A diet fueled by food stamps is making South Texans obese but leaving them hungry

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/?tid=ts_carousel




http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/wp-content/themes/wapo-blogs/inc/imrs.php?src=&w=1200

Too much of too little
A diet fueled by food stamps is making South Texans obese but leaving them hungry

McAllen, Tex. — They were already running late for a doctor’s appointment, but first the Salas family hurried into their kitchen for another breakfast paid for by the federal government. The 4-year-old grabbed a bag of cheddar-flavored potato chips and a granola bar. The 9-year-old filled a bowl with sugary cereal and then gulped down chocolate milk. Their mother, Blanca, arrived at the refrigerator and reached into the drawer where she stored the insulin needed to treat her diabetes. She filled a needle with fluid and injected it into her stomach with a practiced jab.

“Let’s go,” she told the children, rushing them out of the kitchen and into the car. “We can stop for snacks on our way home.”


The family checkup had been scheduled at the insistence of a school nurse, who wanted the Salas family to address two concerns: They were suffering from both a shortage of nutritious food and a diet of excess — paradoxical problems that have become increasingly interconnected in the United States, and especially in South Texas.

For almost a decade, Blanca had supported her five children by stretching $430 in monthly food stamp benefits, adding lard to thicken her refried beans and buying instant soup by the case at a nearby dollar store. She shopped for “quantity over quality,” she said, aiming to fill a grocery cart for $100 or less.

But the cheap foods she could afford on the standard government allotment of about $1.50 per meal also tended to be among the least nutritious — heavy in preservatives, fats, salt and refined sugar. Now Clarissa, her 13-year-old daughter, had a darkening ring around her neck that suggested early-onset diabetes from too much sugar. Now Antonio, 9, was sharing dosages of his mother’s cholesterol medication. Now Blanca herself was too sick to work, receiving disability payments at age 40 and testing her blood-sugar level twice each day to guard against the stroke doctors warned was forthcoming as a result of her diet.

-------


“It ends today,” Blanca Salas told her son, Antonio, after they came back from the doctor.

“I’m on a diet!” he said.

“Me, too,” she said.

She had attended a nutrition class earlier in the week, and now she held a sheet listing federally recommended foods in one hand while sorting through her fridge to take inventory with the other. “Fresh vegetables,” the sheet suggested, and Blanca found two rotting tomatoes, a package of frozen broccoli and two containers of instant vegetable soup. “Fruit,” the sheet read, and she saw grape-flavored popsicles and three apples in the crisper. “Dairy”: They had Cool Whip and Nesquik. “Whole grains”: three frozen pizzas and a package of corn dogs. “Healthy Snacks”: a 24-pack of hot Cheetos.

[Aerows]

1. Canned beans, brown rice

I know, that's an unpopular answer. Education on what to eat is a solution that gets far too little attention.

That with even cheap canned vegetables will feed even the hungriest family of 4, will tame blood sugar, and provide necessary fiber.

[Scootaloo]

5. More than that, learning how to cook

It is truly amazing how much money I saved just by becoming competent in the kitchen. Learn to cook, and you learn to use cheap ingredients to maximum effect, which means you not only spend less on ingredients, but also are able to thin them out some and avoid premade food - and those trays of freezer-food are budget killers.

[Aerows]

9. Exactly.

That's of more benefit that saying "grow a garden" to people that have no land and live in a cramped apartment. Learn how to actually maximize your nutrition dollar. Tea is an easy substitute for soda, beans and rice are a substitute for just about anything, and canned vegetables are cheap and provide nutrients.

Nobody needs soda and potato chips, etc. I've never eaten them. A gallon of iced tea is about 10 cents and highly refreshing. I don't know what to do with potato chips. I don't eat them, I just eat when it is meal time, so you have me there.

EDIT: And if someone wants to take me to task for the suggestion of beans and rice, note that I grew up in New Orleans and while I live down the road from there now, we eat beans and rice at least once a week because it is good for us and tasty, too. I could afford to eat junk all day long, but I can't stand it and replacing a coke with unsweetened iced tea is minimal hassle (I never could stand soft drinks).

[TexasProgresive]

41. So, former Crescent City citizen

You eat beans and rice once a week-is that on the traditional day, Monday?

When I lived in N.O. (before the days of AC) you could smell beans cooking in every part of the city on Monday.

[Aerows]

44. On Monday, yes :)

It's tradition, and it's a good one.

EDIT: And sometimes during the end of the week we eat Navy beans and rice. Good for you, easy on the stomach and full of protein, fiber and vitamins. Have some collards or a salad on the side, and you've hit every food group on the bullseye.

None of us are overweight, but we don't drink soft drinks, either, just iced tea. My sister and her entire family is overweight, her husband, herself and her two adopted children. That isn't genetic by any means. They just drink Pepsi by the gallon.

[KamaAina]

140. How Monday came to be associated with red beans and rice

Traditionally, Monday was wash day. Red beans take very little prep time; you just soak 'em the night before and simmer 'em all day. And so, a NOLA tradition was born.

[Aerows]

142. Monday is the day off for much of NO proper

Everyone in the service industry, like hairdressers and waiters are off on Monday.

[Fawke Em]

13. Not if you have gluten issues... which is the next growing

ailment after diabetes, but because of a lot of the same reasons.

Too much gluten-filled foods in our diets, fueled (forgive the pun) because breads, rices and pastas - even the whole-grain kind - are cheaper and fill bellies.

I have to limit most carbs - especially the gluten-filled kind - or I battle weight gain and a stomach that keeps me in the restroom most of the day.

[Aerows]

14. Beans cause gluten issues?

I wasn't aware. I figured canned vegetables also fit the bill of avoiding glutens. If whole-grain brown rice is a problem ... I'm kind of puzzled as to why that is. I believe it is reacting with something else in the diet, like soft drinks. Things that aren't normally in a diet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. No they don't

I follow the diet due to an honest to goodness allergy to gluten.

[TexasBushwhacker]

72. Brown rice contains is high in phytic acid which blocks nutrient absorption n/t

[Aerows]

97. Since it is mostly present in the bran

persons susceptible to phytic acid blockage can use white rice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Beans and rice are gluten free

Gluten is present in oats that are processed at plants that process wheat (you can get them gluten free, we do)

But rice, corn, beans and gluten free oats are gluten free.

Gluten is a wheat protein

[Aerows]

47. That is my understanding

and I have friends that happily eat beans and rice on Mondays, and they are allergic to wheat gluten. Who knew? I think a lot of people are allergic to beans and rice and vegetables because they didn't have them cooked correctly so as to be enjoyable. It's never too late to learn, I always say.

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. Beans it's another enzyme that leads to gas

Gas x helps some. Hubby cannot eat them. I eat them. Rice and oats we both love. So I buy canned beans. Too much work for one person and two birds.

I just hate misinfo spread, that is all.



And hi by the way.

[Aerows]

54. I cheat with Navy beans

they are small, but getting them to the right consistency takes practice, and it's nice to open a 28 oz can, throw in an onion and have dinner ready in 30 minutes, right along with the rice. A can of collards with some Trappey's vinegar hot sauce, and you have fine meal that just needs to cook while you change clothes.

Maybe I need assisted living because I get home at 6pm and want to have dinner by 7 pm so that I can relax after work

[Major Nikon]

58. It's not enzymes that causes gas from beans

It's indigestible sugars which pass through to your lower intestines. Bacteria in your lower intestines ingest those sugars and produce gas. Not all legumes have high contents of indigestible sugars. For those that do I cook in my slow cooker all day long which breaks down the indigestible complex sugars into simpler sugars which you can digest. It's also very simple to make that way and it turns out better than making it on the stove. Just throw all the ingredients in the crock and it does the hard part. I eat legumes of many different varieties at least once per week and have no issues with gas. Canned beans are worse because they are cooked more quickly inside the can.

[magical thyme]

63. allergies have nothing to do with not cooking correctly.

A lot of people have problems with gluten in wheat; celiac disease is not an allergy per se, but an autoimmune disorder.

[nadinbrzezinski]

84. Again there are levels of intolerance

ranging from what looks like an allergy to full fledged celiac.

