where are the starving american children ?

[sangha]

now please don't read anything into this, these are just a couple of questions, asked in ernest. O.K. are there starving children in america. that's an obvious yes, with 300 million people. but, where are they? how many? do they fall through the cracks of state aid? are any children, homeless or otherwise, ever denied food assistance? is the problem in finding them to help, or is the assistance, being squandered by their guardians, causing them not to get what they need.. thx

This link should help
Child Hunger in America: Childhood Hunger Facts | Feeding America

 

[ConHog]

Or anyone who assumes kids can fend for themselves adequately.

That floors me.

Today I had a kid come in; he was living with a relative who was getting cash for him; he said he hadn't been there for months. He's homeless, and he's hungry. I can tell by looking at him. And he's a working fool, too. He actually had money in his pocket...because he works and he saves that money. Which means he doesn't eat. But as a young kid, in a rural area where grown men with families can't find work, work is iffy for him.

Anyway, the relative who is cashing in on him...I call her to ask when he moved out, and she said this month. Yeah, right. Then she goes on a tangent about how she can't keep track of him and she doesn't know where he stays, he just stays with different friends. I said, "then he's homeless". That sort of took her aback. She said, "Well yeah, I guess he is."

Anyway, I got him food. I might be able to keep his medical going too. He was dismissive of medical; he's healthy and doesn't want his parents to have to pay child support. But as I told him, if he's going to work driving combines, he might be grateful for health insurance at some point.

My 18 y/o has a friend who's dad is in prison and his mom is busy chasing after boyfriends. The kid was living at a community center getting what meals he did get at school until they graduated last month. I didn't have any idea that he pretty much hasn't had any meals since he graduated until he came over for dinner one night and ate more than my entire family combined.

He's living with us now, working on getting his DL so he can get a job and do what he has to do to get his life in order. Is it HIS fault that his parents didn't do any better?

 

[Ravi]

now please don't read anything into this, these are just a couple of questions, asked in ernest. O.K. are there starving children in america. that's an obvious yes, with 300 million people. but, where are they? how many? do they fall through the cracks of state aid? are any children, homeless or otherwise, ever denied food assistance? is the problem in finding them to help, or is the assistance, being squandered by their guardians, causing them not to get what they need.. thx

You mean the one's with the distended bellies and the flies in their eyes? The Great Society put an end to that.

 

[AllieBaba]

You need to travel to a reservation someday, Ravi.

 

[rightwinger]

Or anyone who assumes kids can fend for themselves adequately.

That floors me.

Today I had a kid come in; he was living with a relative who was getting cash for him; he said he hadn't been there for months. He's homeless, and he's hungry. I can tell by looking at him. And he's a working fool, too. He actually had money in his pocket...because he works and he saves that money. Which means he doesn't eat. But as a young kid, in a rural area where grown men with families can't find work, work is iffy for him.

Anyway, the relative who is cashing in on him...I call her to ask when he moved out, and she said this month. Yeah, right. Then she goes on a tangent about how she can't keep track of him and she doesn't know where he stays, he just stays with different friends. I said, "then he's homeless". That sort of took her aback. She said, "Well yeah, I guess he is."

Anyway, I got him food. I might be able to keep his medical going too. He was dismissive of medical; he's healthy and doesn't want his parents to have to pay child support. But as I told him, if he's going to work driving combines, he might be grateful for health insurance at some point.

My 18 y/o has a friend who's dad is in prison and his mom is busy chasing after boyfriends. The kid was living at a community center getting what meals he did get at school until they graduated last month. I didn't have any idea that he pretty much hasn't had any meals since he graduated until he came over for dinner one night and ate more than my entire family combined.

He's living with us now, working on getting his DL so he can get a job and do what he has to do to get his life in order. Is it HIS fault that his parents didn't do any better?

Good for you

 

[ConHog]

Or anyone who assumes kids can fend for themselves adequately.

That floors me.

Today I had a kid come in; he was living with a relative who was getting cash for him; he said he hadn't been there for months. He's homeless, and he's hungry. I can tell by looking at him. And he's a working fool, too. He actually had money in his pocket...because he works and he saves that money. Which means he doesn't eat. But as a young kid, in a rural area where grown men with families can't find work, work is iffy for him.

Anyway, the relative who is cashing in on him...I call her to ask when he moved out, and she said this month. Yeah, right. Then she goes on a tangent about how she can't keep track of him and she doesn't know where he stays, he just stays with different friends. I said, "then he's homeless". That sort of took her aback. She said, "Well yeah, I guess he is."

Anyway, I got him food. I might be able to keep his medical going too. He was dismissive of medical; he's healthy and doesn't want his parents to have to pay child support. But as I told him, if he's going to work driving combines, he might be grateful for health insurance at some point.

My 18 y/o has a friend who's dad is in prison and his mom is busy chasing after boyfriends. The kid was living at a community center getting what meals he did get at school until they graduated last month. I didn't have any idea that he pretty much hasn't had any meals since he graduated until he came over for dinner one night and ate more than my entire family combined.

