Monday, September 19, 2011
Challenge Accepted!!
I have some friends that put on a fundraiser once a month that I go to. I started out going to support my friends and it was a way to catch up with everyone but the fundraiser in me really became invested in attending and learning about different local charities.
In August, the charity of the month was SF Food Bank, while there I learned about the Hunger Challenge. Basically the Food Bank challenges people to live off the equivalent of food stamps for the week which was quoted as $4.72 per person per day. Having grown up in a working class household, endured a college diet, and currently living on a non-profit budget I thought that this would be an easy thing to do.
The Hunger Challenge was September 11th - 17th. Listed below are some snapshots for the week:
1. It is NOT EASY or NUTRITIONAL to live on the budget that is given out. I was constantly hungry and found myself thinking about food nonstop from day 5 on.
2. I cried MANY times on days 4-7. It took a lot of will power not to chuck the challenge and just eat something, ANYTHING. As thankful as I was to know that I could do that at any moment, it made me that much more determined to stick it out for people that don't have that opportunity.
3. The SF Food Bank drives a hard bargain. I was suffering pretty hardcore but the rules for the Challenge seemed a bit condescending. The diet that I was on didn't allow me to turn down free food or FREE CAFFEINE. For the Food Bank to suggest that I should because people on a food stamp allowance would not have the opportunity is retarded!!!
4. The people in SF actually get $7.14 per person per day. I didn't think to look it up and just took the word of the SF Food Bank but a co-worker looked it up for me after learning about the challenge. I found this out on the last day. I took that extra money which was sorely needed eat my last meal on the challenge.
5. I highly recommend that everyone try the challenge. You can do it any seven days out of the year. It just has to be a week where you live off of the food stamp wages offered in your city.
All in all, I'm happy that I took the challenge. It's a humbling experience that I won't soon forget.
In August, the charity of the month was SF Food Bank, while there I learned about the Hunger Challenge. Basically the Food Bank challenges people to live off the equivalent of food stamps for the week which was quoted as $4.72 per person per day. Having grown up in a working class household, endured a college diet, and currently living on a non-profit budget I thought that this would be an easy thing to do.
The Hunger Challenge was September 11th - 17th. Listed below are some snapshots for the week:
1. It is NOT EASY or NUTRITIONAL to live on the budget that is given out. I was constantly hungry and found myself thinking about food nonstop from day 5 on.
2. I cried MANY times on days 4-7. It took a lot of will power not to chuck the challenge and just eat something, ANYTHING. As thankful as I was to know that I could do that at any moment, it made me that much more determined to stick it out for people that don't have that opportunity.
3. The SF Food Bank drives a hard bargain. I was suffering pretty hardcore but the rules for the Challenge seemed a bit condescending. The diet that I was on didn't allow me to turn down free food or FREE CAFFEINE. For the Food Bank to suggest that I should because people on a food stamp allowance would not have the opportunity is retarded!!!
4. The people in SF actually get $7.14 per person per day. I didn't think to look it up and just took the word of the SF Food Bank but a co-worker looked it up for me after learning about the challenge. I found this out on the last day. I took that extra money which was sorely needed eat my last meal on the challenge.
5. I highly recommend that everyone try the challenge. You can do it any seven days out of the year. It just has to be a week where you live off of the food stamp wages offered in your city.
All in all, I'm happy that I took the challenge. It's a humbling experience that I won't soon forget.
Labels: challenge, food bank, fundraising, hunger
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Snapshots from Summer and beyond...
Hello Everyone,
I'm happy to report that I was not taken away in the much over hyped Rapture planned for earlier this year. Instead, I merely switched jobs in the most chaotic way possible (by working at both locations for two weeks) and have spent the summer learning how to do my new job. Let me get everyone all caught up with what's been happening since May and then we can move into what's happening now!
First off, Boston was fabulous. I truly enjoyed my week there and wouldn't mind going back to visit again. It's amazing how much fun a city can be when you no longer have all these emotional ties to a place. I think that it may be on my 2013 visit list. Summer in SF has been all that is typically promised: cool, foggy, chilly. I've enjoyed my time nevertheless. I have managed to avoid most of the festivals in lieu of Reno summers. The tradeoff of losing money is that I got a tan this summer, enjoyed a really good triple A game of baseball, had amazing food, and learned how to navigate myself around a new city. I probably qualify for Nevada citizenship at this point.
The weekdays have been filled with learning how to hone the craft of fundraising and in particular what it takes to put together a successful capital campaign. The first three months have been pretty quick but now that I have completed my 90 day review, I am planning to take things a little more slowly and capture as much of this knowledge as possible. "there's gold in them thar hills!" has never been a more applicable than to my learning curve at this job. It's been amazing to see all these fundraising thoughts put into practice.
September has been noteworthy from a food perspective. I spent Labor Day weekend overeating at the Best of the West Rib Cook-off. I spent weeks slowly overeating so that I could eat as many ribs as I could over the weekend. It was a very gluttonous affair full of absolutely no moderation. The pendulum has swung back and in an effort to restore some balance and to take part in a worthwhile cause, I am doing a Hunger Challenge promoted by the San Francisco Food Bank. The premise is quite simple. You need to eat/drink off of $4.72 per day for a week which is the current food stamp budget. I am currently on day 5. There will most definitely be a post to discuss the week and how it has affected me. But this much I will say: caffeine, fruit, and fresh vegetables are LUXURIES that should never be taken for granted.
Labels: fundraising, hunger, ribs, summer, work
