I couldn’t help but think while reading your post about many similar experiences and thoughts I had during my Peace Corps service, the first time I found my access to food limited both for financial reasons as well as just in terms of what there was available. It really brought home how much food has to do with quality of life and how lucky I had always been to basically have unlimited options (especially in this country). As PCVs, we were shocked by how quickly we became ravenous for the simplest of things (cheese, butter, vegetables, chocolate come to mind), and when we could get access to them, would feel that we had to consume all we could, because you never knew when or if there would be more.

I remember vividly one guy actually saying once, “I can’t believe this, we just ate an entire stick of butter.” And we had. In five minutes.

And like you, it always raised the thought, but for me, this is temporary, something I can “get out of” at any point, whereas for many in our region, country and the world, that’s not such an easy (or possible) option.

I sometimes fast during Ramadan in solidarity with friends, and also just to remind myself, periodically, about how grateful I am to have access to basic needs that many don’t, and how it enables so much of what I cherish about life (work, running, etc.). In writing about this last year, I remember finding out that Abe Lincoln once started a National Day of Fasting in the U.S. to remind Americans about our sense of abundance, and to remember to not take it for granted.

I still think this would be a great idea for us–much like what you’re doing–to remind ourselves about the realities facing so many others, and not just from an intellectual standpoint, but from an experiential one–which really makes all the difference. Makes realities like these increasingly harder to ignore–from a personal and political (I hope) standpoint.