Erin: More Than a Gesture

Have you ever seen one of those shows where someone beautiful and thin dresses up in a “fat suit” and walks down the street so that she can tell us about the horrible experience of being fat in our society?

I grew up poor. Let me make this clear, being poor sucks. I wish I could say that there was some quaintness or some incredible amount of character building going on, but those moments are far outweighed by indignities.

The last thing I mean to do is belittle the “Food Stamp Challenge”, I don’t compare it to putting on a fat suit because I think the challenge is not genuine. I am saying that it is a gesture. If you have ever known someone who shaved their head because their friend/sister/wife was going through chemo, you know the difference. A bald head doesn’t make you feel the fear of your children growing up without their mother nor does it make you exhausted and nauseous. But it is a gesture, it is a way of saying to someone that you love “I will fight this fight with you and, when you tire, I will keep fighting.” I am hopeful that this is what the challenge will ignite in people.

I have to be honest; I quit the challenge after 5 days. You don’t have to convince me that $21/week is not enough money to maintain a healthy diet, much less an appetizing one. I get it. My parents worked hard, often they both worked multiple jobs, but it isn’t as easy as just “working hard”. Forty percent of food pantry/soup kitchen clients are working poor. Add to that number the clients who are children and seniors and you don’t get a lot of ne’er-do-wells.

My point is this, the simple act of striving to understand what it feels like to be food insecure is a great lesson for everyone to experience at some point. But don’t allow it to just be a gesture. This isn’t just about the inexplicable mathematical formula that made $21 seem like a reasonable number. It is a reminder of the people who are trying to make their food budgets work for more than just one week. It is a reminder of why you chose to apply your talents to the nonprofit world. It is a reminder of why you write that check to the food bank or give your time. Mostly, it is a reminder that we must fight this fight with them until they grow weary, and then we must continue to fight for them. Don't just hang up the fat suit and go back to your original hotness.

On a lighter note, no one on food stamps ever turned down free coffee. I would even bet that people have chosen jobs based on the availability of free coffee.