Wednesday, July 23, 2014

"food insecurity"...?

I followed a link to a National Geographic article about "the new face of hunger" in the US.  I only read a few paragraphs, because of my mounting irritation -- this time, not at our broken system that gives billions to profitable businesses but shorts programs that help the working poor -- but to the state of ignorance in this country when it comes to food savvy and making the most of our dollars.

I noticed a similar situation when a friend was having financial problems years ago -- she and her husband both had full-time, decent-paying jobs, but were facing bankruptcy.  They had NO idea how to handle what they had. 

"Hungry" children don't refuse food -- the child in the article who DID was obviously not HUNGRY.

It's an insult to STARVING people to call these brats "hungry."  Conversely, it's an insult to the hard-working poor to cut off the assistance which is making it possible for them the scrape by.  Hand-me-downs can be deceptive.  Poor children receive gifts too. 

People who "know how to be poor," i.e. to MANAGE on a small budget, don't buy Coke, fruit roll-ups, and other snack foods, and they don't let their kids take one bite out of an apple then set it aside ... like my friends did.

The malnourishment of "poor" Americans has a distinct air of spoiled children refusing to settle for second-best.  THIS IS NOT TO SAY THERE ARE NOT TRULY IMPOVERISHED AND STARVING PEOPLE HERE ... but the families of four unable to feed themselves on twice the minimum wage (as in the NG article) are squandering their resources, not using their brains.

It really seems to be time to restore life-skill-teaching in schools.  Do any of us recall details of our "social studies" classes even a year after learning them (so we could regurgitate them on a state-mandated test)?  What would happen if we compressed classes to contain more essential quantities of things a modern human NEEDS to know, and leave unimportant minutia behind?

I'm reminded of that '60s classic movie, "To Sir With Love" with sadness -- what Poitier's character did would never be allowed today.  However, that sort of class would provide benefits to all society, not just help the students deal with the real world when they have no choice but to face it.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Tess

    A great post. According to the media tens of millions of US citizens are living on food welfare tickets. In the UK more and more free food centres are opening up to feed the poor. The majority of the foods in these centres, is highly processed high carb junk. Clearly storing fresh meat, fish, vegetables and fruits etc. would cost more to store and perish much faster.

    The tragedy in all this is the poor get more unhealthy, and in the long run may well require expensive medical treatment and drugs. These people have no choice, they eat what they can get. A bigger tragedy is we live in two of the world's richest countries, any amount of money can be found for high tech weapons and war, but our poor, disabled, financially disadvantaged and poorly educated, are treated abysmally. We are living in a lunatic asylum and it’s getting worse by the day. Are you glad you are not a youngster any more ? I am. We have seen the best years, our Countries had to offer, from now on it's down hill for ordinary people.

    Kind regards Eddie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :-) my theme song, more and more, is "i'm glad that i'm not young anymore" all right!

      yes, food banks are obliged to collect and hand out non-perishables, but these don't HAVE to be horrible foods.... people getting help from them truly don't have a choice, but people using food-stamps DO! they don't have to buy things liked boxed cereals, which are nutritional minefields indeed -- they SHOULD be checking out the bargain meats that have been frozen because they were nearing their expiration dates, buying in-season produce at farmers' markets, and similar things....

      my husband and I are lucky enough, after decades of saving, to be able to afford the nicer things in life, but we were poor as dirt when we started out! there are tricks to maximizing a minimal income, and I wish more people knew them! :-)

      Delete
    2. When we just came to live in Canada , we were living on 23000 a year in a very expencive city, and I don't remember having trouble with finding enough money to spent on our food. We didn't have money for good apartment and mountain skiing, borrohwed movies from local library instead of renting it, but we never ever came close to being hungry.

      Delete
    3. it's all about priorities, all right! :-)

      Delete
  2. I took a freshman college elective class called "consumerism", and wondered why it wasn't taught in high school. I have also ALWAYS felt that you shouldn't be able to get out of h.s. (maybe even junior high) without passing a basic 'parenting' class. And keyboarding should be mandatory. (maybe it is now, but it hasn't been in the past.) When my daughters were in elementary school in the late 70's and early 80's, spelling was ONLY graded in spelling test. If they misspelled in other papers, they weren't critiqued because the school system 'didn't want to stifle their creativity.' What a load of hogwash then, and now.

