I am so lucky that I have never had to worry about not being able to afford whatever food I want.

I truly appreciate that.   Are you saying you cannot afford such things as fresh milk and meat and fresh fruit and veggies?   I am embarrassed to admit I do not even track the prices.

When I was younger and for a short time was a "stay-at-home" mom, I got into a lot of making things from scratch.   Sadly that did not last and I ended up a single parent for years and years (not wealthy by any means, but not poor either).   There was much less time and my cooking went down hill.

It must be very hard for single mom's who are really broke.  Especially if they are also working full time.   I was lucky to have a fairly good job, so I feel no sense of superiority over the poor.   I could have been there very easily.   (I had only my job for money for years, and 2 kids, no child support from my ex, no help from my family).

She makes good points, but I disagree about one thing.  Boost and ensure taste good!  I used to use them as a meal replacement once a week for about 8 months when I only had a short break between dance classes.

She also touched on, but didn't get into much about food prep.  Cooking nutritious food often takes time and many low income people who are working work long hours.

I think it's a very good article trishcuit - and I agree with the author.  The issue is poverty, or low income, not lack of knowledge in so many cases.  How hard do 'we' (who are not poor at the moment) work to alleviate that political issue - rather than just giving to foodbanks?   I also hate seeing "the poor" used as a descriptor as if it's some big homogenous entity.

Actually, at the moment in Ontario there's an interesting case before the governing college of physicians.  One doc, working in a clinic in a poorer area of Toronto, is being investigated for signing a huge number of welfare special diet forms for patients - this form allows people with special needs to get some added money to accommodate special diet needs.  Doctors can claim for completing these forms & he states he's donated that income to poverty related projects.  It will be interesting to follow the case to its outcome ... a political act on his part to prod the system which provides inadequately at present. 

One of the opportunities is to have lunch available at church, not as a fundraiser, but as a communal meal, with everyone paying what they can afford,  I put in what I would pay to go to a restaurant for lunch..  

Another option is to have a good shared kitchen model, as I know senior women that live on low income who have lots of knowledge on how to make good low-cost large volume meals, just no need for that volume for themselves.  

The latter is one of my dreams

We do communal lunches after every service, with people contributing what they can.   Is that what you meant?   It is standard Orthodox, except for large cathedrals where there are huge number of people (not an issue in North America where Orthodoxy is not very common).

It is one of things I like about it, the sense of community.

There are all sorts of food-related rituals.  People bring in special cakes made out of certain standard ingredients (that are not at all Western European) for Panikita's (a sort of short memorial service that can be held basically whenever someone wants one).   There are special recipes (varies by country) at Easter.

i don't mean potluck....but rather, cooked meals..whether it be a pot of soup, or a breakfast or a sandwich...purchased in bulk, made from reasonable quality materials

ps..the biggest part is a reasonable minimum wage....which sadly, we do not have in canada

My Aunt Margaret (still contributing at 102yrs) was one of the founders of Lunch by George, a daily lunch meal served at the hall for St. George's Cathedral (Anglican) in Kingston, ON.  It's well (very well) attended and has a lot of fans from Queen's, the general population, and seniors in the area. 

The donation system is very simple: pay what/if you can.

Many attend not so much for the food but the companionship of sharing a meal. As partners, spouses and children leave (or pass away), mealtimes are quiet where once they were times to share: the loneliness can be devastating.

Excellent article, trishcuit.

When I was a child we had enough to eat (just).

This means we weren't starving, but we were skinny and always hungry.

Fruit was expensive - but I never craved an orange, but I did a bag of hot, greasy chips covered in salt. (Oh, and the crispy little bits at the bottom of the bag).

When you're hungry what you want is to feel "filled up".

Although I understand nutritionists espousing the merits of healthy eating - to a lot of folks on a low income it must come across as just another example of middle-class blindness to their reality.........

On that note- Foodbanks are giving out all the healthy stuff- Kraft dinner, Cheese whiz and Peanut butter...

oh and don't forget the expired goods and tins of no-name peas and stale dry goods.

