Poor People's Food

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/29/1273436/-Poor-People-s-Food

I have for some obscure bureaucratic reason recently become eligible for free lunch in my building – at one time limited to the Assisted Living folks, it’s been expanded to any of us who live here. Because of my unexpected hospital stay, and my equally unexpected tripling of prescription costs in the last couple of months (from 10% of my income to 35% of my income, to be precise) I am taking advantage of it. I stopped having any money in the bank at all in the middle of the month. It’s a donated meal a day or none at all.

This leads me to ponder the fact that there’s not only a politics of food in this country, but a politics of eating.

When I had a middle class income (professor, grant writer, etc) and was married to someone who directed the elections for our state, I of course donated my time to various charities and causes, one of which was the free community meal at the local senior center, available to anyone in the neighborhood. (Possibly it was funded precisely the same way my current lunch was funded.) I wiped tables, served meals, helped clean up afterwards, chatted with people who were eating alone.

What I did NOT do was eat the food. I couldn’t stand it. Vegetables were cooked to a uniform olive green. Meat was neither the shape nor size of any known animal part. Gravies were rich and salty, but obviously came from cans and boxes, rather than meat juices. Fruits were canned and scarce.

<snip>

Now similar food is my one guaranteed meal a day. It tastes much better without the choice. Today, for example, I had some slices of pressed turkey on a piece of fluffy white bread with gravy on the top: a “hot turkey sandwich.” On the side were thoroughly cooked peas with bits of onion in them, and a scoop of reconstituted mashed potatoes with more gravy; salad was several pieces of canned fruit, and there was jello with a white pouffe in the middle unlikely to be whipped cream. It resembled nothing I’ve ever fed my family. I was hungry. It was good

[Igel]

1. Sounds like the food when I was in high school.

I wouldn't eat it.

Now I recognize it as "institutional food."

It's cheap to buy. You can buy it in large quantities.

It's cheap to store. You can leave it on the shelf (most of the stuff) or in the freezer (meat) indefinitely.

It's cheap to make in large quantities. Huge batches of spuds. Load up the convection oven. Boil 10 gallons of the spinach. Or peas. That's because it's mostly premade. So preparation is simple. No frying. Any expense in buying it mostly premade is saved in preparation time/complexity.

What's in portion sizes is perfectly uniform; what comes in a lump is easily scoopable for uniform portion sizes.

It's perfectly reproducible at any scale by whatever staff of whatever calibre happens to be in the kitchen. What you personally prepare for 20 today will be identical to what somebody hired at minimum wage 1 hour before lunch would prepare for 200 next month or a volunteer or a politician in need of a photo-op who came in for an hour would prepare for 800 people six months from now.

And best of all, nobody comes back asking for seconds because of gluttony. You gotta be honestly hungry to like it. Or have your taste buds thoroughly warped.

[Herman D]

2. My family eats well

We eat at home, not out [not interested in processed-over salted-commissary kitchen whatever], home cookin', made with lots of love.
Fresh vegetables are not expensive and they're the bomb. Americans don't eat enough of them.
Hey, when you are really hungry, I suspect some slop house called McDonald's could be called good.
Hang in there!

[Bette Noir]

7. Fresh vegetables are very expensive

if you live in a part of the country where they don't grow.

I moved here from California three years ago. The first thing I learned is that veggies are 3 times the price they were in California, and of very poor quality after spending four days on trucks.

[riderinthestorm]

38. The person in the OP is in a seniors complex in MN

You are wayyy out of line with this. Fresh veggies and fruit are hugely expensive in northern states during the winter

[SamKnause]

8. Fresh vegetables are not expensive ????

Fresh vegetables and fruits are VERY expensive in the section of Ohio that I live in.

[spinbaby]

11. I live in western PA

Hi neighbor

Although I would agree that in general fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive, you can keep costs down by careful buying what's in season and shopping the specials. I was just at Aldi's yesterday and got a giant bag of apples for $2 because they were a little past their prime (they'll become two pies this morning) as well as white cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and blackberries. Blackberries were a quart for about $4. Yes, you can still get more calories per dollar by buying junk food, but careful shopping WILL yield affordable vegetables. And when I shop the farmers market in the summer, they're downright cheap.

