Did you see any of the news reports last week on the Do The Math food experiment by several Toronto notables? They agreed to attempt to live on the amount of groceries given to food bank recipients for a week. To their credit they stuck to the assignment even though it was very difficult, especially for those with families. One parent admitted that they were always hungry and that their hunger was heightened when they gave some of their food to their children. Another noted that all of the sociability of a meal disappears when you are ravenous. Food is gulped down with nothing left but dissatifaction.
This experiment, meant to draw attention to the serious problem for the poor of eating healthily, also pointed out that for all the good food banks do it isn't nearly enough. People were also invited to respond to an online survey about the minimum amount of money to survive in Toronto for a month. While the average estimate was fifteen hundred dollars, the actual welfare amount per month for a single person is just under six hundred dollars.
One of the most popular miracle stories in the gospels is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. It is a story of a meagre amount of food being multiplied to satisfy a hungry crowd. We're not waiting for Jesus to show up and perform a miracle with a few loaves of day-old bread and a couple of cans of tuna. I suspect he is waiting for us to create a society where that miracle takes place.
Have you ever gone through a period of time where you were consistently hungry? During my first year of university I had virtually no money and I remember being famished some days. Do you think it is a societal responsibility to feed the hungry, or will this encourage dependency on the state? What is our role as Christians?
9 comments:
I have always had a problem with food banks. I believe it is the government's responsibility to look after it's people. The more food banks around the less the government has to face the problem.
A guaranteed annual income for everyone would help solve a lot of problems(food banks, welfare, unemployment insurance,etc.)
As long as some people step up to fill in the gaps, the less the government has to take responsibility. On the other hand I don't see this happening so food banks are a sad necessity. We can't let people go hungry.
I venture that you'll never see a guaranteed annual income in Canada. I personally have a problem with the concept as it erodes the integrity of both personal accountability and individual industry. On the whole, one could argue it's a dangerous idea for any number of reasons.
Don't get me wrong: there is a certain nobility of spirit behind the idea, but in the end I suspect more people would abuse it than not. I'm fine with food banks, and always do my share at key times like Christmas. I've also recently pledged to begin donating more to the in-house bins at my local grocer.
As a Christian, I feel good about this level of contribution.
I am thankful that I have never been in the situation of being hungry and not being able to afford enough food. It is one of the first things I reflect on in our "minute of silence" at St. Paul's.
I do believe there is a place for food banks. Many years ago, when I lived in Toronto, I did some volunteering at the food bank. It was quite the eye-opener.
There are a variety of reasons why people need to go to these food banks. Many are on social assistance because they are unemployable due to learning disabilities or being mentally challenged. Their social assistance does not go far enough after paying rent.
When I see people driving luxury cars and spending $300 on a pair of jeans, I certainly think a donation to the food bank would not cause them too much harm.
In my teens it was always a choice between food or a room with a locked door. I was very afraid of living under a bridge and so I always chose shelter. At least I could still make a choice. Other's couldn't. Three times I had to be hospitalized for starvation. Once was in my 20s after leaving my first marriage. I was always sent home after several hours on an IV. Then a few hours after that the hunger pangs returned, and there was still no food to eat. What happens is that it gets to a point where you have starved for so long that even when food is available you just throw it up. I still agonize over every penny I spend, even though it isn't likely I will ever starve again.
This was written years after the event but it gives a picture of what hunger is.
He took the perogies out of the oven, accidently tilting the cookie sheet and the perogies spilt all over the floor. We had not eaten in several days and when we saw the wasted food we became like dogs. Down on our hands and knees we fought over the perogies, eating them off the floor. After a few minutes we laughed at ourselves, but deep inside we were jolted by the violence of our hunger.
This is a powerful topic. The United Church has a bible study our right now called "Sharing the Common Loaf" in honour of it's 85th anniversary. I have chosen to instead use it as the worship theme. We are talking about bread in many different ways and how it is shared. One question that has me thinking is whether "daily bread" shouldn't be free, like our health care and education. What would that look like if no one had to starve and people shared food with one another?
The Teens "Did the Math" this past Sunday and we found with even very conservative estimates of spending we still overspent by nearly $300. We were struck by the lack of good choice in the lives of the poorest Canadians, the isolation, the viscious cycle when one is hungry that is likely to play out and how expensive healthy eating is. I believe this program is trying to draw attention to the lack of protein and fresh fruits and vegetables available and to lobby the government toward a healthy eating allowance.
We have tried to drum up interest in taking this challenge.Admittedly I think it would be hard for one because I hate feeling hungry and secondly I like to be productive and hunger headaches and lethargy seem to be a common result so I shamefully resist but think more of the striggles for those who have no choice. We continue to donate weekly to the food bank and time to the local soup kitchen but as others have inferred these are only band aid solutions.
I never really know which blogs will generate response. I am grateful for the range of perspectives represented in your comments on this one. All of them contribute to the discussion and I enjoyed reading them.
This from reader Bill in an email:
FOOD BANK;I TRY TO REMEMBER OTHERS AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE THAN I .I DOUBT I HAVE EVER REALY GONE HUNGRY BUT AS A KID WE DID NOT HAVE MUCH IN WORLDLY WEALTH BUT THERE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE AN EXTRA POTATO IN THE POT..I DO THINK AND PRAY EACH DAY FOR WORLD PEACE AND A REDRIECTION OF FUNDS FROM WAR AND NUCLEAR ARMS RACE TO FEED THE HUNGRY AND HOUSE THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.I BELIEVE THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR A BETTER AND MORE CHRISTIAN WORLD DO SUPORT THE LOCAL FOOD BANK EACH WEEK BUT I DOUBT I DO ENOUGH..I TRY NOT TO PASS BY THOSE WHO ARE BEGGING ON OUR STREETS BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THOSE KIND OF GIFTS MAY BE USED FOR THE WRONG REASONS.
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