It is easiest for people to comprehend it as an allergy, especially when dealing with servers at restaurants. Take my word on this one, trust me.



Celiac is not the full extent of it, (and I was too chicken to get the full test. It involves eating wheat for a month or so, I would not have made it beyond day three.)

http://www.celiaccentral.org/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity/

[Aerows]

98. Beans don't contain gluten at all

Nor does brown rice. It's a known recipe that is a complete protein for athletes that are vegetarians. It has zero to do with gluten or meat. It might be an issue for the person up thread that has phytic acid issues, but that is not a condition that most have.

Obviously, you have to supplement your diet with other things like fruit. There is no such thing as a perfect diet for anyone, but building blocks like beans and rice are just that - building blocks to a healthier diet that is inexpensive.

[magical thyme]

132. I realize that. Wheat has gluten and the majority of our breads and many other

processed foods contain wheat. The 7th Day Adventist vegetarian cooking centers a lot on using gluten to make meat substitutes.

[Aerows]

133. Alright

and that has to do with beans and brown rice in the conversation, and dragging 7th Day Adventists into a mild post is certainly going to move things in a jovial direction.

[magical thyme]

137. I was initially responding to your comment about beans and allergies

"I think a lot of people are allergic to beans and rice and vegetables because they didn't have them cooked correctly so as to be enjoyable."

Beans are hard to digest because we lack a specific enzyme to process all of their sugars. Those sugars are instead digested by bacteria in the colon which subsequently gives off gas.

That is not an allergic reaction and poor cooking methods is not in any way related to allergies.

You are the one who took it to wheat and gluten. Again, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder; not an allergic reaction. As it happens, I have family members with full blown celiac disease, and I have a hard time with gluten myself, as I learned when I attended a vegetarian cooking class that was offered by a 7th Day Adventist Church.

Excuse me for correcting your misunderstanding. And try chilling out a bit.

[u4ic]

105. Rye and barley also have gluten

How I miss rye bread! The GF fake recipe is a far cry.

I can't eat gluten free oats, I still react.

[nadinbrzezinski]

107. I can, but boy they are expensive!!!!

And you are right about barley and rye, I live on tortillas, and other corn goods with potatoes, rice, quinoa, and a few other things. Beans from time go time, and garbanzo.

I might do garbanzos tomorrow in a stew. It's been a while. The gluten free pizza (glutino) allowed us to have pizza. I make the sauce from scratch.

Hubby still gets his bread. The container it's mixed in and the tray are exclusively for that.

You adapt, and since I did not grow up in a bread centric culture it made adapting that much easier I suppose.

[u4ic]

115. I changed my whole way of eating

When I went GF back in 1999. A naturopath suggested my eczema stemmed from it a well as Fibro pain. The GF breads were weapons of mass destruction at that time, so no bread. I tried baking my own, was even using bean flours in 2002, but just not up to snuff either. That's when I really got into international foods, so many cultures have lots of GF options!

I do buy bread occasionally now..Udis while grain. Love the millet and Chia, but the latter makes me react, too (as well as sorghum). They have a great new tortilla out, closest to flour tortillas that I've tried. Their pizza crust is better than glutino, I think. They should be in the US, certainly available in Canada!

[nadinbrzezinski]

117. Well, I need to see what I can find

The market has been out of it in the very recent past.



Thai food, Mexican food, some Japanese, with GF soy. We hardly starve.

[Scootaloo]

88. I'm honestly baffled by the gluten thing

The other day, I picked up a bottle of cherry juice that advertised itself as "gluten free!" and... well, it's like yeah, it's cherry juice, that's like advertising that your canned tuna is lactose-free. I mean I guess it's true, but why?

Fact is, as far as I can tell, while there are certainly people with allergies and sensitivities and I don't want to knock 'em... having "gluten issues" is a fashionable frailty, as well, and there are people who claim it just for a weird sense of elitism... and the market caters to these doofuses. if you've ever met someone who claims to "have a little OCD," you know the sort of person I mean.

For some reason, my own lactose intolerance has never been fashionable. Maybe has something to do with bloating, cramps, and diarreah not being hipster enough.

[u4ic]

109. It had nothing to do with elitism and everything to do

With marketing. Obvious, you'd think cherry juice would be GF- but it can work out for them as free promotion - for eg being on a stores list of GF items. How many cereals advertise themselves as being healthy when they're not? Similar idea. It catches the eye.

But - you'd be surprised at the foods that contains gluten;.for example spices, salad dressings, some medications, some vinegars. Its known by hundreds of different names.

Lactose intolerance certainly was, and is, "fashionable". I had the issue in the 80's and there were lactaid tablets, digestive enzymes and finally, lactaid milk that came out then. It gave rise to the dairy alternatives out there now.

[TexasBushwhacker]

113. Most soy sauce has gluten!

Wheat is one of the main ingredients. There is gluten free soy sauce now though.

[u4ic]

119. Yep!

I love my Gf soy sauce and tamari. SanJ just came put with a ton of new GF Asian sauces. And- in my local Chinese market, GF tempura batter. I just don't deep fry. Lol

[winter is coming]

118. I find it amusing, but it's also useful.

Gluten, like peanuts, can turn up in odd places. You expect to find peanuts in things like peanut butter and granola bars. You don't expect to find it in raspberry pie filling or tomato sauce, yet the labels clearly say, "May contain traces of peanuts."

[Heather MC]

16. We cannot rule out the fact that the foods she is eating is filled with Growth hormones

If you are eating meat that was from a cow or chicken that was pumped with Growth hormones the last 50 days before it was sent to slaughter. then those hormones are in your system
And it causes unnatural growth in humans.

[solarhydrocan]

18. +1 That's the thing about eating meat these days

it's not just the dead flesh, it's everything that was fed to the poor animal

[Heather MC]

43. it's no longer you are what you eat

You are what your food eats.

which is which even though it cost more money I buy, Organic food 95% of the time

[cali]

27. it doesn't have to mean just beans and brown rice

I've often thought it would be helpful to provide food stamp recipients with menus for a month along with shopping lists and and recipes for those menus.

something like this:

breakfast: steel cut oats oatmeal with raisins- for 4, the night before bring 4 cups water to a boil with 1/2 tsp salt, turn off heat, add 1 cup oats cover. In morning, cook oatmeal over low heat with 1/2 cup raisins, stirring frequently for 10 minutes

dinner: teriaki chicken thighs with brown rice, zucchini and carrots. Marinate 3 lbs bone in chicken thighs and 1 medium chopped onion for 1/2 hour in 1 cup teriaki sauce, bake on foil lined pan in pre-heated 425 degree oven for 35 minutes. cook rice, slice carrots and zucchini into thin rounds, cook in 1 tbs olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

[Aerows]

55. Wonderful recipe, thanks Cali

and it's easy and doesn't take all day, which would be an issue for hard working moms. Between that, beans and rice, and a few other solid, quick to cook but cheap to make, I'd wager that most could get along.

Black eyed peas. I've shucked them.

[kestrel91316]

32. Dry beans are far cheaper. And if somebody isn't able to soak and cook them,

they need to be in assisted living. Seriously.

Convenience foods are a luxury that the poor cannot afford. I know I can't.

[Aerows]

50. Beans are so damn easy and delicious

I just included a way that was convenient. I buy my red beans and my navy beans by the sack, soak them, and that's about all the secret is to making beans . As you well know. Good for you, and makes a protein complete meal with brown rice, which you can also buy by the sack. I like vegetables, though, and if it's winter, I get a can of collards (32 oz - 89c) or mustard greens (24oz - 49c).

Nothing difficult about making a great meal out of that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. The problem, which the article really does not go into, since stereotypes are so much fun

is that many of our urban poor really do not know how to cut an onion, or what to do with a tomato. It is a skill we have lost.

My city started urban gardens, with Michelle Obama actually launching one. The next thing they did is local home cooks and chefs have been teaching people who have not held a paring knife in their lives what to do with a fresh tomato. Local Market also accepts CalFresh. So all of a sudden people who otherwise had horrible diets are very much improved.

