Here are Emily's final reflections of her experience with healthy eating , the role of social service programs in subsidizing nutrition, and recommendations. Thank you, Emily for all your hard work!
Over the course of interviewing guests at the Community Day
Center of Waltham and the experiment that I under took for two days, I have
learned a lot regarding health and food pertaining to the guests at the Center.
I have learned that since guests are generally very hungry
before they are given a meal and or snacks, they tend to crave the high calorie
and high sugar food more than the salads or apples. Although there are always
healthy foods served at meals and for snacks, there are always sweets and
unhealthy foods too. So, there is that choice of healthy vs. not healthy and it
is hard to take people’s rights to choose away.
Many of the foods that are donated to the Soup Kitchen and
Day Center are chips/cakes/brownies/cookies and other unhealthy foods, so when
people are already donating out of the kindness of their hearts, it wouldn’t be
right to ask them to bring more healthy food instead. So, then it is up to the
Staff and volunteers at the Day Center to make sure there is healthy food, but
it wouldn’t be right if they were buying it all the time. So, some
encouragement towards possible donors to bring healthy food would be best.
Since many guests are alcoholics or recovering alcoholics
they crave and enjoy sugary foods very much. That also adds a dilemma to this
health issue because you have two bad choices: drink alcohol or supplement it
with sugary foods. But, healthy supplements are what have to be thought of.
Marilyn Lee-Tom’s, the executive Director at the Day Center, idea and creation of the garden is incredible.
It is a great way for guests to get active outdoors, involved with their health
and well being, etc. If guests immerse themselves in the garden, a love of
gardening and healthy eating may evolve. Then, guests may want to supplement
the piece of cake for a handful of raspberries. And even though it may be hard
to pick carrots over a cupcake, everyone can!
From this experiment I also learned that if you cannot make
it to the Day Center and or the Soup Kitchen each day, it is very hard to buy
enough food to sustain yourself and give yourself good nutrition for not more
than $6. It really goes to show one of the many reasons why the Day Center and
Soup Kitchen are such wonderful places to be very grateful for. It also shows
that if you have that limited about of money, food (something that can be taken
for granted so easily) can be the biggest thing that you are worried about
getting.
I also found that your mindset plays into your healthy
eating. I found that many guests aren’t thinking long term. They are just
thinking about what do they feel like eating to sustain them for that day. So,
if it’s that bag of chips that they want, they aren’t thinking about how it
will impact them long term, they are just thinking about if it will help them
not got hungry for that day.
Healthy living is also about education. Although I found
that most guests know what is healthy and what is not, many did not know the
consequences of not eating healthy. So, it is important to educate people on
how their decisions can impact them.
Some guests were very dedicated to eating healthy. Many of
them walk a lot, and enjoy it and see how it is very beneficial for their
mental and physical health.
Food and the way we eat are connected to many aspects of our
lives. It’s connected to our health, our happiness, our energy, etc. So, it is
vital to try to make the best healthy decision that will be filling and
satisfying. And if you are purchasing food, it is possible to get healthy food
that is filling, satisfying and cheap!
If you look back at my Day 1 post, there are healthy, cheap
and filling foods that you can purchase at Tedeschi’s. I would encourage those
to shop there for healthy meals and snacks rather than going to a fast food
restaurant where everything is unhealthy for you. And purchase a re-usable
water bottle. It will save you so much money on drinks, is better for the
environment and will help you steer clear of sodas because you can fill it up
with water the Day Center and Soup Kitchen for free!
And if guests find themselves worrying about food I would
encourage them to take a walk. Refresh yourself and enjoy the outdoors. On Day
2 of my experiment, it really helped me clear my mind. Gardening is a great
stress reliever as well.
I would encourage everyone to try to live off of $6 a day on
food. Go to the Day Center and or Soup Kitchen and walk in these guest’s shoes.
If you take food for granted now, I guarantee you won’t after the experiment.
I hope everyone is thankful for the food that they have and
will strive to be as healthy as they can for their happiness and well being for
those around you. Leading by example can be a very powerful act. Happiness and
healthy living is contagious! J
Thank you for those you read my posts!
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