Saskatoon Food Basket Challenge

September 23, 2011
by Sheri Benson
1 Comment

It’s all about a turn of phrase…

Share

I recently finished a great booked called, Do the Right Thing (can’t remember the author’s name, no age jokes please).

And here’s what I learned…

When trying to dispel myths about a particular issue, we often state the myth, and then offer an explanation about why that statement is a myth and not true i.e. People who live in poverty don’t work (which isn’t true as we all know).

What the research states is that people remember the myth statement as true! (you will need to read the book to get all the technical stuff).

The book is chalk full of useful information for communicators (written by a public relations guru) on social issues.  Worth a read!

September 23, 2011
by Sheri Benson
2 Comments

I don’t know…

Share

Regarding the government question, I think if all it took was reports and evidence many social issues would be long solved, environmental issues, poverty, etc.

I think it is extremely difficult (not impossible) for governments with four year mandates to tackle complex, long term issues (ones that take more than four years).  David Suzuki often sites this issue as a barrier to better environmental policy. Continue Reading →

September 22, 2011
by Curtis Anderson
8 Comments

Turning The Page

Share

After all the adrenaline ran out I was left sick as a dog like a handful of others in this competition.  I’m typing this as I lay in bed.

I haven’t blogged for three days because I’ve been busy, I’ve been sick, and I’ve been hoping I’d come up with something clever to say.  Some sort of final exclamation mark instead of a coma.  (Dare I quote Seinfeld a second time?  LOL) but ‘I want to leave on a highnote’  I would love to have the answers to reducing poverty in this city, hell, I would love to have one answer on how to reduce the poverty in this city, but I don’t have any.  I just don’t.  Last week I felt stripped of my dignity and the smallest act of kindness reminded me that I was still a human being.  On that fateful Saturday night (I love the italics button it makes things just the right amount of dramatic) when I screwed everything up by running out of time and spending my $5 on McDonalds before rushing to my second job, some guy held the door for me, and shot me a smile.  A smile. (see?) After 5 days of feeling lower than dirt, that turned my entire day around.  I felt like a million bucks after than lone ‘random act of kindness’.  So is THAT actually the answer?  Is THAT what I take with me and move forward with?  THAT puts me on the front lines on the war against poverty?

All we need to do is smile and open doors for people?  Sorry, it can’t be that easy. Continue Reading →

September 22, 2011
by Sheri Benson
0 comments

I’m out of catchy titles…

Share

I am out of catchy titles for my blog comments so here are my thoughts on some of the BIG hard questions posed.

I was struck by how much we don’t know about what’s happening, who is doing what and I mention this not to blame anyone or any organization.  Many individuals and organizations working towards making a difference on this issue are busy…making a difference and often don’t have the resources to “get the word out”.  This isn’t to say that we have it all covered and there isn’t a need to do more.  But a good starting point is to find out what is already being done instead of always jumping to that question,”Why isn’t someone doing something about [fill in the blank].  That is something we can do as individuals. We can all start with what we learned during the challenge. Continue Reading →

September 22, 2011
by Shelley Ballard
2 Comments

On Being Vegetarian

Share

A few people have asked about what it was like being involved in this Challenge and being vegetarian. So although I haven’t gotten to the “where do we go from here” question yet, here’s my thoughts on the vegetarian question.

When I first signed up for this gig, I asked if being vegetarian would be an issue. The response I got was “Being a vegetarian would certainly make it more challenging for you . . .” I admit that statement left me a bit nervous, but in the end I think being vegetarian helped me. Continue Reading →

September 21, 2011
by Lesia Payne
2 Comments

Reflections

Share

So I just wanted to post a few final reflections and comments as my last ‘post’ wasn’t my own.  The organizers of this challenged asked us to think about a few questions. The ones I want to tackle in this post today are:

What has been the biggest eye opener for you doing this challenge and what do you intend to do with this information / experience?

Probably the biggest eye opener is a _small_ beginning of understanding of the multi-faceted nature of this issue. It’s not just about food. It’s not just about getting good food to people. Initially maybe I thought that’s all it was about.   I thought maybe the problem could be somehow “solved” by simply being able to provide people with enough fresh good food to eat. As great as that would be, that’s only scratching the surface of the problem. Continue Reading →

September 21, 2011
by Amy Jo Ehman
1 Comment

Thanks for the Memories

Share

To everyone who attended last night’s Food Challenge forum — Thank You! What a great turn out!! The room felt so energized with good will and a desire to make a difference in our community.

The discussion turned to stereotypes — Who uses the Food Bank? What assumptions do we make about them? About bad choices and missed opportunities? About lifestyles and relationships?

Maura Davies, CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region, stepped aside those questions and spoke about the children. She challenged us to make a better world for the children, so they can grow up not knowing hunger — and the negative impact it will have on their future health, education, employment and relationships. The children are innocents. They don’t ask to be hungry and they have no power to change it when they are. If we focus on the children, we will change the world.

I titled this post “Thanks for the Memories” because I will not soon forget my experience this past week. The opposite of “memories” is “vision”. Let’s strive to be visionaries, too.

September 21, 2011
by Challenge
0 comments

Community Forum Questions

Share

We received a lot of comments and questions at the Food Basket Challenge Community Forum last night … too many to put to the participants over the course of the evening. Nonetheless, many of these questions are well worth reflection. In the interest of continuing the dialogue we are going to post them here on the blog over the next few days. Let’s begin …

The first four questions address a more or less similar issue:

When it comes to social justice, activism and advocacy, people who engage in the issues often talk about how they feel compelled to act – the idea that with knowledge and understanding comes responsibility. Many of you are thinking about “what comes next” – “where do we go from here.” How might you contribute to bringing these issues forward in our community?

What has been the biggest eye opener for you doing this challenge and what do you intend to do with this information / experience?

How will you support the food / poverty issue in the future?

What is the one concrete step that you would take to address the issue of poverty?

September 20, 2011
by Brenna Temple
3 Comments

Brenna’s afterthoughts

Share

Now this is more like it.

All during this last week the same memory rolled through my mind.

Years ago I drove through Vancouver and waited at a stoplight. A homeless man struggled to get his bike up the hill across the street. He tried balancing a large crate of blueberries on the back of it. He looked so proud to have this prized possession. I was saddened that this may have been his only nourishment he’d get for a while.

All of the sudden his bike slipped to the side and the blueberries fell to the ground. He scrambled to collect them but he knew just as well as I did that there was nothing left to salvage. My heart broke.

For some reason this memory kept playing in my mind this week.  It is one that I will never forget.

As I’ve mentioned on the radio, I’m faced with more questions than answers. I’ve become ill, maybe because of the slightly colder weather, maybe because I am emotionally exhausted or maybe just because I have not been eating much.

I wonder, how can I start eating when so many others cannot? The guilt I feel is unbearable.

I wonder to myself, how can this be happening in our own country? Canada, known as one of the best places to live in the world, has a problem that is becoming harder to hide as time continues. It’s difficult to imagine that it will not worsen. Can we mitigate this issue? Is it possible at all?

I thought of food all this week, but more so, I thought of the people going hungry. I watched Angela’s Ashes this week and had trouble, still, just fathoming that the same sort of problems are happening in our own backyard.

One thing I do know is that Canada can do better. And if it’s not willing or able to stand up to that challenge that what will we as a community do?

Do you have any solutions?

Please check Brennaintherain.com for my latest blog post complete with more interviews I have done over the past few days.

Thanks for your support. This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life.