Teaching somebody how to cut a tomato, and cut an onion, and cook rice opens those eyes to a world of possibilities. Hell, making tortillas and gorditas from masa is a skill as well.

Hell, due to my own allergies we cook a lot more home cooked than most.

[Major Nikon]

68. Exactly

Teaching people how to eat better does not have a down side.

[Aerows]

96. How do we do this?

It sounds like the issue is that people just don't have a clue how to cook. I know my sister doesn't. Her pots were dusty when I went to her house once for Thanksgiving (naturally, I was cooking with my mother, too). She and her husband and two adopted children are overweight, eat things that would horrify a goat and they down soft drinks like they will be illegal at sundown.

She's getting better, though. I taught her how to make scrambled eggs (!). She's educated but some people don't place any value on learning how to eat properly.

[nadinbrzezinski]

108. Some people don't want to learn

And they, in theory, know better.

Or used to cook, but no longer do.

[magical thyme]

61. Insufficient nutrition. Canned veggies are lacking in nutrients and heavy in salt.

And filling up on beans and rice gives too many carbs and not enough nutrients. People often feel cravings or hunger when their bodies really are lacking in specific nutrients that are not found in protein rich foods, or in beans or grains.

Fresh or frozen veggies should be the center of the meal. Carrots are cheap. Supplement those with more expensive veggies, such as kale, spinach, beets, broccoli, green and red leaf lettuce. The best white veggies are onions and some garlic. At least 3 servings of different fruits/day. Again, deeply colored such as berries are better because they are nutrient-rich. Tomatoes are actually fruits, as are eggplants. Roasted eggplant is delicious, filling and the dark purple/black skin is high in phytochemicals. Same with roasted acorn squash -- filling, deep orange center and black skin are highly nutritious.

From there, expand outward with a cup or so of beans and 1/2 cup of rice and a couple tablespoons of nuts. Although nuts are expensive, they should be eaten in tiny portions -- literally a 2-3 tablespoons/day -- which keeps the cost down while adding important nutrients.

You can make an extremely healthy, highly nutritious and delicious meal for less than $1.00/serving.

And it can be done pretty conveniently too, when work schedule doesn't leave time for fancy. I make veggie stew for roughly $1.25/lb by boiling a pound each of chopped potatoes and carrots ($.50/pound each), and then mixing in a pound of broccoli cuts ($1.39/pound), a pound of chopped spinach ($1.39/lb), 1/2 pound of frozen corn ($1.00/pound), 1/2 pound of frozen peas ($1.00/pound), 1 pound of sauteed mushrooms and onions (mostly onions, about $3.00 total), and a 1 pound can of lentil soup ($2.00). That's 7 pounds of nutritious and filling veggies for ~$9.00.

[Aerows]

100. I'm by no means perfect

and I don't profess to be a dietician. I just cook things that fill the belly and don't kill everybody with too much salt, sugar or fat.

You are absolutely right that there are better ways, and I try to do them, but when I get crunched for time, I'd rather eat beans from a can along with turnip greens than a hamburger and fries. Throw in peaches for dessert, and at least you hit the food groups.

[magical thyme]

131. while homemade beans are better, beans from a can are fine too

not everybody has a crockpot and not everybody has the time to make homemade beans. Plus its good to have canned beans and such on hand for emergency food supply, and then they need to be rotated out.

It's a matter of the portion size and what makes the "center" of the meal. For optimum health eat as many richly colored veggies and fruits as you can, and then fill up with rest with beans and rice for their particular nutrients, plus texture and additional fill.

Eating a veggie-based diet is more expensive than a bean/rice based diet in the short run. In the longer run, it can dramatically cut the health costs. That is all

It's something I really just started to learn about last year, thanks to a PBS program. And it's something I'm always working on -- learning new recipes and adjusting them for time-frame and practicality. I've become a foodie!

[NickB79]

66. My wife is Puerto Rican; beans and rice is a staple

Of our meal plan.

We eat something very similar to this most days of the week with a variety of meals: http://www.food.com/recipe/puerto-rican-red-beans-and-rice-42698. We omit the chorizo sausage due to the excess fat and salt in it, and add extra beans. We make some beef or chicken to go with it and add some homegrown fruits and vegetables from my garden.

During the winter, we use up our stockpile of frozen, root-cellared and canned vegetables from the garden, and then start buying frozen vegetables as well.

Tonight we had pulled BBQ beef sandwiches from the crockpot, with sides of homemade coleslaw, beans and rice, and roasted butternut squash from the garden. Most of our meals cost around $2/serving when I do the math.

[Aerows]

103. Beans and rice

are normal for us, as well. We add different things depending on what our taste is, but it's a very good foundation for meals.

[Warpy]

76. Dried beans, brown rice and cheap root veggies if you're seriously poor

Fresh winter squash, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, and onions pack more of a nutritional punch than the cans do and with less salt. Veggies in season are always cheaper than canned or frozen.

Thinking outside the bean gives you sandwich spreads, burgers and loaves.

It's cheaper to buy bread from a "day old" place than it is to make it in many places. That is a great source for burger buns, too, which can be refreshed to first day texture by a steamer.

The one thing I always missed was fruit, although my budget stretched to a small jar of applesauce every few months. I spread it on toast to stretch it.

[Aerows]

95. I think the point here, is

that if people KNEW this information, they could eat better on a budget. I cringe thinking of someone eating "fruit flavored snacks" and a "diet drink" thinking that is healthy. My God.

Maybe there should be an outreach program to actually teach people how to cook. Hell, grits for dinner (I do that occasionally) are more nutritional than some slimy corn syrup thing.

[johnp3907]

2. Is the link broken?

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/?tid=ts_carousel

[PoliticAverse]

6. Yes, working link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/

[roody]

3. Dry beans, rice, oatmeal.

Blame ignorance, not food stamps. Masa for tortillas. Home garden. McAllen, Texas has real grocery stores.

[malletgirl02]

10. Exactly

You are right it is possible to buy healthy food with food stamps.I think the OP's article is trying to make people ok with cutting food stamps.

[Igel]

19. More likely the opposite.

That aid is just aid, assistance, a supplement. When you see stunts like people trying to live entirely on food aid you know they're setting you up for a straw man unless there's no other income.

It's like rental assistance. It's not intended to pay the full cost of your apt. Even if there's a temptation to understand it to be that.

Damned hard to live on $1.50 per meal. Strange to confuse a subsidy with outright provisioning.

[cali]

28. food stamps are outright provisioning for millions of people

they are for me.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

24. Not everyone can home garden.

But I'm reading the article thinking oatmeal+banana+milk is so much more stick-to-the-ribs. Or a peanut butter+whole wheat sandwich. Chili can be made pretty cheaply. And use those dry beans to make soup. Check for sales on poultry, and make arroz con pollo. This woman is making very bad choices. I'm not begrudging anyone a Ho-Ho or Junior Bacon Cheeseburger on occasion, but when you've got six mouths to feed, processed crap shouldn't be the dominant food in the pantry.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

77. One problem is people living in areas with little or no nutritious food for sale

There are so-called "food deserts" all over the country, nothing available but fast food and convenience stores.

Another is not knowing how to cook from scratch. Soup and stir fries are easy, a good way to use up leftovers, and infinitely variable.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

82. True, food deserts are a huge problem.

I'm always thrilled to hear of successful community gardens. And places like this:

http://nextcity.org/culture-livability/entry/nations-first-non-profit-supermarket-opens-in-chester-pa

http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/24/can-pop-up-grocery-stores-solve-the-problem-of-food-deserts/

I think with varying degrees of time and effort, most can learn to cook, even from scratch. But time is often the issue, and it is easier to nuke a Smart Ones than make a soup from scratch.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

123. The old New Haven food co-op was located in an area that

was accessible to several socio-econoic and ethnic groups. It had a kosher meat and fish counter and sold typical soul food items as well.

One of their most admirable programs, useful for both people on food stamps and impoverished grad students, was demonstrations of cheap, easy, and nutritious recipes, such as chili, soups, and simple stir fries and casseroles.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

143. That's helpful. I Googled "5 ingredient recipes" earlier today...

and there's a lot of info out there, it just needs to get to the right people.

