SNAP Challenge – Day 2: Craving Eggs

Editor’s Note: Deb Heinrich, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s liaison to the state’s nonprofit community, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge this month and live on $4 a day for food for a week. We are posting her experience in this blog over the next few days.

Day 2: It is hard to concentrate when you are hungry.

I woke up craving eggs this morning. I had oatmeal with brown sugar. One serving today. For lunch, I wrapped leftover black beans and rice in two soft taco shells with salsa and packed it away to bring with me to work. It traveled better than I thought it would. My colleagues went out to lunch together today. I did not. For dinner, I made lentil soup with onion, celery, carrot and the diced tomatoes. I missed putting potatoes and zucchini in it. I put in extra salt in place of the pepper, thyme and other spices I usually use. It is pretty good. Not great. My family had french fries with their dinner tonight. The smell was almost too much to bear. It was interesting to me that their three orders of french fries equaled what is almost a third of my week’s budget.

This morning when I was making lunches for the kids, my son, who is 11 years old, asked me if I could make him two sandwiches tomorrow for school. He was hungry after eating his lunch of a cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, tomatoes and spinach accompanied by a small packet of smart food (a puffed corn snack), a large cucumber from our garden, some ginger snap cookies and a cereal bar. This wasn’t just a sandwich with a slice of cheese, it had large chunks of mozzarella cheese in it. It seems that each day, he eats his weight in food. He is growing so fast. He told me it was hard to concentrate after lunch. It is clear to me that he would not do well on this challenge. Tonight, I’m thinking about the children in Connecticut his age that have no choice.

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SNAP Challenge – Day 1: Planning Is Essential

Editor’s Note: Deb Heinrich, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s liaison to the state’s nonprofit community, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge this month and live on $4 a day for food for a week. We are posting her experience in this blog over the next few days. In this entry, Deb recounted the social isolation of people who are food insecure.

Morning Ritual

Looking at my schedule today, I realized that I was going to have to make the bulk of my food this morning since I would be gone most of the day (church, kids’ soccer, 9/11 Memorials, etc,). We would have to go right from church to soccer so I’d need to bring a lunch.

So I set the alarm an hour earlier and got to work in the kitchen. First I made some oatmeal for breakfast. Though this was the real oats that you make on the stove, I was thinking of the portions that come in those little instant oatmeals. I figured that one of those little portions would never keep me through lunch. So I made two portions of oatmeal. Well, the real stuff makes more than those little packets and it turned out that two portions of oatmeal was WAY too much food for me this morning. I put some brown sugar on it and ate it all anyway. Live and learn.

While that was cooking, I cut up an onion and half the jalapeno, sautéed them, added some salt and started cooking them with the black beans. They needed to simmer for an hour and a half. That would be for dinner (black beans and rice with salsa). I made a big pot so that I could save what I didn’t eat for future meals. Then I made my lunch: three large celery sticks loaded with peanut butter. I’m not a huge fan of celery, but the alternative vehicles for peanut butter were not as economical. Then I hit the shower and started the day.

End of the Day Thoughts

I wasn’t hungry during the day today. The oatmeal was very filling and kept me to lunch just fine. Lunch was interesting, though. Our church had an after service picnic. I, of course, ate the lunch I brought. It started me thinking about our culture and the integral sociology of sharing a meal. How many times have I caught up with friends over coffee and a bagel or met someone for lunch at a local restaurant or even had a working lunch with colleagues. Close friends visit each other for dinner meals, families connecting and bonding. I realize that with limited food, there will be no invitations for friends to join me at my home to eat. I simply cannot spare the food. I also cannot make the meals I normally would make for guests. I cannot imagine feeding a guest peanut butter and celery. If my children brought home a friend from school, they would not be able to raid the refrigerator or snack cabinet. There would be no homemade cookies waiting on the counter. Food and sharing it is a fundamental part of our social interactions and bonding. I can only imagine the isolation that I would feel if this were not simply an exercise for one week and if it were to last months on end.

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There’s no summer vacation from a healthy mind and body!

Editor’s note: Today’s blog entry is submitted by Cheryl Kaiden, a Board member of Branford’s Community Dining Room.

With the sun shining and temperatures warming, summer feels like it’s arrived. At the Community Dining Room (CDR) in Branford, CT, we’re more focused than ever on helping our clients to enjoy the outdoors in mind and body!

This is the time of year, when many local farmers and neighbors share their bounty with us, dropping off vegetables and fruits that we can incorporate into our daily meals. CDR kitchen volunteers have made an increased commitment to focus on developing healthy, nutritious meals using whole grains and natural ingredients whenever possible. We’ve increased the number of vegetables and fruits we serve and decreased sugary desserts.

