We did fine until the last week – overspent by $16.67. Interestingly enough, $12 of that overage was for two tickets to the CCC Mothering Sunday Brunch. It made us wonder if some people don’t come because they can’t afford a ticket. It made us question what could be done about that, if anything.

We had to watch our diet since I’m a Type 2 Diabetic and David battles high cholesterol. We read even more labels that we usually do. It was more challenging to provide nutritionally-balanced meals, but we did manage it.

Eating out was put on hold for the duration – do you know now much spaghetti and sauce you can purchase for the cost of two hamburgers (99 cent variety) and two sodas? Well, let me tell you – enough to make 4 meals! Fast food business did not get any of our business this month.

Fresh produce became a luxury – we ate a lot of canned or frozen foods instead. We learned that a lot of the store brands are just as good as the higher-priced brand names. Our other “luxury” items included olive oil, walnuts, and cheese. These were things were taken for granted before – calling them necessities. Our priorities changed.

I did learn that I am pretty good at planning. At the end of four weeks, we still had meat in the freezer and canned goods in the pantry. The only thing that we ran out of (and that was two days before we were done) was oatmeal. We’d bought the large container and had it 6 days out of 7 each week. Guess it’s a good thing we love oatmeal!

We found out that we could have fruit daily by purchasing in bulk. We bought one bag of apples and one of oranges and ate the last apple on the last day.

David learned a lot about shopping! I put a 10 pound sack of potatoes into the cart. He said, “Why are you getting so many?” I replied, “They are $2.99 a bag.” He said, “Look at those little bags over there (pointed across the produce section). Let’s get one of them instead.” Humoring him, I said, “Sure, let’s go look at them.” He was shocked speechless (amazing!) when he saw that the price of a small 3 pound sack costs $4.99! Yes, it does pay to buy in bulk. (Note: we did find that this bag was more than we could eat, so we shared the bag with our son, Jason, who was very appreciative.)

We worked in St. Mark’s Food Pantry one night and served 14 families in an hour’s time. They have a good system and the people were so appreciative. Clients are only allowed one visit per month per family. A lot of the people we spoke with had some type of employment, but some had been “down-sized” and they were a mixture of ages – young families with babies, single parents with teens, and older adults. We got a good workout as we filled the orders as well as helping to put smiles on a lot of folks’ faces. It was a humbling experience.

We paid more attention to the baskets that are carried up to the altar each Sunday. We need to raise more awareness among our parishioners of where that food comes from and where it goes and explain more about the need to fill them each week.

David skipped lunch each day (as the hungry often have to do) and he said this made him more appreciative of his evening meal. The bonus for him was dropping 15 pounds in four weeks.

We will continue this exercise for another week. I have only had to shop for milk so far. I wondered if there might be some way to help the hungry when they come to the food panties. Is there a way we might help them make their food go further?…to make more nutritional meals for less?…to make things tastier?…to shop more wisely? This comes from the “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a year” theory. Maybe we need to teach as well as give.

We were also able to lower our food bill by using coupons (shopping on double coupon days) and by using our Senior Discount card at Marsh. We chose Marsh because it’s only a mile from our home. If we’d traveled to a discount-type supermarket, we would’ve used more gas; so this was a conservation issue as well.

And, finally, we’re now trying to decide what to do with the excess money we did not spend on food this month. Our options are to give it to the Cathedral, give it to a local food pantry, purchase food and donate that to the food pantries, give it to the national church to distribute as the need arises; or to donate it to an agency that provides both food and shelter for the homeless.

You don’t need to have taken this class with us to participate. Try it on your own and then donate whatever savings you’ve made that month to the charity of your choice. Five Episcopal churches in the metro Indy area have food pantries. I’m sure they’d appreciate the donation.

Volunteers from its parish and congregants of other local churches staff the food pantry at St. Mark’s. Local civic groups and businesses donate food and money. Schools conduct fundraisers in support of its efforts. People contact Libby, supervisor of the pantry, to find out how they can help. Libby told us many stories of “regular” people who give of their time, talent, and treasure in ministry to the hungry in their community. These people seek no reward or glory, but are obeying Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6:1-4 concerning our motives in giving to the needy.

