Poverty Awareness Week

Hello everyone!

THE CHALLENGE: I am encouraging everyone I know to join our family in participating in a Poverty Awareness Week, November 17-21. That is the Monday through Friday of the week before Thanksgiving. During that week please replace anywhere from one, to all of your meals with meals that would typically be eaten by the poorer majority of the human race.

WHY: I think this is a great time for us to make ourselves more aware of the living conditions of most people around the world. It is also a great way to focus on how much we are blessed with, everyday in our lives. (Think how amazing Thanksgiving will look after this!) For those of you who have children, like us, we will try to involve them as much as possible. It will be a great way for them to learn about the way so many people live and hopefully help them appreciate what they usually have. We plan on making this a family tradition every year, the week before Thanksgiving.

WHAT TO EAT: You can make this as simple or elaborate as you would like- this is all up to you! You may choose to only replace one meal during the week, or you may replace them all. You may want to focus on certain areas of the world, only eating what they eat there, or incorporate foods typically eaten in a variety of countries. If you have the time, it would be really good to involve your children in the meal planning, explaining geography, social customs and norms, and why you will not be eating American ‘luxury’ foods.

Typical foods eaten by many people around the world are: corn, rice, beans, root vegetables (like potatoes, yams, etc), green leafy vegetables, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, lentils, local fruits (like bananas), and breads (corn, wheat, and tortillas). Please combine these items to make meals. Things like rice with veggies mixed in and soups are common everyday foods.

If you really want to eat like the majority of the world, limit any expensive items (like meat), and replace them with cheaper options (like beans). Add any spices or extras that you already have on hand, but try not to buy anything else. Eliminate luxury foods like prepackaged snacks and desserts. And keep your portion sizes reasonable. REMEMBER, we are only doing this for a week. Millions of people eat like this everyday.

NEXT: Take the money or food items that you have saved during the week and donate them to the organization of your choice. Find an organization or church that speaks to your heart. There are a number of groups that are hosting food drives at this time of year that you may donate food items to. THIS WILL NOT COST YOU ANYTHING EXTRA. Even people on a tight budget, like us, can contribute their money or food that we would have used anyway. Together we can make a difference in fighting poverty. (If you are really motivated after this, stay involved in groups that help with education and other base causes of poverty.)

Stringfellow Barr said, “It is unfair that some men die because it is too much trouble for us to arrange for them to live.

Poverty Awareness Week (Nov. 17-21) is a great chance for us to educate our children and ourselves, make a difference, and come together as families and as a human race to do good.

Please forward this to as many people as possible to allow them all to experience the blessings of doing something good. If anyone has any great stories of things that happen to them during the week, please email me and let me know. I will be compiling them for future reference! Thank you all for the good things you do!

Kyla Beecroft
superkyla@yahoo.com