Food Stamp Challenge Day Five

Day Five - back to a workday full of meetings and temptation.
The rules for the food stamp challenge said that I could not accept any food from anyone and had to use only those items that were a part of my original purchase. Meetings where snacks and food are present were a big temptation today, but I made it.

Basic needs before education
I began the day at an Educational Forum sponsored by our friends at San Diego United Way. I sat next to a Homeless Student Services representative for the Vista Unified School District who talked about how basic needs have to be met before students can even think about learning. There are thousands of children that live in conditions where they do not have enough to eat, or a roof over their heads.

Those that are able to attend school on a regular basis have an opportunity to get breakfast and a hot lunch. The trouble is there is often nothing to eat when they go home.

Sadly, children enrolled in state funded preschool programs that have had to close due to the state budget impasse will not have the breakfast, lunch, and snack that made up an important part of their day and helped families stretch their food budgets. Proper nutrition is critical to learning.

"You should be eating more"
Over lunch (left over roasted veggies and grilled chicken) I met with NCCS Nutritionist Intern Superstar Kelly Shaughnessy, who after reviewing my menus and diet over the past four days told me I needed to be eating more. While the meals I had prepared and consumed during the first few days of the challenge were very healthy, the calorie count was too low, even dangerous (her words) if continued indefinitely. Someone needs to hire Kelly as soon as she finishes her work in school - send me a comment if you would like her resume, buy me a cheeseburger and I'll send it to you (next week of course)- she's great! As I mentioned a few days ago, Kelly will help with an analysis of my consumption and post it when the challenge is over.

Comparing notes
Late in the afternoon, inspired by the news I was slowly wasting away, I went to my next meeting - a planning meeting with a group brought together by the San Diego Hunger Coalition. As I entered the room, I noticed John Criswell and Scody Hage (Executive Directors for San Diego Hunger Coalition and San Diego Food Bank and co-participants in the food stamp challenge). John was munching on a carrot, some seeds and dried fruits from his garden. There was an assortment of fruits and other snacks on the table at the head of the room and I moved past them commenting I wanted to sit as far away from the food as possible. John said, "these are allowed because they are from my garden".

I sat at the table across from Scody and the meeting facilitator asked how much weight I had lost since taking up the challenge. "Nine pounds", I replied. "Scody's lost seven", she said.

After the meeting we commented on some of the things we all had noticed during the challenge so far - how much food we really had in our pantries and how the exercise had heightened our awareness of food in a variety of ways.

Last meeting of the day - 5:30 - 7:30 at a Starbucks inside of an Albertsons grocery store. That's right, I sat and discussed a social venture idea with a good friend surrounded by food (I was good and had tap water).

End of a long day...
I got home about 8pm and in 20 minutes was inhaling a large plate of linguine with home made tomato sauce. That and a small lunch of leftovers was all I had today.

It's hard to get the story of the homeless students out of my head tonight. I also worry about the 500 children that until the first of the month were receiving preschool services in NCCS facilities (complete with snacks and meals). I'm going to bed tonight feeling very blessed and frustrated at the same time.

Sorry for such a long post.

Stan