Friday, May 11, 2012


Bill Rea - Food Box Challenge Participant

Well, I got through the week, not much the worse for wear and with a greater appreciation of what some people have to go through.

I think to many of us, the view of hunger we get originates from films shot elsewhere in the world, with the likes of Sally Struthers doing the commentary. They make valid points, to be sure, but overlook the fact the problem is also close to home, if not at home.

As I predicted yesterday, I have food left over. Several cans have not yet been opened, and Beth delivered them this morning to the food bank. The big reason there was food left over is because I think the ration was slated to last me seven days, but it only had to go four and a half.

With the exception of the headache I had Tuesday, I think there were no ill-effects from the experience, and I probably could have avoided that problem had I put a bit more thought into my planning. If the crummy set of bathroom scales we have can be believed, I lost two pounds on the process.

There were two feelings running through me through most of the days.

One was temptation. I am used to trotting a couple of hundred feet down the street to the variety store for some junk food when I’m feeling peckish, and that happens a couple of times a day. Also at lunch, there are at least four establishments within walking distance of my office where I can go to take out something. I had to resist all of them. That’s one of the reasons why I had such a surplus in my pocket money at the end of the week. With the exception of the daily newspapers I buy every day, there wasn’t a lot to spend it on.

And that ties into the other feeling I had; namely guilt.

No matter what kind of exercise I was involved in, I knew going in and throughout the week that I was doing it of my own free will. I had money in my wallet and could have gone out and bought just about anything I wanted to eat. It was just a stubborn resolve that kept me from doing it.

Such is not the case for people who have to use food banks for real. They don’t go out and spend the money because they simply because they haven’t got it.

I am not a wealthy man, but I am not poor either. I never have been. Like many households, my wife and I have the financial resources to meet our needs and answer some of our wants (if we were able to answer all of our wants, we’d probably just come up with a list of more elaborate wants). Thus I don’t really know what it’s like to be poor, or to be in a position that I can’t afford to feed myself without help.

I think I have developed a greater appreciation of what it must be like, and that’s been enhanced by conversations I’ve had with various people about what’s been going on during the week. The subject came up a lot when I was on assignment (probably helped by the fact I wore the red t-shirt every day).

But it’s still just an appreciation. I still don’t know what it’s really like. I think there’s only one way to find out, and I’m not anxious to go there.

If the object of the exercise was to spread awareness, then it was obviously a success.

Okay, more people know there’s a problem. What next?

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