I was at Pearson Airport, in my hometown, Toronto, on August 1 waiting to get on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia, the layover-stop before my final destination to Tallahassee, Florida. It was six-something in the morning and I was trying to decide what I should eat, or rather store in my bag until I arrived in Atlanta. There was a Starbucks by my gate but I never purchased a sandwich at Starbucks before and thought why would I now? The line was too long, and Starbucks, well, it’s expensive even outside of the airport. The restaurant perhaps would be the next best option.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat at the restaurant because it only seemed to serve burgers and I can’t eat my meals out of order. I have to start the day with foods that are considered breakfast appropriate: fried eggs, cereal, lox, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, manouche, grilled cheese, poached eggs. Wings for breakfast? I shiver at the thought.
I next visited the pre-packed section looking for something that was vegetarian. I am wary of airport food due to the possibility my sensitive stomach might cause me strife when I should instead be enjoying dedicated TV time. When I am on a plane, I just want to watch a screen with actors riding horses. But in this section, everything seemed to have bacon in it or the other style of pig known as ham. I do not keep kosher, but I don’t eat pork, only the rare treat of a bacon strip (resulting in immediate guilt).
And with nothing in front of me that made me feel like I was going to experience indigestion, I looked at the kosher section. Perhaps I’d find holy relief there. No. Instead I found an unappealing rye-bread sandwich, with some sort of meat in it, for nearly $20. And this sandwich did not look gourmet. It looked like the kind of sandwich you make when you are late to work or for a partner who has disappointed you and doesn’t know how to cook for themselves. It was an incredibly sad, expensive sandwich. I stood there and felt my face turn red, anger bubbling up inside me. The feeling was unexpected, after all, I was just figuring out what to eat at the airport. But I wasn’t angry for myself. I could go to Starbucks and stand in line for 10 to 15 minutes to order an egg sandwich with pesto on it for $6 (which is exactly what I did).
But what about the people who cannot. It made me think of family members and friends of mine who keep kosher and how their everyday life could be impacted by cost. What if they cannot afford to purchase a disappointing kosher sandwich that costs even more than a Rare Beauty Mini Soft Liquid Blush. I understand airport food is more expensive because they take advantage of the lack of options for flyers. But the price of this sandwich was so unbelievable to me. For about $10 more you could have gotten the news-making Loblaws chicken breast for $37.
I often think about how much more appealing buying kosher products might be if they were priced at exactly the same value as non-kosher items. Perhaps some folks would make the switch, I like eating meat knowing it was killed humanely, who wouldn’t. But for the people who are kashrut observers, there must be a way to have them experience an airport sandwich for $6. I was able to find my best option and they should be afforded the same privilege to do the same.
I was at Pearson Airport, in my hometown, Toronto, on August 1 waiting to get on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia, the layover-stop before my final destination to Tallahassee, Florida. It was six-something in the morning and I was trying to decide what I should eat, or rather store in my bag until I arrived in Atlanta. There was a Starbucks by my gate but I never purchased a sandwich at Starbucks before and thought why would I now? The line was too long, and Starbucks, well, it’s expensive even outside of the airport. The restaurant perhaps would be the next best option.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat at the restaurant because it only seemed to serve burgers and I can’t eat my meals out of order. I have to start the day with foods that are considered breakfast appropriate: fried eggs, cereal, lox, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, manouche, grilled cheese, poached eggs. Wings for breakfast? I shiver at the thought.
I next visited the pre-packed section looking for something that was vegetarian. I am wary of airport food due to the possibility my sensitive stomach might cause me strife when I should instead be enjoying dedicated TV time. When I am on a plane, I just want to watch a screen with actors riding horses. But in this section, everything seemed to have bacon in it or the other style of pig known as ham. I do not keep kosher, but I don’t eat pork, only the rare treat of a bacon strip (resulting in immediate guilt).
And with nothing in front of me that made me feel like I was going to experience indigestion, I looked at the kosher section. Perhaps I’d find holy relief there. No. Instead I found an unappealing rye-bread sandwich, with some sort of meat in it, for nearly $20. And this sandwich did not look gourmet. It looked like the kind of sandwich you make when you are late to work or for a partner who has disappointed you and doesn’t know how to cook for themselves. It was an incredibly sad, expensive sandwich. I stood there and felt my face turn red, anger bubbling up inside me. The feeling was unexpected, after all, I was just figuring out what to eat at the airport. But I wasn’t angry for myself. I could go to Starbucks and stand in line for 10 to 15 minutes to order an egg sandwich with pesto on it for $6 (which is exactly what I did).
But what about the people who cannot. It made me think of family members and friends of mine who keep kosher and how their everyday life could be impacted by cost. What if they cannot afford to purchase a disappointing kosher sandwich that costs even more than a Rare Beauty Mini Soft Liquid Blush. I understand airport food is more expensive because they take advantage of the lack of options for flyers. But the price of this sandwich was so unbelievable to me. For about $10 more you could have gotten the news-making Loblaws chicken breast for $37.
I often think about how much more appealing buying kosher products might be if they were priced at exactly the same value as non-kosher items. Perhaps some folks would make the switch, I like eating meat knowing it was killed humanely, who wouldn’t. But for the people who are kashrut observers, there must be a way to have them experience an airport sandwich for $6. I was able to find my best option and they should be afforded the same privilege to do the same.