Gerry Kasten
This month, I participated in BC’s Welfare Food Challenge: to live on the amount of money a person on social assistance has to purchase food for a week – $26. Welfare Food Challenge participants were asked not to accept any kind of charity or other food not coming out of their $26 dollar
Although I can get food cheaper elsewhere, I bought from a local supermarket in Squamish, BC, where I work. People often don’t have a lot of choice about where they shop. I spent $25.85.
When I checked against Canada’s Food Guide, I was at pretty minimal levels:
- Vegetables and fruit: 17 food guide servings short of CFG recommendations
- Grains: met the recommendations
- Milk: 17 servings short
- Meats/Alternates: 1 serving short.
So I wasn’t getting enough calcium, B Vitamins, enough Vitamin C, D and E, nor meeting my requirements for Iron and Zinc. But, what to do? – That’s one of the reasons I took this challenge – To find out!
I am a food expert. I have trained for years to cook, have a healthy diet and on budgeting. There is myth that “if only people in poverty were more sensible with their money they would be fine.” With all my expertise, I could not eat a healthy and filling diet.
And so – the main lesson I’ve learned? One has to plan VERY carefully, and shop VERY carefully and cook VERY carefully: EVERY SINGLE TIME. Absolutely any mistake means that you, your spouse, or your children will be lacking even more nutrition than the “welfare diet” already strips from your food intake. Essentially, we’re making poor people be far more obsessive about shopping than folks living on middle incomes.
The Globe and Mail recently reported that 51% of Canadians would struggle to pay their bills if their paycheque was just one week late! The Welfare Food Challenge is just a couple of steps away for more than half of us, and a challenging reality for all of the British Columbians already living in poverty. There is simply not enough money for healthy food for people living in poverty.
Gerry’s food for a week on the Welfare Food Challenge