I just finished watching "Quest" on PBS, featuring Will Allen and his Milwaukee Growing Power group. I wasn't familiar with either:

http://www.growingpower.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Allen_(urban_farmer)



IMPRESSIVE. And they're cultivating tilapia and yellow perch through aquaponics.

Also featured were organizations that "rescue" not-so-pretty food or (not really) expired food from grocery stores for use. It sickens me to think of the millions of tons of food wasted in this country each year.

There are solutions, just not much will by those in power to do the right thing.

[Jesus Malverde]

7. This summed up the problem...

Now Antonio came into the kitchen looking for something to eat. “Make a smart choice,” she told him. She watched him grab a bag of Super Mario Brothers Fruit Flavored Snacks and a Coke Zero.

“Fruit and diet,” he said.

“Good,” she said.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. omg

[cpwm17]

11. Potato Chips and granola bars are expensive by my standards

Eating healthy is cheap. You just have to use common sense.

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. potato chips are crazy expensive, 50 cents worth of potatoes for 3bucks

[solarhydrocan]

21. We just got a WinCo foods and the bins are crazy cheap

Peanuts, Sesame seeds for Tahini, and organic oatmeal on special for $1 per Pound!

I filled up a bag for about 10 bucks. Real food at a price that can't be beat.

WinCO is like Costco for food. Highly recommend. Some of their produce isn't exactly stellar but everything else is worth pricing.

[Arugula Latte]

71. I love Winco!

The produce section in ours is amazing -- huge, with all sorts of variety, organics or not, fresh herbs, hard-to-find fruits and vegetables, you name it.

Also, I wanted to add that eggs are a relatively cheap source of good protein, and are very versatile.

[closeupready]

87. +1. In the Guardian today, Aldi's, it was reported, served horse meat

in some of their ready-to-eat convenience foods in place of beef, which is what the labels indicated.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/09/aldi-100-percent-horsemeat-beef-products

Reading that story made me feel grateful that I make almost every single meal from scratch, and that I source my food stuffs from grocers I trust - like Costco - and that I read labels and ingredients when I purchase processed foods.

An added plus is that eating this way is very economical. I pay far less than eating out, and enjoy it more.

[LeftyMom]

12. Food stamps don't cause people to make stupid nutritional choices.

The garbage food mentioned in the article is often expensive! A bag of chips is $3 or so.

[Dopers_Greed]

17. The junk food lobby is destroying our country

There should be a high "sin tax" on junk food, and none of it should be available for purchase with food stamps.

Of course, CONservatives don't believe that we should regulate what people eat, even though it drives the out-of-control healthcare spending and resulting debt (and I thought they were highly against debt). Cognitive dissonant much?

[kestrel91316]

34. ^^^THIS^^^

None of that crap should be available on food stamps.

[Aerows]

57. It really shouldn't

You can actually build your body to health with beans, rice and vegetables, and it doesn't take all day cooking to do so. It suck that the food industry has convinced people otherwise. I drink no soft drinks, but I make a pitcher of decaf, delicious tea, a day. It costs me about 3c a glass, and I don't have to put sugar in it, but those that want to, can.

[magical thyme]

65. Agreed, about a million times over.

junk food costs a fortune, leaves your body starved for nutrition, and then destroys your health.

[Nine]

20. The family in the snippet doesn't come off that well.

But read the whole article. Look at the photo of children bathing outside in buckets. Responses like, "shop better," and "learn how to cook," don't seem that helpful when you're talking about families in real poverty.

Maybe the answer is community cafeterias which could serve simple, healthy food and employ people from the area. Maybe fast food restaurants in the area could be encouraged to offer healthy, cheap options.

[solarhydrocan]

23. Learning to cook is the best thing everyone (not just the poor)

could do for the coming hyperinflation and it's not hard to do, it just takes a bit of commitment.

When you can buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $1.50 and it provides side dishes for 2 people for a week - yes learning to cook should be a priority for everyone.

[LeftyMom]

25. I've spent time in very rural, very poor areas.

People living in the Nevada desert 45 miles from the nearest grocery store eat better than that, and they *do* feed their seniors and their children better than that out of community kitchens. And these are communities so tiny and so poor that you can't get an electrical line run to your trailer half the time, and it's definitely a trailer because there literally isn't a stick built house for tens of miles in most cases.

People living off of commodity foods and their backyard gardens in Appalachia eat better than that too. They also bust their asses making those gardens produce and canning what they grow, even seniors who barely seem like they could walk to their garden, let alone tend it.

It's not poverty. It's ignorance and laziness.

[kestrel91316]

35. Bad you. We're not allowed to suggest that the poor learn to cook and grow some of their own food

on DU. I routinely get raked over the coals for that.

[LeftyMom]

36. Years ago I had a neighbor who was a former foster child.

Since she'd moved from house to house nobody'd ever taught her to cook. She literally didn't know how to cook anything that didn't come in a box with instructions on the back. At one point she had nearly a thousand dollars in food stamps she hadn't used because there was barely anything at the grocery store that she knew how to prepare.

It was very sad.

[Revanchist]

120. Did you offer to take her shopping and how to prepare a few simple meals?

I think the local governments should offer cooking and shopping classes for people like that but it can also be done within the community if they are willing to learn.

[LeftyMom]

121. Yes, but she got evicted and moved away before very long and didn't take me up on it before then.

I did help out while I could, mostly by watching her baby and letting her use the phone.

[Revanchist]

124. It's a shame she wasn't around longer so you could do more.

Unless we break the cycle their children will probably suffer the same fate when it comes to nutrition.

[LanternWaste]

139. Maybe it's not the suggestion people take exception to, but rather the sentiment implied behind it.

Maybe it's not the suggestion people take exception to, but rather the sentiment directly implied behind it.

For example, "And if somebody isn't able to soak and cook them, they need to be in assisted living..." isn't really a suggestion, but more a mere value judgement about the lack of knowledge others may or may not posses.

And to be perfectly honest, if someone complains about being raked over the coals for that particular one, they may instead simply need to decrease the size of the cross they've constructed to martyr themselves on-- because for all intents and purposes, that's all it is.

[kestrel91316]

141. I can't be bothered with that cross thing. I just don't bother to make helpful suggestions about how

people struggling financially LIKE ME can save money on food any more.

[Igel]

22. Foolish article.

You look around Texas you find a lot of obese people not on food stamps.

You find that at some point there are fewer obese people at higher income levels, but still the overall impression is that either a huge cloud of radioactive iodine wiped out a huge percentage of thyroids or people eat foolish. (That's not a mistake, putting in an adjective for an adverb--it's called "secondary predication" and should be unpacked not as "people eat in a foolish manner" but "people are fools when they eat". It's not in the prescriptive canon of Latin-based 18th-century English that grammar nazis like, but it's been in English for, oh, 1000 years or more.)


So for the article we have to say that food stamps are pushing people to be obese.

But we have other factors pushing those not on food stamps to be obese.

One result. But we are told we absolutely must posit at least two necessarily distinct causes without any grounds for having more than one.

[Aerows]

114. Uh, what?

You took a perfectly credible argument into woo-woo territory when you started ranting about radioactive iodine.

This is about nutrition, and ways that we can improve our community.

[Laelth]

26. Precisely. Cheap food makes people obese.

This is a serious concern because of the expense of treating the symptoms of obesity.

How to fix this in Congress, I have no idea.



-Laelth

[Bay Boy]

33. Nothing cheap about

the foods that were mentioned. Chips, chocolate milk and granola bars could easily be replaced with healthier, cheaper alternatives.

[Major Nikon]

70. That is true

However, many processed foods are much cheaper today than they ever have been which means even the poor have an abundance of very bad choices, particularly if they don't have the knowledge or experience to cook from basic ingredients.

[Laelth]

129. Precisely.

The high-sugar, highly processed foods have the highest profit margins, and that's why grocery chains work so hard to sell them ... as much as they can.

Ramen noodles are much more affordable than chicken (or anything else healthy).

-Laelth

[roody]

39. Convenience stores should not be

allowed to accept food stamps.

[alarimer]

53. In many of these places there are no other stores

The privilege oozing from this thread is amazing.

