No Challah This Week

I tried to save a little to make Shabbat special, but yesterday I was feeling deprived so I spent $1.06 on a big box of Hot Tamales. Did you know it’s hard to find a candy bar for less than that these days?

Will one week without Challah do me in? No, but food is not just sustenance, it’s symbolic and I’m going to be sad on Friday night not to bring in Shabbat with a delicious loaf of bread.

Other than the challah and my mid-afternoon coffee cravings (I only budgeted 7 servings of instant coffee packets), I have been able to eat relatively well on $31.50 per week, though I have been thinking about food almost constantly. I’ve been able to eat ok, but I realize there are a lot of resources I have that the average food stamp recipient might not.

1)      TIME – I have spent incredible amounts of time planning and preparing my meals. Shopping for the best deals took 3 hours last Sunday and more throughout the week. I wonder if I was working several jobs and raising a family on my own, like so many single parents, how I would find the time.

2)      MY CAR - I have the luxury of owning a car and having a full tank of gas. If I had to find transportation to the closest store without the option of going to several, I would not have been able to maximize my purchases the way I did. Jayna Powell of Paul’s Place tells me that in Washington Village/Pigtown they have to get on a bus to go to the nearest Walmart. There is literally no place close to buy food.

3)      MY KITCHEN - Like the Cantor, I have spices and a working kitchen to cook up my beans, vegetables, rice and more. Without those things, pre-packaged, less nutritious and fast foods become the only way to eat.

4)      MYSELF - As I sat down to dinner last night with the rest of my family, who are not taking part in the challenge, I was very aware of how much harder it would be to live on a fixed allotment if I were not doing it alone. Factoring in my children’s likes and dislikes, their different needs and my 8-yr old’s enormous appetite would make it exponentially harder.

Having done this challenge, I am so much more conscious of how the balance is tipped toward unhealthy but economical and easy choices. I now understand how easy it is to go for a frozen chicken pot pie when healthier options are more complicated or priced out of reach. Next time I’m in the store, I will join Danny in adding a few extra cans for donation. But I’m also going to think more about poverty and how we can address it. Our Live & Learn discussion on Thursday Feb 16 will go in that direction. Please come.

Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen