Day 5: Lucky Steaks

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

Lucky steak is a term I accidentally coined last year after my husband's workplace Christmas party. I meant to post that I was on a lucky streak when I captioned this photo of all our prize winnings from raffles that night.

Everyone pretty much ignored the photo itself and the whole conversation in the comments turned to a discussion about the possible existence of lucky steaks.

Today, in the midst of the Poverty Challenge, I felt like I was back on my lucky streak again.

On Day 2, my Challenge Card asked me to prepare a Valentine's Day gift for my sweetie.  I came to the inevitable conclusion that this was basically impossible on my limited budget.

This morning, I pulled my last, sealed Challenge Card from my envelope.  We have been drawing the Cards at random with no way of knowing what is inside. My Day 5 Challenge Card is: "Allow a friend to buy you lunch or dinner".  I'm pretty sure I can convince my wonderful husband to be that friend tonight.

All of this luckiness has reminded me of when I first heard of the "birth lottery", a concept which I think is worth sharing during the Poverty Challenge:

During my first year at business school, a professor explained to us that by being able to sit in those seats, at a Canadian university, we had all won the birth lottery. That really stuck with me. 

Today I'm feeling especially grateful for my small win with Challenge Card and the fact that my big win in the birth lottery means that these five days are only a Challenge and not something I have to struggle with on a daily basis.

I am thinking of circumventing the rules again to go and do something proactive to pay it forward.  If you're thinking of doing the same today, HoJoe Coffee and Eatery has a Community Board where you can buy a coffee for someone who can't afford it. Check out Sam's Day 2 blog for a first-hand look.

Day 4: Cheese Toast is the Meal of Champions

The rules of the Poverty Challenge ask us to blog at least twice per day. I didn't have any Earth-shattering revelations to share today, it was literally back to business as I headed to work with an All Bran bar and a banana in my purse for breakfast.

The title of this blog is an homage to a meal that has become a staple of my Poverty Challenge diet. It turns out, if you're not picky about labels, you can get plenty of bread and cheese to feed a single person for around $6.  Today at lunch, I looked forward to a piece of toasted store brand whole wheat with a few slices of my coveted no-name cheese melted on top.

Ok, I admit it, cheese melted on basically anything is a staple of my normal diet too.

In my view, the toughest part of buying groceries for the Challenge is not strictly whether you can afford enough food to make it through the five days.  Of course you can afford enough food.  If you are an otherwise healthy and well-fed person going into the Poverty Challenge, you will invariably be able to purchase items with enough calories to survive until the end.

The toughest part of buying groceries, and biggest drawback of shopping for food on a strict budget, is thinking ahead to what you might be foregoing later in the week (or month, as the case may be) if you spend your available cash on food today.

The second biggest drawback is a near total lack of variety.  Fresh meat and vegetables are out of the question.  Fresh fruit is possible but has to be rationed.  Basically anything else you buy, you will end up eating several times in a row due to the sheer fact that you can't afford anything else.

My takeaway from this one is that it turns out simply being able to have a variety of meals is a luxury some people can't afford.  Certain food items and certain brands are luxuries in and of themselves too.  My mom told me before the challenge started that she always spends the extra few dollars to donate Kraft peanut butter instead of generic.  Now I know why.  Thanks Mom, on behalf of all the recipients of your high-end peanut butter!

Day 4: Challenge Card - "Snail Mail Résumé"

Today's Challenge Card:

"An ad for your perfect job has been posted.  They will only accept resumes submitted through the mail."

I can't help but be hung up on the fact that this imaginary business only accepts hard copy resumes. Even when I worked at fishing lodges for two summers outside of of Sioux Lookout, the owners had access to fax and Internet.  This is obviously not my actual dream job which, if you're interested to know, would be working at the Googleplex.

Regardless, this Challenge Card presents three main issues:

1. Find somewhere to access a computer to type up my resume;
2. Find a way to print out a hard copy of the resume; and,
3. Make room in my budget for postage.

I've been lucky so far that my other challenges haven't eaten into my budget, it is Day 4 and I'm still operating on a bit of a cushion left over from my grocery purchase.  Paying for a stamp ($1.00 for a single at the Post Office) is in the budget today, but depending on what comes up tomorrow it might end up costing me two coffees (the additional Challenge rules allow you to "purchase" a cup of coffee for $0.50).

Stamps are cheaper when you can afford to buy them in a book or coil (equivalent of $0.85 per stamp), which I would do without second thought in my life outside the Challenge. However, spending $8.50 on stamps you might not even use when your live on $11 per day is definitely outside the realm of possibility.

