Congressional Food Stamp Challenge

you still have a voice

Today ended the food stamp challenge.  Of course, I'm grateful to have more food, more choices, more freedom.  It's nice not to worry if we have enough food left for dinner.  But there is plenty of worry left for the millions of people whose situation didn't end this morning.  I want you to know that Jim and I  read your stories, heard your desperation and frustration and took it all to heart.  And I want you to know, our commitment to helping does not end with the challenge.  That commitment has only been strengthened and re-energized, thanks to you.

The food stamp challenge was for a week, but we're in fight for the long haul. I know Jim has been fighting to make sure people's basic food needs are met since he was elected and will continue to do all can he can make sure the spotlight shines there and stays there.  This is just one attempt of many to increase the awareness and understanding of decision makers and the public at large. I glad it had some success in getting people to stop, think, talk and comment.

Hunger in America is real.  People are hurting and need help.  Yes, hunger is only one piece of the problem of deprivation, but it's one we can solve.

Thanks again for your stories, advice and wisdom.  We'll continue to read them in the days ahead so I hope you'll feel free to continue to post. 

the end of the week... and the food

I'm happy to report we got through the weekend.  Saturday was long... we walked our kids from where we live in Southeast Washington, DC to Chinatown in Northwest so we could take them to the movies (which, as many of you have rightly pointed out, would not be an option if we were carrying this challenge to all the other expenses in our lives.  Still, it was hard hearing everyone around us munch the buttery smelling popcorn). The walk there and home was long and tiring on limited food.  And as we passed by the sidewalk cafes, we noticed with fresh eyes people leaving half their food on their plates.  As we passed people walking the streets, waiting at bus stops--I thought considered: could they be one of the millions living on a $3 a day for food? After the movie, we walked around a book store and I poured plastic cups of water from the pitcher in the cafe for Jim and myself. 

As I've said previously, I work for a nonprofit that focuses on cancer prevention.  Maybe that's part of the reason why I think it's important to provide people who need a hand up with enough food.  I'm very practical.  I believe that if we as a society don't invest adequate resources to prevent hunger, we'll end up paying those costs on the flip side when illnesses occur.  And I think there is a prevention piece in terms of societal stress as well.  People unable to meet their basic hunger needs can become desperate and angry, resulting in acts of desperation that effect us all.  So even if one doesn't support adequate food allowances because it's the right thing to do, perhaps they might agree it is the smart thing to do.

I do look forward tomorrow when we return to a life with more freedom and choice with respect to our eating.  But I believe what I have learned and felt is part of me now and I will be more mindful of how I eat and grateful for what we have. 

everybody's workin' for the weekend.....

Ever hear that song? (bachman turner overdrive, I think). Well, it's finally the weekend which is good and bad in terms of the hunger challenge.  As I said in a previous blog, Jim and I are both so busy and on such a tight schedule during the week that there isn't a lot of time, in some ways making it easier.  Not that I didn't feel the hunger in my stomach or feel the energy lag... I was distracted. 

But now it's the weekend and we're home with the kids.  Jim is usually in his Massachusetts district on Saturdays so this is a rare and welcome treat.  Our kids -- like most kids at ages 9 and 5 -- are very active and demanding.  They require a lot of energy and patience -- both of which run low on limited or bad fuel.  I'm happy we're two-on-two today. 

I just made an egg which I fork-whipped with water to try to stretch it and sprinkled a bit of cheese in.  My son said it "looked like barf" and I could see his point but it sure tasted good.  I've reported before that Jim is really the cook in the family and that's out of necessity, I'm afraid.

I keep thinking back to a comment by Becky on day 1 who wanted us to know that her son never missed a meal, even though he didn't always like what he ate.  That comment hit me to the core and has stuck with me ever since.  I remember when I was pregnant with my son (so about 10 years ago) seeing a commercial.  It started with hands taking ketchup and sugar packets from a fast food restaurant and stuffing them in pockets.  Then you see a woman at home putting the packets in a saucepan on a hot plate, adding water and stirring it up.  She puts it in bowls and serves it to 2 children.  One eats; the other won't.  She softly pleads with the child to try just a bite or two.  I was so deeply saddened by that -- and at the time thought I was so emotional in part because I was pregnant.  But that scene has stuck in my mind all of these years.  And Becky made me think of it again -- good mothers trying to do their best with so little.

Several of my friends have told me this week about growing up poor and knowing it but, because of their parent or parents, it wasn't the overriding memory.  Both women -- who don't know each other -- told me the same thing at different times:  that their parent(s) made them feel secure (even though they were food insecure).  One was raised by a single father (her mother had died) and their were eight of their 10 kids in the house.  He worked as a plumber and raised these kids alone. She said he was always there for her and I questioned how that possibly could have been? One thing I've learned from reading your comments and from this experience is how much time and preparation it takes to live on this austere budget.  She told me how he'd take the little bits of meat they had left on the weekend and grind it down, add condiments and they'd spread it on bread.  Yet, even with the stress of his job, the shopping, cooking, care-taking... he still was able to make them feel secure. 

As I read the advice comments that come to us from you I see where that compassion came from.  Good people who are doing the best they can and are willing to help out others facing a similar challenge (even those doing it briefly, like me). 

