Caitlin, Day 6 & 7: Lessons I’ve Learned

Today is the final day of “A Week In Their Kitchen”. It’s been a tough week, a challenging week  – but eye-opening for sure. Like the other bloggers, one of the best aspects of participating in “A Week In Their Kitchen” was that it prompted intelligent conversations with friends and family about hunger, poverty, and food insecurity. Here are some of the lessons I learned over the course of the week.

1. Emergency food hampers are created based on donations from the general public as well as from food suppliers (both corporations and independent farmers). Because of this, if clients are to receive high-quality food items, the public needs to consider the nutritional value, freshness, and quality of the items they donate to the Food Bank. The mantra “if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t donate it” should be cemented in our minds. A friend told me last night that when his family relied on the Food Bank years ago, his mom frequently had to throw out half of the food they received in their hamper because it had expired. Check the dates on your cans, scan for dents or broken seals, look at the nutritional breakdown, and think: would I want to eat that? 
2. The Food Bank often gives clients more food than they would “need” for a one-week period. Why the outrageous volume of food?, many people asked me when they saw the photos of my hamper contents or the hampers of other bloggers. Well, the fact is, most clients will stretch their hampers over the course of 2-3 weeks, sometimes even longer, while supplementing their hamper with occasional purchases of their own (e.g., replenishing milk, buying a missing/desired ingredient, etc.). Because many clients are the working poor, and to get a hamper implies that they’ll actually have a home to store the food in, it’s not like Food Bank clients are necessarily penniless. Getting an emergency food hamper just gets the food for the month started, easing a large portion of a client’s budget so that they’ll have money for other things – like school fees, clothing, or rent. When I got my hamper, I thought it was crazy to get so many crackers and cookies; however, if they won’t go bad anytime soon, wouldn’t the average client like to have some food for later in the month? A client can only get a maximum of seven hampers from the Food Bank over the course of a 12-month period. There’s a lot more than seven weeks in a year!
3. Eating exclusively off the contents of an emergency food hamper is hard. Boredom sets in when you have pasta with tomato sauce for 80% of your dinners. Lethargy is a concern if you are lacking the protein and fibre necessary to keep energy levels up. Turning down invitations to eat or drink with friends is difficult. However, that being said – “A Week In Their Kitchen” is an eye-opening, socially relevant “experiment” that teaches participants and readers of this blog alike what it’s like to walk a mile in the shoes of a Food Bank client. 
4. The faces of Food Bank clients and their personal stories are all unique. Don’t assume that everyone in that line at the Food Bank depot is homeless and destitute. Don’t think that some of those clients aren’t university-educated or aren’t gainfully employed. At times when I was thinking about “A Week In Their Kitchen” or talking about the challenge with others, I struggled with the whole concept that it should be so shocking, scary or unfathomable to live off an emergency food hamper for a week. The reality is, when I looked into the faces of those individuals when I stood in line last Monday to pick up my hamper, I would never have seen them on the street and thought, “now there’s a Food Bank client”. No one looked particularly pleased or relaxed being in that line. It could be anyone, any day, that finds him or herself needing assistance to get back on their feet. Injuries, company downsizing, moving to a new city without a job lined up – these are all situations that might mean an emergency food hamper is necessary. I was pleased when a few of my friends opened up about their histories accessing Food Banks in Canada. It made me realize it’s not so foreign or strange after all. 
5. And finally (this is a tip for anyone thinking about blogging for “A Week In Their Kitchen” in 2012)…being successful with an emergency food hamper takes planning and foresight. It’s not impossible to create delicious and nutritious meals from a hamper, it just takes time and energy – otherwise you’ll find, like Ashley did, that you’re turning to Oreos for dinner instead of a balanced meal. The kind of time it takes to navigate the contents of an emergency food hamper, understand what combinations of ingredients will create the best possible meal, and then actually prepare it is something that many Food Bank clients just can’t do – like most of us, they lead busy lives, and this kind of meal preparation also assumes an underlying knowledge of nutrients and carb/fat/protein ratios. I suggested in an earlier post this week that a client meet-up might be a good way for clients to give each other support, share tips on how to live frugally, and feel connected to others facing food insecurity. Well, I’d also throw in that I think Food Bank clients would benefit from handouts or workshops explaining nutrition and how to best use the contents of their emergency food hamper. I thought I was creative in the kitchen prior to this challenge – but even I would have liked a seminar to help me think outside the (pasta) box! 