WWJD? Visit St. Mark’s food pantry and see him in action!

This passage from Matthew has been on my mind all week. I have been working a great deal with flood victims this week as I had to take my federal partners to different sites to show them damage from last summers flood. One of the federal partners showed me a picture of his 3 1/2 year old twin daughters. I began to think as I looked at them and begin to think of the hungry children I have seen. Whether it is in Sudan or in here in Indianapolis, children are usually the first causality of poverty. It made me sad.

There is a sign above the kitchen at St. Marks Episcopal Church that quotes the above passage from Mark, “I was hungry and you gave me food”. What a wonderful mission statement for a feeding ministry. We are called to take care of the least of these.

Who are the strangers among us? Do we welcome them? Have we ever been strangers to others? How were we accepted? I looked at homes that have been washed away by the flood waters and wonder are these people alright. Do they need my help, are the kids okay?

Our Lenten practice has been a lot more difficult than I ever imagined, but not for the reasons you might imagine.

First, I should be upfront in saying that I haven’t kept our discipline perfectly. I have made two recent trips for business, and I’ve had a few slips off the wagon, and in every instance, I have purchased food that no one living on government assistance would be able to afford. (A few examples: a $3.77 mocha in the airport, a $7.50 omelet and a $3.00 side of fresh fruit at a recent breakfast with friends.)

By not keeping our discipline perfectly, I have become profoundly aware of my own unrealistic relationship with money—and, therefore, my unrealistic relationship with all that God has given to me as God’s steward. I am realizing that part of the cause of the inequity in our society (and part of the reason that people go hungry), is me. Three dollar mochas and seven dollar omelets are not part of a sustainable model of worldwide living that enables everyone to eat. Rather, food becomes a luxury for those who can afford it. I am over-consuming at the expense of someone else, who has no choice but to under-consume. I have the power and privilege to consume what and where and when I want—truly at the expense of those who don’t. What would happen if I shifted my habits to enable more people to eat than me? (For example, what I spent $2.50 for a carton of eggs at the grocery store, and donated the other $5.00 to the Hunger Initiative?)

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the early Christian community defeated want or need. What would it be like for us to create an Acts 4 community of Christ in our time, in this place?

This statement has many layers, and as I contemplate and peel each one back, a deeper and more perfect understanding is revealed. Many of us regard the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, as an instrument, held in hand and offered to those who have not yet discovered its truths and benefits. This is, however, simply one of the top layers and a beginning point in understanding and living the Gospel.

What would happen if each Christian became a part of the Gospel? What if the Gospel so lived in us that we could see people through the eyes of Jesus? How then might we regard and interact with the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the addict, the lonely, the orphan, the world filled with all its hurt, pain, and struggle? What things would we have to let go and what things would replace them?

It is a simple, profound truth. As recorded in John 7:38, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” As we become part of the Gospel, streams of love, compassion, and mercy, the Gospel, begin to flow from within us ministering to the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the addict, the lonely, the orphan, the world filled with all its hurt, pain and struggle. I cannot passively hold the Gospel; I must live the Gospel. It is a “hands on, in the trench” experience. The world’s needs are my needs; the world’s pain is my pain. During this Lenten season I must honestly and humbly examine my relationship with the Gospel. Am I holding it in my hand or is it flowing from within?

Repentance, as applied to our food discipline, means turning from consumption to giving.  While we need to eat, and there is food, just as we need light and there is the sun, no one ever dreams of “over-consuming” the sun (at least not without suntan oil), it’s just there—is there a way to just eat what we need, because it’s there (thank God) and not make eating a sin of over-consumption or gluttony?  Maybe the way is to pay attention—which Lent is about—pay attention: repent.

Can we pay attention by connecting with a depth of ourselves where we are already and always one with God?  Eating doesn’t do it although there are numerous stories of Jesus eating with friends, followers, even enemies.  I certainly can’t see Jesus paying more attention to the food than to the guests gathered around the table.  And overeating certainly won’t renew our depth of relating to God either.  But going without so as to share with really needy people what we save may connect us with that eternal depth where we can be at home with ourselves, and open to the flow of God’s life that is already in us.