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the face of hunger

The Hunger Challenge is over. But, for most food stamp recipients, the struggle drags on. The struggle lasts much longer than seven days. For many, the struggle lasts forever.

The end was bittersweet. I celebrated with a glass of red wine – a lusciously bold Syrah from Portland, Oregon. But, as I put my lips to the glass and carefully swallowed the first sip I felt a strong sentiment of guilt come over me. The image of the homeless man sleeping on the corner of Polk and California immediately came to mind. Hunger would not go away for him tonight.

I learned a lot during the course of the week. I learned how to overcome my body’s wishes and demands. I arrived at the realization that my life is completely and absolutely food-centric. I experienced un-ignorable hunger. I determined that to obsess over the cost of every swallowed morsel is existentially exhausting. I developed an appreciation for things I normally take for granted – a cup of coffee, a juicy apple, a meal shared with friends, a glass of wine.

I learned that eating healthy is nearly impossible on a tight budget. Because I purchased brown rice and whole wheat bread rather than the cheaper alternatives (white rice and white bread), I was left with less money to spend on other food groups. Specifically, I could not afford fruit, vegetables, or dairy. As a result, my diet was deficient in vitamins and calcium. The reality is that individuals who are food insecure cannot agonize over the finer nuances of nutrition. Before they can worry about grams of protein they must worry about getting enough food. While this seems like a basic concept, I sense that it is often overlooked by the middle- and upper-classes. Think about it. Have you ever vilified a homeless person for eating a Big Mac or a Snickers?

I went to brunch Sunday morning with one thought on my mind: Food. I ordered Smoked Salmon Benedict with a side of fresh fruit and an iced coffee. The meal was incredible and I ate until I was uncomfortably full. I was uncomfortably full because I had eaten too much, but even more so, because there are millions of people in the world who never feel full.

Hunger is not inevitable. In fact, we have enough food to feed the world more than once. That says to me there is a solution. And that says to me there is hope for the 925 million people who face chronic hunger. What will we do to help?

every bit helps.

Protein is the most needed item for food bank clients – and it’s the most difficult to obtain.
Here is a way YOU can help!!
**Make a comment about HUNGER IN SAN FRANCISCO on http://www.tysonhungerrelief.com/2010/09/who-are-the-hungry-people-you-can-help-with-a-comment/ and Tyson Foods will donate 1,000 pounds of chicken to the San Francisco food bank. They will donate up to 30,000 pounds!

Food For Thought.

It’s Day 5 of the Food Stamps Diet and last night I made a terrible decision. I watched the premiere of Top Chef: Just Desserts immediately followed by the season finale of Top Chef. I could feel my mouth watering and stomach growling throughout the two hour stretch. But, at least I couldn’t smell the delicacies depicted on the TV screen. I’ve discovered that my sense of smell is a major downfall. Aromas wafting out of cafes and onto the street are enough to make me crazy! – coffee brewing at my favorite fair trade coffee shop, pastries baking, and pizza fresh out of the oven! Can you imagine what it’s like to live in a world of fabulous food– and know that you can’t have it?

My mom, who is also participating in the SF Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge (although she lives in South Carolina) called me yesterday to ask what was for dinner. I told her it was brown rice and lentils (again). She responded with some bad news. She had spent her entire budget and all that remained was a cabbage. I told her it was probably time to raise the white flag and surrender. While one might say she “failed” the challenge –it’s a great lesson learned. One of the challenge’s goals is to reveal how difficult it is to feed oneself on food stamps. My mom – a college grad and smart, sensible woman – made a few wrong decisions at the grocery store and, as a result, her food didn’t last the full 7 days. What did she learn? It’s difficult to live off food stamps and it’s even more difficult to understand a lifestyle until you’ve tried it.

Today’s menu consisted of oatmeal and an apple for breakfast, brown rice and lentils for lunch, and then I SPLURGED! I ran into Walgreens to grab a few toiletries and my eyes gravitated to a 75 cent store brand bottle of diet cola. Feeling tired and un-caffeinated, I grabbed it. The bubbly effervescence was simply wonderful and the yawning magically subsided. Dinner will most likely be another serving of brown rice and brown lentils. Where’s the color in that?

