Richard Paterak, Food Box Challenge Participant

It is the end of day four and I have a confession.  Last night was the Credit Valley Conservation Gala and fundraiser.  I had purchased tickets long before I was tapped for the food box challenge.  So I attended and went off the box program and on to a banquet meal.  I had a three course dinner consisting of salad, a small portion of gnocchi and a main course of a sliver of broiled salmon, a small piece of beef, potatoes, and some mixed steamed vegetables.  I skipped dessert.  Guilt, not really, because I was fulfilling a previous commitment, but I do want to let you know that I did go off the program.  Today it was back to the dietary grindstone: Coffee, peanut butter sandwich for lunch amidst a sea of Regional Councillors eating a very nice meal of chicken parmesan, mixed veggies and a tossed salad followed by a dessert.  Councillor Thompson was with me and he stayed the course with a bagged lunch.  This evening, I ate the postponed tuna surprise----pasta, tuna, and some undiluted cream of mushroom soup stirred in.  I ate my third banana for dessert. Ostensibly, tomorrow is the last day of this trial by carton, but since I broke stride on Wednesday, I am thinking I should carry on through Saturday.

I have not experienced any discomfort beyond that which might occur when one is eating regularly but abstaining from snacks.  I bought no snack materials, peanut butter and saltines and I have barely touched the saltines.  Earlier folks were debating which loaf of bread to buy, which had more slices.  My approach is which weighs more.  I purchased a multigrain bread, which when used for a peanut butter sandwich is a meal in itself.  Keeping the nutrition high and the chemical content low I purchased not just regular peanut butter, but the Loblaws brand of “just peanuts”---no additives, no substitution of the peanut oil with palm oil----unadulterated peanuts that are ground up, what a concept.

Tomorrow I have lots of eggs, another banana, leftover tuna surprise and lots more I have barely touched.  It will be over and I will reflect upon my increased consciousness about food, nutrition, and the how we relate to eating.  Do we live to eat or eat to live?  Does the tempo of our lives, and the satisfaction owe get  from our chosen work satisfy us and thereby blunt our dietary cravings?  Do we feel fulfilled in how we are spending our lives?  Are we loved?  Do we love?  Do we live ourselves?  I think all of these can help or hurt us when we are subsisting on less.  And let’s face it, someone who is stressed by their inability to enjoy the dignity of getting through the day without the charity of others must be affected on other levels.  It must enter into their mental outlook towards food, especially if that someone is a breadwinner who is not winning any bread.

I do feel blessed and the food box challenge has underscored that for me.  Last week I was busy raising funds for Bethell Hospice and doing my councillor work.  This week it has been council work with a backdrop of food scarcity and reflection on what that means to me and others.  Next week it should be back to normal, but I am chairman of this year’s Caledon Council Community Golf Tournament and that begins to occupy more time.  This year the Tournament is raising funds for Caledon Community Service’s new Recipe for Resiliency program which deals with the whole issue of food and nutrition.  Monday morning, first thing, I will be meeting with a major corporation to see if they will become a sponsor for the tournament.  Later in the week I will be seeking other sponsors and sending out a mass email to Caledon residents asking them to consider being part of our tournament and being part of the beginning of Recipe for Resiliency.  Folks can play golf, sponsor or if they just want to donate they can be “virtual golfers” and get a tax receipt. Email me at richard.paterak@caledon.ca<mailto:richard.paterak@caledon.ca> and I will send you a complete info package.  If you have followed the food box challenge, you should be motivated to learn more about Recipe for Resiliency and perhaps help Caledon Council raise funds for this worthy cause.