I have been called a snob more times than I can count. I was even told once that I had a "snobby accent". Most commonly, I am thought of as a food snob. I purchase an organic basket from a farm each week. I avoid factory farmed meat in favour of locally grown, grass fed meat instead. I don't eat fast food if I can help it (although I do love it after an especially late night!). I cook from scratch and I am picky about where I go out to eat (spending a lot of money for a crappy meal just isn't that interesting to me). People accuse me of being elitist and out of touch with reality, because people, other people, people with less money than us, can't afford to eat how we do, and I am wrong to think they can.
But here is where I will defend my position. I don't think that just because someone is living in poverty, it means that they, by default, have to eat bad food. Just because one lives in poverty does not mean that that person has less of a right to good food than I do. By good food I mean good for their body and good for their emotional well being. The barriers to good food though is what causes many people living in poverty to resort to cheap, low nutrition (no nutrition), convenience foods. Lack of money, lack of cooking skills, lack of transportation are all barriers. Feelings of shame and a loss of hope and self worth (thank you Nick Saul), are barriers.
What this week has taught me as we come to a close on day 3 is that while someone living in poverty might not be able to afford to make the same consumer choices I do (local organic as opposed to conventionally farmed) due in large part to factors beyond their control (corporate subsidies anyone??), a good meal can and should be had by all no matter the financial situation. The programs and meals offered by The Table, take this philosophy to heart. The fact that the meals are made by and with a professional chef, and that community members are invited to work and learn alongside the chef as equals shows that we are all worthy of being taught chef's tips and tricks (not just those watching the food network or taking an expensive cooking class). The fact that the food is gourmet, and not just fuel, means that those at The Table see all community members as fellow citizens who want what we all want ... to belong, to break bread with friends, to enjoy a delicious meal.
My superpower this week has been my ability to cook. That led me to my food choices. That allowed me to stretch our food into fairly well balanced meals. Knowing how to cook meant that when I saw a bag of potatoes for $2 and a bag of french fries for 88¢ I could see the long term potential of that bag of potatoes and how much more I could get out of them. But as I took my last $2.20 to the store today to buy apples and realized that three apples cost $1.95 and that bag of fries was still 88¢, I even felt discouraged. Making those choices every.single. day. would become a barrier to me as motivation to try starts to dwindle. One can only swim upstream for so long.
The best part about this week so far has been that I have finally been able to talk about food with people without being seen as a food snob. I'm saying the same things, but people are hearing it in a different context. When I say that we ate a roast chicken stuffed with wild leeks, they applaud me. When I talk about making beef broth from scratch, nobody rolls their eyes. You see, feeling like everyone out there, no matter their socioeconomic level deserves to eat real food doesn't make me a food snob, it makes me human ... and it makes those struggling with poverty and hunger human too.
But here is where I will defend my position. I don't think that just because someone is living in poverty, it means that they, by default, have to eat bad food. Just because one lives in poverty does not mean that that person has less of a right to good food than I do. By good food I mean good for their body and good for their emotional well being. The barriers to good food though is what causes many people living in poverty to resort to cheap, low nutrition (no nutrition), convenience foods. Lack of money, lack of cooking skills, lack of transportation are all barriers. Feelings of shame and a loss of hope and self worth (thank you Nick Saul), are barriers.
What this week has taught me as we come to a close on day 3 is that while someone living in poverty might not be able to afford to make the same consumer choices I do (local organic as opposed to conventionally farmed) due in large part to factors beyond their control (corporate subsidies anyone??), a good meal can and should be had by all no matter the financial situation. The programs and meals offered by The Table, take this philosophy to heart. The fact that the meals are made by and with a professional chef, and that community members are invited to work and learn alongside the chef as equals shows that we are all worthy of being taught chef's tips and tricks (not just those watching the food network or taking an expensive cooking class). The fact that the food is gourmet, and not just fuel, means that those at The Table see all community members as fellow citizens who want what we all want ... to belong, to break bread with friends, to enjoy a delicious meal.
My superpower this week has been my ability to cook. That led me to my food choices. That allowed me to stretch our food into fairly well balanced meals. Knowing how to cook meant that when I saw a bag of potatoes for $2 and a bag of french fries for 88¢ I could see the long term potential of that bag of potatoes and how much more I could get out of them. But as I took my last $2.20 to the store today to buy apples and realized that three apples cost $1.95 and that bag of fries was still 88¢, I even felt discouraged. Making those choices every.single. day. would become a barrier to me as motivation to try starts to dwindle. One can only swim upstream for so long.
The best part about this week so far has been that I have finally been able to talk about food with people without being seen as a food snob. I'm saying the same things, but people are hearing it in a different context. When I say that we ate a roast chicken stuffed with wild leeks, they applaud me. When I talk about making beef broth from scratch, nobody rolls their eyes. You see, feeling like everyone out there, no matter their socioeconomic level deserves to eat real food doesn't make me a food snob, it makes me human ... and it makes those struggling with poverty and hunger human too.
Today's cost breakdown:
It's hard to say really as we ate a lot of leftovers (kids took leftover beans for lunch, Robin had leftover chicken.). Our dinner tonight was a mushroom barley soup. I made the stock using beef bones that cost me $2.10, an onion, a carrot and the peelings and cut ends of the carrots from previous meals. To the strained broth (which I made on Monday night and put in the fridge for tonight's meal) I added two packages of sliced mushrooms ($3 total), one onion, one celery stock and 1/2 cup barley (from a 1kg bag that cost $2) ... in total this soup fed 5 of us (my dad was here for dinner), and there is enough for Robin's lunch tomorrow. That puts it at about $1.00 per serving, and with a green salad, was a satisfying meal. The kids and I each had 1/2 of those precious apples dipped in peanut butter as a snack. We are well under our $5 each today I think ...
It's hard to say really as we ate a lot of leftovers (kids took leftover beans for lunch, Robin had leftover chicken.). Our dinner tonight was a mushroom barley soup. I made the stock using beef bones that cost me $2.10, an onion, a carrot and the peelings and cut ends of the carrots from previous meals. To the strained broth (which I made on Monday night and put in the fridge for tonight's meal) I added two packages of sliced mushrooms ($3 total), one onion, one celery stock and 1/2 cup barley (from a 1kg bag that cost $2) ... in total this soup fed 5 of us (my dad was here for dinner), and there is enough for Robin's lunch tomorrow. That puts it at about $1.00 per serving, and with a green salad, was a satisfying meal. The kids and I each had 1/2 of those precious apples dipped in peanut butter as a snack. We are well under our $5 each today I think ...