Operation Sharing's Mayor's challenge Day 4 - Better Choices!

I had the luxury of being able to shop for my food bank basket. I was careful in my purchases and only spent $21.24 by shopping at the dollar store - I will have food leftover which I will donate back. Marion Wearn also bought the list at the grocery store and found that $25 does not stretch enough to do the complete list. She spent over $30 and donated several items that she figured would have been left on the shelf if she stuck to her budget. Jim, David, Ted and Paul all paid $25 for their food basket at the food bank.
I should mention also that Bruce Urquhart of the Sentinel is also taking up the challenge and posts his thoughts daily in the paper.

The 5 folks that got their food bank box had day old buns - a couple pack of cookies and soup and mac and cheese and some other tinned goods. Clearly they did not receive nearly what the full list contained.

I have followed Jim Benders FaceBook posts and I am a fan of his newspaper/blog. It is clear from his posts that the quality of the food is not what I have in my box. Interesting comments from his fan base too.

One of my big learning experiences is that folks that donate to food banks can help by making better choices of what they donate. I will never donate a box of Tuna Casserole Helper again. If folks think ingredients for a meal rather than a meal in a box, the food gets stretched farther. For $4 last night we had Spaghetti with sauce, canned green beans and a side of baked beans. It fed 4 people and I have leftovers for my lunch. First good meal I have had since Monday. I bought pancake mix instead of a Cake Mix for $1 (no eggs available) - I took 2 cups of pancake mix, a cup of sugar and enough margarine to make a batter and baked a sort of shortbread snack bar. I had a can of peaches and used my StarFrit chopper and made jam for my PB sandwiches by adding a little sugar and pancake mix.  I am not a fan of Mac and Cheese dinners - I have to add ketchup or salsa to it. When one of my friends was going to school, she use to load up her pockets with Taco Bell sauce packets for her Mac and Cheese. I'll bet that many of the folks that use the food bank have creative recipes to make a little something so much more.

So here is the deal. Next time there is a food bank drive - go to the local dollar store and buy ingredients instead of a highly processed, vitamin deficient, cardboard box meal. Instead of reaching to the back of the cupboard for that tin of Apple Juice that has been there long past it's due date, grab a new bottle of salad dressing or that unopened soya sauce. Soups of any kind - tins or pouches can be stretched in to a meal and can make a dinner special. Pancake mix, sugar, tetra pak milk or juice are all things that we don't usually think about donating. Think of your donation as sharing, not charity. If your garden is over abundant, call the Sally Ann or the Food Bank and see if they can use some fresh produce. I'm not sure about potatoes but if you are in the habit of throwing out half the bag by the time you get around to it, maybe the Food Bank will take half the bag off your hands when you purchase it. Food is a terrible thing to waste.

Something else I have missed this week is my snacks - Now it may be healthier for kids to have homemade goods but it may not be cool at school. If you have the urge to splurge put some school snack packs in the collection box. For some kids that might be the only breakfast or snack they get and it helps them fit in.
I think self-esteem trumps nutrition when a child is developing but then I am not a highly paid and educated social scientist. I'm just a parent.

For my final 25 cents - please participate in the Food For Friends at the participating grocery stores. I think the foodcard system has some obvious advantages given the difference in the food choices I have versus the 5 that got their goods from the shelves of the Food Bank. We can trust the folks that receive a food card to use it wisely and supplement their meagre income to put food on the table. Do the Math! Where else can you make a positive social initiative for a quarter.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun