I eating alright, but I miss lots of things that I didn't think I would - corn chips and salsa, guacamole, eggs, bacon, beverages other than water or coffee.
Today my wife and I finished off the grilled chicken burritos and I made two tomato and basil sandwiches. I also used some of the left over cream cheese and sliced and stuffed four small ripe (red) jalapenos from my garden. They were great. I set two slices of bread out on the counter to dry for bread crumbs for tomorrow nights fish. Tonight I will probably have another tomato sandwich and snack on some celery and carrots.
I attended a hearing this morning for work and sat with a co-worker before it started and discussed the food stamp challenge and how it was going. One thing led to another and we began discussing our family's traditions around food (holidays, special occasions etc). We discussed roasted duck, turkey at thanksgiving, chicken and dumplings, all our favorite comfort foods...By the time we were called into our hearing, both our stomachs were growling.
No matter who you are, food plays a central role in our lives.
When you are hungry, little else matters.
Thousands of San Diego County residents live in what we call perpetual food insecurity. That is, they are unsure about how they will put food on the table and feed their families.
Food Stamps or (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP)
Thousands of San Diego County residents are eligible for the SNAP program, yet San Diego has one of the lowest (if not the lowest) utilization rates in the nation. It has been reported that because the application process is so cumbersome and it takes multiple trips to the program office to qualify, many just give up. I decided to test just how difficult the process was today.
First I visited the website of the San Diego Hunger Coalition - the guys that asked me to take the challenge in the first place. They have a great website with a lot of information about hunger and the benefits of food stamps (SNAP) in particular. There was a link on their site that took me to a prescreening page to help determine if I should apply for the SNAP program. It was easy enough to follow, and ask simple questions like how many are in your household, are all of you citizens, is anyone receiving SSI benefits, etc. Then it came to this question: Do you have assets of $2,000 or more (bank accounts, savings, etc). I answered yes and was told by the system I would not qualify.
Although I am currently furloughed and have not been paid since June due to the State Budget impasse (that's a whole other blog), I would not qualify because I have means to pay for food. I guess I would have to drain my savings completely before SNAP would be of assistance in my case. But I am glad it is available for the thousands in our communities that really need it.
Next I spoke briefly with a friend that works for San Diego 211, the social services referral network. The 211 system is very easy to use (simply dial 211 from any phone) and they have trained operators that will make referrals to all kinds of services you might need when you need a hand getting back on your feet. Recently they began prescreening individuals over the phone for the SNAP program. That is a huge improvement over the days when you had to make four of five trips to the program office only to be ultimately denied benefits.
Help for those that do not qualify.
For those that do not qualify for SNAP, area food banks can refer individuals to agencies in their areas that can help. These may include churches with congregant meals certain nights of the week, food box programs run by area nonprofits, and periodic food distributions administered directly by food banks in various neighborhoods (tonight and every Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 North County's Food Bank is open for any employee that has been laid off due to the state budget impasse - I'll be there tonight to help out).
North County Community Services Food Bank (North County's Food Bank) works with around 75 nonprofit agencies in Northern San Diego County that together provide food benefiting 18,000 individuals each month.
Want to help?
There are a number of ways that you can get involved in taking a bite out of hunger for those in need.
- You can start a food drive at your church, school or place of work and donate that food to your local food bank. If you are interested in starting a drive for North County's Food Bank, e-mail Michael Lawson at mlawson@sdnccs.org
- You can volunteer to help sort or distribute food at your local food bank, or to install gardens that will benefit families in North County. To volunteer in one of these ways e-mail Abby Weglarz at aweglarz@sdnccs.org (PS. there is a garden installation project this Saturday that I will be a part of and I hope to see you there)
- Finally, you can make a financial gift. Every dollar North County's Food Bank program raises provides enough food for three meals.You can help others stretch their food budgets by making a gift today. Follow this link to make your gift. www.active.com/donate/ncfoodbank10
Tomorrow I get to eat baked swai fillets with seasoned breadcrumbs, lime zest, roasted potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic, and garlic bread. YUM!
Till tomorrow.
Stan
No comments:
Post a Comment