Getting back to the resume itself, this is yet another area where Kenora has some great resources. The staff at Lake of the Woods Employment Action Project (LEAP) were very helpful with this Challenge.  If you are starting your resume from scratch, they offer templates, help with formatting and a resource area, free of charge, where job seekers can access computers, printers and other office equipment.

LEAP will even provide one-on-one assistance with job searching, also at no cost, to individuals who are unemployed and not currently attending school.

One other resource I'd like to plug in this blog is the Kenora Public Library, which has turned out to be an asset in many ways during the Poverty Challenge.  The library offers half an hour of free Internet access for non-members and black & white printing at $0.25 per page, so this would also be a good option for someone who already had a resume prepared and ready to print.

I hope I get the job!

Day 3: Jubilee Church of God

Full Disclosure: I have not been taking part in meals at any of the programs we have attended this weekend.  Some people have been asking me about this.  The Challenge rules do not require you to access these programs, instead, "participants are encouraged to attend the meal programs offered through non-profit agencies".  As a personal choice I have decided not to actually make use of these resources, I am just attending to find out more about what is available and report back.

Today the remaining four of us went to Jubilee Church of God just as Sunday mass was finishing up and their hot lunch program was about to begin.

The fifth member of our original group has decided to discontinue participation in the Poverty Challenge, citing concerns that the setup of the program may be seen as turning the serious issue of poverty into a game for otherwise well-fed people to blog about their struggles.

This was the exact issue I grappled with when we first set foot in the Church this afternoon. Honestly, I felt ridiculous and ashamed about having gone there "just to see what it was like" when I had plenty of food back at my warm house.  I looked around the room and saw mothers with their young children, a few familiar faces from yesterday at the Fellowship Centre, and, most difficult of all, I recognized a number of people I've come across in the course of my work in the legal system.

Seeing those familiar faces at the Church today was a lot tougher than I expected.  It felt like witnessing first-hand the personal lives of some of the most vulnerable people I have encountered; personal lives which I preferred not to think about (and had the luxury not to think about) up until this point.

It was upsetting to say the least. I am so fortunate that living the Poverty Challenge is not my everyday reality like it is for too many people in Kenora and across the country.

I began to feel a little better about the situation when we were given the opportunity to pitch in and help with setting up for the meal service.  At least it felt like I was there doing something a bit more tangible than observing and raising awareness.

Things continued to improve when we were introduced to Pastor Frank and his wife, who are some of the most friendly, welcoming and charitable people I've ever met.  They genuinely take action against poverty every day and are doing great things for the community.

Today was easily the most uncomfortable and emotional day of the Poverty Challenge for me. However, it was uplifting to see the work that the people at Jubilee Church of God are doing and the way they help so many people on a no-questions-asked basis (even though we were pretty clearly out of place today, we received nothing but warmth and the offer of a free, hot lunch and a place out of the cold).

Pastor Frank Kowal and his team are raising money for Coldest Night of the Year from now until February 25, 2017.  I will definitely be making a donation to support them and I encourage everyone reading to do the same or to contact Jubilee Church directly to find out more ways to help.

Day 3: Challenge Card - "No Time for Breakfast"

Today's Challenge Card:

"No time for breakfast this morning.  No time to pack a lunch from home either."

So here we are basically having a repeat of Day 1 when I hadn't purchased any food yet.

Interestingly, though, I seem to be prepared for this one.

In my usual life outside the Challenge, I am often too busy to sit down for a full breakfast at home in the morning.  This is largely due to the fact that I spend about an hour getting ready for work, which is also something I chose not to forego for the Challenge.  There was talk of giving up beauty products for the week to be more realistic about our budgets.  That was a hard "no" from me, and I will readily admit I'm just not dedicated enough to spend working days without makeup.

Anyway, back to the point.  As I did on Day 1, which was in total violation of the Challenge parameters, I typically grab an energy bar and maybe a piece of fruit and/or a small tetra pack of almond milk (aka, a Silk juice box).

In preparation for busy days, I did budget for some grab-and-go foods.  I have ready access this morning to a box of All Bran bars, bananas and apples.  I couldn't afford my usual favourite Cliff bars, one of which costs the equivalent of this 10-pack of All Bran bars.  Similarly, no almond milk for me during the Challenge.

If I'm simply bound by the rule of "no breakfast today", however, then the trek to find lunch is going to be a hungry one.  Luckily, this Challenge Card came in good time as a few of us already planned to check out the lunch program at the Jubilee Church of God later today.

Either way, the bottom line of this Challenge Card is clearly not to whine about almond milk and mascara, but rather to be thankful about the fact that I do have shelves full of food and I would rarely have to forego a meal, which we are quickly learning is the reality for many people trying to make ends meet on Ontario Works.

The Northwestern Health Unit has a complete list of Community Food Programs in Kenora.