God takes very good care of us and I am a rather better than average cook. I like cooking from scratch.  We have come close enough to the "Just want something filling in my belly" hunger that I can easily imagine being in the situation.  We also live in subsidized housing with a lot of single moms on social assistance and people with various disabilities.  I see it a lot.  Not much in the way of fresh fruits and veggies going on but lots of calorie dense cheap food to  fill the kids' hungry bellies.

Thanks for that article Trish, I have been thinking about this lately.

Because food banks in this area have very limited refrigerator  space, they give out very little in fresh meat, vegies, fruit, yogurt, milk, cheese.   They are quite limited to canned and packaged foods.  Yes, they give out jars of peanut butter and boxes of Kraft dinner, etc.   They recently had a push for donations through October.   The first week was for pasta - spaghetti, noodles, etc and Kraft-type dinners.  I don't give Kraft dinner, and if I give pasta, I always try to include a large can of tomatoes, and a container of grated cheese (a meal).   the following week was for beans and I was glad to see that they were not only looking for canned beans but also for dried beans (apparently they get to know their clients and will know which ones have the equipment and know-how to use dried beans.  One week they ask for 'hearty' soups.  When I think of the left over roast beef or chicken, the carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes and whatever I add to a can of vegetable beef or chicken noodle soup, I wonder how they get 'hearty' soup from a can, or a package.

But they try.  And they are looking for the foods that many of their clients want and can use.  (I did know one person who had depended upon the food bank to help out herself and her son - she donated back the boxes of Kraft dinner.)

When I was a child who was often hungry between meals, I admit that I craved the sweetness of a chocolate bar or the crispness of potato chips, but I also enjoyed a good crisp apple, the blueberries and raspberries I found in the woods, hazel nuts in the fall, and just chewing on the stem of alfafa grass, or the tender shoots off a tree.  City kids today don't have those options. Nutritional?   They got me through until I sat down to a supper of balony, potatoes, a few carrots, and bread and molasses.  

Food banks do have limited space. Ours is able to buy meat, eggs, margarine and they give out gift cards for milk. We are also blessed in that we have people who bring in their fresh garden vegetables to give away.   I admit it is very hard to make nutritious meals with only canned product, and dry pasta.

I sometimes wonder if we could put together a healthy cooking with canned goods cook book or class for people who need it.

There is a cookbook out there for men, or bachelors to be exact.  It's called " A Man, a Can and a Plan."

thanks trishcuit

I seem to notice that junk food goes on sale much more often and at a lower price than fruit & veggies.  :(

It is the same here.  What really bothers me is that the better sales are held at times when lower income people tend to have run out of cash.

Today I popped in to the store for some milk and bananas.  The person ahead of me had a cart load of ripple chips, bottled water (our tap water is very good), candy bars, sugar coated cereal, lots of pop and 2 loaves of sliced white bread. I can't afford to spend my food money like that!

It is kind of hard to cook a gourmet meal out of a car...

Something that was briefly mentioned in the article, and is often only briefly mentioned, is the lack of functioning appliances for cooking and storage, hydro to run those appliances and a permanent address to house any of these things.   Another issue is that in some "poor" neighbourhoods there is no grocery store that sells luxury items like fresh fruit and meat, but only a convenience store.

The problem is larger than knowledge or even affordability, it includes access and equipment.

LB

----------------

O God, to those who have hunger, give bread, and to us who have bread, give the hunger for justice.

       Prayer from Latin America

On top of all of that, there is often a lack of cooking and storage capacity at the homes of those who come to the food bank. Often, it's a hot plate or a microwave so it's hard to cook from scratch under those conditions. 

My struggle with the charity model of feeding people is that it is not a just way of treating others. It puts those who come in a position of less power than those runnig the organization, for starters. A good example is where the groceries are bagged and handed out - regardless of the person's allergies, likes or dislikes. They have no power in this arrangement (and it's not a good use of resources either, if some is being wasted). 

