I am finished the 5 Day Challenge and there was a Town Hall Meeting in Oshawa last night discussing the outcome of the ” Do the Math Challenge” Sadly I could not attend due to other commitments.

However, today I consumed a bowl of guacamole and two blackened season breast topped with the ever yummy goat’s cheese!!!

Hence the the stomach ache!!

I firmly believe, everyone is entitled to healthy eating and it shouldn’t be more expensive than manufactured food. Some things in life are not fair and I am ok with that but i am not ok with Canadians having different qualities of food or education. In order to do well in life, ideally we want to treat our bodies like a Ferrari. If anyone of us has the good fortune to own a Ferrari I can guarantee you would put high octane fuel in it. You wouldn’t put regular leaded gas in the car. You would never choose to undermine this fine automobile’s performance, would you? I think not!

Then why would anyone choose to decrease the optimal health of the human body. Innately our bodies are a higher performing machine over a Ferrari. Some people choose to eat whatever they want healthier or not. They are not fooling their bodies but they are fooling their minds. But for those people who don’t have an option, they have no choice but to ignore the poor quality of food because they are not choosing.

Today’s economy anyone of us could be needing the service of a food bank.

In the future, donate Quaker Oatmeal, Bob’s Red Mill pancakes, whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter, dry peas and beans, long grain brown rice, eggs and butter. You can always drop off these items to your local food bank, they will never turn it away. Donations from consumers is only one part of the solution. There is a wonderful service called the Good Food Box that provides fresh produce on a weekly basis for a very nominal cost. ( under 30.00). The 100.00 increase to social service cheques’s could include the Good Food box for all families requiring the need of a Food Bank including the working poor.

If you love food like I do, imagine not having an option to enjoy it but merely eating anything so you can survive the day!

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5 days are almost done. Tonight myself and the other participants from across Durham will come together at the Oshawa Community Health Centre to share our experiences and have a final dinner together. Following that, at 7 p.m. there will be a public town hall meeting. I hope that as many media come out as possible.

Today I followed yesterday’s morning start and stuck to just powdered milk to drink all morning. I woke up as usual with a headache and stomach pains. The milk helped ease the feeling (as did the Tylenol) but I was saying “TGIF!” with more enthusiasm than ever.

Lunch was a tuna salad sandwich for myself and Maddy with “milk” to drink. I had saved the tuna for last because I had a notion from the beginning that I’d need this last bit of protein to keep me going.

Final thoughts before I head out to the Town Hall are this: we have to do more. Good is not enough… in fact we aren’t even at good. Not having the nutrition you need to think well, live well and be well means that too many end up stuck in the revolving door of poverty. A lack of proper nutrition causes a myriad of symptoms including lethargy, irritability, inability to concentrate, memory loss, depression…the list goes on and on. With those symptoms how much harder is it to get a good job or harder still, take a course to upgrade your skills to get a job?

We can talk about feeding a man a fish or teaching a man to fish but it isn’t that simple. This is a complex issue that needs to have a multi-system approach to solving it.

And no system will ever be perfect, that I acknowledge. We must however, do more to help those on assistance and give them that hand up that makes it physically and mentally.

We have a saying in our house “Priorities!!”. It is an ongoing life lesson about determining what is most important – where our priorities are. Our government spends significant dollars on Health and Social Services. But how about societies priorities? Government looks to our behaviour as a society to give it an idea on where to focus it’s only policy priorities.

I was filling up my dogs’ dish the other night and realized that if I was on assistance I would not be able to keep them. And then I thought about priorities again and wondered how society prioritized animal welfare vs. food banks.

So I went onto the Revenue Canada website to look up the annual returns for the two of the largest charities in Toronto – The Toronto Humane Society and The Daily Bread Food Bank.

Annual Revenue Totals for 2009:

THS – $10,175,210

DBFB – $ 7,196,247

Now granted, this isn’t to say that animal welfare isn’t important, it is. I could have pulled up the Symphony ($24,792,667) … the Ballet ($24,745,461) and yes, arts and culture are also vitally important for our society.

At the same time I think we need to have a discussion on what is a priority. I would hope that feeding the hungry would be as important or I dare to suggest, more important. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on priorities and I’m looking forward to tonight and discussing this with other participants. Kim Dowds www.kimdowds.ca

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Feed the Need in Durham currently has four positions available. As a new organization we are seeking individuals with specific education and experience to form an enthusiastic team eager to help in the fight against hunger. Currently all the positions are part-time starting March 1st, 2010 and ending March 31st 2011. It is the desire of Feed the Need in Durham to extend these positions if funds permit. We are looking for individuals with the energy and expertise to join Feed the Need in Durham to give the agency a firm footing to build on for the future.

Please forward your resume and cover letter to info@ftnd.ca

Closing date for all positions is February 21st, 2010.

We thank all those who apply. Only those chosen for interviews will be contacted.