Food and Poverty Challenge
For this particular task, we received a seven-day challenge called the Poverty and Food Challenge. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, adequate nutrition and managing a persistent and persistent disorder can be a challenge for people suffering from food security and poverty and at low cost. Food security is defined when a person can acquire and have all the resources to obtain a sufficient amount of healthy food daily. Unfortunately, people who do not have enough resources to eat enough food every day suffer from food insecurity.
Due to food insecurity, people suffer from many health problems, which can lead to illness and health problems. People with this problem are less likely to have a healthy lifestyle and an efficient life. The objective of this task is to live on a budget of $50 all week and record all the difficulties and problems that we face with this challenge.
Personally, when I go grocery shopping, I just go to the store and buy what is necessary. Although for this assignment, I made a list of food I was planning to get and calculate the prices for each item before going. While I was doing this, I had to add or subtract items that were going over my budget or substitute something cheaper. I do not often look at the weekly flyers since I do not do the grocery shopping in my household. However, looking through the weekly flyers, helped me determine what the items I should or should not retrieve in my budget are. Having a set budget was very difficult because I was only forced to buy items that were a “needed” for me rather than a “wanted.”
In Canada, it is estimated that one out of seven people lives in poverty. Disabled people account for 15% of people under the poverty line (“Just the Facts | Canada Without Poverty”, 2020). Approximately 21% of single mothers raise their children while living in poverty (“Just the Facts | Canada Without Poverty”, 2020). When contrasted, poverty contributes to high cases of hunger in Canada. It is also estimated that 4 million Canadians experience challenges in providing food for themselves (“Just the Facts | Canada Without Poverty”, 2020). This presents an overwhelming challenge to cater to the needs of the disadvantaged. Food wastage among Canadians is one of the contributors to food insecurity. To understand the challenge the disadvantaged face, the following study analyses the plight of poverty by limiting the weekly spending to only $50.
Day 1: $5.20 at McDonalds Three McDouble burgers
I had to pass this test to reach an agreement and a goal. At first, I have to spend money on a generally modest meal, but also enough to not be afraid. I will also reduce my meal plans for one party a day during the week. My daily diet usually consists of two moderate dinners and breakfast. Because of the limited spending schedule, every dollar counts and every dollar must be justified, despite all the problems. I start the test with three McDonalds hamburgers that surprisingly saved me from fear. This purchase required part of my expenses, which made me sure that I could continue the week and also have additional money. I feel good, the decrease in food intake has not yet had a negative impact on me, and I don’t feel hungry urgently. Currently, I do small exercises, for example, read carefully or watch programs. I usually eat something like a late event, like chips or candy. I don’t think it’s worth buying the goodies during this test, because I would end up spending a lot of money on them. I remember how I handled the financial limit and how I prepared myself because money can be spent efficiently on groceries, but it can also be easily saved. After all, I have to eat next Saturday.
Day 2: $7.75 Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt Subway sandwich
Today I woke up and, of course, lost my certainty. I’m hungry, and my stomach is still crying. Before I learned after just one day. I should eat something bigger, and it is very unlikely that I can live with just three small hamburgers. I understand that it was my passion for the test that allowed me to starve essentially without feeling anything. Today my lunch was a long tram ride. I get more food and feel full for a few extra dollars. Tragically, burning eight dollars, makes me stand out in the next few days. Eight dollars is almost a fifth of all my money. That means I can have about three satisfying dinners and some good ones. I’m starting to feel good, nothing crazy about my body and I still don’t feel symptoms of a reduced diet. I go out without food. I appreciate the preparation of the dishes, and it is in my interest that it lasts a long time. Without them, I do nothing useful. Finally, I stayed in bed and recovered online for a considerable time. I also feel really bad about refusing my parents’ dinner, but a test is a test. I was very frustrated because I’m not hungry while resting, so I don’t have to worry about spending more money. Now, I am afraid that my spending limit will not stop and only the next day.
Day 3: $7.99 at Popeyes Bonafide® Chicken – Combo
I stayed in bed today. Sleeping helped me with breakfast, so I didn’t have to worry about buying cruel food in the morning at Tim Horton’s. Anyway, I’m still hungry. When I found a decent pace, I ran to Tait Mackenzie and played football. I found that my resistance was absent compared to normal days and, after entering a match, I felt unstable. Living an extraordinary action without eating opened your eyes to the normal day of a person in need. Soon after, I decided to embark and spend about a fifth of my week’s financial limit on a delicate three-piece chicken combination at Popeyes. Instead, I saw that I eat regularly during the day, and my expenses are limited to one meal per day. I’m trying to find places where I can get a decent “deal” with the money I spend, like McDonald’s and the Subway the night before. That way, I’m happy for two or three hours, then I get hungry again when I get home from school. Tonight, hitting the hay with hunger causes severe irritation in the pit of my stomach, which slowly gets worse until I fall asleep.