It also lets governments off the hook in terms of social welfare, a responsibility that they are charged with through various pieces of legislation. The model of welfare (which in most provinces is now work-fare) is also charity-based but doesn't need to be. If we were to recognize basic human rights to our common needs of food, shelter and clothing, a modicum of respect and recognition that "there but for the grace of God go I" would be present, allowing a more equalizing and humane approach to assisting people. To put applications through extensive waiting periods, verification processes, etc, is to dehumanize them. It's humilitating, to say the least. 

I've just heard the unemployment numbers - 54,000 full time jobs were lost last month. That means more people (because of the ripple effects) to stand in line, to be emotionally abused by charities and governments and be threatened with loss of their homes. Once someone's residence is threatened, that also destabilizes the family unit, putting people at risk of losing their children.

It's a nasty cycle...

I always plug Persistent Poverty- Voices from the Margins. It should be required reading for politicians.

Here is some of my local folks' reality. We are a small town, but we are lucky, we have a convenience store. The nearest place to purchase a fresh vegetable or piece of fruit is 23 kms away. If you wander into the convenience store as a snowmobiler or cottager, you will pay what you need to pay to get what you want, need or forgot. So, head on over and buy a $3 can of corn. It is $2.79 for a small can of niblets. The pop, the chips, the chocolate bars are on par... You dare not be someone poor who needs food food.

How do you travel 23 kms without a car? We can say "someone can take you". But the reality is that we often do not know, do not think and we often do not care. How many times can someone ask for a ride before people quit saying they are going or get pissed?

The one-size fits all model of food distribution does not work-

I know a lady who each time she gets food bank food trades the peanut butter with someone for access to their water. She is allergic to peanuts and has non-potable water.

Have we given much thought to how people open a can from the food bank without access to a can opener - what cream of mushroom soup tastes like without a way to heat it up or add water- how canned salmon is without bread, mayo or a place to clean it?
As silly as it is to send toothpaste or Bible tracts to kids without access to water, it is just as silly to expect uncooked spaghetti to do anyone any good who has no way of cooking it.

What is the dignity in any of that? 

As we try to do better, we must demand our government does not rely on us and that they do better. How many poverty audits are going to be done before policies change?

I'm not disagreeing that some people lack the tools to prepare food, but I know the main demographic that is served by the food bank I support - internation students, or students with kids (or both).  Most of these people while they may not have a full kitchen, they will usually at least have a hot plate and basic kitchen utensils - they are cheap to buy at the end of the year when students leave or throughout the year from grad students who have finished or post docs.  I'm admitting to some assumptions, my previous campus provided more information than the current one does, but there tends to be even more families and international students here, so I'm probably not too far off.

Do many people who do not at least have a can opener, some knives and a hot plate use food banks?  In the city, if people have a place to stay they usually have the basics.  If they do not have a place to stay, then they tend to be at shelters where food prep is less of an issue.  Where do rural areas get stuff for food banks?  Just from the immediate area or are they supplemented by cities?

chemgal - I'm surprised to hear that many international students rely on the food bank.  My (very limited)  experience has been quite different.   I had the impression that many of the international students were either from wealthy families or had government sponsorship.  

Years ago, when my church was sending money to HongKong to help 'roof-top' schools provide elementary education, I met students from HongKong talking about long distance calls back and forth, going home for the Christmas holidays, and planning to go on a tiger hunting safari.   They certainly didn't need the food bank.  The student from Bhutan who rented a room from me for two years had been approved by his government to study abroad and all his expenses (including support for his wife and children back home) were paid for.  I wouldn't say he lived luxurously but he never seemed to have a problem meeting his rent, tuition, or living expenses - he was doing his masters in education and would be a district supervisor when he went back home.   The same with a student from west Africa (I forget which country) - he was doing a post-graduate degree in political science.  

