The System Works! A Quarter of all US children went hungry last year!

[Alceste]

Hunger Hysteria

There he is! And straight to the Heritage Foundation without any preamble. Hats off to you, sir.

 

[Nepenthe]

God love ya Rick!
..and The Heritage Foundation.

 

[McBell]

That's the problem with cheap food, it has no nutritional value except for fat. .


"Let them eat cake" she said.....:eat:

"Dad is great, gives us chocolate cake..."
~Bill Cosby
​

 

[McBell]

We could always feed them all the obese children.

What?
You can't do that!
All those hard working, self made millionaire fat kids...

Just like a democrat to want to take away from the hard working, self made millionaire, fat kids to give to the poor, lazy, starving kids!!

 

[Falvlun]

What is up with this myth that junk food is cheaper than nutritious food? It's not cheaper the last time I looked. It's simply easier. Already prepared, no thinking, no work, no mess, and most importantly, no fighting with the kids to make them eat it.

I understand why parents would go for the junk food, especially if they are working like dogs just to make ends meet, but really, we need to stop perpetuating this idea that it's cheaper.

 

[McBell]

What is up with this myth that junk food is cheaper than nutritious food? It's not cheaper the last time I looked. It's simply easier. Already prepared, no thinking, no work, no mess, and most importantly, no fighting with the kids to make them eat it.

I understand why parents would go for the junk food, especially if they are working like dogs just to make ends meet, but really, we need to stop perpetuating this idea that it's cheaper.

Wow.
I wished I lived where you live.

Here in North East Indiana it is even MUCH cheaper in the SCHOOLS to buy soda than it is healthy drinks....

 

[Falvlun]

Wow.
I wished I lived where you live.

Here in North East Indiana it is even MUCH cheaper in the SCHOOLS to buy soda than it is healthy drinks....

Yeah, and tap water is free.

 

[Zephyr]

What is up with this myth that junk food is cheaper than nutritious food? It's not cheaper the last time I looked. It's simply easier. Already prepared, no thinking, no work, no mess, and most importantly, no fighting with the kids to make them eat it.

I understand why parents would go for the junk food, especially if they are working like dogs just to make ends meet, but really, we need to stop perpetuating this idea that it's cheaper.

It's not just price though, but also availability. Don't expect to find any fresh produce or healthy foods in the local bodega, and not everywhere has a real food market within reach.

 

[McBell]

Yeah, and tap water is free.

Wow.

You mean that the tap water where you live has all the things in it to stay healthy?

Around here I have to pay not only a water bill, but also a sewer bill and they do not add everything needed to stay healthy to the water....

 

[Falvlun]

Wow.

You mean that the tap water where you live has all the things in it to stay healthy?

Around here I have to pay not only a water bill, but also a sewer bill and they do not add everything needed to stay healthy to the water....

We get an insane amount of calories from beverages. They are probably the leading contender for causing obesity. Beverages should be for hydration. Nothing else is really needed in a beverage. Water really is the best option on a daily basis.

 

[Falvlun]

It's not just price though, but also availability. Don't expect to find any fresh produce or healthy foods in the local bodega, and not everywhere has a real food market within reach.

The availability thing I understand as an issue as well.

My only beef is with the claim that junk food is cheaper in the long term than nutritional food.

 

[McBell]

We get an insane amount of calories from beverages. They are probably the leading contender for causing obesity. Beverages should be for hydration. Nothing else is really needed in a beverage. Water really is the best option on a daily basis.

wow.

Way to completely miss the point....

BTW, we will be eating really good this week.
The local store has generic hamburger helper on sale, just 88 cents a box!
Can't add the hamburger, but hey, we still will be eating good this week.

 

[Zephyr]

The availability thing I understand as an issue as well.

My only beef is with the claim that junk food is cheaper in the long term than nutritional food.

Completely understandable. Of course, the easiest way to end this misunderstanding would be to properly fund health classes in public schools with an emphasis on nutrition, but noooo, "Mah tax dollars!"

 

[Alceste]

What is up with this myth that junk food is cheaper than nutritious food? It's not cheaper the last time I looked. It's simply easier. Already prepared, no thinking, no work, no mess, and most importantly, no fighting with the kids to make them eat it.

