When Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall saw a fruit plate at a breakfast meeting, his eyes lit up and his mouth watered in anticipation of eating something nutritious.
This week, he signed on to Eat the Math, a food poverty awareness program run by the Karma Project in Penetanguishene, where he is mayor.
“If you go for a work function and there’s food, it’s fair game to have something to eat,” said Marshall, noting that when he is at home or must pack a lunch, he must stick to the hamper he was given, a small box that contained Captain Crunch cereal, soup, crackers, a tin of tuna, pasta, juice, six apples and some eggs.
But this week, he has had a breakfast meeting and a lunch meeting. There he saw cheese and fruit.
Suddenly the cheese had new appeal.
“They had some fresh cheese. I stayed away from the crackers, because I’ve had enough of those,” he said Wednesday afternoon, the half-way point of the five-day challenge.
At a morning meeting with the regional tourism organization, breakfast options included bagels and fruit.
“I was really craving something,” said Marshall, “something nutritious. What we’re eating out of the food box is bland and has no life to it.
“I looked down (at the fruit) and could see the vibrant grapes, melons, cantaloupes and strawberries, all vibrant colours.”
It was a drastic change from the pale, dreary and very salty options in the food hamper.
“I’m a little lethargic and slower on the uptake,” he said, noting he has to work harder to make it through his routine at the gym.
“Generally I hop to it and I’ve had to push my way through it. I normally enjoy (the bike and the treadmill).”
The experience is giving him perspective as he leads the organization that responsible for delivering social services in the region, including Barrie and Orillia.
He says people will say it’s nice he’s becoming more aware of the everyday challenges faced by families who rely on food banks – but he’s being asked what he plans to do about it.
In Barrie, the food bank serves 2,800 people each month; many of those are children in the 600 families it feeds each year.
It relies on community donations.
Marshall said contributing to the food bank is important, but what you contribute matters too.
“The Captain Crunch cereal is just sugar,” he said, adding he would suggest anyone wanting to give a donation at Christmas should consider giving money.
“They buy wholesale,” he said, noting they get a bigger bank for every dollar. “It also avoids them getting 600 cans of chick peas.”
The weekend will be here soon enough for Marshall, who can look forward to eating better again – eating less salty, less sugary and more nutritious options.
But he’s still on the look out for a cookie.