To help clients make life-long changes, we regularly offer nutrition and health clinics for adults during our Noon Lunch Program, and hands-on education programs for children at our Tuesday Night Family Dinner. This spring we added “Walking for Wellness” on Wednesdays. A healthy walking program aimed at getting our clients to improve their physical condition and control appetites.

At the CDR, we don’t see summer as a time to cut back on programming, we see it as a time to renew our commitment to good health: to get clients moving, and help change eating habits from bad to good with local vegetables, herbs and fruits. As we move ahead, our mission to end hunger and isolation with food, fellowship, referrals and education remains the focus of our programs.

To learn more about the CDR or to make a donation, visit our Web site at www.communitydiningroom.com, visit our blog at www.cdrbranford.wordpress.com, or Find us on Facebook.

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The GFWC/CT State Project for 2010-2012 is Connecticut Food Bank/Foodshare

As State Project Chairman for the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Connecticut for 2010 to 2012, I am proud to be working with such a terrific group of people on a very important mission. Our mission, like yours, is to stamp out hunger in Connecticut.

“I was very impressed. They are an energetic and enthusiastic and dedicated group of women. I can see that they will be effective because they are efficient, really taking the cause very seriously,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut Food Bank, who addressed GFWC recently this month to discuss the state project.

Northford Women's Club

The GFWC is one of the world’s largest and oldest nonpartisan, nondenominational, women’s volunteer service organizations. It was founded in 1890 and chartered by the 56th United States Congress in 1901.

Over 10,000 members nationwide work in their own communities to support the arts, preserve natural resources, advance education, promote healthy lifestyles, encourage civic involvement, and work toward world peace and understanding.

Throughout our history, GFWC has made significant impacts on the world. For example, 75 percent of public libraries in the United States were established by GFWC clubs! And, GFWC furnished the reception room and gave visibility for the first hospice in the country. The organization had a part in the passage of women’s right to vote, child labor regulations, and more recently, the Violence Against Women Act and the Lily Ledbetter Equal Pay Act. Members have supported Literacy Volunteers of America, the Paul and Lisa Foundation to help sexually abused children, and built the GFWC/CT Bluebird Therapeutic Park at the Alzheimer’s Resource Center.

GFWC has raised thousands of dollars for many causes, some of which include:

• The purchase of an ambulance for the New York City Fire Department after Sept. 11, 2001
• Nearly $60,000 for the Haiti earthquake relief
• The support and training of Fidelco Guide Dogs for the blind
• The creation of “safe havens” for battered women and their children

That’s just a small fraction of the accomplishments that are part of the GFWC legacy. Today’s members are writing the history of GFWC and are a part of GFWC’s future accomplishments!

Our 48 Connecticut clubs are currently working on projects and fundraisers to support Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare.

My goal for the state project for the next two years is to raise $25,000 and 25,000 pounds of food. One of my committee members, Florence, contacted a number of farmers in our town and was able to collect over 17,000 pounds of fresh produce. Already, we are nearly 75 percent to our goal of collecting the 25,000 lbs of food. It looks like I’m going to have to raise the bar a little higher on the food collection.

A famous author, Dorothea Brande, once said, “Act as if it were impossible to fail.”

As chairman, I pledge to do my best to provide assistance wherever needed so that the GFWC/CT can work towards the goal of stamping out hunger in our state in the most effective and efficient way possible.

We are going to set our sights high, “act as if it were impossible to fail,” and blast our way to end hunger!

Posted by Patty Meglio, guest blogger and State Project Chairman for the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Connecticut for 2010 to 2012

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Meatless Monday (Maybe) and Tuesday and Wednesday…

Editor’s Note: Below is a guest post from Elaine Piraino-Holevoet of PIROET Design, who initially posted the entry on her blog, called ontheroadtogreenness. The blog is a tale of one person’s lifelong journey to becoming a good person living a green lifestyle. It is also the story of the people she has met, the things she has tried, the places she has traveled, and the ideas she has encountered along the way. These are all recounted in the hope of getting others to join her on her quest to save the planet. The blog entry below is reprinted with permission.

Many who go without meat on Monday have made a conscious decision to do so—perhaps to improve their health or because they are concerned about climate change. Some are vegetarians or vegans and go without meat every day for ethical reasons. Whatever the motivation, it is a privilege when one can make the choice.

