Although I chose to participate, I chose to only join them for a few days, knowing that my allergies to processed food would bring me problems for weeks after the project was finished. (But what an interesting thought - certainly I am not the only person on the planet with allergies, and I am blessed to have the choice of whatever food I want to eat) The biggest thing I noticed, starting on Day 1, was that I couldn't have coffee, it was just too expensive. Not having coffee both gave me a caffeine withdrawal headache, and also left me tired and lethargic most of the day. My morning classes, where I generally learn best, became a place where I just tried to stay awake.
And I only did this for three days.
My students started the project on a Friday and ended it on a Friday, and since our class meets on Tuesday afternoons, I got to see them right in the heart of their tough week. The group I usually see has a positive attitude, works together, listens to each other, and manages to work through issues and discussions in a way that helps them learn better than I could ever facilitate on my own. But that week, I didn't get that group. The group that surrounded me was tired, irritable, had a much more difficult time focusing, and it seemed like our conversations that were supposed to be about leadership and inclusion constantly traced back to food. After the week was over, they talked so much about how the food actually affected all the parts of their lives, not just the fact that they were hungry. They talked about how it affected their test grades, their study habits, and their sleeping patterns. They were more irritable, less focused, and realized that the lack of nutritious food suddenly affected much more than they thought.
One of the common myths about food insecurity that my students certainly destroyed and now understand better is that obesity and food insecurity are problems that exist at opposite ends of the spectrum - when in reality, they go hand in hand. My students discovered this as they had to consume so many more calories to even be close to full, but they couldn't afford fresh fruits or vegetables, let alone any amount of protein. Their diet consisted highly of ramen noodles, canned foods, or frozen meals. (See a picture that one of my students sent me after she went shopping - this was her food for a whole week.)
Today, my mom sent my sister and I to the grocery store to do her Thanksgiving shopping. We weren't overly excited about going to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving, especially since some of the things on my mom's list were things like "water chestnuts" and "sage" and I'm in college so I'm used to buying "cereal" and "noodles". I was hoping to make the trip as painless as possible, so my sister and I split up and got through as quickly as we could.
I got to the snack aisle though, and there was a little boy who I could hear yelling at the man he was with. Then, I heard the man say "I know. I know you want popcorn. But I only get paid once a month, and we can't have that right now. You're going to have to wait." And my heart broke. I thought about the way that my sister and were running around the store, mostly concerned about getting through quickly, not at all concerned about adding up the price of the things we were buying and worrying about shopping on a budget.
I've always told people that the Christmas season is not my favorite simply because of the culture we live in, and I wondered: what would life be like if instead of being concerned about ourselves, or gifts, we started at the bottom just to be sure that our neighbors had enough food on their table everyday? Nutritious and whole meals, and never having the stress of not knowing where tomorrows dinner is coming from.
What would happen to our society if everyone had a place at the table?
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