One, that junk food is cheap, comparatively speaking than fresh vegetables because it lasts longer.

Some of these rural communities don't even have fucking running water.

If you don't have a working car, how the hell are you supposed to get to a real grocery store? Some of these places are what's known as food deserts. They are underserved by what we would call real grocery stores. They have limited selection and usually higher prices. Most of the produce grown in the Rio Grande Valley ends up somewhere else.

And if you work, especially if you work cleaning house for some rich, privileged asshole or at Wal-Mart for minimum wage at weird hours, when are you supposed to find time to fucking cook?

Good grief. "Learn to cook" "Grow some vegetables." Easy for you to say.

[Travis_0004]

80. Nobody is suggesting she becomes the next gordon ramsey.

I would say that I don't cook, but I still make oatmeal in the morning (90 seconds). I get home from work, make something like chicken, rice, and a veggie. I usually make a few at a time, since I'm busy, I can throw it in the microwave and have some right away.

Or just don't feed your 4 year old cheddar flavored potato chips for breakfast. Even some healthy cereal and skim milk would be an upgrade.

[Harmony Blue]

104. Convenience stores

don't exclusively have only junk food. The junk food is often in the front register, but that is true of super markets or Walmart trying to create an impulse buy. And if we are talking about Walgreens or CVS...the healthier foods are often cheaper than the processed foods they sell. Lack of food education is a big problem simply put in our country.

[csziggy]

59. We already have the knowledge and government publications

To work on educating people about healthy eating and economically buying and cooking. Cooperative Extension System Offices across the country have that information. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

With the shift from rural to urban needs for their services, those offices have not kept up in many states - but they could be the way to educate people on wise food buying, preparation, and nutrition.

In fact, they ALREADY have ongoing programs: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nutrition.cfm

They had grants last year for just this kind of program - that would be worth communities checking on: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1080

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is designed to assist limited resource audiences in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary for nutritionally sounds diets, and to contribute to their personal development and the improvement of the total family diet and nutritional well-being.http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/efnep.html

SNAP-Ed

SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education) is a federal/state partnership that supports nutrition education for persons eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).* Two key federal partners are NIFA and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). FNS determines national policies and procedures, monitors state programs, and reimburses states for up to half of program costs. NIFA facilitates communication among federal, state, and local partners, and provides programmatic leadership to university contractors for effective nutrition education through the land-grant system.

These associated web pages are primarily for administrators of SNAP-Ed programs and networks hosted by the Land-Grant University System and the Association of State Nutrition Network Administrators (ASNNA), which conduct social marketing campaigns. Other SNAP-Ed contractors and non-affiliated professionals involved in other education programs for low-income audiences may also find the information of value.
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/fsne/fsne.html

This should be part of food assistance programs - SNAP, MIC, or food banks. It would help people make better of what food they do get and help them be healthier.

Heck, people not in a program could learn from programs like this or from the free publications available!

Instead of ranting about poor choices or ignorance, we should be pushing for these programs to be used more in communities where these stories emerge. (Laelth, not aimed at you, but at other posts in this thread.)

ETA: Later in the OP article they talkabout these kinds of programs - which are being cut:

Later that same afternoon, Luisa Colin and Jessica Rueda grabbed their nutrition brochures and their plastic vegetables and headed toward the Mexican border to do that kind of teaching. They had been working together for three years as nutrition educators, paid in part by the USDA to instill better eating habits in low-income families. Theirs was the government-sponsored solution.

“If only people had the basic knowledge,” Colin said.

“If they just understand their choices,” Rueda said.

The two women drove out of McAllen and into the desert until the paved roads gave way to gravel, and the gravel gave way to a roller coaster of irrigation ditches and rocks. Two miles from the border, they stopped at a collection of a few hundred ramshackle houses called Little Mexico where residents had built their own homes using drywall and scrap metal. The community had no running water and only intermittent electricity. Chickens wandered through the streets and a donkey stood in an intersection eating trash. Two children ran outside to greet them, and Rueda asked them in Spanish, “Is your mom home? I’d like to talk to her about something.”

Her job was to walk through the neighborhood and enroll women in nutrition classes that would improve their diets: better portion sizes, more dark-green vegetables and whole grains, fresh fish instead of ground beef, at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. These were the tenets of their work. Research showed that every $1 spent on nutrition education saved the government $10 in future health-care costs. But lately, the USDA had cut funding for nutrition programs by 25 percent and Congress was threatening cuts again. A dozen nutrition workers in Hidalgo County had been steadily reduced to six devoted women who worked 60-hour weeks to keep pace with the rising need. Now, in some of her conversations, Rueda’s goals had become more basic: to keep people nourished and living, she said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/?tid=ts_carousel

(Underlining added.)

[Laelth]

130. Nice post. Thanks. n/t

-Laelth

[DesertFlower]

29. so called healthy foods are not necessarily

healthy. my friend is a vegetarian, but does eat shell fish. he eats a lot of progresso soups -- mainly lentil. one serving has 810 mg. of sodium. there are 2 servings in the can. he eats both. progresso minestrone soup has 690 mg. of sodium and also has 2 servings.

my friend says he's healthy but never goes to the doctor. i wish he would have a blood test. he might find out that he has high blood pressure and possibly high cholesterol from the shellfish.

[solarhydrocan]

38. with no disrespect intended to you, a vegetarian that eats fish is not a vegetarian

Like Dr. Terry Mason says in Forks over Knives (a must see movie recommended by Doremus) - "If it walked, hopped, swam, crawled, had eyes and a mom and dad- don't eat it"



If everyone saw Forks over Knives and used that knowledge the USA would start on the road to better health. Costs would actually start dropping. Mandated insurance payments would be lower not higher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forks_Over_Knives

[DesertFlower]

42. no disrespect to me. i'm not a vegetarian.

it's my friend who says he is. my post was about healthy foods not being healthy.

[IronLionZion]

37. I know people on food stamps who eat plenty of fresh vegetables and lean meats

the farmers markets and grocery stores around here in MD take SNAP and WIC and lots of people use it. And there are restrictions on prepared food like you can get salad bar but not fried chicken.

There are ways to do this.

Canned vegetables exist. Discount stores like Aldi's exist.

[duffyduff]

46. I do and I don't feel I have to justify my purchases.

I wish people would quit posting garbage like this OP which further demonizes poor people.

Where the fuck do people get off thinking poor people eat shit while the well-to-do eat better?

[IronLionZion]

49. Some folks don't know any better

especially if they don't personally know people in that situation or worked in charities and understand the economics of low income food shopping.

There are all types of people on this site. Unfortunately I think the article in the OP was meant to turn support against the food stamp program. I have often heard Republicons claim that "welfare bums are fat and lazy" and similar nonsense. It really depends on multiple factors. There are many neighborhoods that don't have much access to fresh produce but only have convenience stores with junk.

[NuclearDem]

52. How is pointing out the problems with SNAP and poor nutritional education "demonizing?"

I'm upper middle class and didn't get jack worth of nutrition education until about a year ago when I went vegan. It's not limited to the poor.

Crappy food is cheap, and people don't always have time to make healthy meals. Crappy food should not be on SNAP at all. It runs counter to the whole N in that word.

[Nine]

60. Have you read the whole thread?

It's not about whether this policy or that would help people more. It's pat answers and judgmentalism: poor people could eat better if they would only do x, y, and z. No appreciation that some people might be living in more difficult circumstances than others. Let's all go to farmer's markets and have backyard gardens and never eat convenience food or fast food or processed food.

[NuclearDem]

69. Yeah, unfortunately there's a lot of that.

I've personally been looking around for this mythical healthy food that's cheaper than a McDonald's combo, but I haven't been able to find it.

I know a lot of people are in a position where truly healthy food is a luxury and fast processed food is the most accessible, but one of the last factors I would blame are the poor themselves. Poor nutritional education in schools, SNAP's failings, junk food makers' influence in Congress, and poverty wages should be top of the list.

[nadinbrzezinski]

78. Why locally NGOs and government are doing something about it.

The community gardens are coming with cooking classes. Good nutrition is not just something you learn from the ether as you wrote, it is something you learn. We have people who are poor, who make very little, who are on food stamps, and who have no clue what to do with a fresh tomato. They are not alone. This is a skill that is mostly lost among many Americans. Hell, I know of people who should know better that feed their kids crap.