[cali]

15. where aren't fresh veggies expensive? what do you consider expensive?

[Herman D]

16. They're cheaper than meat [smile]

Fresh veges are expensive compared to all the packaged cr*p in the bulk-mart. And the packaged cr*p is expensive in the long run when they cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gout, et cetera.

btw, frozen veges are not a bad alternative when fresh is unavailable or "pricey".

[Arcanetrance]

3. I was the second in charge of a kitchen at a assisted living facility and I'll tell you honestly

most of what come in is pre-made from sysco

[Fumesucker]

4. This might interest you, it's a TED talk that speaks to happiness and a lack of choice

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html

Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.

Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research, and explains in his accessible and unexpectedly funny book, Stumbling on Happiness

[KittyWampus]

25. that was really interesting. I watched the whole lecture. Very worthwhile.

[Mr.Bill]

5. I grow a lot of vegetables in the summer and share them with seniors in the area that appreciate

them very much. It makes all the work of gardening well worth it. I actually enjoy it and have the time now that I am retired.

[El_Johns]

6. My boss's "money-saving" lunch: ramen, a granola bar, crackers.

[newfie11]

9. Any vitamins left in that meal is purely by accident

Over cooked processed food=bad health

[vankuria]

22. Not to mention

the sodium in the Ramon noodles should be illegal.

[newfie11]

23. True! Nt

[newfie11]

24. True! Nt

[CFLDem]

10. What's wrong with banquet meals?

Beats eating at Crapplebees.

[madokie]

12. I guess I was number 666

Views is what it said when I clicked to post. what I was going to say was adding to your Signature line. And you don't know what it's up too.

I just finished reading the post about the paranormal lady and then I see I'm number 666 views of your post.
Now I'm getting scared.
NOT

[spinbaby]

13. If you're poor and cook your own

Going beyond institutional food, if you're poor and cook your own food, you're still up against obstacles because the stores that sell food to poor people feature cheap, over-processed starches and sugar. You can get nutritious food at a place like Walmart, but you have to know what you're looking for and be able to ignore walls of cheap crap.

[pipi_k]

19. Not only this...

the stores that sell food to poor people feature cheap, over-processed starches and sugar.

But sometimes the quality of the "good" food is vastly different.


A grocery store chain (which no longer exists) in my area sold different quality food in different sections of the city, or different cities altogether.

One store in a small suburban city/town always had beautiful looking produce. The store was large and clean and well organized.

In contrast, just over the river in a different city, in a lower income section, the same store sold produce that had clearly seen better days. The store was dismal looking. Horrible floors. Not a big selection. And what wasn't produce might possibly had been near "sell by" date shipped over from the "better" stores.

The difference in the two was depressing and sad.

[spinbaby]

20. It's sad

One of the reasons poor people don't buy fresh produce is because it spoils quickly and they can't afford to have food spoil. This issue becomes worse when the produce they're offered is mostly spoiled already. When you have a limited income and buy your groceries once a month, half-dead produce doesn't make the cut.

[ck4829]

14. Food is a very strong component of any person's morale

How it makes you feel, good taste, good texture, variety of what you eat, your input into what you eat, etc.

The people who want to cut food assistance or even look at some person and go "How dare they buy that! We should restrict what they can buy!!!1!" are hurting the people using these programs. Bonus points if they say that they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, may as well be stabbing them in the front AND the back.

[riderinthestorm]

17. The OP's meal is their ONLY meal of the day because they're too broke to buy food

I'm confused about everyone posting on this thread about how much healthier this guy's diet would be if they simply purchased fresh vegetables etc and cooked/ate at home.

You do realize that this guy doesn't even have enough money to buy any food? This meal is it for him.

One meal every day. This meal.

For those of you who think this is unhealthy, that's exactly the point. Poor people get the double whammy of bad food = bad health.

Couple that with minimal or no health care or dental care, and its a triple whammy.

[Warpy]

27. People have strange cutoff points in their heads sometimes.

I've gone through periods of real hunger because I knew that maintaining an address was central to everything else. I've also gone through periods of semi hunger when my one meal a day was a sub sandwich cut into 2 pieces for brunch and supper.

