Food Challenge Day 4

Day 4 Hump Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The weekend has presented its own unique hurdles that threaten my ability to hold to the challenge. The biggest threat:  Alcohol. I’ve been known to enjoy a drink (ssss) and its absence is in my life has been noted with big bold letters. Socially this sucks.  Actually, this just sucks. Being the only sober one at the party, my thoughts turned to a question a close friend had asked me the day before.

What is the point of the food stamp challenge?

Seriously, what’s IS the point? It’s not as if by the end of the challenge I will have magically solved the hunger problem, or even gained a true glimpse of what it’s like to live on food stamps. Realistically, this doesn’t mean shit. Even worse completing this challenge may give me a false sense of moral superiority and accomplishment.

Let me clarify. The completion of this challenge does not count as an accomplishment. I will have done nothing. True, I may have gained a modicum of understanding about the difficulties facing those in this situation and be more sympathetic to their plight but this doesn’t feed the hungry. Furthermore, I’m not arrogant enough to believe that my writing will influence any major change or increased awareness. Why? Because my grammar is terrible and I doubt more than a few of my close friends actually reads this blog. (I probably wouldn’t if I wasn’t writing it)

Ideally if one donated the money they would have spent on food during a normal week or began volunteering at a local food bank there would be a tangible, positive benefit to this challenge. Will I do that? Honestly I don’t know. Nor will I ever post about my decision to. (I have a reputation to maintain)

So what does this mean? I still believe and have increasingly come to believe this challenge has value. The most important reason being that the challenge has made me reflect not just on the issue of hunger and food insecurity but also on my lifestyle. Does this mean I will drastically change my habits? Probably not, but it will give me an increased sensitivity and empathy to the issue. Furthermore, it will remind me not to judge another’s experiences unless I’ve faced a similar situation.

I understand that this is not a similar situation. This challenge is in no way a true reflection of the struggles faced by 1 in 6 people in the nation. Nor does it reflect the myriad of issues that come up in those people’s lives. It would be truly insulting to pretend otherwise. The challenge may be then a start to the conversation, an avenue of thought previously overlooked and passed by and the true challenge may begin after this 7 day period ends.

 

P.S

Apologies for the lack of humor (or attempted humor) in this post. I’ll try harder tomorrow.