Day 4: $5.49 at KFC Popcorn Nuggets – Combo
Today I woke up and was incredibly alive. For most of the morning, I didn’t think about eating. I have a morning, and it is very difficult to maintain the centre when eating is the most important thing in my thoughts. Ordinary day classes are difficult to focus on and allow you to feel the opportunity. When weighing the alternatives for the afternoon, I chose the KFC Popcorn Nuggets which were worth it. So far, this week at 4 pm was the last time I had dinner on the main day, so there was no doubt that there were almost no bites. The dinner was preceded by an additional 3-hour lecture; therefore, I drifted slightly during the lectures. I became more and more distracted to the lecture and struggled to concentrate. I expected to go to bed hungry today, but the wings lasted until I fell asleep. Gradually, my budget was getting smaller and worrying about what I can eat for a whole week became a major problem. My budget was spent halfway, but I still feel hungry for over a week. I doubt my budget can help me during the rest of the week. A barrier that my public budget can force me to skip meals a day.
Day 5: $5.49 KFC 1 Pc. Basket (Chicken Breast, Coleslaw & Biscuit)
The way I manage my meal plans for this test is far from what I still eat. This week, I am limiting my eating routine to one daily meal. Usually, many drinks during the day and in addition to 2-3 dinners. In this test, I recognized the number of drinks I eat and the amount I spend on them, so I can reduce the consumption in the long run. At the beginning of the day, I was not hungry when I woke up. I played basketball again, but this time I had more vitality, which is very likely for the break I had last night. When I left the leisure centre, I was hungry, but I realized that I still had to respect my spending limit. The best option was a one-piece basket (Chicken Breast, Coleslaw & Biscuit) for just over $ 4. Dinner was acceptable, but the feeling of “fullness” did not last long. There was not much money in the spending limit, it was about $ 15, so I realized it was an addiction for the homeless that I had to adjust to. The corresponding stomach pains came back tonight and kept me awake for a while, so I decided to lower my spending limit and eat a lot of popcorn to calm my desires.
Day 6: $3.99 at KFC Chicken Tenders
Today, I woke up hungry, but I made the conscious decision to limit my investment in food to a minimum of energy. I tried to keep my psyche out of appetite by doing exercises that weren’t as tiring as the basketball and decided to spend time with my classmates and use the school as a technique to keep me busy. However, appetite is inevitable and arrived around 15:00. I chose a modest Chicken Tenders at KFC. The food doesn’t have any dietary benefits that keep me awake during the day, but he gave me a “totality” that didn’t last several hours for the middle class on the street. After the lessons, the slope was cleaned, and I bought another tea of sauce. In general, tea did not help me much, although I felt exhausted, unmotivated and hungry, as during the day. I felt exhausted all day and quickly nodded.
Day 7: $7.99 at Popeyes on a Bonafide® Chicken – Combo.
Today, I was disappointed with my spending limit and felt exhausted and upset. I must have eaten something. I had about $ 15 from the $50 allocated on the first day and with only one day to go. Now I was desperate to eat, and I didn’t care about the money. Gradually, I bought Popeye’s and the food instantly changed the way I felt and gave me the vitality to do what I wanted. He was still testing and wasting money on food. Food influences me in every way, including physical vitality and inspiration. This spending limit has a negative impact on my body and brain. I didn’t think it was so hard to keep arguing that I never realized how much money a person spends on food each week. Also, I never noticed the feeling of “hunger” and how it affected my usual actions. I’m happy that it’s the last day because I don’t think I have the opportunity to continue with this type of meal.
Conclusion
At the end of the week, I managed to save only $6.10. I believe based on the experiment that I tend to overspend on fast foods rather than healthy foods. I, however, believe that groceries are still on the more expensive end as compared to fast foods which are relatively cheap. I, however, hope to deal with the problem of consuming a lot of calories. I plan in the future to eat healthier and exercise more. The experiment has taught me a valuable lesson on how to manage finances and sympathize with the less fortunate. I found that I craved for more food during the budgeting period and this has provided me with an insight into the difficulties the less fortunate undergo in search for food. I therefore empathize, and I’m willing to change and contribute to better the society.
References
Just the Facts | Canada Without Poverty. (2020). Retrieved 14 February 2020, from http://www.cwp-csp.ca/poverty/just-the-facts/