MLA’S food budget dwindles
Leaner Brar says he’ll have to seek out free meals for a week
Jagrup Brar, noticeably thinner than he was three weeks ago, had $ 8 in his pocket Monday before going out to buy some bread and eggs to stave off hunger.
“I don’t think there will be much left after that,” said the Surrey Fleetwood NDP MLA, who began January with $ 108 for food at the start of his challenge to live for a month on $ 610 — the amount an ablebodied single person receives on social assistance.
On Sunday he received an unexpected treat.
He’d been out viewing the outdoor market at Pigeon Park and was shivering, wet and hungry. Heading back to his rooming house to make himself some noodles, Brar encountered a lineup for a meal distributed at the corner of Main and Hastings by volunteers from a Sikh temple in New Westminster. He was delighted to eat his native Indian food.
But today, after his shopping spree, he will be essentially broke and left to survive to rest of the month without money.
Brar said he has found the location of free food is a leading topic of conversation among the poor — one he’s joined out of necessity.
“When you walk around in the poorest area of the country with 70 per cent of people living below the poverty line, it’s very interesting what people talk about. Where you can find free food. That’s the discussion usually,” he said. “A lot of people have already given me tips [ about] where I can go and find a free lunch or dinner, so I’ll need to do that.”
On Monday, Brar met with a small group of parents at the Strathcona Community Centre on Keefer Street who spoke of the hardships of bringing up children on existing welfare rates, especially when any extra money they receive is clawed back by the government.
Brenn Kapitan was a Web designer for 12 years until she was stricken by arthritis. She and her 15- year- old son have to exist on a disability allowance of $ 1,100 a month. Her rent for a shared suite in subsidized housing is $ 560.
“So we have about $ 540 a month to live on for everything,” she said.
Kapitan does, however, receive a child support payment of $ 300 a month from her former husband, not that it does the pair much good.
“He’s not a deadbeat dad. He is paying maintenance for our son but we never see the money,” said Kapitan. “It’s deducted every month from my disability payment.”