The families of Kyla Vieweger and Megan Marriott are reaffirming their priorities during their Deconstruct the Yuck calendar year, including a November where they have chosen to only purchase essential needs.
The two bloggers are proponents of Buy Nothing Day, an anti-Black Friday movement, in which citizens reject consumerism.
This week, the two families will only eat from the hampers provided by the Food Bank, to gain insight into the difficulties facing tens of thousands of Calgarians who rely on the organization’s services.
Kyla and Megan have donated twice the cost of the hampers to ensure their experiment does not remove valuable resources from the charity.
The contents of the hamper startled Kyla as she attempted to feed her family.
“At first, I thought it looked like a lot of food, and I thought ‘This is going to be ok’,” said Kyla. “After a while, you realize it's quite challenging.”
Megan found her experience with the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank to be a stark reminder of the fragility of day-to-day life.
“It could be anyone, at any time,” said Megan. “You know life is fragile and we are all on this little angle and at any time we could be knocked over.”
Officials with the Food Bank say there is a lot to be learned from the experiment, especially as the organization prepares for its busiest month of the year. In previous years, demand for assistance from the Food Bank increases 75 per cent in December.
Kyla and Megan have undergone monthly challenges in an attempt to assess their priorities and remove the ‘Yuck’, unnecessary clutter, which has bogged them down. To view their 2014 progress, and for additional information about Kyla and Megan’s November experience, visit Deconstruct the Yuck.
With files from CTV's Kevin Green