The pressed turkey, powdered gravy, instant potatoes, powdered eggs, powdered milk and overcooked canned vegetables would have been luxury for me at various times. It also tastes wonderful if you've been hungry for a while.

People who haven't been there (yet) just don't seem to understand that some people have no choices left when it comes to food. It comes down to what there is in the food bank and what there is on the steam table at the mission, mostly the latter.

[riderinthestorm]

29. Its as though they aren't even reading the OP. They have their own agenda I guess

This poor person's food "choices" are bad. And its their fault they eat so badly, if they'd only buy fresh veggies and beans...



I know, I know. Its a common enough DU problem but I'm always gobsmacked when I see it this starkly.

[Warpy]

31. My eyesight sucks so I'm a frequent offender

but not this post. I've lived this one.

[enlightenment]

30. Thank you.

The disconnect is bizarre.

[KentuckyWoman]

18. Sounds like a food snob brought down to earth.

I don't mean to be heartless, I really don't. She's obviously having a tough time. But truth is 60% or more of this country would be thrilled to have jello with cool whip AND canned fruit in the same meal.....

[Bigmack]

21. I cannot believe the shit I'm reading in this thread...

In a country as rich as this country still is....

We have people who are hungry.

In the goddam 21st Century, we're actually talking about how to get reasonably cheap, nutritious food to people with low/no income.

I don't believe in much, but I know that any country that wants to spend $1 Trillion on a fighter plane while it's people aren't fed properly cannot possibly survive.

[Warpy]

26. Not in its present condition, it can't

and the longer we're denied a peaceful revolution, the more certain a violent one becomes.

I hope I'm outta here before it happens.

[Eleanors38]

32. Fresh collards, peas, carrots, squash, venison, real potatoes...

can't beat it, except maybe with your own fresh-caught fish.

[riderinthestorm]

33. You do realize the person in the OP has NO ACCESS to any of that right?

The OP is about poor people who don't have any money to buy food, or access to grow or hunt their own food.

Ie, most poor people.

The OP is about people who MUST try to survive on ONE meal/day with this hideous quality and poor nutritional value.

Its not about those who have access to fresh vegetables or venison of any sort.

Do you have any comment on the actual content of the OP? Real poor people in THAT spot?

[Eleanors38]

35. Getting past your aggressiveness, the foods I mentioned are

cheap and readily-available in most areas of the deep south; perhaps there are comparable foods in other areas. I understand that roof-top gardening is expanding rapidly in downtown NYC. There are also extensive (and expanding) programs to get excess game (deer, feral hogs) to foodbanks; perhaps this could be expanded to include people on foodstamps or other nutrition supplement programs.

[riderinthestorm]

37. The poster in the OP is living in a seniors complex in MN

I'm not being aggressive to you per se, I am questioning whether you read the OP?

Its not dealing with access to "cheap and readily available" fresh food.

Its dealing with poor people who must eat industrial poor quality food as their only option. And the health effects that are a natural consequence. Kids in school. People in city shelters. Disabled seniors in seniors compounds.

Your post doesn't address the OP in any way shape or form.

[Eleanors38]

40. I'll be 66 in May; my SS is -$900/mo. My CACH failed yrs. ago,

but I can still read.

I know little about the OP's living situation, its governance, food policy, and whether or not his/her neighbors are activist enough to raise objections; maybe they can send out the equivalent of an S.O.S. to area foodbanks and providers who can bring food to the staff who prepares food (the institution can save money by not buying junk).

Most of us will soon face these problems, too.

[riderinthestorm]

42. The info in the OP is readily available for you to see and comprehend

Then you appear to post some kind of non-sequitur about how fresh veggies and game are within anyone's reach, implying the poster isn't being pro-active.

Roof gardens? Really? For seniors in a seniors compound? There aren't elevators to the roof. You reach it through ladders which are not possible for them.

I'm not trying to be aggressive. Really I'm not but there seems to be this big disconnect between people who have and those who are truly food deprived.

That was my point.

[Eleanors38]

43. Do you have any proposals?

[riderinthestorm]

44. Nope. Because the systemic problems are so entrenched

From the hideous government endorsed "food pyramid" that is completely erroneous, to our Farm Bill policies that protect farm subsidies at the expense of real nutrition.