For too many others, actively choosing to “go meatless” is not a possibility. In order to feed their family, or to relieve their hunger, they will eat what is served at the soup kitchen or what comes in the donated bag of groceries, whether it is meat or vegetable, syrupy or salty, funny colored or natural, or tastes like it comes from a can. They will do this on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and on all the other days. Some days they may not eat at all. As we observe Meatless Monday, let’s think for a moment about those who can’t choose to join us.

The recession is over according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. And I heard from a niece who works for a company which sells shipping supplies that new orders are on the rise. But even if the recession IS over, recovery will take a long while. The statistics for those living in poverty are way up. The August jobless rate in my state was 9.1 percent, and that figure does not include those who have given up looking for work.

Connecticut Food Bank, an organization I know very well, just sent me a solicitation reading:

“The severe effects of the economic crisis and high unemployment are still being felt. Many families with children are going hungry, and are desperately seeking emergency food assistance—some for the first time in their lives. Proud seniors in our communities are barely surviving on fixed incomes. They are unable to afford both their medicine and meals… Connecticut Food Bank distributes more than 16 million pounds of food a year to 650 food-assistance programs. These agencies are much-needed lifelines—providing groceries and hot meals to 300,000 hungry men, women and children. A successful Thanksgiving Appeal will go a long way toward fighting the problem of hunger here in Connecticut.”

Connecticut Food Bank is one of 200 food banks which are members of Feeding America, the nation’s largest food bank network. In its August newsletter, Connecticut Food Bank references a study released in July by Feeding America that reports 15.9 percent of Connecticut children under the age of 18 are hungry or at risk of hunger. More than 100,000 children in the state with the highest per capita income!

In less developed nations, scores of people are in dire straits daily, particularly when natural disasters strike. Oxfam is often a first responder to emergencies as the recent floods in Pakistan and the earthquakes in Haiti. There are many other groups working on hunger relief. I merely reference three I happen to know and trust.

Times may be tough. But if you are reading this post on a computer or a mobile device, chances are that you are able to take some action, even if it is a small one, to help alleviate hunger. In this season of harvest and plenty, let’s remember those less fortunate, in our country and around the world.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15 percent in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Posted by Elaine Piraino-Holevoet of PIROET Design, a supporter of Connecticut Food Bank and designer of Connecticut Food Bank’s semiannual newsletter, Connecticut Food News

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My Take On Hunger 101

Editor’s Note: On Oct. 1, Connecticut Food Bank’s Chief Development Officer Janet Kniffin held a Hunger 101 program at Pomfret School. Hunger 101 is an interactive, group learning experience for people age 12 and older. It gives people an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and see firsthand what it’s like to struggle with poverty and hunger in Connecticut. Johara Tucker of Pomfret School wrote this post after she and her students experienced Hunger 101.

Janet Kniffin, standing on the left, with Johara Tucker, sitting on the right, and faculty from Pomfret School

Last week, more than 20 students went through the Hunger 101 program coordinated by Connecticut Food Bank. I had no idea what to expect but this program went above and beyond any kind of hunger awareness seminar I have ever been to.

It’s one thing to watch the news and be well informed about hunger and other social issues, but to actually, even for a minute “feel” what it may be like for someone who lives this every day is mindboggling.

As an educator I always look for the “aha” moments, when curiosity, emotion and advocacy spark in a child’s eyes. Friday night was one of those nights for many of the students who attended.

Every student was given an identity, a real story from a real person—and then told to calculate income, expenses and how much would be left for food for the month, divide that by 30 and it’s how much you can afford for food per day. For me, after expenses were calculated I only had $1 a day to spend on food for a household of six.

The students’ reactions were interesting to observe; for some this hit them personally and it made them realize how much their parents work in order to allow them to attend Pomfret. Others couldn’t understand that people actually have to make hard decisions regarding food. Others were just angry and wanted to take action immediately.

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Some thoughts from my students:

“It was definitely an eye-opener to how much I take for granted, especially as something as great as food which I usually tend to minimize its importance. After tonight’s program I am inspired to help. I wasn’t aware of how privileged I am to attend a boarding school where thinking about where I will get my next meal from isn’t an issue. I had no idea that while I was taking things for granted people were struggling for those same things right in my own backyard.”

“I though it was an eye-opening and informative program. It was heart wrenching to be placed in someone else’s shoes, and to kind of go through a day in the life of someone struggling to feed their loved ones. Also it has spiked my interest in raising awareness in our school community about hunger and how fortunate we are to have well-balanced meals 3-4 times a day and to have choices, whereas some people don’t and we fail to realize just how privileged we are.”

“I thought the Hunger 101 was great and it really affected me in the sense that I understand how hard it is for families to pay for food when they have such a low income. I thought the program was very informational and touched a lot of people.”