So part of it is truly education.

[haele]

85. Unfortunatly, it's a local/states program situation.

Here is Southern California, in most urban areas, not only do we usually have a bunch of options to shop local fairly inexpensively most of the year, we also have some pretty dedicated community programs. Out in the sticks, where its a bit of a grocery store "desert" - as in, most shopping is close to an hour away, except for the closest "all in one" convenience store/greasy spoon/gas station or small strip mall where the 1000 or so families in a 20-sq. mile will shop.
Those places really jack up prices, and many of the elderly or otherwise disabled that live out in those small communities who are on SNAP or some other food assistance have problems finding healthy options.
In Texas, or Idaho, or in most of those oh-so-Xtian Red States, food assistance is grudgingly given by the state anyway, pretty much privately considered to be a waste of money to a "throw-away" population, so they don't provide programs that will assist the working poor, the single parents, the elderly, the disabled, or other recipients who don't have time or education to concentrate on ways to save money and provide nutrition rather than trying to survive on whatever cheap calories they can stuff into a shopping cart in 15 minutes while they're between errands or coming home from work.

What I would like to see is a program where SNAP and WIC participants can sign up for a certified health care or nutritional assistant who can act as a "shopping assistant", a local who understands the local provisional situation, and can comparison shop and purchase food and/or help with menu preparations for people who might otherwise be unaware or unable to cook and store food, or have special dietary needs that the local food sources may not be able to meet.
That would be a godsend for the elderly and disabled who live alone, and could really help out the working or single parent. While local charities in some places have initiated programs like this, it's often sectarian, and the programs are not able to provide a consistent level of assistance.

But helping the poor is apparently too much trouble, unlike helping the well off. It's so much easier and cheaper to give a helping hand to someone who already has their bootstraps on.



Haele

[nadinbrzezinski]

86. even here in California, Lemon Grove is not that good

Spring Valley is a food desert, as well as South East San Diego. Downtown was until fairly recently, with the opening of the Ralphs downtown.

[haele]

92. I know, I live in Chollas View. But the bodegas are getting better about fresh food.

And the local IGA isn't too bad.

But honestly, I think a lot of the "food desert" is a mixture of culture and city planning. When I lived in North Park, an elderly original neighbor used to tell me that he had arrangements with all the neighbors to pick and sell the fruit and vegetables from their back yards - and he did this from 1938 wen he moved into the "new" development up until 1972, when the last of the neighbors stopped growing enough to sell.

Here in Chollas, we've had an influx of refugees and immigrants here, and there's a huge agricultural and home cooking tradition that promotes these stores to stock a better selection of produce at reasonable prices. Heck, there's a small Laotian grocery down the street where occasionally, they purchase fruits and veggies come from my next-door neighbor's 1940's style "double" back yard, where he's got seven or eight fruit trees (persimmons, blood orange, figs, pummelos, citron), two each dragonfruit vines, lychee and mango bushes and a three planter beds full of south-east Asian herbs and vegetables. His kids come over every weekend to pick and pack a few bags to sell for the local markets. Across the street, another neighbor provides sapotas, limes, lemons, loquats, and guava when they ripen, they do the same thing with other local markets. And they've been doing this since the 70's.

White-bread areas like El Cajon and Lemon Grove do have problems - and my theory is that seems to be more of a symptom of middle/working class "American Happy Days" stereotype on steroids - the family structure has broken down and advertising shows them how food, friends, and family are supposed to interact - which is to grab snacks or eat out. Cooking or bringing your own food means you're a loser. If you can buy something and eat it there, it's a sign of success. Sort of a modern day hunter/gatherer. Only the hunting tool is money...

But, I digress. Some of the homegrown nurseries (City Farmer, in particular), the county DoA, and a few of the CFA groups have gotten together to get several community teaching gardens going in vacant lots - including two that are technically in Lemon Grove and Paradise Hills.
They get a lot of the "at risk" youth to work and have started going "big time", selling at the Little Italy and Hillcrest farmer's market; I got some great Okra, Basil, and Japanese eggplants from their booth a couple weeks ago at a very reasonable price.

But that's pretty much because we live in Southern California

Haele

[nadinbrzezinski]

94. I know

And now we have gardens starting in El Cajon.

We go to the Hillctest market every week. I got my Olive oil there today, it comes from Temecula. Yes, a tad more expensive than what I can get at the market from Italy, but I prefer supporting my local farmers. And the eggs are just fantastic.

Hey, we might meet at the market. The ceviche this morning was just amazing.

[haele]

99. Glad to hear 'bout the gardens

The kidlet and boyfriend are getting so strapped for cash, she finally had me take them out shopping and show her how to shop and enough cooking lessons so she can make supplemented casseroles, chili, and mac and cheese from scratch that would last more than one meal and provide enough nutrition for them all. She also just adapted a broken down tallboy dresser left by one of their old room-mates into a patio planter for lettuce and herbs.

She saw a paperback bookcase that had been adapted at City Farmer that is really nice as a compact raised planter.
The boyfriend is grudgingly behind the change in shopping and diet; he still wants to eat out all the time, but she's finally convinced him they can save close to $200 a month with what she can cook - as long as he'll eat it.

Haele

[nadinbrzezinski]

102. That is a lot

We eat out, but not that much. I cook a lot, making pasta sauce is easy. Teach them the can of tomato paste, fresh herbs, salt, pepper onions and garlic

[Nine]

40. Sounds like everyone on this thread has it all figured out.

[haele]

56. Yup, they apparently do.

The issue is this woman and her children are making choices that feel right to them.
The article is superficial because it was written to skew the reader's attitudes, throwing up a picture of a significant problem to judge without really addressing the problem itself.

Is the problem food assistance?
Is the problem the woman's attitude?
Is the problem that too many people can live off junk food while on food stamps?
Or is the problem a subtle dig at "them" - the stereotype of the lazy, ignorant, chronically poor who are heading to an early grave on the taxpayer dollar?

Not -
Is this woman living in a food desert?
Why she is making the food choices she is? Is it because these foods are "comfort foods", marketed to maximize effects on salivary and endorphin release?
Would she make better choices if she had more individualized assistance - better education, more concern and interest with including her and her children in the community at large? If she were part of an organization or co-op that provided mutual day care and community service, would she be less stressed and healthier?
Would she and her children eat healthy food if given the opportunity? This last is particularly tricky - some people are f'n picky eaters who will only eat the limited variety of food they were fed regularly as kids - they will refuse to eat food of "the wrong texture" or "tastes funny".

From personal example, the kidlet's boyfriend has an extremely limited food palate and is a right horror to cook for - will only eat fast or quick foods, grilled foods, fried foods, "Seafood" - pretty much only shrimp, lobster, and we got him to like catfish nuggets, "Mexican&quot Taco Bell, quesadillas, tacos and burritos), "Italian" (i.e., anything with cheese, salty oregano and garlic tomato sauce, pasta and ground beef), catsup only cheeseburger and fries, and generic Asian (Sweet and sour, teriyaki and egg rolls). He puts catsup on everything. Anything with an unexpected texture, or doesn't hit the basic sweet, fat, or salt sensors on his tongue will actually cause him to gag and work himself into a violent episode of nausea and headaches. He hates mustard or pickle. The boy will "eat around" onions, zucchini, or mushrooms in a home-made marinara sauce, and spit out hand-made sausage from our farmer's market butcher, because it had "too much in it and tastes weird". Surprise, surprise, he grew up on junk food and "eat out". And he didn't grow up on assistance, he grew up in a typical urban California "middle class" household with a parent (okay, personal judgment here) that was busy trying to keep hold of his/her own "glory days" well into middle age.
I suspect some of the children of the woman in the article will exhibit the same the same reaction if given "healthier" foods - they already associate quick, sweet, salt, and fat with comfort.

But, like dealing with other "excesses" that have various public health implications - alcohol, smoking, drugs, relationships - how does one support and educate healthy eating? And how far should public interest interfere with personal choices?

