Editor’s Note: Bellevue Reporter staff writer Lindsay Larin participated in United Way’s Hunger Action Week, in which she only spent $7 a day on food, the amount a person would get who is on food stamps. This is her thoughts after the experiment.
My morning latte is essential to starting the day off right. So when my alarm went off on Thursday morning, bright and early, I rolled out of bed looking forward to a warm cup of Starbucks coffee on my way to the paper. Thursday’s after all are deadline day and I have learned I need the extra jolt of caffeine to juggle the day’s tasks. It wasn’t until I climbed in my car and jumped on I-405 that I remembered a morning coffee was out of the question.
I couldn’t afford it.
To raise awareness about the hunger problem in King County I participated in United Way’s Hunger Action Week. The purpose was to experience first-hand what it felt like to live on only $7 a day for five days, from April 20 through April 24.
The challenge was to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without accepting any free food.
With a booming downtown and well-to-do reputation, it’s easy to forget that Bellevue is not immune to hunger. The Renewal Food Bank in Bellevue serves 175 families a week on average and the numbers have continued to rise as people lose their jobs. Soon, school will let for the summer, adding to the number of people who need food.
To take on the Hunger Action Week challenge, I chose to plan ahead and created a shopping list on the Sunday prior to the start of the week. My goal was to not only stick to the challenge, but also to do it in the healthiest way possible. A Big Mac from McDonald’s may be cheap, but it isn’t enough to sustain you day after day. I stocked up on cans of tuna, bananas, black beans, rice, bread and peanut butter.
Not the most exciting menu, but enough to keep me full.
United Way began its Response for Basic Needs in November of 2008 and has since raised $2.6 million for the program. The funding has been invested in carefully chosen community partners food banks to help them acquire additional supplies and extend service hours and large regional distributors of donated food to enhance their capacity.
Supporters of Response for Basic Needs includes the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, The Medina Foundation, Puget Sound Energy and many others.
As the week rolled on, I began to really experience what it would be like to live on so little money. I quickly realized how blessed I am to be able to enjoy a morning coffee and how important it is to give back to those who need a helping hand. From now on I’ll think twice about my $4 morning latte.
In one week, I would have an extra $20 I could donate to a local organization or food bank that needs an extra jolt far more than I do.
Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer Lindsay Larin can be reached at llarin@bellevuereporter.com or 425.453.4602.
To learn more about United Way’s Hunger Action Challenge Week or to find out ways to volunteer in your community, visit http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwkc/volunteer/.
For more information on the Renewal Food Bank, 2015 Richards Road in Bellevue, 425-643-8246, visit http://www.worldimpactnetwork.org/lRenewal.php.
United Way offers more ways to help end hunger:
-Invite friends to a “virtual lunch.” Estimate the cost, and donate that amount to your favorite hunger-relief organization.
-Energize your book group around a book that focuses on the issues of hunger.
-Plan a food drive with your school, neighborhood, place of worship or after-school group.
-Donate the free items from “buy one, get one free” grocery store campaigns.
-Grow a vegetable garden with your family and donate extra vegetables to a local soup kitchen.