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One situation that made me hold back tears was one about a mother who woke her kids up late for school so that they could rush and forgo breakfast because she couldn’t feed them. No mother should have to go through that—how can the richest state in the U.S. force people to make these decisions?

Another interesting part of this program was the frustration when going to the different stations acted out by students—the food pantry that wasn’t always open and had no fresh produce, the welfare office that only had paperwork in Spanish, the SNAP office that had unrealistic standards in order to qualify (for example, out of 20 or so participants only one qualified and it was only for $1.50) and the grocery store that had inflated prices and a clerk who would ignore those who had food stamps.

So not only do people have to worry about where their next meal is coming from—they also have to deal with stigmas and financial numbers that do not go in their favor.

When the program was over I had students who admitted that they didn’t want to come but they are so glad that they came. One was so moved that she is currently starting up a food drive, another wants to make meals and give them to hungry families. I am so proud of my students; they dove head first into the simulation and came out more aware and ready to make change. My hope is that at some point every student can go through this simulation and be engaged to take action.

Posted by Johara P. Tucker, Esq., Director of Community Service and Associate Director of Online Communications of Pomfret School

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Kathy Moran’s Hunger Challenge Ends

Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge last month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. In her sixth and final post, Kathy talks about the end of her challenge.

After my challenge ended, it was time to return to the store to purchase my next “normal” load of groceries. I felt what Robin Williams’ character must have felt in “Moscow on the Hudson.”

In that movie, Williams portrayed a Russian circus performer who defects to the U.S. He is befriended by a family who one day asked him to go to the store and buy a can of coffee. After living a life of waiting in long lines for very little in his home country, Williams’ character was overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of coffee products in the supermarket and fainted in the middle of the aisle. There was so much food on the shelves and in the aisles, so many kinds, sizes, brands, etc. in just one supermarket that it was more than he could handle.

A week earlier, I brought home barely two dozen items that cost under $22.50 and had to sustain me for five days. After having completed the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge, it was a stunning experience to look at the abundance of every kind of food—fresh, frozen, or packaged—in the store.

People routinely go food shopping in search of particular items. They will often take a few new or different items into consideration as they make their selections. But after truly scrutinizing every aisle and option during the Challenge, I was fascinated by the way I saw my old, familiar store and all it has to offer.

One of the most interesting things I was thinking about was that if everyone was more careful and less wasteful with really anything, the “haves” would have more to share with the “have nots.” The habits of responsible conservation would create an abundance of what can be shared with those in need—food as well as other goods.

A friend of mine recently quoted one of the great philosophers who said, “Live simply so that others may simply live.”

I consider myself to be fairly well versed in the state of food insecurity and try to make others aware of the problem and all that comes with it when the opportunity arises. I would recommend taking this Challenge to anyone who can give it a try. It will teach you more about living with food insecurity along with the physical, mental, and emotional factors that so many people have to live with every single day than most articles or lectures ever could.

Dictionary.com defines the word compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”

May we all grow in compassion so that we may be driven to work harder to alleviate hunger and hunger-related conditions suffered by our fellow human beings.

Thank you for sharing my experience.

Posted by Kathy Moran, longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank

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Kathy Moran’s Day 4 of the Hunger Challenge

Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge last month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her fifth post, Kathy remembers the people she knew who had to struggle with hunger.

During the challenge, I was reminded of someone I worked with years ago who went through a time when she came in every day with a container of pasta with tomato sauce and a can of cheap, no-name, generic soda. There is someone else I know who goes out to fast food places almost every day to purchase a hot meal from the dollar menu. Another friend shared with me the fact that her family would sometimes be given cereal with water for supper, and sometimes no supper at all, when they were kids. Yet another person would walk over to a building where food would be put out for meetings so he could have breakfast or grab some leftover fruit or cookies to eat during the day (which, by the way, by law would have been thrown out if it wasn’t taken).

I spent a lot of time thinking about where our food comes from and what processes it goes through. I thought about our farmers, so careful with their crops, so they get as much out of each harvest as possible. I thought about the sustainable farming practices, and the shipment and storage of food. I thought about how far we have come as a nation in our poor eating habits, the wide range of quality available for the prices paid, and how important it is to buy anything fresh that is in abundance and at a low price.

Had I taken this challenge during a different week, I would have to make different choices based on what was on sale at that particular time. But I’m sure it still would have required the purchase of pasta, soup, and many of the pasty, carbohydrate-laden foods that were part of this week’s meals. Even the frozen mixed veggies contained corn, carrots, peas, and lima beans—all starchy varieties—but filling, even in light of their nutritional value.

