The answer is YES!  We’ve got some big plans for this fall!

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POVERTY FREE SASKATCHEWAN QUESTIONNAIRE:
This is your invitation to get involved in creating an action plan to eliminate poverty in Saskatchewan. We want to hear from everyone concerned with the issue of poverty in our province and taking the time to answer the following questions can help us develop a “Made in Saskatchewan” action plan.
The following questions can be answered on the discussion board, on our website, or e-mailed to us at povertyfreesask@gmail.com. Please include your city/town and province with your responses.

1.) What does poverty mean to you?

2) Why should we worry about poverty in Saskatchewan?

3) What would a poverty-free Saskatchewan look like?

4) How can we achieve a poverty free Saskatchewan?

5) What targets and policies should we adopt?

Several recent posts have broaden the dialogue to ask why our voices as “challengers” were more readily heard by the larger community than those with the actual experience.

Some bloggers have commented on why this is the case.

It is important to hear about why this is and it is important to find a way to hear more of those voices.  I don’t have the ultimate solution but by participating in the challenge, I am more connected and re-connected at a personal level as to what my role can be to be more inclusive.  I would welcome any suggestions.

We have made as a community a small step forward but we have a ways to go.

NEW QUESTIONS
QUESTION THE FIRST:

How did this experience affect your mental health?

HA!  Someone described my Food Bank Challenge blog as a ‘Decent into madness’ – (which I think isn’t nearly dramatic enough LOL) but it’s sadly accurate.  I couldn’t keep it together.  I wrote endlessly about the mental fatigue and even looking back, 2 weeks removed, the mental toll was harder than the physical toll.  I have nothing new to say here that I didn’t blither about in every single one of my posts- so let’s move on to:

How has this amount of food affected you emotionally? Has it affected your family life?

I said during the Tuesday night wrap-up roundtable that if I had no 7 day finish line, and I didn’t have the luxury of telling my wife and son to “Just put up with me until Tuesday, and then everything will go back to normal”  I’m sure I would have lost my job and my wife by 2012.  I just couldn’t focus on anything longer than about 30 seconds.  They would tell me stuff, and being brutally honest- I just didn’t care.  I wanted to care, but I just couldn’t- everything seems so trivial when you’re starving.  I was alone in my head; my bitterness on an endless loop.

It was worse at work.

I was just wondering aside from physical aspects, what were, if any, some of the mental aspects you went through in trying to complete this challenge?

See above?   Well, I told myself I wasn’t going to cheat and I didn’t.  I didn’t.  I suffered through two pizza parties, theatre popcorn and watched my family eat ‘normally’ for seven days.  It was hell.

While I obviously kept reminding myself that I chose to participate, the biggest ‘mental aspect’ I noticed was how silently resentful I was that everyone else could just snack when they wanted to.  In between meals when you get hungry- you find something and eat it- suddenly denying myself that ‘luxary’ took its toll immediately.  The people around me had no idea how lucky they were to just eat something yummy whenever they felt like it, (and neither did I, until I The Challenge wouldn’t let me), but I really wanted to make everyone understand how lucky they were, but I knew I couldn’t- because you can’t, until you deny yourself.

How would your experience change if you had been looking for employment this past week?

Easy question- I wouldn’t have been looking for employment.  I couldn’t do the job I already had and if I didn’t have a job I would have spent my day stressing over my limited food and I would have tried to cook something half edible in my free time.  Getting dressed up with a smile on my face?  Nope. Wouldn’t have happened.

How do you think your experience would have been different if you had a disability like diabetes or food allergies? Why?

Obviously it would have made things way more difficult- again, I cringed when I was introduced during a radio interview as “someone who has been living in poverty for a week now”  I didn’t live in poverty, none of us did.  We just ate from the Foodbank.  We only had to worry about FOOD, not shelter, not money.  I honestly don’t know.  I came into this with every advantage and it still broke my health and my spirit.

What would this have been like if you had done it at the end of January? What would it have been like if you had been using a walker? Or had one or two small children?

Again, it’s hard to answer that.  Most of us still used our cars.  Snow, a lack of transportation and a physical disability would have basically made it impossible to have steady employment.

It was extremely difficult to be a good parent under these conditions.  Like I said above, for 7 days I couldn’t focus and was constantly on the edge of losing my temper.

In what way will this experience change your attitude about poverty?

In what way hasn’t it?  Oh my God.  I used to drop off a few cans and some bread in the Foodbank Donation bin at the grocery store and pat myself on the back.  ”Job well done, Curtis” I’d think as I imagined how many lives I was singlehandedly improving.  It actually really bugs me that I honestly used to think that.

