food

this past weekend we hosted our monthly meeting: beggars society. it was probably one of my favorite meetings so far. the focus was on AIDs and those who are suffering from AIDs (and HIV) in and outside of our community and how we can participate in the fight to combat AIDs...and to fight for proper treatment, education and justice for our friends.

we shared a meal of porridge that is given to those suffering from AIDs, malnutrition and other diseases...this meal, about 750 calories per serving, was lukewarm, a bit sweet and tasted like grits. in somewhat awkward silence we sat and meditated on what this meal meant. three of us shared reflections that appeared in the cry. these reflections highlighted children of WMF who died from AIDs/HIV. i shared about our friend suryakala who grew up in one of our children's homes in india. she passed away last april. as i began reading chris' reflection, my voice started to shake. i was quickly swept back into the graveyard we visited while in chennai. there are these white crosses with a number of names...there's a special spot of graves reserved for children of wmf. and it struck me that is where there's a cross for surya. i remember standing in that graveyard, incredibly confused with hearing the of children who die each day (30,000). that number didn't make sense.

my responsibility didn't make sense. i couldn't see how anything i could do or couldn't do would change that number. i felt paralyzed. the grief was overwhelming. it was that same grief that caught me off-guard when finishing the memorial for surya. standing in front of a crowd, reading an article, with a shaking voice...became awkward and uncomfortable for me. i cried. and i sat down. not sure what happened.

i was a part of a collision of thoughts that i had been thinking of for awhile. since being on weight watchers my thoughts of food have changed quite a deal.

i realize that:

* we associate celebrations with food
* we waste an incredible amount of food
* we eat an enormous amount of food
* we truly live to eat rather eat to live
* we don't see the connection between honoring our body with what we put in it
* we don't feed our body what it truly needs


i've observed these things in my life and in the lives of those around me. in my small group at beggars society i talked about celebrations with food. our office had just come off of celebrating two birthdays with baked goods and other food. i don't think that celebrating with food is inherently wrong. i see how fellowship around the table is important...i saw that when eating at prabha's house in chennai. this huge, beautiful family offered us hospitality through their hours of preparing food and giving us food. what's central to that celebration is community. when we give our food to the other...rich, poor, black, white, we offer them a seat at the table and we share life...and break bread...and celebrate life.

in the united states we have the option to even talk about cutting back on how much we eat...and what we eat...there aren't many other countries that can do that. so we go into this conversation lightly and humbly...realizing that we can talk about watching what we eat and how much...when millions of people right now are starving and dying of starvation.

so, right now we're in the middle of conversations about conserving energy and being green because we want to honor the earth's resources and be good stewards of the environment...leave lighter ecological footprints. you get my point...i am def. a believer of being environmentally responsible. in that same breath, i think we have to really discern how we're doing that on an individual basis when it comes to food.

questions i am pondering:
* how much gas does it cost to bring the food in that i'm purchasing
* how much gas would i save if i didn't get fast food...or drive to the grocery store
* how much money would i save if i purchased food from local farmers
* how much money would i save on medical bills if i ate healthier
* what is a good food choice
* what about community potlucks?

those are really basic questions. not even good ones. it goes beyond money though...i think there's an ownership of responsibility...that what i do now...what i eat affects others....

what am i trying to do:

* limit the amount of times i eat out
* cook in more often
* invite friends over for more shared meals
* be a good steward of the food in my apartment - not being wasteful
* budget my money spent on food
* instead of ziplocs bags - use reusable ziplock containers
* limit my trips to the grocery store


check this website out...it helps you figure out how much you can save on groceries if you were to lose weight, eat healthier, etc.

what are your questions? what do you think you'll do differently next year?