Today, “A Week In Their Kitchen” draws to a close. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful to return to my old eating habits – picking and choosing whatever I like from the cupboards, going for the occasional coffee shop jaunt, or running to the store if I found I didn’t have everything I needed for a particular recipe. But I also feel like I have better insight into what it’s like to be a Food Bank client – something I’ve been fortunate enough to never have experienced in my lifetime – and that I can now see what it’s like to show up at the Food Bank, to share my personal information with strangers, to collect my food while waiting with others, to bring it all home to store and eat it. I’m grateful that I signed up for this challenge, and I know that I’ll be looking at those donation bins in grocery stores differently now that I have a better sense of what happens once those donations leave the store.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about my journey this week, as well as the journeys of the other bloggers. What lessons did you learn?

– Caitlin.

Caitlin, Day 5: I cheated. Will you take me back?

Well, I made it more than half-way through this challenge following the rules, but I’ve fallen off the wagon. It started last night, after finishing my rather unsatisfying repeat dinner of diced potatoes with canned tomatoes, mushrooms and melted cheese on top. I only say “unsatisfying” because what I really wanted was sushi. Specifically, tuna sashimi. I used to think that I was a carb-happy person, but I’m finding that I am missing my protein this week.

So there I was, watching So You Think You Can Dance, tummy grumbling (I have an unhealthy association between prime-time TV and snacking)…and I caved. And the sad part is, I didn’t even cheat by eating food! I had had a long and difficult day, and nothing seemed to be more enticing than a bottle of the Lemon Sanguinelli Bassano Hard Soda (which, on a foodie level, I totally recommend). The ironic part is, I probably drink alcohol twice a month. Why it seemed worth breaking “A Week In Their Kitchen” to have an adult beverage last night, I don’t know.

I woke up this morning, guilty and remorseful. Back on track, I had a bagel for breakfast – from the hamper. I was sure I would get back on track for these last few days of the challenge. But then…it happened again. After 45 minutes of cardio followed by an hour of weightlifting at the gym, my legs were wobbly and I was getting dizzy as I headed for the change room. Desperate, I grabbed the first edible thing I got my hands on – half a protein bar. It was not from my hamper.

Judge me all you want – I deserve it! I signed up for this challenge ages ago, and especially considering how important I deem the work of the Calgary Food Bank, I figured the least I could do would be to walk a week in the shoes of a Food Bank client. But I didn’t make it. I totally understand the difficulties of Connie (one of the bloggers on this project), who is a personal trainer and also teaches dance/fitness classes – it’s tough to be involved in the health and fitness world and live off a low-fibre, highly processed and often high-sugar diet.

But here’s the kicker. If I were actually a Calgary Food Bank client, my indulgences would not have been possible. An alcoholic beverage costs the same amount of money – often, even more – than a full meal. And that shaky, dizzy feeling after my exercise? Well, first of all, I probably wouldn’t have had a gym membership if I were a client. Juggling work and family life might not even make regular exercise possible. And if I did manage to squeeze in a workout and found myself exhausted – well, it would be back to the hamper, trying to scrounge up whatever was quick and easy to re-fuel my body.

So, it’s back to the hamper for me. I’m going to try to stick to the hamper for the remainder of this challenge. When I read about how the other bloggers are faring, especially those with children, I think that I don’t have it so bad. At least I don’t have to contend with conflicted, questioning youngsters or preparing meals for others. There’s two more days to go…wish me (and all of us) luck! I think we’ll need it, especially over the weekend!

– Caitlin.