m'a dit qu'on est super chanceux d'avoir eu une boîte de Cheerios format famille car habituellement, c'est un petit format. C'est un YÉ! pour les Cheerios, la boîte de soupe aux légumes Knorr, les oeufs et je dois admettre, le Kraft Dinner car ça fait longtemps que j'en ai pas mangé mais je sais que Denis n'est pas un grand fan. Côté légumes - rien de frais, seulement une petite canne d'haricots verts. Disons que je ne suis pas une fan d'haricots mais je vais le devenir! Côté fruits - rien de frais... une petite canne de moitiés de poires... En tout cas, je vous épargne les détails mais du total du contenu et je souhaite bonne chance à mon chum qui fait la cuisine à la maison habituellement et donc détermine les repas!


Here is the content of our box - it is for a couple. The challenge is to make this last a week. They told me when handing me the box that we were lucky to get a family size Cheerios box - usually it is a small box. So it is a big Hurray for the Cheerios and the Knorr Vegetable soup, the eggs and I have to admit... a little yé! for the Kraft Dinner. I haven't eaten that in a long time but I know Denis does not enjoy that much! For vegetables - no fresh veggies only a small can of green beans and I hate green beans so I guess I will learn to enjoy. For fruits - no fresh fruit just a small can of pears. I'll spear you the rest of the details of the content and I wish good luck to my boyfriend who will have the difficult task of coordinating the menues!!

Not what I expected

I have been so excited about this challenge, so I didn't expect embarassment and shame to be the two strongest feelings I felt inside when I went into the Salvation Army's food bank on Notre Dame Avenue.

I have food at home -- why am I taking food from people who need it? Even though we all made donations to the food banks to cover the cost of the food, it still feels like I am stealing, taking food away from people who really actually need it. I tell myself over and over that we've made donations, and that our actions will draw attention to a really dire situation.

Somehow, my heart isn't listening.

My Uncle drove me to the food bank, so I show up in a nice black car, wearing my business clothes. Clean black slacks and a businessy-pretty shirt. Overdressed. Very conspicuous. The entire time, I felt as if people were staring at me, thinking "Why is she getting food from the food bank?"

Like Larry and Kathy, who posted below me, I couldn't help but wonder if people thought I was abusing the assistance of the people at the food bank.

The feeling was amplified when I left carrying a big box. The bus stop outside was full, and I could just imagine all those people knowing I need help and had to go for food (even though I'm taking part in a challenge). I wrapped my grey hoodie tighter and tried to look miserable. It wasn't hard.

To me, these things really emphasized how poverty is a really cruel foe. Not only do people in poverty have to make do with what they can afford to eat, they have to go to outside help for food. But the emotional trauma that comes with it? It really hurts -- for me, it's just a ghost of the wound people who are truly in this situation must experience.

Thank you to the kind people at the Salvation Army. I expect when people come in needing help, your kindness and friendliness helps them find strength.

Just back from food bank

Well, it turns out it's a P.A. day so my kids came with me to the press conference and we walked from there to the food bank. A good hike for sure! I have to admit it was a little exciting to look through our box to see what we got. I was surprised to discover milk, margerine, and 6 eggs. I had brought some reusable grocery bags to have my kids help carry the groceries back downtown. The poignent moment for me was taking my kids to Burger King for lunch (which is beside the food bank) and digging through a plastic bag for a day old muffin, and calling that lunch. I felt awkward with my bags in Burger King and wondered if people assumed I was 'using' the foodbank because I was out the door then buying fast food.

Je m'en vais chercher notre boîte / Going to get our box

ENGLISH WILL FOLLOW....

Je me prépare à aller chercher notre boîte de nourriture et je ne sais pas si j'ai hâte de savoir ce qu'il y a dedans ou non... Au moins, on va avoir une meilleure idée du projet mais en même temps, est-ce qu'on va se dire... Dans quoi on s'est embarqué!!


I'm off to get our box of food and I am debating if I am excited or not to know what is in it.... At least, we will have a better idea of what this projet/challence means but at the same time, will we be saying : What did we get ourselves into!

Day 1

I just came back from the press conference and even though it is not lunch time i already feel hungry, not because i haven't eaten but because what i eat is not my decision anymore. Not knowing exactly what is in the food basket is tough, but waiting to get it is even tougher.