I understand why parents would go for the junk food, especially if they are working like dogs just to make ends meet, but really, we need to stop perpetuating this idea that it's cheaper.

Well, last I looked, I could get three packets of instant noodles for a dollar, whereas when Wampus makes shanghai noodles from scratch it costs closer to twenty.

Also, last I checked, "Wonderbread" was about a quarter the price of the various sprouted organic multigrain loafs I usually buy.

When I was broke, I had spaghetti noodles with butter and garlic for dinner and oatmeal for breakfast, and that's it. Everything else was out of my budget. I'd like to see you suggest a healthy menu that could compete with my plain oatmeal / plain spaghetti combo for price.

 

[Falvlun]

wow.

Way to completely miss the point....

You claimed that junk beverages were cheaper than healthier beverages. I countered with the fact that water is arguably the best beverage option out there, and cheapest to boot. How exactly did I miss the point? Or did you just not like your example torn to shreds?

BTW, we will be eating really good this week.
The local store has generic hamburger helper on sale, just 88 cents a box!
Can't add the hamburger, but hey, we still will be eating good this week.

You could by a box of pasta for about a buck. Then get a couple of cans of diced tomatoes-- another 2 bucks. This should feed you for 3-4 meals. It will be more nutritious and probably taste better to boot.

I bought 4 giant sweet potatoes last week for about 3 bucks. Slice them up french fry style, and bake. Very delicious and nutritious. One sweet potato is a side for two meals.

And on and on. Just because you see "Sale" and/or don't know how to cook, doesn't make it cheaper.

 

[Alceste]

The availability thing I understand as an issue as well.

My only beef is with the claim that junk food is cheaper in the long term than nutritional food.

But it IS cheaper. Maybe you have a different definition of "junk food" than I do. I'm thinking along the lines of Beefaroni and generic mac and cheese. You can live on that kind of crap for three or four dollars a day. Throw in a bag of apples or an avocado and you double your food expenses, just like that. Trust me.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I remember when I could not afford peanut butter. I lived a whole week on a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread and a small jar of miracle whip.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I believe the problem is too much month at the end of the money. Most poor folks do not manage their food supplies any better than their finances.

Plenty of folks would not even know what to do with a five pound sack of flour and a bag of beans or rice. I believe many folks have never pealed a potato.

 

[Falvlun]

Well, last I looked, I could get three packets of instant noodles for a dollar, whereas when Wampus makes shanghai noodles from scratch it costs closer to twenty.

This is borderline strawman. The point isn't that every single nutritious meal is cheaper than its exact junk food counterpart. The point is that you can eat nutritiously for cheaper than what you pay to buy the junk food.

Also, last I checked, "Wonderbread" was about a quarter the price of the various sprouted organic multigrain loafs I usually buy.

I'll concede the bread. But then again, the storebrand wheat is the same price as the storebrand white.

When I was broke, I had spaghetti noodles with butter and garlic for dinner and oatmeal for breakfast, and that's it. Everything else was out of my budget. I'd like to see you suggest a healthy menu that could compete with my plain oatmeal / plain spaghetti combo for price.

Well, oatmeal is quite nutritious in and of itself. I don't think I could improve upon that, unless you'd like to add cream of wheat to add variety. (3 TBS make one serving. The box is basically bottomless.)

Butter is expensive, and doesn't have much nutritional value. I'd replace the butter with the cans of diced tomatoes, as mentioned above. Heck, a couple of fresh tomatos would probably be equivalent to a tub of margerine.

You could also buy in bulk, or when things are on sale. Take frozen chicken breasts. I get them for 5 bucks on sale for a huge bag. It probably works out to be about $0.50 per breast. Or frozen veggies. They are the closest thing to taste and nutrition you can get to fresh, and they are about $1 a bag. One bag lasts me about 3 servings.

 

[MissAlice]

I believe the problem is too much month at the end of the money. Most poor folks do not manage their food supplies any better than their finances.

Plenty of folks would not even know what to do with a five pound sack of flour and a bag of beans or rice. I believe many folks have never pealed a potato.

Wow can you be anymore ironic and *edit*?

There are a lot of us po' folks who have had to learn survival skills the hard way including skills most people take for granted such as cooking and doing most of the things people do for a leisure when they're not working.