Haele

[tabbycat31]

112. I'll admit there's some of the boyfriend's eating habits I share

For example, when I have a burger, I want nothing but meat and cheese. No ketchup, no mustard, no pickle, no veggies, no lettuce, tomato, etc(I like most veggies off a burger/sandwich, despise ketchup and mustard, and you could not pay me to eat a pickle--- the smell of cucumbers makes me gag). For sandwiches, all I want is meat and cheese too. I don't want my foods to be crunchy.


I've gotten better over the years, but a lot of the things I won't eat (ie cucumbers) come from me being forced to eat them as a child. My parents never cooked any veggies (I've had texture issues my entire life) and I did not discover cooked veggies with a good sauce until I was an adult. It was always carrot sticks, celery sticks, and cucumbers for the veggie option (all raw).

[duffyduff]

45. Sounds like bullshit stereotyping to me of the poor, not to mention size prejudice.

It's none of your goddamned business what I spend food stamps on. And, before you tear into me--I DO work and pay taxes.

And I don't get anywhere near the maximum benefit.

[solarhydrocan]

48. Now that we're all paying mandatory insurance

you bet it's all of our business.

This hasn't even begun yet. Look to smokers to find the future.

No one cares unless it's them being affected, and now it is. Big time.

[Major Nikon]

64. It's society's business to make sure they have access to nutritional eductation

Teaching people how to eat right and giving them access to the right foods is everyone's business and particularly so for people on subsidized food who have less choices than the rest of us. Once they are given the right information and have access to healthy foods, the choices they make are their own.

[Harmony Blue]

67. I don't agree with this article

15 years in the grocery business and I can safely say there is no correlation with what type of food you buy whether you use cash, credit, or EBT. I have seen EBT users that buy a whole bunch of fruits, vegetables (even organics), others focus on meats and seafoods but the vast majority buy a combination of everything (fruits, vegetables, frozen foods, snacks, etc). Basically what all other Americans buy on average so nothing out of ordinary based on my observations.

A lot of people judge EBT recipients because of what they buy but they fail to understand the rational, logical choices they make on a monthly basis. Often, if they are eligible for EBT they also have WIC. If they have WIC as well, they quality for at least two of the three WIC checks: Fruits and Vegetables, baby formula and the remaining basics. The remaining basics of WIC are eggs, whole block cheese, or slice non packaged cheese (1 lb a.k.a 16 oz), fruits juices with no added sugar (eg Juicy Juice) or frozen/canned juices, sugar free bread (12 oz) cereal up to 32 oz (a.k.a. 2 lbs), four canned beans (32 oz total) or two bags of beans (32 oz total). The fruits and vegetables are often limited to a $10.00 limit and anything over that they pay the difference. Frozen vegetables can used for this check instead of fresh produce if they want. So, this allows someone to use the remaining EBT funds to purchase the heavy cost items using EBT (meat, cooking oil, bottle water if they don't have access to tap water, ice if they don't have a fridge, etc).

In my opinion, a healthy diet can be achieved if there is a will to do so. But people tend to jump to conclusions to quickly but fail to look at the entire picture. I understand stretching the dollar but Walmart would be the last place I would go to do it. They have cheaper goods, however, most of it is processed and not really worth it in the long run. The only redeeming value of Walmart in my opinion is that they have the best selection of Gluten free products and no one come close. However, if you want the best organic selection of foods in Florida you are better off going to a health food store, Earth Origins Market, or the supermarkets (eg Publix). EBT is accepted by a lot of the farm and vegetable vendors that have open air market places set up all over central Florida. Fresh tomatoes from Ruskin, Florida strawberries from Plant city, or even the various citrus grown locally.

People just need to be more educated about their options IMVHO. I grew up both in the United States but also outside of it and I have the knowledge to seek out foods that are fresh having lived in Europe. We as Americans seem to have drifted from our origins as well but we have to re-learn the knowledge we once had it seems. I agree with another poster this is lost knowledge all across socio-economic levels whether you are rich, middle class or poor.

[TexasBushwhacker]

75. As you said, if there is a will to do so

I just don't know how many people have that kind of initiative. I mean, does the mother in the article seriously think that any kind of soda, even diet, is healthy? That "fruit flavored" is as healthy as a piece of fresh fruit? To me, this is just lazy parenting, and it's not exclusive to poor people.

[Harmony Blue]

79. According to Texas WIC website

she is eligible for WIC benefits since the article says she has a child that is four and the requirement is a child that is at least under five under Texas guidelines. There is a lot of people that don't realize or don't know where to go for help. Especially poor or the homeless and I redirect them to metropolitan ministries as they have free breakfast every Sunday for those in need of food.

[TexasBushwhacker]

81. She would only get WIC for that one child

She wouldn't get WIC for herself because she isn't pregnant or nursing an infant. She would only get regular SNAP for herself and her older children.

[Harmony Blue]

101. Every little bit helps

for a mother that is trying to stretch the EBT benefits having a WIC every month helps. WIC in most cases offer beans or rice as an alternative to bread and that can be used to stretch out a dinner for at least two nights if need be.

[TexasBushwhacker]

110. Absolutely

I know that nutrition counselors are available, as well as counselors to help new mothers with breastfeeding. But my guess is that those counselors are overworked and can't spend a lot of their time on outreach.

[politicat]

90. Did you miss the part about being at the end of the month & unable to buy more food?

Was the coke zero & fruit snacks the best possible option? No. Was it a better option amongst what was available? Yes. The kid chose a non-caloric beverage and something with at least a tiny bit of nutritional value (fruit snacks have vitamin C at least) instead of a corn syrup soda and chips. He didn't have other options because they don't have the option of restocking their pantry and refrigerator.

Cooking and shopping are skills, and they can't be directly downloaded to the brain.

[TexasBushwhacker]

93. Yes, they are skills and skills can be learned

As Harmony said, there has to be a will to make a change. Rich, poor or in between, a responsible parent doesn't wait until they are diabetic and disabled and their children are pre-diabetic to find out the best foods to eat and how to cook them.

[politicat]

125. They're making a start.

I think that family has a will to change, but not the resources. I have the will to go to the moon, but I don't have a handy NASA willing to take someone with my iffy eyes and statistics background. Wanting does little good without the tools.

I recently had to do this -- completely retool my methods and restock our kitchen because we spent 5 years being vegetarian towards vegan trying to control my partner's metabolic syndrome cluster symptoms(I.e. The early stages of the same syndrome this family is dealing with). His low calorie, low fat, high in complex carbs and heavy on vegetables diet (the one all of the rice &beans folks think will help them ) was slowly adding weight, raising his triglycerides, elevating his blood sugar, depositing uric acid crystals in his joints causing gout flares... And he spent every day miserably hungry and slightly foggy.

Our old nutritionist retired; our new one suggested a radically different approach -- go paleo-primal-low carb. Since we knew what didn't work, it made sense to try, but it did require a huge shift -- our food bank got a massive donation; I had to relearn meat and give up on even the notion of a sandwich. It took huge effort and practice, but it did the job -- partner's bloodwork is in the normal range for the first time in years. He's losing the belly weight slowly, no gout flares, and his mood is better and he's sharper because he's not hungry-cranky and foggy all the time.

We could do this because we had all of the resources -- wealth, access to health care, and a heaping dose of academic, well educated, wealthy privilege. We don't live in a food desert -- I can buy locally raised, grass fed meats and dairy easily, using my bicycle. I don't have to drive 15 miles to get to a grocer, farmer's market or butcher. Lettuce isn't more expensive than mac n cheese for me. I don't have to make do with whatever the dollar store and walmart carry. I only have one picky eater, who does like meat and vegetables.

What works for well-off, well-educated, research-savvy people with plentiful money and flexible schedules in a food cornucopia region will not work for someone without those privileges. I'm willing to accept baby steps from someone whose first real exposure to food prep was a fast food job. This family doesn't deserve this scorn -- they're doing their best with what they have and they'll get better as they go.