    Don't even get me started on American Idol. It's one thing for a parent to encourage their children. It's a whole other matter to not help them face facts, like 'YOU SUCK AT SINGING.' The coddling that goes on in America is astounding. Simply astounding.

    :: steps off multiple soap boxes :: LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can understand why parents want their children to have what they didn't, but the pandering doesn't do the kids a damn bit of good. [sigh] wanting a "toy" and having it handed to them isn't nearly as rewarding to them as having to work for at least a part of its price....

      Delete
  3. I just fail to understand how people in US manage to be hungry when parents are not totally disfunctioned drugs addicts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. most of the time, there's no excuse for it ... but of course sometimes there is! i particularly feel bad for the elderly, who may not have the health and energy to work even if they find someone willing to hire them.

      Delete
  4. WE used to have this great class Home Economics...it taught you how to live. Eat, store food, sew, maintain clothes, keep a budget, etc....no longer taught. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i had hope for it, too, when my son as a high-schooler took a general class of that nature! but in a country that cuts art, music and gym classes so kids have more time to memorize useless info for tests ....

      Delete
  5. I liked that the article pointed out the reason WHY people were food insecure but still obese--a lot has to do with the fact that the cheap and easy foods are cereal grains. And there was a good comparison of what can be purchased at McDonalds for $10 vs. a grocery store for $10. I think too many people lack cooking skills. Time was cited as one reason, but it is very possible to cook from scratch and still hold down more than a full time job.

    When there are food drives for the food bank, we come up empty handed because there aren't any bottles, cans, or shelf stable packages in our pantry to donate. This article has solidified my resolve to give cash which can be used to purchase fresh foods and to direct most of my dollars toward two local faith-based programs: One includes a community garden for fresh fruits and vegetables and the other teaches participants to cook from scratch with minimal resources.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. those sound like great programs! the burgeoning of community gardens all over the place are heartwarming to me -- St. Louis is full of them.

      i have a science-teacher friend who also does some rudimentary instruction using the school-garden produce -- she's described to me some of the activities they do.... there are SO MANY possibilities for learning this kind of skill, and kids are often so eager to learn them. what a pity they aren't encouraged to cultivate them more.

      Delete
  6. This reminds me of my nephew, who moved out of my parents' house because he "couldn't afford gas." By my calculations, it cost him $34 a week for gas to get to and from work. However, he bought cases of soda, bottles of Gatorade, bags of chips, and I don't think he ever cooked a meal--the wheelchair was charging in the kitchen and he never moved it. He seemed to have bought a Batman t-shirt, too.

    Figure $10 a day for lunch and dinner at McDonald's, and eating at home (he was welcome to any of my parents' groceries--and there were a lot) would have left him with more than enough money for gas.

    Now he's back with his old nutjob roommate and going to quit his job because he doesn't have a car. Whatever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that scenario is SO familiar....

      decades ago i had a book published by Cosmopolitan which discussed (among other things) spending habits -- their term "slobby spender" has stuck with me all this time. there ARE endless resources for people who need to tighten the reins on their finances, but i guess it's Dunning-Kruger in action!

      Delete
  7. There are a couple of places on the internet that have worked out how to eat a LC or Paleo type diet on a budget. Cooking can be easy, but like anything if you tell yourself it's not easy, it isn't! Just like when people would tell me eating gluten free is expensive and too difficult...I say no and I've been doing it for 34 years without much effort. It's what you believe that drives your ability to accomplish whatever you are working on. And your health is something you need to work on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unless the people saying that gluten-free is expensive are frugal--a rare thing in the US--that's a funny thing for them to say.

      Delete
    2. the common mind thinks, "if i don't eat conventional bread i have to eat another kind." it never occurs to them to just NOT EAT BREAD. :-) same goes for the other things. if you're convinced that pasta meals are "normal" then eating meat-and-vegetable is weird....

      Delete