I recently read Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA describes it this way - As a college student in Santa Barbara, Yankoski was comfortable with his life. However, listening to a Sunday sermon one morning, he began to wonder whether his faith would remain as strong if his privileged upbringing and typical college existence were taken away. So began his decision to put his faith to the test. After discussing his plans with his family and various advisors, he and a friend took a leave of absence from their studies and their middle-class lives to enter the world of the homeless. They spent five months in 2003 on the streets of Denver; Phoenix; Washington, DC; and other cities. Playing their guitars and panhandling, they relied entirely on charity. The harshness, hunger, dangers, and indignities they faced are reported in detail. They formed friendships with other homeless people and watched many of them struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction. Yankoski steers clear of preachy or patronizing tones, and his dry sense of humor makes the book thoroughly readable.

But what good is a book if it doesn’t impact you in a way that causes you to do something?  Here’s what he suggests:

1. Find the rescue mission nearest to you.  Call and find out how you can get involved. Show up an hour early and plan on leaving an hour after you’re scheduled to. Have conversations with the homeless as they stand outside, waiting to get in. Bring bottled water, baked cookies, granola bars, patience, and a sense of humor. You’ll bless those who cannot bless you in return.
2. Go downtown with a friend and friends (don’t go alone). Buy cups of coffee or a bag of takeout food, find a homeless person sitting around asking for money, share your gifts, and enjoy a conversation. No agenda, no plans, no purpose other than to be with that person. You’ll be amazed at what unfolds.
3. Is it cold outside? Go to your closet and grab the sweater, sweatshirt, or coat you keep telling yourself you’ll wear sometime but know you won’t. Call up four friends and tell them to do the same thing. Then go downtown and hand out your warm clothing to the men or women huddled under the overpass or in a doorway.  As you stand there thinking of how cold your nose is, you’ll be amazed at the genuine thankfulness of someone whose whole body is probably numb. And your giving will warm your soul, too.
4. Become a spokesperson for those who have no voice. Be relentlessly suspicious of your comfortable life, and of the comfort zones that render so many Christian fellowships insensitive and ineffective in our communities. god calls us all to more. And you and I can lead the way, one small step at a time.

He does say this about giving money to homeless people.  “We met other homeless men and women whose only income was from money dropped into a hat or cup.  Unfortunately, it’s also true that the majority of the men and women we know on the streets would-within a half hour of receiving a donation-spend it entirely on drugs or alcohol. So your money is probably providing someone with their fix before you even get home or back to the office.”

He continues by recommending you give something other than cash, like gift certificates to fast-food restaurants, popular coffee shops, and grocery store chains (you can get a coupon that can only be used to purchase food).”

And then he wrote, “Having said that, I think the most meaningful gift might be your genuine attention and caring. It was amazing how much a smile or quick hello did for Sam and me on the streets, partly because such kindnesses were so rare. When someone stopped to talk, even for a minute, the powerful underlying message was, “I notice you, you’re a human being, and you’re worth my time.”"

He also has a blog, UnderThe Overpass.com, for further reading and more pictures.

Due to missing a couple weeks of ordering from my food co-op, this morning we had to make a dreaded trip to the grocery store. The ridiculousness of our food habits and system is astounding. I was freshly irritated by the vast amounts of dye, preservatives and poisons like MSG and Splenda. Not to mention that there is high fructose corn syrup in everything.

I couldn’t even bring myself to buy most of the stuff that I had on my list.

Robb and I recently had the opportunity to watch the movie Food, Inc. in Ann Arbor. The subtitle is How Industrial Food Is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer - And what You Can Do About It.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone. If you are passionate about food and its effects on health, like I am, you will enjoy it. But those who really have no idea about where our foods come from and why it matters should especially watch this!

Just one aspect it explores is the horrific effect of cattle “farms” feeding cows corn instead of pasture and hay as they were designed. When E. coli levels go berserk in the cows from eating such garbage, it gets in the meat through contact with manure during the oh-so-safe government regulated slaughtering. Yum.

But instead of changing what they’re feeding the cows or even how animals are slaughtered, they come up with the grand idea of spraying meat with ammonia. To kill the E. coli of course.

Sounds like a solution to me.

One thing I disagreed with is how they brought out the cost aspect of eating healthy. They did such things as comparing the cost of broccoli to a hamburger, and commenting on how much medications cost for a family struggling financially.

While it’s true that you can get a hamburger for 99 cents, or a taco for 79 cents, what that person is not taking into consideration is the long term costs of choosing the “cheaper” foods. Obesity and the related health problems, along with heart disease, diabetes, etc are almost always food related. Eating crap and then complaining about the cost of medications to treat the consequences of eating that crap is pure idiocy.

Plus, those “cheap” foods just do not fill you up like whole foods do. So you end up eating more of them, more often. Which also means more money spent.

Long story short, I did not have much sympathy for the family they interviewed. The man who was struggling to pay for basic living expenses as well as his diabetes medication, ordered a Dr. Pepper to go with his meal. Um, why not water? So they filled up on cheap hamburgers because they “don’t have time to make it at home” and that’s “all they could afford”. Hmm.

How’s this for just one idea: Spend a couple hours one day and make enough homemade tortillas to store in the freezer. They’re just flour, water, oil and salt. Easy peasy. Then, buy a big bag of rice and a big bag of dry beans. They are so very cheap! Soak some beans, then put them in a crockpot overnight with some of the rice. Place some tortillas from the freezer into the fridge. In the morning, you just grab a couple tortillas, pile on some rice and beans, maybe some toppings like lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc., a fruit (apple, pear, banana, etc) and BAM a fast, healthy, CHEAP meal.

But, whatever. I kinda got off on a tangent.

My absolute favorite part was at the end of the movie, when it pointed out how much we actually control what kinds of foods are made available to us. Through our food purchases, we send a message to the companies making and supplying food.

We vote three times a day. What are you voting for?

Here’s the movie trailer.