What You Can Do: Nutrition is key to good health. Doctors are often a liaison into people’s lives. Encourage local physicians and other medical providers to ask their patients about food insecurity and to provide information and referrals to food resources.
Taking the Challenge?
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I have actually been eating pretty well this week, but I wouldn't be if it hadn't been for the free food I have/will receive. I think that I am "cheating" by accepting the food, but at the same time I know that food insecure individuals know how to be resourceful and make the most of opportunities to relieve their food budget. This is why school meal, child care meal, afterschool & summer meal programs are all so important to supporting food insecure families. Yet, while those opportunities are available in many communities across Vermont, some still don't have them as a resource. For me, as a single adult, would I have the same opportunities for free food that I have had this week if I didn't have the job that I have? So far I received lunch from our weekly “Soup Day” where we each take turns bringing in soup for the whole staff; free sandwiches that the engineering firm in our office building brought to us leftover from their catered lunch--this was my dinner on Monday night; and tonight I will get free food at a work-related event. If I had a different job that provided lower wages--or perhaps no job at all--would I have access to these opportunities?
ReplyDeleteThe challenge is definitely A CHALLENGE. My husband is away on business. WE purchased food for two but really it has been just me utilizing our $58 worth of groceries. His meals are luckily covered by his expense account. We are quickly running out of food for the week on the home front and for the last two days he has not been home. I am realizing the importance of utilizing the system in every way possible. Many non-perishable items purchased at the grocery store could probably have been acquired from the food shelf. I will be going to the food shelf today just to see what I could possibly utilize. I would not want to take anything that might leave someone (Really in need) short. I feel nutritionally, we have been doing pretty well. I will run a nutrition analysis tomorrow to review that component. I am definitely missing fresh produce. A nice green, crisp salad would be a wonderful addition right now. THe only fresh produce I purchased for the week were onions, carrots, celery and a green pepper. Most of those items have gone into soups and chili. The organizational issue is the hardest. Eating has become much more of an extrinsic experience.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of support for food supplemental programs and for advocates of the programs becomes more clear in my mind every day!! My stomach is rumbling as the lunch hour approaches. I have not packed a lunch and will have to run home for food. What would I do without a car??? That would add a whole other level to the challenge. It's frightening to think about.
The thing that I miss most on my 3SquaresVT Challenge budget is fresh vegetables. I miss the crisp snap of green beans and carrots which I usually snack on. I purchased two bags of organic frozen vegetables for this week and received a small squash and sweet potato from a friend's garden. I am half-way through one bag of veggies and have almost finished the other. As a former vegetarian, I love vegetables and feel like I am not getting enough this week. Also, I left my bag of frozen peppers and onions at a friend's house after cooking for a potluck. This friend is now out of town for two days- I will miss those vegetables the next few days.
ReplyDeleteI made a lentil soup Monday night and have 2 servings left. I accompany that with some corn chips or a corn tortilla with cheese and have a meal. I am used to eating the same thing a few days in a row so this experience isn't new but as always it makes you think about where your food money goes!
ReplyDeleteAlong the lines of what I just posted, I'm reflecting on how difficult it is to get enough fruits and vegetables on a 3SquaresVT budget. I am also fortunate to work with nutrition educators and to have taken an intro to nutrition course in college. Because I have access to education about nutrition, I know what foods I can eat to meet most of the USDA's nutritional recommendations. Living on a 3SquaresVT budget definitely makes meeting these recommendations difficult. Additionally, nutrition education is unfortunately not as accessable to every individual.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of the challenge I am reflecting on is that I am an individual doing this challenge on my own. I cannot imagine how difficult, time consuming, and stressful it would be to plan meals for a family on a limited budget. If I had children, I would want to make sure they were getting enough and nutritious enough food. I would likely give up some of my food to ensure these things. Grocery shopping would also be stressful: what if my child were to ask for a candy bar at checkout- would it fit into the budget? Would the cashier judge how I was using my 3SquaresVT benefits?
I find myself comparing $38/week for food with how much I spend per week on other items, from the things I need, like heat, to the things I want to include in my life, like time out with friends. I brought a bottle of wine to a friend's house earlier this week, went to a yoga class that costs about $11 per class, used the internet on my laptop, and watched a movie from my Netflix account. In addition to my food bill there are so many expenses that I have that someone living on a 3SquaresVT budget probably couldn't afford. I definitely give up some things to afford yoga classes and bottles of wine, but I have the luxury of choosing those priorities. What if I didn't have the luxury of deciding where to prioritize this extra money on entertainment and exercise? My yoga classes are as important to my physical and mental health as good nutrition... at least it feels that way sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI also got my gas bill yesterday. My roommate and I haven't turned our heat on yet - we're adding more blankets to our beds and hoping we can save a bit of money now so we can afford to keep the house warm in January when temperatures really drop. As it gets colder outside and I anticipate my expensive heating bills, I am left wondering how households that have to live on a 3SquaresVT budget afford their heating bills. That's a big extra expense that people in VT save up for during the summer, but not everyone has enough wiggle room to save. With fuel assistance benefits threatened in the budget cuts in Washington D.C. right now, 3SquaresVT benefits are that much more important. Having money for food from 3SquaresVT lets families spend more money to pay their heating bills.
Kayla - I definitely understand what you mean about missing fresh vegetables. For me, I'm missing fruit. I bought a bag of apples, and have been eating two a day. I know I'm getting a lot of fruit and I normally eat an apple each day, but I'm missing the dried or frozen fruit that I usually have with my breakfast. The lack of variety is getting to me, and it's only Wednesday! But, on a limited budget, it's cheaper to buy a lot of one thing, rather than small amounts of many things. I can't imagine eating oatmeal with a cut up apple every single day for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling some just skip breakfast to save money....
ReplyDeleteThis was a hard day on the 3 squares plan. I finished up my one container of yogurt that we could afford (and in fact we could only have afforded a container than a cheaper yogurt than we had in our refrigerator—but I didn’t switch it out because I didn’t want to waste, plus, of course, I like the more expensive yogurt better). That’s basically what I eat every morning, so I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. I was dying for some variety, so I added raisins that we had in the cabinet (the emergency fruit) instead of another one of those apples that I’ve been eating all week. I couldn’t stand the monotony – which is especially bad because I am allergic to wheat, so I can’t just eat a piece of regular (affordable) toast – of eating one corn- or rice-based cereal again and again, so I mixed two different cereals, and I know I wouldn’t be able to afford that on 3 squares either, unless I was really really savvy about the way I bought things.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really hate or resent about this is the way living on a 3 squares budget asks me to choose between my health and digestion and doing what’s affordable. Yogurt, raisins, and gluten-free cereal made from organic grains are the very best things I can imagine eating, but I can barely afford them, and, if I do, then I can only eat them in the most monotonous way – to the point at which I’m sure if I were REALLY following the program, I would be lusting for some French fries or potato chips or soda, some small “treat.” I was really off the plan at lunch, in the name of my health (but also convenience and pleasure). I just couldn’t stand another meal of lentils! It was a lovely warm day, and my back has been hurting. So I took a walk at lunch and took myself out for tofu, kale, and sweet potatoes, plus some raw veggies with olive oil and balsamic. Now, those are really the most healthy things in the world, according to everything I’ve read. $15.00 for lunch!!!!! So that totally broke the bank.
I remembered later the time after I graduated college and before I got my first paycheck at my new job. I bought groceries on a credit card at a fancy gourmet store in New York City. I don’t have what it takes to make ends meet on the 3 squares food budget.