On the other hand I sometimes became aware of students from right here in NB who were going hungry (or near).  One student was trying to make a loaf or bread and a dozen weiners last out the week .   Another student required an extension when his rent was due.

The international students I came in contact with might have been the exception. 

No student should have to go hungry.   No person should have to go hungry.  

Neither should they have to beg.

It depends on the demographic how we are meeting needs. Will Ontario Works, the basic social assistance program in Ontario,  providing a single adult with $585 a month cover rent? In some places, yes. In others, no. It is according to Persistent Poverty $586 on average for a bachelor apartment in Kingston. In most places people have to try to pay marjet rent not subsidized. In a city like Toronto -in May 2011, the number of eligible households on the waiting list for social housing stood at 66,460. Last figures I saw said a bachelor in the GTA was around $830 a month.

In a cultural area where pork is a no-no, the food bank handing our pork and beans fails. In another area, it may be doing ok. If the food bank is being utilized by those who are housed, even inadequate housing, access to can openers and hot plates may not be an issue. Where they are being utilized by the homeless or housed within a car or in a squat without utilities, then there is a shortage of hot plates.

In some places it is students. In my area it is mostly people who are work at seasonal or minimum wage jobs. In another area it will be those on assistance and in some areas it will be the homeless. It works out then to national averages

The problem is that if someone has no access to hydro, indoors, water... they are not as likely to say so. One can give an address when one is in fact homeless, I did.

I know of some local folks with a "house" and an "address". They live in a three sided sheet metal farm shed. The front is covered with well ripped tarps. They live there year round. There is still a 911 address from when there was a trailer there (burned down).

The National Hunger count was released Nov 1st.
http://www.foodbankscanada.ca/getmedia/34ebd534-14db-4bed-96d2-4fcadd5d9a33/HungerCount-2011-web-print-friendly.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf

Seeler, I had a co-op international student, who was definitely hurting for money.  His family had scraped together money to have hm come to Canada , and his tuition was unbelievable, as well as all the other items.

Culture guides me, for good and bad.  There is a bounty of food available, if I can learn how to utilize it.

A readily available food source for free (we are all so spoiled in this country)

Super cuponing

A nifty experiment by a couple

I can't say how many of my starving-student friends of the past didn't cook their own food & who bought expensive things (like food from the frozen entree section) as opposed to staples.

I added some more thoughts to the hungry students thread in parenting.

I don't cope well with cooking when there are demands on my time and life is stressful. If I was a student, with a less than optimal kitchen set up, I might find it hard to focus enough on yet another thing to deal with when first leaving home, talking on new learning and figuring out how things will need to go. If I was an international student, some of whom are on limited income (but not all, for sure), that would be harder since the ingredients for the food that they normally consume may not be easy to find (or perhaps impossible). 

My mother buys food from the frozen entree section and she isn't well off. However, I'm glad she does because she probably wouldn't take the time to prepare vegetables, and a protein source of some kind if they weren't available. She's only responsible for herself and has cooked for many for years. If she wants to heat up a prepared meal, it's probably a good thing.

While I recognize that it's important to offer information on how people can make their limited food dollars go further, I wonder how I would feel if this discussion was happening within earshot and in this position. I might feel blamed for my poverty since it would be obvious to everyone that I wasn't managing money properly. Not only that but, if I was on an income assistance program, many people might feel as though they are entitled to tell me how I don't measure up. It's very delicate.

You grok how sombunall Libertarians feel or real voracious believers in Freedom of Speech or sombunall believers in the Free Market -- trust people enough to let them do their thing.

So many people believe that they know the Right way to live, the Right way with the least pain (or even no pain), that if they only follow their way, they will have Peace and Prosperity.

I like one phrase "save us from those who want to save us" *chuckle*

About your Mother and frozen food, I am glad that frozen food has come a LONG way from Hungry Man and Swanson tv dinners. Some are actually quite good and nutritous now.  That is a comfort to know. They say frozen is next best to fresh, in terms of vegetables.  