Food for thought: The recent rise in the cost of food has left food stamp recipients in even worse shape. Today, one dollar buys approximately 40% less food than it did in previous years. How can we curtail these increases in food costs?

The Hunger Challenge Part 2

Today is Day 4 and I’m halfway there! I was warned that days 4 and 5 are often the hardest but, by day 6, there is light at the end of the tunnel. However, I think it’s important to remind ourselves that people in poverty may not see the light for months, years, or a lifetime.

So you’re probably wondering what I’ve been eating. Well, the answer is pretty simple. Breakfast is oatmeal and a glass of water. Today was a brisk morning and I found myself consumed by the thought of a delicious and comforting cup of coffee. Because I didn’t factor coffee into my budget I had to settle for a hot glass of water. It warmed me up but I never got the caffeine kick!
Lunch is either a peanut butter or tuna sandwich (minus the mayo, pickles, and celery) plus a glass of water. Tuesday, I splurged on an apple when I was feeling particularly ravenous.
Dinner on Sunday and Monday consisted of a small bag of frozen vegetables. Tuesday evening I cooked a huge vat of brown rice and lentils that I hope will last for the remainder of the week.

I have found the Hunger Challenge to be just as physically challenging as it is mentally challenging. Yes, I’ve endured hunger pains, caffeine withdrawal headaches, and fatigue – but wasn’t that to be expected? Instead, my most shocking realization has been the strong connection between food and my social life. Because eating is often a group event for me, food has become a dominant social activity in my life. This week I’ve been forced to isolate myself from this sector of my social life – declining dinner invitations, eating lunch alone in the staff room rather than subjecting myself to all the temptations in Project Open Hand’s cafeteria, skipping happy hour with friends after work, etc. I’m incredibly lucky to have these types of social engagements in my normal life because, as I’ve realized, people in poverty rarely engage in these “food sharing” experiences. In “Food and Eating: An Anthropological Perspective,” Robin Fox explains this phenomenon: “[Eating] is a profoundly social urge. Food is almost always shared; people eat together; mealtimes are events when the whole family or settlement or village comes together. Food is also an occasion for sharing, for distributing and giving, for the expression of altruism, whether from parents to children, children to in-laws, or anyone to visitors and strangers.”

As I walked through the Civic Center Farmers’ Market this morning I wanted to spend a few of my remaining dollars on fruit, as it is fresher and cheaper here – and my money will benefit farmers and the larger community. But, as I mentioned previously, most Farmers’ markets do not accept food stamps. Bummer. But, here’s a way that we can help: How can we encourage Farmers’ markets to accept food stamps in our area?

Check out this related article: “Farmers’ Markets Draw Few Food Stamps Users”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iAdGrfR6e0EwTnXWFWwNhi1WTDXgD9I8759G0

The Hunger Challenge Part 1

Is $28 dollars enough money to buy food for a week?

I set out on Saturday to purchase my week’s worth of groceries. Initially, I thought I would purchase the majority of my food from a Farmer’s Market or small grocery store where many items can be found at cheaper prices. Unfortunately, after a little bit of research I learned that these types of shopping centers do not accept food stamps. So I nixed the idea and decided to stick with my regular shopping locations, Cala Foods and Safeway. My strategy was to buy $20 worth of staple items for the week and have $8 on hand for emergency situations (i.e. hunger pains, dizziness, etc.).

Here’s what I bought:
18 oz. tub of Oatmeal – $2.69
18 oz. tub of Peanut Butter – $2.69
Loaf of Whole Wheat Bread – $2.79
Bag of lentils – $1.39
Bag of brown rice – $2.99
3 cans of tuna – $3.29
2 small bags of frozen vegetables @ $1.95 each
Total: $19.74

Day 1 was particularly difficult and let me explain why: I spent the entire day at the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival where I was surrounded by chocolate martinis, ice cream sundaes, gelato, cupcakes, toffee, cheesecake, chocolate filled marshmallows, biscotti, and much much more. Let me stress that the square smelled like chocolate paradise. The event’s proceeds benefited Project Open Hand, therefore I was working at the event. Part of my job was to visit the booths throughout the day to ensure that vendor needs were met. Not realizing it was to my demise, the vendors generously offered me sample after sample of their tantalizing treats. Needless to say, it took all my strength to abstain from these delicacies.