What things do you no longer assume about people living / struggling with poverty?

From a former post of mine:

“What have I learned this week?  Hunger makes you resentful and poverty is a giant pit.  Food deprivation makes it impossible to think rationally which in turn, makes it damn near impossible to make any sort of positive changes…. and the worst part of it all is the fact that the smallest risk could be a mistake and sink you even deeper, so it’s honestly safer to just keep trudging forward, wincing on eggshells with every step.”

Was it difficult to understand that people on low income benefits have to use the Food Bank / Salvation Army / The Bridge until you experienced it for yourselves?

Um..not really, I assumed they were there because there was a great need for them.  What I didn’t understand until I experienced it was how badly you need these services when you’re short on food  I assumed I was ‘stronger than most‘ and if I missed a meal or two I could just suck it up and go without, as I didn’t really want to go to The Friendship Inn….but all that bravado was gone by Wednesday.  I was starving and I didn’t care.  I had no pride.  All I had was hunger.

My two meals at The Friendship Inn were the highlights of my week.

The biggest attitude eye-opener was about myself. How easy it is to take food for granted – all the choices, the little luxuries, the freshest local bounty. Dining at good restaurants with a nice bottle of wine. The social engagement of the farmers’ market and indifference to cost. Big dinners with friends and family under a secure roof. I realized how much I take that  for granted and promised myself always to be thankful for what I have.

In what way will this experience change your attitude about poverty?

What things do you no longer assume about people living / struggling with poverty?

Was it difficult to understand that people on low income benefits have to use the Food Bank / Salvation Army / The Bridge until you experienced it for yourselves?

During the “week” (remember I was one that bailed), I keep thinking what if I had to travel to a grocery store or to the Food Bank, what if I had to some how figure out how to work all day AND try to get to the Food Bank…what if I needed to use my $5 on a pharmacy dispensing fee for medicine for a sick child or an elderly parent…what if just wanted to escape feeling hopeless, what would I have spent my $5 on…

As far as the physical and psychological impact of the “week”, I had digestive problems, I was extremely tired, I had a lot of difficulty sleeping (might have been the amount of coffee I drank to fill up on…coffee was a pantry item for me), I was grumpy, and I didn’t have a lot of energy for being a good friend.  I kept myself somewhat isolated so I wouldn’t have to deal with some of the challenges I faced i.e. social outings where I was to bring food, etc.

I chose not to go to the Friendship Inn (don’t get me wrong its a great program) but I wondered if “my pride” would (had I been doing the challenge for real) have prevented me from reaching out and asking for help.  I don’t know.  I certainly know I made bad choices during the week that I paid for later…just wanting to escape the reality of it all (i.e. not rationing my milk pretending I had enough to last the whole week).

What kept me going (OK kept me going almost to the end) was knowing I wasn’t alone!  I got to hear others’ stories via the blog and so I felt included somewhere during the week.  It helped almost negate all the other places, situations where I felt excluded…

Not too put too fine a point on it…but a famous French sociologist stated…when inequality becomes too great, the idea of community becomes impossible!  We know that if people feel included in community life we all benefit from such things as safer neighbourhoods, reduced crime.

And the average Joe and Josephine (my favourite couple) knows this.  When the United Way did communtiy conversations with hundreds of citizens including 155 individual interviews from people living in every neighbourhood in Saskatoon, what we heard is that people don’t want a divided city (east west) they wanted a city that bridges.

One final quote from Jean Vanier..belonging does for human beings what soil does for plants:  it nurtures us and enables us to grow and blossom…when we feel as though we belong, we are in community.

Thanks again to everyone for the opportunity!

What I Can Do on a Personal Level . . .

• donate money and product and volunteer at places like the Saskatoon Food Bank and the Friendship Inn (the ball is already rolling);
• keep telling people about my experiences as a Food Basket Challenger;
• my sister-in-law is the author of a blog that focuses on foodie news & events, restaurant openings, people profiles, etc. She has really gotten involved during the Challenge week, made lots of comments on this website and has promoted the Challenge week on her blog. She is interested in writing more about places such as the Food Bank and the Friendship Inn. I can provide her with contact information and make introductions and pass on any news/events I hear about.
• attend fundraising events throughout the year such as the “Songs for Supper” that Curtis mentioned;
• attend Poverty Awareness Week events. Get involved!

What I Can Do at Work . . .

• organize a food drive at the SPS for the Food Bank – this will be the third year in a row we have done this during Poverty Awareness Week (last year was awesome because Shaw TV doubled the weight of any food brought to their offices);
• continue to work with other agencies on poverty-related issues. We’re gradually getting better at this over the past few years. We recognize that crime issues are sometimes a result of poverty, homelessness, addictions, mental health, etc. and there are a number of things the SPS is working on in these areas.
• I can talk to local and provincial politicians who I meet on occasion through the work I do and let them know about my experiences with the Food Basket Challenge and how the issues noted above affect crime rates.

