A Place at the Table - 1

Lent has arrived, and I'm now reading Chris Seay's A Place at the Table and adjusting my eating and drinking to reflect on what it's like for the poor of the world - including those in our own country. 

Because I am walking this journey alone and because I thought that sticking to one thing for six weeks might be a step too far for me, I decided to vary my approach each week.  This week I have reduced my food budget.  Next week I will be living mostly on the staple foods of someone living in poverty in India.  The week after that is going to be about water rather than food, so I will be limiting my intake of all drinks EXCEPT water during that week. 

So this week I decided to reduce my usual weekly spend by 2/3.  On a tight budget there's no way you can impulse buy or shop without planning first so I set off for the supermarket with a list I'd made of exactly what I'd need for the coming week's meals.  I made it under budget, just.

The shopping was the toughest part of the week so far to be honest but it hasn't proved necessary to live on baked beans on toast for a week after all.  That said, my trip to the supermarket was IT for this week.  No nipping in for extra or forgotten items.  With 83p left in my purse after my main shopping trip there just isn't the cash for additions.

Of course I recognise that it is very much tougher for those living hand to mouth week in and week out 'for real' though.  And that's why I like the element of this process which is about doing something practical for others.  For me, shopping on a tight budget has been a reminder of a tough couple of years early in my working life.  So this week I'm donating the money I saved on my weekly shopping to CEF Oxford (Community Emergency Foodbank). 

Less Than Six Weeks Until Lent!

Are you one of the thousands who gives up chocolate or alcohol for Lent?

I don't know about you, but I have been thinking quite a lot lately about the things which I have, and the general drive for consumption which affects most of us. It's easy and convenient to generalise, and talk about 'our society' but in fact 'our society' includes me and if I'm honest I can easily get swept along with the urge for a 'retail splurge' on things which I don't actually need, and I definitely can over-do the eating..! (As a result of which I then have to over-do the gym, which is a whole other issue.)

So to go back to my opening question - do you give something up for Lent? If so, are you really finding yourself bored with doing the 'same old thing' every year?

Or are you one of those who doesn't really think much of 'giving stuff up for Lent', dismissing the whole idea as pointless, so ignores it.

What about doing something different this year?

A Place at the Table is a challenge to do just that. It's not simply about giving up chocolate or whatever, but about connecting in a far more fundamental way with those who have less than we do. And that's a lot of people. Even for those of us who don't consider ourselves rich.

So I will be taking up the 40 day A Place at the Table challenge through Lent 2012. And as well as eating and drinking differently, I plan to adjust my 'aquisition focus' - meaning that I plan to reduce my consumption in general, especially during Lent, and take the chance to value what I already have and be thankful for it.

The idea of starting is quite scary actually. I'm already afraid that I'll mess it up at some stage. But I'm going to start out anyway, and see where the journey takes me. Lysa Terkeurst (author of Made to Crave) says of the challenge that it is "a place to stop the rut of constant inhale. Taking in, taking in, taking in. It clogs the soul. So for 40 days, let us learn to exhale with great thanksgiving... For pondering what God might bring close... For this place where our souls breathe and dream once again." That sounds good to me. I'll let you know how I get on.

By the way, I am hoping that lots of people will be joining in with the 'A Place at the Table' challenge, and would love to hear from anyone taking part, via the comments on this blog, or via twitter or our soon to be launched Facebook page.

A Preview of A Place at the Table

Be honest. How much of your day do you spend thinking about what you are going to eat?

A Place at the Table challenges the reader to spend 40 days eating like the poor of the world and by so doing connect and empathise with the millions of people in the world whose food choices are limited at best. Furthermore it encourages tangible, practical help.

One way of following the 'A Place at the Table' challenge is to eat a similar diet to that eaten by a sponsored child in the developing world. The author himself chose to eat a diet like that of the children his family sponsors in Uganda and Ecuador. He learned that these children ate rice, beans, chicken, tortillas and vegetables and felt that by embracing their meals he was also embracing the children he sponsors. In his own words he felt that by doing this he was 'making a place for them at his table and in his heart', rather than forgetting about them for extended periods.

If that is too scary though, there are lots of other ways you can get involved. You could simply halve your food budget, eating more basic and less varied foods and cutting out treats and 'extras'. Or you could try living below the official poverty line as some have to do in our own country, never mind those in far poorer parts of the world.

During the 40 days the Sundays are treated as 'feast days'. They give the chance to eat your more usual foods, and perhaps appreciate them more than usual.

The practical support mentioned earlier comes from donating the money saved from your usual grocery bill to a charity working in tangible ways with poor people, such as Compassion, one of the charities being supported by the book. Part of Compassion's work is in the sponsoring of children around the world, enabling those children to have a basic but healthy diet as well as supporting their other needs.

We're planning lots of social media activity when this book is released so watch out for information, tips, other peoples' ideas and progress and lots more via this blog and our Twitter and Facebook posts.

Lots of books claim to change your life. This one has the potential - perhaps more importantly - to change the lives of others, as well as your own.


A DVD is also being released to help small groups and churches which are inspired by the challenge to take part as a group. Containing six sessions it has been shot on location in the Holy Land, Haiti, and Ecuador.

Interested in taking up the challenge early?
We're looking for individuals, groups and churches who would be willing to work through the process ahead of the book's publication, and share their experiences with us. If this is something you would like to know more about, please contact us on bpg@lionhudson.com


Price: £8.99 (DVD: £12.99 incl. VAT)
ISBN: 9780801014512 (DVD: 9780801014529)
Publication date: January 2012
Published by: Baker Books (part of Baker Publishing Group)
Available through any good bookshop, online, or via Marston Book Services
Marketing & PR enquiries: Anne Rogers at anner@lionhudson.com