Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Living Below the Line - Day 3

Nicole here again!
So, I'm in the middle of my 5-day journey of living below the line. My h-anger has reached all new levels. I spent most of yesterday wishing I wasn't doing the challenge, thinking of ways to get out of it, and being mad at myself for doing it. I thought about food all day, and realized that I got hungrier a lot faster between meals than Day 1.

I found myself unable to focus on work. I thought about food from the second I woke up til the second I went to bed. 

My face when:

It makes me think of free breakfast and lunch programs at schools. Imagine being a child trying to focus in class with your stomach rumbling, or gazing with envy and hopelessness at your friends' overpriced Lunchables feast.
 
While I never managed to partake in the sodium-drenched amazingness of Lunchables myself, I did always have breakfast and lunch as a kid so I was very lucky. For those kids that aren't so lucky it's great that New York City offers free, healthy breakfast at school.To learn more about free and reduced meal programs in NYC schools, visit SchoolFood

I also realized that eating this cheaply means sacrificing nutrition to some degree. Subsisting on starches and beans and very little vegetables can make you cranky, bloated, and generally unhappy. One could say that eating a diet of fast food and barbecue (looks at floor and whistles) can also have the same effect, so it is great to take a step back and say "What the heck am I eating?" Even though deliberately not eating when you are hungry (to prove a point to society about our ridiculous over-consumption in the face of global poverty) can SEEM like you are participating in some seriously disordered eating, it does make you think; about food, mostly, but also about what we eat and why. Seriously, it's very deep.

This is some of what I've been eating. Beautiful isn't it? (It's this or more bean pictures people!)


Something that has helped me immensely with this challenge is the constant offers of those around me to share their food with me. The challenge does not allow donated food (unless you calculate the cost) so unfortunately I could not partake in all the deliciousness that abounds in my workplace. That being said, it brings me great comfort to know that I could never go hungry in the presence of my generous students and coworkers. 

Stay tuned for a post on some of the awesome services in NYC that feed our hungry fellow New Yorkers!


Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and do not reflect the views of Berkeley College.

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