I’ve mentioned a few times throughout the Food Basket Challenge that I believe housing and finding homes for people is one of the first steps. How can people be expected to work on other “issues” if they don’t have a safe and secure home to go to? It is my hope that someday I can say the Police Service received NO calls for service over the winter due to people sleeping or passed out in bank lobbies.

Why Governments Don’t Respond . . .

Well, that’s a darn good question! Which I don’t have an answer to.

As Sheri pointed out, the issues aren’t ones that have a quick fix. There’s also more than one “right answer”. And the answer for one person may not be the right answer for another person. A mandate needs to be developed and there needs to be commitment and follow through regardless of what political party is in office.

Curtis had a very good point too. Although he put it in different words, poverty just isn’t “sexy”. When the people with money, power and influence aren’t living in poverty, how does a government “sell” it to them? Governments are pulled in many, many different directions by people and organizations who have many different agendas. Sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and unfortunately the strongest voices are most often not the ones living in poverty.

Fortunately there are some big companies and people with money who do care and who do “get it”. In looking at other cities that are making a difference in terms of addressing issues of homelessness, addictions, etc. a huge percentage of the funding comes from private industry – not from the various levels of government.

Misc Other Answers . . .

I was staying at home during the Challenge. It certainly would have been different if I had not had a home to go to. However, as staff from the Food Bank have mentioned previously on this website, they will not turn anyone away even if the person doesn’t have a health card or a fixed address. But a lot of the food we got required cooking which would have been difficult to deal with if not at home.

We were very lucky that we did this Challenge at this time of year when people are donating produce from their gardens, when the Food Bank’s community gardens are productive and when the inmates at the Correctional Services’ Urban Camp are harvesting their garden (with much of the product being donated to the Food Bank). I’m sure it would have been a completely different story and there would have been many more canned products at another time of the year. (On an aside note, did anyone else see the news segment that CTV did on the Urban Camp garden? It was really good! They interviewed inmates who talked about how rewarding it was to do this work and to be able to give back to the community and feel a sense of self worth even while incarcerated.)

Yes, the Challenge certainly would have been different if I had allergies or health issues such as diabetes. Other than being vegetarian and not eating meat I just had to worry about making the food last throughout the week. When I went to the Friendship Inn I didn’t have to be concerned there would be nothing I might be able to eat.

As far as being affected mentally or emotionally, I thought I might get a bit grouchy throughout the week but I didn’t need any “time out” breaks as I’d expected. I was quite aware though of making sure I never let myself get really, really hungry. I made sure I ate small amounts every couple hours even if it was just a couple carrot sticks or one or two bites of a sandwich just to keep me going. This took a lot of time to organize and I’m not sure how long I’d actually be able to keep that up without other things getting in the way.

I’ve mentioned before that I did think about food A LOT during the week of the Challenge and the weeks leading up to it. Certainly to the point of distraction at times! However, I also found that to be the case with the blog posts which added another element to the week. Writing and commenting took a lot of time and energy. This is what mostly affected my home life – I spent a lot of time on the computer that I normally would have spent with my husband. He was also starting to get annoyed by all the photos I was taking of food and the fact that I wouldn’t let him eat until I’d taken photos of the food he was eating too! ☺

The Challenge week made me realize how much of the social interaction I have with other people revolves around food. A couple friends invited me for lunch that week. I couldn’t go. My work colleagues knew what I was going through and that I couldn’t go out for coffee so didn’t invite me. My dad called and I turned down going out for breakfast on Sunday morning. I wasn’t sure I could sit there while he and other family members ate and I had a glass of water!

In Conclusion . . .

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have a quick-fix solution to poverty. My week on the Food Basket Challenge only gave me a very teeny tiny glimpse as to what poverty is like for someone who lives it every day. I can’t profess to even begin to imagine what it’s really like.

But there are small things I personally can do to help, without getting overwhelmed by the bigger picture. I encourage everyone who has the capacity to do “something” to get out and Just Do It!

How would your experience change if you had been looking for employment this past week?

How do you think your experience would have been different if you had a disability like diabetes or food allergies? Why?

What would this have been like if you had done it at the end of January? What would it have been like if you had been using a walker? Or had one or two small children?

How did this experience affect your mental health?

How has this amount of food affected you emotionally? Has it affected your family life?

I was just wondering aside from physical aspects, what were, if any, some of the mental aspects you went through in trying to complete this challenge?