What I do know is that I refuse to condemn those who must try to survive on industrial food which you seem to be doing.

The OP is only trying to explain WHY the poor are in poor health, overweight and diabetic or with heart conditions.

The fix is a gigantic policy overhaul of our government, subsidies, and perception of food.

Good luck with that.

Now please, maybe address the concerns in the OP? Instead of scolding them for NOT having access to fresh veggies and meat?

Edited to add that I'm an organic farmer. I'm also a weekly, local volunteer at my food bank. I'm involved at both ends

[Eleanors38]

45. No where have I blamed or scolded anyone. Rather,

I see you scolding me for not "addressing" a problem for which you have Explicitly said you have no proposals. Utterly exasperating. Have a nice evening.

[riderinthestorm]

46. LOL. Sad and pathetic. Your initial post was all about how fresh veg and meat

are somehow available for kids in school or seniors in a complex. Completely unrealistic for most poor people.

You haven't offered a single solution THEN have the audacity to slam those who are on the front lines for NOT enough change.

Thats really rich and I mean that in the worst sort of way.

[Eleanors38]

47. Done. Bye.

[dionysus]

48. those disabled old takers should do some huntin and fishin! while growing a garden of the roof!11!

or something...

I remember when I was little, we were poor and a friend of my parents worked as a cook at a prison... he brought us stuff like huge sacks of powdered milk and peanut butter in these huge, gallon sized containers. (probably because it was getting thrown out for being old)

it doesn't taste bad when it's all you've got.

I don't think they read the article in the OP.

PS.. OTT maybe I'm weird but I actually LIKED "government cheese"

[MadrasT]

39. My god some of the comments in this thread are bizarre.

When you are hungry, you eat what's available and are grateful to have it.

That is the very point of the article.

The lack of some folk's understanding of this simple fact is mindbending.

It makes my heart hurt that people don't have enough to eat.

[Eleanors38]

41. Do you have some proposals?

[nilesobek]

49. Its total systemic economic failure, and the blaming of the seniors in need.

They are ill, or damaged in some way, on a fixed income and living in what seems to me, to be concrete cubicles. When food stamps are cut, and fatcats vote themselves a new raise, they become just that little more demoralized, and unhealthy because they have to skip yet another meal so politicians can continue to blame the poor for their wild military borrow and spend mentality, so common during the Bush Administration.

I have a couple of suggestions. We can pull together to vote out these idiots who caused all this. We can also present a united front against any politicians who keep perpetuating this lie. Hurting people living in MN, might not be able to grow food and have easy access to good stores. There are other ways of helping them, like delivering the food to them, and raising their food stamp allowances, high enough so they don't have to make such devastating choices.

[ladyVet]

50. I'm not really surprised at some of the comments.

I see it in every post about poverty.

Sadly, being Democrats doesn't stop some people from being totally out of touch with the truly poor. Some of that repuke "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" attitude is very prevalent. After all, they only need to raise a garden, or go hunting, or shop at better stores, right?

Except, what if you have no yard? No patio? No rooftop? What if your neighbors would steal everything you grew? What if you're disabled? Or work two jobs?

How much does a hunting license cost? What if you don't have a car? How do you get to where you can hunt, if you live in a city? What if you can't process the meat yourself?

How do you shop at better stores, when you can barely buy cheap food? And if you have no car, you can't get there anyway. Who teaches people how to eat nutritional meals, when our own government promotes the worst diet ever?

Lazy poor people! They should get a job, or three, and move to where there's public transportation, or where they can walk everywhere.

It breaks my heart that poor people are criticized by those who should have empathy, because they have to settle for bare existence. Walk a mile in your brother's shoes.

[JNelson6563]

52. +1

[cry baby]

54. Very thoughtful post. nt

[WinkyDink]

51. My husband has been for 2 months and will be eating this type of food for as long as he lives

(he's now 73).
About to enter a nursing home. I prided myself on my meals for him, and didn't skimp on pricey items (salmon, rack of lamb, fresh this and that) or, as an Italian-American, the love that serving food means.

I can only hope and pray that "It tastes much better without the choice."