The lack of affordable, fresh foods is one of the reasons why people who are food insecure are frequently overweight and face potential health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The cost of fresh foods prohibits buying more than a few such items per week. On the other hand, the highly-processed food products, with their lack of nutritional value, are cheap and readily available in large supply. I normally love pasta, but after consuming so much of it this week, I was beginning to feel a case of pasta bloat.

I thought about my cat and how I’d have to change my habits in order to make sure that he had enough healthy food because I could never bear to part with him. I also like to feed the many birds that come to my yard and would have to find a way to share a little with them, too. I know that many people face this situation and my heart breaks for those who must give up beloved pets simply because they couldn’t afford to feed them any longer.

Posted by Kathy Moran, longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank

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Day 3 of the Hunger Challenge: Kathy Moran Finds Herself Going to Bed Earlier

Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge earlier this month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her fourth post, Kathy is beginning to miss certain foods that have become a staple in her home.

As the days went by, I changed up the meals as best I could, but with such a limited number of ingredients, there was really not a lot I could do.

I tried to make sure that I finished all of the food I purchased because I suddenly felt a heightened sensitivity to waste. I found I was losing interest in the food as a creative, pleasurable experience as it started to age. The bananas started to get spots even though I had purchased them in various stages of green and yellow so that they would ripen just in time for me to have one each day.

All that I’ve had for dinner in the past week was chicken with sweet potato, chicken soup with added veggies, and chicken in tomato sauce with pasta. I was really glad to finally eat that $1 Banquet Salisbury Steak TV dinner just to have some beef, along with a small portion of seasoned corn and whipped potatoes that came with it. This is an example of how a packaged meal can be so much cheaper than buying and cooking all of the ingredients. However, there is a tradeoff in nutritional value, particularly in the salt and fat content, artificial ingredients, and the overall quality of microwave vs. freshly cooked food.

I found that I wanted to go to bed earlier than usual and fall asleep watching TV. My schedule for this week didn’t allow me to participate in the activities that I normally would, so I wondered if the amount of food I was eating would have sustained me through those activities. I am lucky enough to have some flexibility when I eat so I was able to stave off some of the hunger pangs. But I know that many, if not most, people—especially children—don’t have that option.

I started to truly miss and long for certain foods—microwave popcorn, nuts, apples, cheese, soda, iced tea, whole grain breads, cereals and even salad. I found it interesting that I missed a lot of healthy foods that have made their way into my kitchen along with all of the not-so-healthy foods I consume. I recall the days of the government handing out cheese and wonder if there is still such a program now.

Posted by Kathy Moran, longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank

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Day 2 of the Hunger Challenge: Kathy Moran Does the Best She Can with Limited Resources

Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge earlier this month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her third post, Kathy recounted the steps she took to try to make a complete meal with very limited ingredients.

The cheap loaf of white bread needed to stand up to the inexpensive pasty peanut butter, which I planned to use each day for sandwiches. I was hoping the bread wouldn’t go stale too quickly. The Capri Sun drinks had to take the place of the sweet strawberry preserves that would normally be paired with the peanut butter. I learned that it was better to keep the sandwiches cold because it gave them some moisture. I tried using toast once, but it was a terribly dry sandwich that crumbled when I bit into it.

For dinner, I prepared a package of the chicken soup, to which I added some of the cooked pasta and more of the frozen veggies. I consumed the whole thing because it helped fill me up, even though I was concerned about the sodium content. I added a bit of the chicken to help provide some protein. As I was making this meal, I was thinking about how many other people were preparing similar meals and who they might be.

I’ve never really been a fan of soup but started to eat it more in the past few years to help stretch my budget. Now I was eating it so I could fill my stomach for the night. I tried to save some of the milk to go with the lightest meals because it had some density to it. I normally buy the 1% fat variety but went with whole milk in the hopes that its density would help make me feel full.

I wanted to complain about my meals a few times, but then chose to have a thankful heart that I had this much food to eat, knowing that so many others have even less. After all, their situation would continue whereas mine would only last a few days.

It’s interesting how much time people expend that is related to the food in their day. We fish around in the pantry, cabinets, and fridge trying to decide what to make and how to make it. We throw something together without giving it much thought. We work late and decide to go to the drive thru on a whim. We may have had a meal plan but when it came time to prepare it, we decided to do something different because we “just didn’t feel like” having whatever the original meal was.

I didn’t have the luxury of dealing with any of that during the challenge.

Posted by Kathy Moran, longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank

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