He's living with us now, working on getting his DL so he can get a job and do what he has to do to get his life in order. Is it HIS fault that his parents didn't do any better?

Good for you

He's a sweet kid and honestly we wanted to get him here years ago, but his mom wasn't about to give up the ability to claim him on her taxes every year, but kicked him out when he turned 18, go figure....................

Some people just need that extra help and holy shit being conservative and having some compassion don't have to be mutually exclusive.

 

[JBeukema]

Really? You do?????

Kids cannot obtain their own food. Period. You act as if there are these little child food criminals out there finding ways to scam for food they don't need. That's ludicrous. And you pretend if they want the food, it's there for the taking. It's not.

Kids can't get food stamps on their own. They cant' get food from pantries on their own. All they can do is go to shelters and kids' clubs...and outside of METROPOLITAN centers, those DON'T exist.

There are a lot of hungry kids in the US, you elitist scum.

What do you propose, taking every child away from his or her parents at birth and sending them all way for the government can make sure there's not a single bad parent in custody of his or her child?

 

[JBeukema]

Surely, there comes a point where people have to be responsible for their own damned selves.

We make the resources available. If they don't take advantage of them, that's on them. If their refusal is such that they cause their children to strive, send them to prison for child neglect, abuse, and endangerment and let the other inmates teach them a lesson from that point.

Ok...

How do we make them responsible?

Prison is your best answer? Aren't our prisons full enough with drug offenders?

Our prisons are full of people caught for possession and harming noone.

And prisons can be made self-sustaining through inmate labour.

 

[Ravi]

You need to travel to a reservation someday, Ravi.

Well...the reservations around here have no starving children but I suppose others do...but distended bellies and flies? I hope not.

 

[JBeukema]

Fine, I got no problem with investigating neglect. In the meantime, feed the damned kids.

We do.

then why are you bitching? You know how our reduced meal and free meals add up to in our school budget? 2% of a $10M budget. Who gives a shit about 2% of $10M if it's going to feed kids? If you're that upset about it, you find how much your share of your local school districts spending on this is and send me a PM and I'll mail you a check you cheap fuck.

Do you even know what you're babbling about?

 

[ConHog]

Really? You do?????

Kids cannot obtain their own food. Period. You act as if there are these little child food criminals out there finding ways to scam for food they don't need. That's ludicrous. And you pretend if they want the food, it's there for the taking. It's not.

Kids can't get food stamps on their own. They cant' get food from pantries on their own. All they can do is go to shelters and kids' clubs...and outside of METROPOLITAN centers, those DON'T exist.

There are a lot of hungry kids in the US, you elitist scum.

What do you propose, taking every child away from his or her parents at birth and sending them all way for the government can make sure there's not a single bad parent in custody of his or her child?

I propose you stop bitching about feeding kids for reduced price or even free at school.

 

[JBeukema]

You need to travel to a reservation someday, Ravi.

Money for being the right race, casinos, and everyone's an alcoholic. Oh, and cheap cigarettes...

 

[JBeukema]

Really? You do?????

Kids cannot obtain their own food. Period. You act as if there are these little child food criminals out there finding ways to scam for food they don't need. That's ludicrous. And you pretend if they want the food, it's there for the taking. It's not.

Kids can't get food stamps on their own. They cant' get food from pantries on their own. All they can do is go to shelters and kids' clubs...and outside of METROPOLITAN centers, those DON'T exist.

There are a lot of hungry kids in the US, you elitist scum.

What do you propose, taking every child away from his or her parents at birth and sending them all way for the government can make sure there's not a single bad parent in custody of his or her child?

I propose you stop bitching about feeding kids for reduced price or even free at school.

What the fuck are you talking about?

 

[Againsheila]

I think most of it is technically not from starvation but from weakness and illnesses they can't fight because of malnourishment.

Do I know any instances personally? No. I do know kids get sick and die and I'm sure at least a few instances are do to their inability to fight off disease.

It is impossible to be malnourished in all but the most backwards recesses of the United States unless you do it to yourself or someone is refusing to feed the child.

Make your way to any real city and you cannot go hungry unless you intend to. I have never met any streetfolk or trainhopper who landed in any town longer than a few blocks where you couldn't get food if you were hungry.

Wrong, we have the highest malnutrition rates of any industrialized nation (I've lost the link, feel free to google for yourself). My cousin herself passed out from malnutrition and none of us realized that was a problem and she grew up in a middle class family.

Yes, the homeless can often times get food, but not always, and then there are the working poor that are too proud to ask for help. Try feeding a family of 4 on $20,000 when your rent is $1,000 and because your husband won't give you a divorce, the state refuses to help as they take into account his income even though he gives you NOTHING. (note: this is not me but I do know the family) Yes, I agree the jerk should be in jail...

