Why Can't Poor People Afford Healthy Food?

[High_Gravity]

People expect poor people to just buy a head of lettuce and eat it? who does that?

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I've done that. Only it was a carton of spinach with garlic and olive oil. I wasn't even poor.

 

[High_Gravity]

Tonight we're having a turkey breast ($7), with stuffing ($1.47), cranberries ($.79..I love Grocery Outlet) and spinach again (I already counted that cost yesterday, so today it's freeeeee). I'll make bread, so add another $1.50.

Family of 6: $10.76/6 = $1.79 per person.

Yeah, feed a family of 6...3 adults and 3 kids... at McD's for $10.76.

Hmm, you could hit up the dollar menu, 6 double cheeseburgers and 4 orders of fries.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

There was a point when I was so poor I was rationing tuna for sandwiches. I ate so many ******* tuna sandwiches that it took years for me to even think about a tuna sandwich as a choice option.

 

[High_Gravity]

I've done that. Only it was a carton of spinach with garlic and olive oil. I wasn't even poor.

Well yeah if your gonna eat lettuce you need other stuff, I've never seen anyone just buy a head of lettuce from a grocery store and just tear into it by itself.

 

[High_Gravity]

There was a point when I was so poor I was rationing tuna for sandwiches. I ate so many ******* tuna sandwiches that it took years for me to even think about a tuna sandwich as a choice option.

Oh wow.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I had a buddy that worked in a grocery store when i was in college. Did you know they can not donate expired foods? Do you know how much food goes to waste due to an expiration date that is a guestimate on the liife of the product. Bagels, breads, canned foods, slightly bruised or unsellable produce...all in the trash. He used to save stuff for a few of us who were strugglers.

 

[Againsheila]

People expect poor people to just buy a head of lettuce and eat it? who does that?

Not only that, but when is the last time you saw a head of lettuce for 59cents? I haven't seen them for less than a dollar in years.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

My only point is that you can get by on next to no income. It just isn't luxurious. It's sometimes a miserable experience. But I'll tell you what, it builds character. The only thing my father ever taught me. Being poor, being tried and struggling builds character. It also makes for creative ways of making means. I certainly appreciate what I've built for myself knowing how hard it was to get here.

Everyones mileage may vary. But all these extra programs for things certainly does make these people even more lazy and wanting of another handout.

 

[koshergrl]

Become a single white male in their early twenties and see how much govt. assistance there is for you. I wouldn't have taken it if it was possible, but guys like me don't get to be on the dole. We just pay into it.

Not true.

Your gross income is less than $1700, you're potentially eligible for up to $200 foodstamps.

Income hovers around $1400, you're going to get about $50 a month, if you pay $300 rent and your own utilities (say in a shared household with two roommates...common situation).

I see guys all the time who are single, white, in their early 20s getting both fs and medical.

 

[High_Gravity]

People expect poor people to just buy a head of lettuce and eat it? who does that?

Not only that, but when is the last time you saw a head of lettuce for 59cents? I haven't seen them for less than a dollar in years.

Good point, plus lettuce isn't really meant to just be eaten alone, its supposed to be used for salads and sandwiches and such. I find it laughable people expect poor people to go to grocery stores and just eat a tomato or a head of lettuce by itself.

 

[High_Gravity]

Become a single white male in their early twenties and see how much govt. assistance there is for you. I wouldn't have taken it if it was possible, but guys like me don't get to be on the dole. We just pay into it.

Not true.

Your gross income is less than $1700, you're potentially eligible for up to $200 foodstamps.

Income hovers around $1400, you're going to get about $50 a month, if you pay $300 rent and your own utilities (say in a shared household with two roommates...common situation).

I see guys all the time who are single, white, in their early 20s getting both fs and medical.

Yup, assistance is for everyone.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I wouldn't expect them to do that, unless they wanted too. What I do expect is that people pick themselves up and show some dignity. Asking for help is one thing, but asking for everything is entirely another.

You get creative when times are tougha dn hopefully, the less desirable the more incentive to get up and find ways to make the situation better. Not ask for a handout.

 

[koshergrl]

My only point is that you can get by on next to no income. It just isn't luxurious. It's sometimes a miserable experience. But I'll tell you what, it builds character. The only thing my father ever taught me. Being poor, being tried and struggling builds character. It also makes for creative ways of making means. I certainly appreciate what I've built for myself knowing how hard it was to get here.

Everyones mileage may vary. But all these extra programs for things certainly does make these people even more lazy and wanting of another handout.

The programs just put off the day when certain populations have to actually BUDGET the funds they have available for food. But I think we're tipping over into an era similar to the great depression, where food is more expensive, people are out of work, and very few people have enough money to eat the way we've been eating since the 80s.

America's going to slim down. And then they're going to start starving. I believe by the time we oust Obama, if that day ever comes, we will see children begging in the cities again, and a resurgence in maladies caused by malnutrition.

 

[Againsheila]

My only point is that you can get by on next to no income. It just isn't luxurious. It's sometimes a miserable experience. But I'll tell you what, it builds character. The only thing my father ever taught me. Being poor, being tried and struggling builds character. It also makes for creative ways of making means. I certainly appreciate what I've built for myself knowing how hard it was to get here.

Everyones mileage may vary. But all these extra programs for things certainly does make these people even more lazy and wanting of another handout.

It might, if they qualified for all those programs. Yeah, I agree, there's a lot out there we need to do away with, especially programs for immigrants that aren't available to our own people. Foreign aid shouldn't even be thought of while there are poor people in our own country.

We were poor for 3 years and still didn't qualify for any help. There's something wrong there. Meanwhile, other people are buying homes while on welfare, or getting them given to them. If it weren't for our friends and family we would have lost everything, the government sure never gave us a dime. Not even a break on our property taxes.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Become a single white male in their early twenties and see how much govt. assistance there is for you. I wouldn't have taken it if it was possible, but guys like me don't get to be on the dole. We just pay into it.

Not true.

Your gross income is less than $1700, you're potentially eligible for up to $200 foodstamps.

Income hovers around $1400, you're going to get about $50 a month, if you pay $300 rent and your own utilities (say in a shared household with two roommates...common situation).

I see guys all the time who are single, white, in their early 20s getting both fs and medical.

Times certainly have changed since I was that old. It also depends on the state you live in, no?

 

[koshergrl]

For medical, the state matters. For foodstamps, which is a federal program, it's the same across the board.

 

[High_Gravity]

For medical, the state matters. For foodstamps, which is a federal program, it's the same across the board.

Yup.

 

[Skull Pilot]

you think its cheaper to cook a healthy meal with meat, vegetable and potato than to buy something that fills your stomach from the dollar menu at mcdonald's? i'd dispute that.

also, if we're talking about cooking for a family, it is a lot cheaper to make something starchy and fatty (e.g., mac and cheese or pasta) than to prepare a balanced meal.

isn't that the real issue?

Works great, if the family has a roof over their heads, and a refrigerator and stove at their convenience. So, did you work in how much it costs to cook it? Including the pans they have to have to cook it with? <yeah, I know they are reusable, but they still have to have them and a place to store them>

For Christ's sake are you actually telling me that people are forced to eat at McDunghole's for want of a pot?

 

[High_Gravity]

Works great, if the family has a roof over their heads, and a refrigerator and stove at their convenience. So, did you work in how much it costs to cook it? Including the pans they have to have to cook it with? <yeah, I know they are reusable, but they still have to have them and a place to store them>

For Christ's sake are you actually telling me that people are forced to eat at McDunghole's for want of a pot?

lol.