During a moment of downtime I had lunch with my coworkers. While they enjoyed a delicious spread of sushi donated by Ana Mandara, I nibbled on the peanut butter sandwich I had stuck into my backpack earlier that morning. Bummer.

After a long day, I returned home to a small bag of frozen vegetables. It wasn’t exactly what I’d call fulfilling but you know what? It was better than nothing.

Day 1 was complete and I began to wonder if I could last all week. Then I realized I was lucky. This year Hunger Challenge participants get to use $4 per day due to the economic stimulus package. But this package expires on December 31, 2010 and, after this date, food stamp recipients will receive the equivalent of $3 per day. I know that for many of us $1 seems like nothing – but when you’re comparing $21 for a week’s worth of food to $28, a dollar bill makes a big difference!

**If you think food stamp funding should be maintained (I certainly do!), contact your members of Congress and tell them your thoughts about the possible reduction.

http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

The Hunger Challenge

San Francisco is a city overflowing with fabulous food. With its hundreds of upscale restaurants, San Francisco is considered by many to be the most sophisticated dining site on the west coast. However, in this affluent city 150,000 people are not sure where they will find their next meal. That’s equivalent to 1 in 4 children and 1 in 5 adults. Furthermore, nearly 42,000 San Franciscans currently rely on food stamps, a number that has grown by approximately 55 percent in the past 17 months.

While the food-stamp program has expanded rapidly, San Francisco food-security advocates consider it to be insufficient. Today, only one-twentieth of San Franciscans are food-stamp recipients, compared to one-eighth of all Americans. One could attribute this discrepancy to there being less hunger in San Francisco than the rest of the nation, but, in actuality the exact opposite seems to be true. The San Francisco Food Bank estimates that 25 percent of children and senior citizens and 20 percent of adults in San Francisco are food insecure, meaning they are at risk of being unable to acquire food for their next meal. Compare that to a national average of 15 percent.

It’s hard for many of us to understand the meaning of being food insecure. Many of us worry about what we will eat at our next meal (Hmm, will it be a grilled chicken Caesar salad or a BLT sandwich with a side of minestrone soup?) rather than if we will even be able to eat our next meal. That’s why the San Francisco Food Bank has presented us with “The Hunger Challenge,” an invitation for participants to live on the same food budget as an average food stamp recipient – $4 per day per person. It’s a way to experience first-hand the struggles associated with food insecurity. The challenge lasts one week beginning Sunday, September 12 and I have decided to participate. I invite you to join me on this journey – whether that means signing up for the Hunger Challenge yourself or simply reading about my experience. As I walk in the shoes of a food stamp recipient, I realize that I will have a hot shower each morning, clean clothes to wear each day, a safe home to return to after a long day work, and a warm bed to sleep in at night. Thus, I will only encounter one of the many hardships endured by the poor every day. However, it is my hope that this experience will help me gain a better understanding of what I call the “food insecurity epidemic” and provide elucidation on ways people like me and you can help to alleviate this societal problem.

I plan to chronicle everything about the experience – the difficulties of shopping and menu planning with $28 in my wallet, the challenge of resisting the temptation to buy a cup of coffee on the walk to work, the task of making tasty and satisfying meals with meager resources, how I feel physically and emotionally, and the reactions I receive from friends and family members who may not understand the purpose or significance of the challenge.

So let’s get started!  Here are the rules issued by the San Francisco Food Bank:

1. Do not spend more than $4 a day or $28 a week (per person) for your entire food and drink budget. This is the average amount that food stamp recipients have to spend on food.
2. Do not accept any free food from family, friends, or at work.
3. If you have a garden, price-out any produce you use from your garden based on supermarket prices in your area and include that cost in your $28 budget. *Keep in mind that most urban poor do not have access to the land, tools, or time needed for gardening.
4. If you forage for food, consider whether the urban poor would have access to those food items in their neighborhood.

By: Hannah Schmunk

*Here’s the link to the Hunger Challenge on the San Francisco Food Bank website: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5420/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=2921

*Read more about the city’s hungry at: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/High-cost-of-living-works-against-citys-hungry-97540574.html#ixzz0sTJF80ix.