Thursday, November 13, 2008

Yes! It is so tough to pass up the free food... I accidentally took some snacks that were being given out in one of my classes without even thinking about it. I was halfway done eating my free chips and popcorn before I realized that I shouldn't have taken them! Oops... soo, I'm going to subtract another dollar from my total. Good thing I reserved a little.

About the free food... how interesting that we, many of us people of privilege, have all this access to free snacks, free coffee, free meals. Yet people who are actually struggling with getting enough to eat don't have that. Or the places they can get food (e.g. churches, other agencies) carry a stigma, might be hard to access via public transport, or require a ridiculous amount of paperwork...

- Sarah

2 comments:

Carrie said...

I'm hoping that this posts to the right list, I've been trying to keep up with the Food Stamp Challenge, but couldn't figure out how to post.

I attended the Poverty Summit in Detroit today and was struck by the irony of free food and privilege. When I first agreed to do the food stamp challenge, I knew it would be a struggle because I wouldn't be able to pick up a sandwich on the way home or between classes. I don't usually have high grocery bills, but I just realized why...I have free food at work, school and at almost every function. Even at a Poverty Summit, designed to highlight the struggles of the poor, there was fancy multi-course meals and snacks at every turn.

While I knew that everyday commodities were more expensive for the poor, I didn't realize how much I received "in-kind" from my privilege. Unfortunately, I think this influences more than just food.

Carrie said...

I'm hoping that this posts to the right list, I've been trying to keep up with the Food Stamp Challenge, but couldn't figure out how to post.

I attended the Poverty Summit in Detroit today and was struck by the irony of free food and privilege. When I first agreed to do the food stamp challenge, I knew it would be a struggle because I wouldn't be able to pick up a sandwich on the way home or between classes. I don't usually have high grocery bills, but I just realized why...I have free food at work, school and at almost every function. Even at a Poverty Summit, designed to highlight the struggles of the poor, there was fancy multi-course meals and snacks at every turn.

While I knew that everyday commodities were more expensive for the poor, I didn't realize how much I received "in-kind" from my privilege. Unfortunately, I think this influences more than just food.