Day 2 - FoodBank Challenge

As I was packing my lunch last night for work I thought Peanut Butter sandwich - Then I realize no jam for me. Luckily I love peanut butter and could use margarine. I normally pack a bottled water but again off limits so I found a recently emptied Gatorade bottle that missed the blue box and filled it with tap water. This morning I have been to the fridge twice before I catch myself that it too is off limits - I tried my Soya Milk (Only $1.25 litre - It was cheaper than real milk) It tastes horrible warm - I'll reserve judgement on it for now.

Interesting article about the challenge in today's Sentinel - I was likely one of the first to respond to the email from The Mayor of Woodstock's office to accept the challenge - I did not have to be coaxed in to joining because I think what the reality of the 1600 folks on assistance and the likely 16,000 folks in Oxford County that are just trying to survive is lost on the general public and the politicos that run this county. They don't need pity any more than they need poverty.  I looked at it as an opportunity to have the folks vying for an office to explain their platform on the poor and working poor, to the public in this once every 4 year chance for the public to impact how the county is run. Only Mayors and 2 Woodstock councillors get to sit at the table at the county level. Who voters put in those chairs affects 1/3 of their property tax bill and sewer and water bills. Nothing was mentioned about Marion Wearn finding out that you can't buy the list of goods we were given for $25 at a grocery store. I got mine at the dollar store. Marion and I had a conversation about how tough it is in her rural area to get cheap food - no grocery stores are at hand, you have to drive to Woodstock to shop - Sort of hard to drive when you can't afford food. No food banks out there either.

I'm going to try and have fun with my food basket - maybe I can come up with a recipe for pancake mix cookies - The internet is not much help. It's not even Day 2 on my challenge and I have already learned things - hopefully we can educate the public and the politicos on how tough it is out there and redirect some of the current spending to where it is needed most. Jim Bender and I both commented on the way to pay for it but obviously with no county representative from Ontario Works no dollar value could be attached to it. The province will have to be convinced before we could even give more money as a County if we found it! It's just another one of those rules from Toronto.

Our social safety net is not a hammock by any stretch but lately it seems to have developed a few holes and folks are falling through. It is to be a hand up - not a hand out and I think the good folks at Operation Sharing would love to go out of business some day from lack of customers.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun

P.S. - My next blog will be about how folks can make a bigger impact on the welfare of the local unemployed and underemployed without costing them a dime. They can even save the HST on some purchases.