Staples

Part of the reason I am here with NYCUP is for an internship credit I have to fulfill as part of my public health education concentration. Part of that requirement is that the internship must be for 8 weeks and NYCUP is 5 weeks long. Jonathan, the director of NYCUP, was gracious enough to work something out for me to stay 3 extra weeks.

So, here I begin my grand experiment. I will be working on adding things and information to the new LoGOFF website. I am also trying to live as “LoGOFF” as possible – buying food that is mainly local, organic, fair trade, and living a life that respects creation and God’s people.

I am up for the challenge! I decided that I would try being vegan as well. I didn't eat meat while with NYCUP, so I figured if now was a time of experiment, why not try it? I also gave myself a budget of $30/week for food. A slim, but do-able budget for one person.

So here is what happened last week:

I woke up on Tuesday morning. I slept in until 11, a rarity for me. I was bone tired and was in desperate need of a deep nights rest. I probably could have slept more, but my hunger woke me up. I realize I hadn't even had dinner the night before since I had a late lunch at shake shack.

As I got up, I was struck with the realization that I literally had no food to eat. I clearly hadn't thought ahead in my tired delirium. I headed out to the nearest grocery store where I bought organic agave (a new favorite of mine), organic soy milk, and regular oatmeal (organic types were not available). That totaled $10 and then I pulled out $20 for the rest of the week. I got back to the apartment made myself some breakfast and then walked over to the farmers market at 168^th and Ft. Washington.

It was right outside of Columbia’s medical center. Imagine a farmers market that looked like the cast of Grey’s anatomy had invaded it – that’s what it looked like. All the young doctors and nurses looked stressed, but savored looking for fresh food in an outdoor market on a beautiful day.

It was a smaller market, but I picked up some kale (another new favorite), lettuce, carrots, squash, a cucumber, and I quickly realized, I was going to need more money. The left over change I had was not going to be enough for the other “staples” I needed. I changed my plan. I returned home, washed and stored my veggies and then made a list of the staples I needed to make all the food I got palatable. Here is my list:

Olive Oil

Vegan Butter 

Salt
Pepper

Bread

Peanut Butter

Jam

I had the list. I set out to Trader Joe's. My plan was to only buy what was on the list – in a practical size – and buy them as LoGOFF as possible. I took my remaining $6 from this week and then decided to dip into next week’s $30. I had $36 to steward at Trader Joe's. I picked up those items and my total bill rounded up to $24. Not bad, but that left me with $12 for next week. 

The staples threw me off. They forced me to reevaluate my plan. They forced me to think differently. They made me doubt. 

Sure I could buy the food, but how about the preparing and the cooking of the food. I mean, I like my food to be tasty. While they were especially expensive items, they still cost money that I was not anticipating on spending. 

Its almost kind of funny, because the staples are what pulls everything together - and they aren't "expensive" but they are essential. 

I enter this week with $12 - lets see what I can do! Wish me luck!

NYC after NYCUP

So, I wasn’t as diligent in my blog writing as I would have hoped this summer. Between farmer’s market runs, cooking, meal planning, research, and sharing life with the other interns, it was hard to find time and brain power to write an insightful update.

Now that I have some time and have gotten some sleep – here we go! I guess I can best summarize my time with NYCUP with four “S’s” (Fun Fact-I like to make lists that alliterate)

#1 - Stewardship

Mondays became our planning days – We would brainstorm and decide what meals to prepare for the rest of the week. Then we would go out to usually the Union Square Farmer’s Market and the Whole Foods across the street. We would have to budget our time and money effectively to make sure we had enough food and that dinner would be served on time.

#2 - Studying

We spent a great deal of time being students of LoGOFF. First, we researched what each term of LoGOFF meant and what that meant to us as followers of Christ. Then, we were given the task of re-working and editing the LoGOFF packet created by last summer’s interns. It was a good foundation, but our team saw areas of improvement and worked on enhancing it into something great and practical. Our team led 2 LoGOFF workshops to get others perspective and input for the document.

#3 -Social Media

When we weren’t inside the convent meal planning, researching or cooking, we would be out in the city scoping out LoGOFF retailers. On days we would go out, we usually picked 3 destinations. Inevitably, we would always find other LoGOFF places along the way- a wonderful problem to have! I remember in practical, we were on our way to sustainable NYC, and we found an organic, raw juice press place and an organic and vegan bakery! It was cool to talk to the store managers of those places and see that they cared about the earth and its people the same way we do.

#4 - Self-reflection

Much of my time with NYCUP was introspective. We prayed…a LOT. Each morning our team would pray for what we needed that day- prayers for energy and a deeper faith were common. We would open and close our meeting times with the Lord’s Prayer and the prayer of St. Francis. I remember one time, I didn’t say it and I just sat and listened to our group. It sound like a steady hum of prayer that was exhausted yet expectant that God was still God. That we would still seek the benefit others over our own desires. Even time in small group was spent learning about God but also learning about ourselves and how God has worked, is working, and will continue to work in our lives.

Even though most people have gone back to the respective homes, I am still in NYC doing NYCUP things. So even though NYCUP has ended, I will continue to process and learn new things about this city and our God who loves it so dearly.