My husband was laid off for 3 years, it took me more than a year to find a job (the longest it had ever taken me in my life). We couldn't qualify for help, we were told to go to the foodbank. Well guess what, you can only eat so many pastries. We ate more pastries in that 3 years than I've eaten in the rest of my life put together. My job, I got 9:30 an hour to start, worked for them a year and then got my pay DECRASED because United was under bankruptcy protection. Try supporting a family of 4 on 8:30 an hour and let me know how wonderful this country is when they refuse to give us help. Of course, had I been a Russian, or Mexican, I'm sure they would have been more than happy to help us.

Thanks to our friends, relatives, and neighbors, we made it through those tough time, but not thanks to the government and both my kids are disabled but didn't get a dime until they were older than 18 because WE have too many assets. You could only have $5,000 in assets. I had to sell by 69 Ford Mustang convertible to help us get through that time....

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. We have a terrible problem in this country of our government refusing to help American citizens when foreigners are handed things on a silver platter.

 

[JBeukema]

My cousin herself passed out from malnutrition and none of us realized that was a problem and she grew up in a middle class family.

Sounds more like an eating disorder than anything else.

I've known a lot of people who've had it rough getting by. But they can all get by and every single one of them was not entirely innocent in bringing about their condition.

When it comes to children, all we can do is punish those we learn are neglecting or abusing them and make resources available for those who need them. The latter is being done in almost every city worth naming.

 

[Againsheila]

I think most of it is technically not from starvation but from weakness and illnesses they can't fight because of malnourishment.

Do I know any instances personally? No. I do know kids get sick and die and I'm sure at least a few instances are do to their inability to fight off disease.

It is impossible to be malnourished in all but the most backwards recesses of the United States unless you do it to yourself or someone is refusing to feed the child.

Make your way to any real city and you cannot go hungry unless you intend to. I have never met any streetfolk or trainhopper who landed in any town longer than a few blocks where you couldn't get food if you were hungry.

Wrong, we have the highest malnutrition rates of any industrialized nation (I've lost the link, feel free to google for yourself). My cousin herself passed out from malnutrition and none of us realized that was a problem and she grew up in a middle class family.

Yes, the homeless can often times get food, but not always, and then there are the working poor that are too proud to ask for help. Try feeding a family of 4 on $20,000 when your rent is $1,000 and because your husband won't give you a divorce, the state refuses to help as they take into account his income even though he gives you NOTHING. (note: this is not me but I do know the family) Yes, I agree the jerk should be in jail...

My husband was laid off for 3 years, it took me more than a year to find a job (the longest it had ever taken me in my life). We couldn't qualify for help, we were told to go to the foodbank. Well guess what, you can only eat so many pastries. We ate more pastries in that 3 years than I've eaten in the rest of my life put together. My job, I got 9:30 an hour to start, worked for them a year and then got my pay DECRASED because United was under bankruptcy protection. Try supporting a family of 4 on 8:30 an hour and let me know how wonderful this country is when they refuse to give us help. Of course, had I been a Russian, or Mexican, I'm sure they would have been more than happy to help us.

Thanks to our friends, relatives, and neighbors, we made it through those tough time, but not thanks to the government, and certainly not thanks to the selfish greedy "not my money" types on this board, and both my kids are disabled but didn't get a dime until they were older than 18 because WE have too many assets. You could only have $5,000 in assets. I had to sell by 69 Ford Mustang convertible to help us get through that time....They got it for a lousy $4,000 because we were so desperate. Betcha there are a lot of you right here that would have taken advantage of us and not felt one iota of guilt for our plight, you just would have driven away in your mustang convertible laughing about the great deal you got.

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. We have a terrible problem in this country of our government refusing to help American citizens when foreigners are handed things on a silver platter. And don't tell me that doesn't happen, I've seen it. When my kids were refused disability before they were 18, people who couldn't speak English were granted disability. I know a family that lived next door to a Russian family. They've never worked a day in their lives in this country and they bought a house and live on welfare. When my friend told her that her husband had been laid off and they were desperate, the Russian woman told her not to worry, she'd take her down to DSHS and get help for her. As they walked out of DSHS, the Russian woman just shook her head and said "I don't understand a country that doesn't take care of it's own people!" We'd taken care of the Russian lady and her family for years but we can't possibly take care of a working American that's run into hard times.

 

[JBeukema]

My cousin herself passed out from malnutrition and none of us realized that was a problem and she grew up in a middle class family.

Sounds more like an eating disorder than anything else.

I've known a lot of people who've had it rough getting by. But they can all get by and every single one of them was not entirely innocent in bringing about their condition.

When it comes to children, all we can do is punish those we learn are neglecting or abusing them and make resources available for those who need them. The latter is being done in almost every city worth naming.

 

[sangha]

Blog Trolls & Other Internet Crazies… ? Book Reviews By Bobbie ?

 

[ConHog]

Blog Trolls & Other Internet Crazies… ? Book Reviews By Bobbie ?

You admitting to it?

 

[sangha]

Blog Trolls & Other Internet Crazies… ? Book Reviews By Bobbie ?

You admitting to it?

Funny that you would respond to this. FYI, it's addressed to those who think it's wrong to feed children. That's a trollish thing to post