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The same fate was suffered by Christine Way Skinner, husband Michael and their five children, ranging in age from eight to 16. Rabbi Steinhouse and his wife, Rachel, accepted the test designed to build commu- nity support for the Put Food in the Budget campaign, which demands an immediate $100 monthly increase for each Ontarian on social assistance. The experience left him indignant. “Do you know how humiliating it is to have your $10 food voucher OK’d by the grocery store manager.” he asked. “I hate to say it, but people look at you as if you’re not as good as they are. It's embarrassing to have to go to a food bank It angers me that people can’t get enough to survive." Ms Steinhouse felt the gnawing hunger. “It was despair," she said of her foray into the world of the marginalized. “I craved fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought some meat and eggs with the voucher and realized that was it for the month.” At the conclusion of the challenge, she came down with cold symptoms. She cited a lack of vitamins and proteins and abun- dance of stress. “We do need to raise awareness and, as parents, we want our children to learn grati- tude and compassion." Living without their normal means for the week was difficult and insightful, she “After the second day, I felt what it was like to have to live as so many people do." The family opted to participate for two reasons, Ms Way Skinner said. “I was very angry, " Newmarket Am Echad congregation Rabbi Martin Steinhouse said of his lZOâ€"hour experiment. “There’s no way on God’s green Earth that anyone can live on the amount of food from a food bank. Noth- ing is nutn'tious. Vegetables are rare. You live on carbohydrates." Ordinary York Region citizens reported an extraordinary orbit of emotions as par- ticipants of last week's Do The Math Chal- lenge; five days on the diet of a person living in poverty. Humiliation, hurt, hunger. Anger, pain and fear. ISSUES: lZO-hour experiment eyeâ€"opener for participants Numbers don’t add up forYork’s hungry Proposal calls for $1 00 monthly increase for poor BY CHRIS TRABER ctraber@yrmg. com The most poignant moment was dur~ ing the family’s community meal at a local church. Newmarket single mom Kristine Carbis relies on less than $1,500 a month in social assis- tance. She has a banana for breakfast and no other food until dinner. “There wasn’t enough food, especially healthy food," she said. “There was very little meat, a lot of carbohydrates and high sodium in the canned food. “Everyone was very hungry and cranky.” A curious and disturbing phenomenon arose in the Way Skinner household. “It was worse than we realized,” Ms Way Skinner said. “My husband is diabetic. If he had to be on this diet, it would cost the health system a lot of money." “We got competitive for food," she said. “Everyone got stressed out trying to make food last.” The voluntary trial was illuminating, she said. “And it definitely doesn't add up,” she said with a good natured Chortle. “You often have to go without, especially as a parent. At the first of the month, you buy what you can and try and stretch it out. From mid-month to the end, there’s not a lot of fresh stuff. I have a banana for breakfast and nothing Kristine Carbis, 48, knows only too well. A Newmarket single mom raising a 14-year-old son, Ms Carbis’ severe arthritis confines her to an electric scooter. She receives no child support and relies on $1,100 from Ontar- io disability and a $375 child tax benefit each month. She and her son have to do the math each day. “It was striking," she said. “There, people who have far less are willing to share their bread. It was humbling and compelling.” STAFF PHOTO/SUSIE KOCKERSCHEIDT The l to 7 pm. event features entertain- ment, hot food, information booths and forums. An international event, the day was first recognized by the United Nations in 1992. Rabbi Steinhouse endorses the call for a monthly $100 healthy diet food supplement and more vigilance of the social assistance system, suggesting many unqualified appli- cants drain resources by stealing support. Ms Carbis and challenge participants will discuss their experience as panelists at Inter- national Day for The Eradication of Poverty at Fairy Lake Park in Newmarket today. Ms Way Skinner recommends awareness and policy enhancements. ’ The healthy food basket protocol under the Ontario Public Health standard has to be available to the indigent, Ms Carbis added. “Keep those on the margins of society in mind when you vote," she said. Strategies are available, but solutions are glacial, she said. “The government has to make it right," she said. “If people don’t start eating healthy, the costs will be outrageous down the road." “It’s a great exercise,” said Ms Carbis, 3 Poverty Action for Change Coalition volunâ€" teer. “It’s opened ideas. We’re seeing emo- tion. Everyone agreed there’s not enough The goal of the project is to revise social assistance rates based on actual living costs, including housing and food. In York Region, poverty is pervasive, she said. “More than anyone knows. The majorâ€" ity of people don't recognize it. It’s hidden. People don’t want to see it." until dinner. “You do what you have to do." That, for Ms Carbis, includes reluctant treks to food banks, where she feels the sear- ing sting of poverty’s stigma. She shops the reduced grocery store aisles, participates in communal meals with her rent-geared-to- income neighbours and shares damaged goods donated by regional retailers. She, like others living below the line, served as mentors to challenge participants during the week. She shadowed York Region Media Group editor-in-chief Debora Kelly. ‘Do you know how humiliating it is to have your $1 0 food grocery store manager?’ voucher OK’d by the