Day 2: Challenge Card - "Valentine's Day"

Today's Challenge Card:

"Prepare a Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie".

I kind of assumed this would come up at some point since the Poverty Challenge this year runs from February 10th to 15th.  In fact, some of the people I told about the Challenge immediately pointed out that I'd be missing out on Valentine's Day dinner.

After reading the Challenge Card this morning I contemplated my possible options - head back to the bulk section for a few grams of candy, look for off-brand seasonal items at Walmart, or try to cobble together the craft supplies to make a card.

Seeing as today is February 11th, I had actually already purchased a gift for my husband a few days ago.  So, rather than scraping together some change from my already shrinking five-day budget, this seemed like a good opportunity to put things in perspective.

The token items I did buy last week, a card and a box of chocolate, would have cost me almost a third of my budget during the Challenge.

If we assume instead that Morgen and I are operating on an Ontario Works budget for a couple with no children, we would be allowed $476 for the month for basic needs; the equivalent of about $15 per day.

This year will be our 7th Valentine's Day together.  For the first five years of our relationship, Morgen and I lived in different cities, so he would send flowers.  Last year, he kept the tradition going and sent flowers to my office.

Needless to say, on an OW budget, $50 for a flower delivery (over 3 days' worth of our allowance) would be out of the question.  In fact, sparing even a few dollars for a special occasion would most likely mean going without later on in the month.

To learn more about the Basic Needs amounts and look at the standard tables, you can click here to read Ontario Work's Directive 6.2.

Day 2: Anamiewigummig Fellowship Centre

Today was the most meaningful experience for me in the Challenge so far.  Casey and I teamed up to go and learn more about the Anamiewigumming Fellowship Centre (aka the Kenora Fellowship Centre) as part of our effort to raise awareness of different community resources during the Week of Action Against Poverty.

We headed over around 1:00pm today while the Centre was hosting its Coffee Corner.  During the afternoon, Coffee Corner provides a place for people to get out of the cold and have a hot beverage. Today they also had soup and sandwiches for lunch.

The patrons were surprised to see us but seemed very open to meeting newcomers. I had an especially interesting but disheartening conversation with an elder from Grassy Narrows who was in town doing volunteer work. He had overheard me talking to someone else about my occupation and wanted to tell me about the plight of people on local reserves who are facing Hydro bills as high as $13,000 just to keep their homes heated.

I also wanted to bring a donation to the Centre as part of our visit today (this was not a requirement of the Challenge so I didn't take it out of my $55 budget).  The worker I handed my donation bag to was the most enthused about the packages of new underwear, which she said a number of women are in need of right now.

If you are interested in donating to the Kenora Fellowship Centre, they offer an online PayPal option for monetary donations on their website.

Making Kenora Home is also accepting donations of new socks and underwear during their Kickers and Knickers campaign this upcoming week.

Day 1: Challenge Card - "125 Pennies"

Today's Challenge Card: 

"You find 125 pennies in a jar.  This is your lucky day.  Take the pennies to a grocery store to buy a treat."

After some investigation, this one turned out to be a success.

Upon consulting with three different employees at the grocery store (the first checkout clerk brought some people in for a second opinion), I confirmed that a jar of coins that are no longer in circulation is still an acceptable form of payment.  They would prefer that the coins be rolled to speed up counting, but buying coin rolls would eat up my whole treat budget!

Once I knew I had the money to spend, the next step was weighing out candy on the out of tune analog scale in the bulk section.

I can confirm that, at $0.79 per kilogram, you can purchase 24 chocolate macaroons for 125 pennies.

To learn more about the Week of Action Against Poverty, check out Making Kenora Home.

Day 1: Getting Started

The Poverty Challenge was launched last night at our weekly YPN Trivia event and officially kicked off this morning.  I am behind the eight ball on this one and hadn't bought my groceries yet this morning.  If I hadn't already broken the rules and grabbed breakfast from the pantry I would've gone hungry today until I could find a way to the store.

In my usual life outside the challenge, my husband, Morgen, and I live in a four bedroom home in a nice neighborhood with our crazy, eight-month-old puppy.  As you can see from my bio, after several hundred years at university, I recently got my license to practice law and am working at a firm in Kenora.

I spent my lunch hour today carefully selecting groceries for the rest of the five days.  The tips sheet included in our Challenge packages suggested looking for store brands and cheaper items on the lower and upper shelves.  The name-brand products I would normally purchase were definitely out of reach on our $55 budget, and I ended up with a cart full of sale items and store-brand groceries (including an excellent deal on frozen perogies I got way too excited about).

Here is the haul I managed to get for $32.31.  My big ticket item was the brick of no-name cheese for $3.99.  Meat was not in the budget so this and the questionable peanut butter I bought will be some of my main sources of protein.