Challenge Completed...or is it?

It is now 10 p.m. Our challenge has been over for 4 hours. I had a nice meal for my partners birthday, along with his family, but rather than gorging on food like I thought I would be doing all night, I ate proper portions. I thought from day 1 that the moment I was finished the diet that I would be feasting on whatever was in sight, but I have a very different outlook on food, on people and life in general.

I came into this challenge with the mindset that I was going to succeed, meeting my daily portions to the Canada Food Guide and creating some interesting meals at the same time. And well, I was able to achieve this to some degree. I was able to meet the daily portions of all food groups almost every single day, and I am quite proud of this. However, creating interesting meals was something that was very difficult as there was only so much to choose from, and even some of the most basic recipes required more ingredients.

I have learned a lot about myself, and already find myself to be a more giving, generous person than I was before. I think one of my fondest memories was going to the Food Bank and meeting the executive team who works with the working poor on a daily basis. Seeing that they believed in us and were proud of the work we have done and the emotions that the felt touched me on a level I have not felt in some time. And being able to personally reach out to a woman who was waiting for her food delivery made me realize that people have the ability to make people smile, laugh and enjoy their lives, even if for a brief moment. And that is why I am so proud of Tracy, Jennifer and myself. We have had the ability to really understand what people go through everyday, and have felt emotions and met people we never would have had the chance to otherwise. We have made people smile and laugh.

I could not have imagined doing this challenge with anyone else. Thank you both for being so strong and caring so much. I will never forget the moments we have shared.

And I would like to thank everyone else who have supported us through this journey.

The end is near

Not too long ago, the three of us knew nothing about food-related social justice issues, and now, 28 days later, we've become experts on the serious peril of rising food prices. Impressively we've managed to spend $80 each on food for the entire month of February. Through our challenge, food consumption demanded your attention. We choose to focus on food because we can not expect to reform poverty, much less engage conversation, without exposing the public-catastrophe that is the modern North American diet. On one end of the spectrum there are those who have too much and the other end there are those who have too little. If we can't figure out a way to equitably distribute the abundance of food, we will all pay sooner or later.

In fact, we are already paying. Spending on health care as a percent of our national income has dramatically increased in the last 30 years, putting a significant drag on the economy. In 1975, health care spending accounted for 7.0% of Canada's GDP and by 2008 it reached an estimated 10.7%. Yes, there are a number of reasons why health care spending increases, including population growth and inflation. Those symptoms, we happily accept but what we find absurd is food-related reasons. When people can't afford to buy healthy food, they are at risk for chronic diseases -- obesity, diabetes and such.

On our challenge, we failed to eat the recommended Canada Food Guide servings. On most days, we ate half the suggested food and vegetable servings. We just couldn't do it on $80. Milk and alternatives were unimaginable without going broke. And at times, it was tempting to buy a $1 bottle of pop instead of expensive, but healthier, milk. If were to continue eating like this long term, would our health be at risk?

Along the way, we were reminded of the value of food, to appreciate an orange because you never know when you'll have another. These are values that our parents tried to teach us, but couldn't. How do you teach a child who wants for nothing that they must treat food as if it were their last meal? It took a challenge like this to learn what our parents' tried to teach us for years. We will no longer take food for granted.

The working poor diet ends tonight at 6:00 p.m. I won't go into details about our plans for our first meal, because, well, it will be a bitter sweet celebration. While we eat our dinner, we know there will be many who won't be eating anything special, or perhaps nothing at all.

See you next year

Thanks to the following
Edmonton Food Bank
Public Interest Canada
WeCan Food Basket Society
Blue Fish Studio
CTV
CBC
ACCESS TV
RC

Bittersweet

I opened my fridge this morning and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: about half a cup of hamburger/cabbage/tomato/onion/pasta "stew" and 6 or 7 skinny, tired-looking strands of asparagus were all that greeted me. My cupboard yielded slightly more substance: enough rice for the next 4 months, maybe 2 cups of flour, a quarter cup of cooking oil and a big ol', barely used bottle of soy sauce (again: what was I thinking when I bought that?).

Even though I don't have enough food to make one moderately healthy meal, after 6:00 this evening I will be indulging in what I'm guessing will be a wonderful dinner. I'm picturing some sort of meat (probably far more that I have grown accustomed to and probably more than my GI tract is prepared to deal with), my mouth waters as I imagine whatever lovely, still firm, not-from-the-discount-bin vegetables will accompany it. I dearly hope there is no rice in sight. And dessert - oh my! - don't forget the dessert! I'm hoping for something creamy with fruit. I am a little nervous about having a glass of wine with dinner - after a month of no alcohol and having lost a fair bit of weight, will I get table-dancingly drunk? I hope not.

