Day Four

Today was a better day. First of all ... nothing spilled.

Next ... that bit of brown sugar in my oatmeal has made breakfast much more pleasant.

It was also "Meet Your 7th Grader at School for Lunch Day" today.  Macey looks forward to this day each year - not so much to see me - but because it is a day where parents can bring their children something special to eat for lunch.  Lots of parents bring Bread Co. or sub sandwiches. Yesterday Macey asked if I would be bringing him something special, but I told him we just didn't have it in the budget.  He was disappointed, but understood.  This morning, however, I received a text message from a friend asking if she could bring Macey the "present" of a Subway sandwich?  Knowing how happy this would make Mace, it was hard for me to refuse.  Thanks Holly!  You made Macey's day.  At one point tonight I mentioned that he was not very talkative during lunch and he said, "I was too busy enjoying my sandwich!"

As for me, I came home for lunch and had a sweet potato and a piece of spinach pie.  I also packed up the food that Macey and I were going to eat for dinner.  In the afternoon I led tefilah for our 5th and 6th graders and spoke a bit about the SNAP Challenge.  I was moved and impressed by the insightful questions and  responses the students shared. A few of the 5th graders were proud to tell us that they had spent part of this past weekend volunteering at the Jewish Food Pantry.  One of the students mentioned how much he liked the Bread Co. in Clayton where people are able to pay what they can for their food.  And another spoke about her belief that maybe we, as a society, should try to use the barter system more as a way for people to obtain the food they need.  I shared with them my sense of heightened awareness and gratitude that have been with me for the past few days, and asked them to reflect on how grateful they might feel for the food that is prepared for them each day.

I was also touched to learn how many parents have been discussing the issue of food insecurity with their families.  A number of people told me today that even thought they are not participating in the challenge as presented, they are creating their own meaningful experiences for their families this week.

Finally, Macey and I had dinner at Shaare Emeth tonight and watched the documentary, Food Stamped.  We were joined by about 20 members of our congregation including children and seniors and those of us in between.  The movie follows one couple as they try to live on a SNAP budget of $50 while purchasing mainly healthy and organic food.  During our discussion following the film one member of the congregation challenged all of us (not just those of there ... but all of the members of Shaare Emeth) to do more than just discuss or even "bring to life" the topic of hunger.  He challenged us to ban together as a congregation to do something to make a tangible difference in our community.  If you are up for THIS kind of challenge - I hope you will be in touch with me and see what we can do.