I can't help but think if our country is able to find money for wars and other things it claims to be "necessary"....can't we -- shouldn't we -- consider it necessary to make sure our neighbors and their kids aren't hungry?  I hope people who feel as I do will call for this too. 

long days

It's just after 10pm... the kids and I returned home after running some food up to Jim in his office...he's still working, not sure when he'll get home.  We all left the house around 8am for work/school.  The kids and I returned about 7pm.  I was feeling very hungry driving home.  I had an apple and 3 oz. of tuna for lunch around noon and by 6:45 all I could think of was getting home to make dinner.  I made spaghetti and meat sauce -- a big splurge.  We've been eating so minimally -- concerned that we won't have enough food to carry us through to Tuesday.  I can see an impact on our energy levels, even in just these few days.  When Jim got home around 10 last night, he just seemed a little "flat". He's usually very animated when recapping his work day, whether it was good or bad.  But the lack of fuel seemed to drain that from him a bit. I figured we needed a little more food tonight.  I used some of our meat, sauce and pasta which looked like an enormous amount of food compared to the past two days.  I felt nervous eating it, worried we'd pay a price on Monday if supplies ran out.  I think Jim felt the same way because when the kids and I took it to him, he refused to eat the whole portion and put some away for tomorrow's lunch. I'm trying to plan but there is that fear of being wrong.  Millions of people -- singles and families -- face that fear every single day of their lives.

Today seemed very long.  I'm holding a seminar on cervical cancer prevention next Tuesday so most of my work today was by phone, email or just getting things organized at the office. That's lucky because it's relatively sedentary.  I think of people living with these restraints who are working in jobs that expend a lot of physical energy, service jobs interacting with people - kind and unkind, or staying home with kids which is, as they say, the toughest job you'll ever love. 

Speaking of which -- for years before I had kids and especially when I was pregnant, people told me how hard it is and how tired you are.  Everyone sort of says that and "knows" that -- it's just a no-brainier -- conventional wisdom -- common sense.  And I thought I understood that too.  Having kids is hard and tiring. Then I had kids.  And those first few months gave me a whole new understanding of those words I had heard so many times.  None of those words had adequately described it.  And I don't have the words still. (Of course there is also the flip-side of love and joy which was unlike anything I had experienced either.)

My point is, I learn things by experiencing them in a whole different way than I do by reading about or hearing them.  Maybe you know what I mean. 

This challenge is that way for me.  I've heard the information and felt deeply for the people who so generously have shared their experiences with me.  But to actually try those shoes on -- even so very briefly and in such a very limited way -- has given me a different kind of understanding.  I am fully aware that a few days can't begin to reflect the physical and emotional impact that weeks, months and years of this life creates.  Not even close.  And this is just one part of the deprivation.  Still, this challenge has impacted my personal understanding.  And I hope whatever attention is given the experience of the 4 Members of Congress participating in this challenge and their efforts to focus on hunger will impact public awareness and understanding, and translate into policy changes to meet this enormous need.

I appreciate those who took time to read this, focus on the problem of hunger, and especially those who posted comments -- I learned a lot from you and I suspect other readers have too.  That includes the supportive comments, the angry ones and the advice.  Thanks.

tough choices on day 1

First day was kind of tough but I was so busy at work and we had an evening event so there wasn't a lot of time to eat.  I had tuna and an apple for lunch. I left the house at 8am without breakfast but I won't do that again! I did drink gallons of water.  Several months ago, we had accepted an invitation to a dinner event so went, but couldn't eat.   At home, before the dinner, I made an egg with shredded cheese on a tortilla, ate it quickly, and made one for Jim which I wrapped in aluminum foil to keep it hot(ish). I drove it and me down to the fancy Mayflower hotel and handed the tin foil to Jim. He ate the tortilla in 5 bites and about 30 seconds. Meal over. (I wish we had bought the larger size tortillas instead of the small ones, but the small ones were cheaper. Still, it was a bad call. And there are only 10 small tortillas -- and 2 of us for 7 days, so we need to ration them.)

We left our "dinner" around 8pm because Jim had to go back to the Rules Committee so I went home. I cooked half our chicken and about 9 cups of whole grain (very sticky) rice.  Jim is going to an event for Hillary Clinton tomorrow night and won't return home after he leaves around 8am so I wanted to send him to work in the morning with food.  This is so strange because HE usually does the cooking and packing of lunches for the kids. He's much more creative but I'm just making us the bare basics here.

As I began cooking, separating and freezing food for the week, I began to worry that we won't have enough food to get us through Tuesday.  It seems there are two ways to think of this: if we want to eat healthy food, this is like a very strict diet or a semi-fast. There is strict rationing of protein and fruits and vegetables.  If we want a more satisfying portion size, the only way to do it is lots of rice, pasta or beans (but we only have 2 cans of those).  And that goes against what I think of as healthy on a plate (which would be 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs and 1/2 fruits and vegetables).  But it's a long time until Tuesday and we have a limited amount of the "good" stuff so we're doling it out carefully.

I'm also worried about Jim.  This is a challenge for me but he's bigger than I am and used to more food. Not that I'd ever say he is a big eater. But these portions are tiny.  And I know there are people out there who are cynical about politicians and think the worst. But I've been married to him for nearly 18 years and I know what a demanding schedule -- physically and mentally -- he keeps.  Between his job and our two small children, life is full. Food fuels people's bodies and minds.  I'm sure this must be a very, very difficult part of living within this budget for folks -- worrying that the people you love, especially when children are involved, have enough fuel to sustain their energy output.  It can't help but effect how they feel, think and behave.  I know it's only for a week and he'll be fine but my point is how difficult it is to say "sorry that's it" to someone you love, especially if it's a still-hungry child.