[haele]

116. Discount seconds store/"Big Lots" shopping.

This weekend, the local discount seconds store was selling:

2 for $1 Pepsi product 6-packs.
3 pack of Fruit Roll-up boxes ("made with real fruit!&quot , $2
Family Sized Lays Chips $1.50
1 loaf Springfield Bread $.99
1 pack of 10 hotdogs (off brand) $.99
12 oz. pack of shredded non-dairy "cheese"
Jello cups, 4-pack, 2 for $1
1 gallon Sunny Delight, $1.50
1 gallon Milk $2.50
Arizona Tea drink stick box or 20 oz cans, 2 for $1
Kellogg's Cereals, assorted 16 oz. boxes, $1


Not too nutritious - but if you're left with $10.00 and it's Sunday on last week of the month, there's very little in the fridge and on the kitchen shelves, this store is down the block, what are you going to get for you, not to mention your kids?

You have no gas, need to get a ride to get back and forth from work or plan on walking for two hours if you can't get a ride. The nearest food pantry is at least mile away and only open on Wednesday and Saturday for 4 hours in the morning, and there's always a line that goes around the block starting at least for three hours before it opens.

As for grocery shopping, food handling, cooking - if your momma or grandma didn't teach you these things, your school certainly didn't. The bodega two blocks down the other way might have rice, beans, and oranges and bananas on sale, and a bargain bin with damaged cans of tuna fish and veggies for $.30 - $50 apiece, but other than the oranges and bananas, you might not have a clue what to do with the rest.
Home Ec. class is a luxury for struggling school districts, and those "oh so cutting edge" charter schools don't provide much in the way of arts, crafts, or sciences outside of what they can provide from books or computers, unless there is a sponsor (usually corporate or through local business interests) who will provide the services for goodwill and ad rights. A Home Ec. lab room is expensive to maintain, after all.

Poverty creates its own special hell of stress and insecurity, both of which lead to reactive decisions that don't usually have consideration or logic behind them. A "little treat" that helps you "feel better" or like a normal person can easily go to the top of your list when you feel helplessly defeated. It's not smart, it's not healthy, but it's a common reaction in human beings.

Haele

[politicat]

127. Exactly my point

(I think you replied to me, but this seemed to be directed one level up, because we are in agreement.)

I've been desperately poor -- on food stamps or just broke because one job jerked me around and the next paid two weeks behind. I've lived without reliable refrigeration or a kitchen. It's HARD. Add in no functional transportation and yeah, the discount stuff looks attractive, because the energy debt to do better will cause more harm now than the slow nutritional debt.

We desperately need to bring back home Ec for everyone. Half the reason my partner developed metabolic syndrome is because he never learned anything about nutrition or cooking, and neither did his mother. She couldn't cook (to the point where the sight of a crockpot makes him shudder, 30 years later); he lived on sandwiches, crackers and chili because those were cheap and required little effort.

People make their decisions based on lots of factors -- and the factor that says buying cheap chicken leg quarters and bulk cheap vegetables and quinoa has a few prerequisites - refrigeration, knowledge and an actual grocery store. Not to be assumed in all places.

[NickB79]

73. I was recently exposed to hummus for the first time

OMG! Where have you been all my life?

Mix a can of chicken with a cup of roasted red pepper hummus, spread on whole-wheat toast, add a cup of vegetable soup, and you have a wholesome meal for cheap.

[libdem4life]

83. Oh yes, I got so hooked on it I bought dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked them and ground them up

in the blender...doubles the flavor at about 1/3 the price...if you have the time or inclination. Have to sacrifice the red pepper though ... roasting them is too much work.

[Skittles]

126. I've loved that stuff ever since someone brought it to a potluck

[JimDandy]

74. STUPID headline! It's like saying a diet fueled on money makes you obese.

[leftstreet]

91. +1 Apparently 'earned' money buys healthier foods!

What a hateful pile of bigoted bullshit in that article

[Liberal_in_LA]

134. good point

[flvegan]

89. Let me know when diet = fuel by any accepted concept.

Subsidies, the government, the supermarket, the enduser. Nutrition is a failed ideology to many of these people. Far too many don't know what to eat, because we have failed them.

It's fuel, folks. We have made it a pleasure center, at the behest of big corporations. Eat what you need, not what you want. Anything else is selfish. WAKE UP!

[JI7]

106. Chips, Granola Bars, Chocolate Milk, and Cereal are Cheap ?

it looks like they are making choices based on not having to cook . it could have to do with not having the time to cook.

[TwilightGardener]

111. Maybe when you're poor and don't have much to make you happy, your

food choices reflect that--lots of snacks, junk, treats, comfort food. That sort of stuff also happens to be quicker and easier to prepare. I can't be snobby or superior here, I turn to fast food, frozen pizza, Chinese etc. when I don't want to cook, which is more often than I like to admit. Only difference is I'm not on any aid--I can afford better, but still don't always want to make the effort. Just don't like scrubbing vegetables and watching pots and doing the cleanup--I do it for my family. If I was by myself, who knows. Probably live on Lean Cuisine.

[liberal_at_heart]

122. thank you. If people want to get people to eat better maybe they should focus more on

things that improve their overall lives instead of just telling them what they are doing wrong and what they should be doing. Just telling someone what to do is elitism. Improving education, wages, increasing funding for food stamps so people can afford to cook meals, building parks and community centers that could give counseling and teach parenting skills and cooking lessons. These things would do a lot to relieve the stress that people are under, and would probably help people eat better.

[TwilightGardener]

128. Yes--I think having an improvement of circumstances and some hope for a better

situation would make some of these folks care more about healthy eating, instead of quick fixes and eating for comfort. Kind of a self-esteem issue, in a way. When you've got problems piled on top of problems (being chronically ill, poor, disabled and raising 5 kids by yourself, like the woman in the article), you probably aren't going to want to expend the energy making a meal that your kids probably won't even like (compared to Hot Pockets and McDonald's and fried chicken). And lots of middle class people like myself eat plenty of crap, as I said earlier--because of lack of time, sheer laziness, ignorance, personal tastes, whatever. But we aren't getting food stamps, so no one judges us--and we probably have more shopping options.

[snooper2]

135. Majority of it is lazy ass parents...

I guess it's a sin to admit that these days...I live in East Plano and see obese kids all the time...

Video games + lazy parents + throw it in microwave = 130lb 4th graders

[TexasBushwhacker]

144. I agree. It's one thing if an adult makes poor food choices for themselves

It's entirely different when they make poor choices for their children. If you choose to be a parent, then you must accept the responsibility of feeding your children nutritious food. If it's not the parents' responsibility, whose is it? If an adult doesn't know what makes up a nutritious diet for a child, they can go to a library, or read the literature they get WHEN THEY APPLY FOR SNAP!

[sammytko]

136. I live in south Texas and it is getting bad - it is the norm to be overweight it seems

From what I observe, in my small town, it isn't because people are poor or do not have access to food - they just like to eat.

And eat a lot. Our town of 3500 is full of Mexican food restaurants and drive throughs. The restaurants are open from 6AM - 2PM and are packed. Breakfast tacos are the main seller. I will go maybe once a week, but some people are there every single day. There are lines at the drive throughs for the evening meal.

I have classmates that have had legs amputated, going blind, diabetic, high blood pressure etc. It is terrible. People do not wonder if they will become diabetic, but when. To them that is normal. They think you are weird if you reach the age of 50 and aren't injecting or taking pills.

The kids start off on this junk at an early age too. Lots of sweets and sodas.

Lots of people think it is cheaper to go out to eat than to cook at home. I went to high school in the late 70s. I can remember two overweight females and three overweight males. Portion size, hormones in the food, lack of exercise, not cooking at home - so many things can lead to this new way of existence.

And of course a sense of hopelessness. Poor Blance - what a life.

[ljm2002]

138. "A diet fueled by food stamps" == right wing frame

A more accurate title would be, "A diet fueled by poverty". Food stamps allow families to extend their purchasing power for food items. Poverty -- and ignorance -- contribute to poor food choices. Food stamps have nothing to do with the specific, bad food choices discussed in the article.

I guess the implication is that if we quit giving these deadbeats food stamps, they'll make better food choices when they have even less money to buy food with. Like, maybe, they'll starve -- at least then they will lose weight and be more healthy, right?