But my meal this evening will be bittersweet - and frankly, my heart's not really in it. As our 28-day experiment draws to an end, the idea of celebrating seems gratuitous and inappropriate. What are we celebrating? Tonight is not an end of anything - healthy food is still relatively expensive, people are still struggling, the Food Bank still needs our donations. The REAL challenge - how to take meaningful action with the understanding we have gained recently - is just beginning, and to be honest, it feels like a big responsibility.

Sick day

Just my luck that on the second last day of this challenge, I'm having my worst day. I've been bloated since the moment I woke up. I ate two cups of barley last night instead of one cup. I've been nibbling on bread all day and struggled to finish my soup and fennel and apple slaw at lunch time. Still bloated in the evening, I skipped dinner. It's the first time I've skipped a meal but that barley, just like the nutrionist said, is slow to digest. Who could believe that I overate yesterday considering how little food I have?

Although it's Friday night, I going to bed early. I'm going to Superstore early in the morning to see if I can purchase meat for half price. Even though the challenge will be over next week, I'm going to apply some of the lessons I've learned over the past four weeks. The money I save on food each month will go to the Edmonton Food Bank. It feels good to help others and make a difference in someone's life.

Breakfast: 1 slice toast, 2 cups milk
Lunch: 1/2 cup fennel and apple slaw, 1 cup soup, 1 slice bread
Afternoon snack: 1 slice bread
Dinner: nothing

Count my blessings

I think back to Day One of this challenge and remember the little food I had in my fridge. But compared to what's in there today -- 1 litre of milk, fennel, half a can of stewed tomatoes and beef stock -- I know I was blessed with an abundance. All day, I've been been consumed by the thought of trying to create something out of nothing. I want sustenance but I also want something tasty, a meal that makes me forget that I've spent my $80. Luckily I have some barely left and although it's time consuming, I'm going to make barley risotto again. The last time I made this dish, I ate it with some chicken and a nice green salad. Today, I'm not so fortunate. I'll eat a double serving of my barley risotto because I ran out of meat two days ago. What a difference a few weeks and a few dollars make.
Breakfast: 2 slices bread, 1 grapefruit
Morning snack: 1 slice bread
Lunch: 1 cup of vegetable soup, 1 slice bread
Dinner: 2 cups barley risotto, fennel and apple slaw, 1 glass milk

Listen to "As it Happens" on CBC Radio, Friday, Feb 27 (6:30 p.m.) to hear The Working Poor diet broadcast across Canada.

Life study

People keep asking me what I am going to eat for my first meal. A week ago I was dreaming of Greek Salad -- juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red peppers, olives and feta cheese. Some fruit would be nice too. But as the end draws near, I don't wish for much. This has been an incredible journey that has allowed me to learn close-up about a segment of society that I knew little about. There are no books, no TV shows or newspaper articles that can illustrate the hardships that the Working Poor face. The challenges are only felt when lived and that's what we've been doing for these past 23 days. Every day we ate as though we were the Working Poor. I felt like I had been invited into a Working Poor home and I was eating alongside them at meal times. I truly understand the hardships. I understand the humiliation of not being able to afford a bag of oranges, a jug of milk or cheese. Doesn't every Albertan have the right to eat those foods? If I return to my excessive lifestyle, I feel that I would be mocking the Working Poor. Sure I will celebrate with friends and family for a few days, but then I will quietly continue on this fantastic journey for as long as I can out of the spotlight.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 grapefruit
Lunch: 1 small lettuce salad, 1 chicken wing, 1 apple, 1 orange
Dinner: 1 pork chop, 1/2 cup fennel
Snack: 2 pieces whole wheat toast

One week left...well, 5 days

The past month has been very interesting. It has been both good and bad: good because it has been full of new beginnings, new ways of looking at things and a new appreciation for both people and food, bad because of loss, feelings of guilt and intense struggles both financially and personally.

The experience has been a journey, that's for sure. The highs and lows have really helped me discover my inner strengths, and coincidently, my flaws. And this I appreciate. I have always known my strengths and have played on them throughout my life. But discovering my flaws and weaknesses, and recognizing them as such has proved invaluable. I am becoming closer than ever with the people in my life and I find myself appreciating everyday moments as well as the massive events in my life.

As far as the diet, well it is has been very successful, other than three the days surrounding my partners mother's death and funeral. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, I have held true to this diet. And I feel stronger and more capable than ever before. I know I would be able to survive, at least with regards to food, if times should ever turn for the worst. And in this I find comfort, because feeling and knowing oneself is capable is very rewarding.

And now, we have 5 final days. I am not anticipating the end as much as I thought I would, because I plan on continuing with many elements of this diet on a regular basis. I am going to increase my consumption a lot...mainly because I need to start hitting the gym again quite intensely to make up for my weight loss. I am approaching an unhealthy weight for myself and everyone is noticing. So many comments about "how thin" I am getting are actually starting to affect my ideas about my self image. So yet another emotional journey. Sigh. But it has all been worth it. That is one thing I am quite certain of.