As for your last paragraph, Gosh don't I know it!  My husband, through NO fault of his own, suffered a brain injury as a very yound child. As a result it manifested into schizophrenia as a young adult.  He is doing well but is on disability. This certainly put a damper on any world travel plans we may have, hahah!  But yes, people who have these discussions need to remember "THERE, BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, GO I". People look at us from time to time as if to say "what the hell is the matter with YOU? if we can't go somewhere for lack of gas in the car and no money to buy any more for a couple days until payday. Like we are idiots or something. I manage the money but we get paid enough to pay the bills and eat etc. Any extra expense, like car repairs or maintnance, is a set back.

 Why don't I work? People wonder. Well I do, part time here and there. But my husband, while an excellent support parent, cannot handle the rigors of being a primary caregiver. So no full time for me. This limits our income. I can earn and keep up to $500 per month before they start deducting dollar for dollar.  So I guess  that what I am trying to say is that there are often extenuating circumstances that people know NOTHING about as they point their fingers and judge. And with  these people I do not feel inclined to share my life story as they are not worthy to know me that well. 

The Salvation Army  food bank in our town is wonderful.  They have never made us feel small. They KNOW that shit happens. I am very grateful to them for that.

(((((trishcuit)))))

Thanks for sharing that - there are so many judgements about circumstances about which little is known, as you so eloquently point out. It's not even easy to say "no, I can't go for coffee until Wednesday" since there is an expectation of middle-class income and cash at one's fingertips whenever. 

Amen.

My wife and I for years had me at home and her working and yes, money was tight. People wondered why I did not work and some were so bold as to ask or some actually almost demanded to know. Why was medical and personal and personal means personal.

My family was on assistance about thirty years ago. It was just prior to my mom's involuntary commital to a mental health facility. I still remember people looking at the cart making judgments on what we were eating. One man even said to my mom, "must be nice to have my tax dollars buy you steak." My mom turned and said, "the doctor said it is iron or red meat and fresh veggies, your damn tax dollars won't pay for iron, asshole". It was a rare moment of complete sanity.

Many elderly in our community do not cook, their now gone spouse always did. So, frozen entrees are a godsend. We ocassionally have run cooking classes for those who are alone and want to learn.

Also, frozen entrees on sale or fast-food value menus can be far cheaper than the costs of buying and then the cost of preparing food at home.

So, we should not judge.

On Friday, Dec. 2, there was an EXCELLENT radio piece on Poverty in Canada on CBC, hosted by the poet Lorna Crozier.

To listen: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/12/02/a-special-editon-on-poverty-in-canada/

I was very moved by those interviewed.  Ms. Crozier was able to hit on many of the toughest aspects of poverty, including the dismal situation of access to healthy food, food desserts and the Catch-22 of having enough money to eat vs. having too much money to recieve much needed assistance...So. Frustrating.

I hope you find this informative.

Ooo, Lorna certainly gets around :3  She's a good teacher, I know.

I'm glad that there are lots of people who are innovating and doing things like forming communal living, communal gardens and ways of getting cheap transportation and electricty :3

And I'm glad I live in a country that still mainly trusts its populace and lets them "fail".

The Book of Acts in the Bible wrote of a communist living style. All sold their personal belongings and each was given according to their needs.  A lot can be said for the communist philosophy.  Trouble is, someone is needed to run the operation and power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.  

 As for Communist Russia, it was easy to see what they were striving for in the Russian revolution. It SEEMED like a good idea at the time...

And we can't pay our taxes in live poultry or goats.

Martha -- it was a great program

I think a communist living style probably works well for small groups who are committed to each other and care about each other.  Once it gets beyond 50 people or so, people start to really question each other's abilities and motives.  For that matter, just think about how people can fight over money and goods in a family.  Ideally, we would all bring our best to the table to share and take only what we need, but in real life it's very hard to do that, especially in a national system when the people you're sharing with are on the other side of the country and you have no idea if they really need what they've taken or if they are taking advantage.