this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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People make fun of this. But if you are on a poverty budget, you have to buy cheap calorically rich food as you would starve on expensive healthy options. Not to mention, most poor people live in grocery food deserts where the closest food market is a dollar general that doesn't carry fresh/healthy food.
Edit: Since people seem to think they've solved the food insecurity for 34 million Americans. I'll continue to go with organization international and domestic that actually studied this.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/
https://www.chn.org/voices/food-insecurity-is-already-a-huge-problem-for-the-u-s-in-2023-it-may-get-worse/
https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/food-insecurity#:~:text=A%20definition%20of%20food%20insecurity&text=More%20than%2034%20million%20people,insecurity%20in%20the%20United%20States.
No, you wouldn't. The same amount of money going to dry beans and grains, some dairy and eggs, and some cheap protein goes much further. You'd even have enough left for fresh veggies and seasonings.
The intersection of poor and can't cook is just depressingly shitty and too common.
So I live in the US. I have 2 friends that got scurvy in 2017. How did they get scurvy you might ask? Let me tell you. They live about 30 mins from the grocery store in a car. Which they don’t have. The closest person that can take them grocery shopping lives about 2 hours away. Plus they’re poor as shit.
To save money they spent 3 months eating nothing but homemade biscuits (scones for non Americans). The lack of vitamin c gave them scurvy.
They live on a fixed income. My state tightened requirements for food stamps. They were fucked.
I will say that the UN came to my state several years ago. They literally called it the 3rd world and said it was the most impoverished place in the developed world. So, there’s that.
West Virginia?
Alabama
https://www.newsweek.com/alabama-un-poverty-environmental-racism-743601
Username checks out
Granted they were headed to West Virginia next. So they may have changed their tune. Heh
Rice and beans, baby! It's a world wide staple for a reason.
Yeah if it were that simple, world wide hunger would have been solved.
Some places just don't have anything to eat. The person in the photo used their money foolishly. It's not the same problem...
Because that's the same as the intersection of poor and "working more than one job, has no time to cook, and can't afford lots of kitchen gadgets"
You clearly are one of those who don't know how to cook if you think it takes forever and needs lots of gadgets.
A rice cooker. Everyone should have one. A pot, pan or wok.
Start the rice cooker before work. Come home to cold cooked rice, crack an egg chop some veg and have delicious nutritious fried rice in minutes. Cook enough for 4 meals and pack lunches.
Tortillas are another cheap nutritious item I forgot. Bean and egg tacos are cheap and delicious.
EatCheapAndHealthy was one of my favorite subreddits, we should get that going again here.
Until you realize that some people are soon poor, they may be lucky to have a microwave, let alone a stovetop/cooking pots, pans.
Also cooking takes time. I make dinner every night and even with previously prepped things it's usually 20-30min every evening. If I worked 2 jobs (12-16hr) I wouldn't have the time nor energy, either.
Now throw in a being a single parent!
I honestly don't know how people do it. When my wife's out of town for a week, nothing gets done beyond basic survival. I don't have time to do any other chores, and I only work 1 job.
Child labour
Seriously, do one big dinner every Sunday and freeze enough portions for the rest of the week. Healthy, delicious, cheap and saves time on weekdays.
I've mentioned that a few times and people went "eugh, I don't want to eat the same food two(!) days in a row".
:/
Now that I work 12 hour shifts 5 days a week... I only cook on the weekends. I try to make a bigger meal that saves well though. Chili, etc. after that's gone just easier things like sandwiches until the next weekend.
This person has blown money not getting the store brand. Driving farther to get real food cannot be that much more expensive, but let’s say it’s even $4 more. You’d get your money back buying a pound of apples. As someone who didn’t grow up with means, I know a lot of people with carts like this and it’s mostly just a history of bad choices.
Food deserts are places more than 20 minutes away from a grocery store. So at least that's a 40 minute round trip if you have a car. And spoiler alert, most people living in poverty don't have reliable mods of travel. It's a proven fact that processed foods provides more calories for less than fresh produce. Two oreo cookies is more calories than a apple and they keep longer. Are there some people that make poor eating habits simply because they can, absolutely! But that's not what I'm talking about. Please don't demonize people for the failings of our society.
Calories, yes. Actually making you feel full? No. Oreos burn far too fast to provide meaningful fuel for your body. Non reliable transportation I completely understand. I share a car. But if you have access to a car even sometimes you can make it work. If you can’t afford even oreos then I understand. A 40 min round trip is do-able. It sucks, but once a week it works. Now, a food desert is also defined as somewhere over 10 miles away. Let’s say it’s 15 for nice math, that’s still rare. If you take a car that gets an abysmal 20 miles to the gallon and you spend $4 a gallon on gas (also an awful price) it would cost $6.00 to go to the store. $6 a week can change things, but that’s also do-able. Apples will keep on the counter for a week for SURE. So even accounting for a terrible scenario you’re better off buying apples even if you only have access to a car once a week. I know this isn’t everyone, and some people straight up can’t afford even the gas to go to the store, but my mother nickel and dimed her way through my childhood and we were able to stay decently fed. Even a box of pasta is cheaper. Forget fruit. Just eat pasta. It’s certainly better than oreos and keeps just as long
You know what keeps even longer, is cheaper and healthier? Rice and beans.
What a weird way to spell "chronically overstressed".
… rice, beans, and a $15 rice cooker?
I’m as lazy as they get in the kitchen. If I can’t throw it in a pot, walk away, and walk back to food then it’s too much effort.
Rice and beans is cheap, quick, and easy.
That's all part of the problem though, isn't it?
I live in central Europe and veggies and fruit are one of the first things, you see when you enter a store. They're also really affordable and you can get them in pretty much every corner store all over the town as well. There isn't a place where basic fruit and veggies are more than 15 minutes walking/public transit distance from you within the city. Never had to drive to a grocery store in my life. Some places are even open at night.
Let's not blame the people for eating like this, when that's exactly what the system is set up for.
On a poverty budget a plant based diet is healthier and vastly cheaper. A bag of rice and a bag of beans is cheap.
I see you watched the Wendover Productions video.
Yes, but I lived it long before watching the video. Growing up my neighborhood was literally isolated for all the surrounding grocery stores. The poor side of town was on the west side of a major highway and all the grocery stores were on the east side. But strangly enough the west side has less on ramps to the highway and even fewer bridges to get to the other side. So you had to drive an extra 20 min just to cross from west to east. But east to west was literally 2 min. A lawsuit eventually got that "fixed" but it shows malicious intent by those in power.
I can't believe that's the best option, snacks and some weird pre made stuff
Dude I feed 3 people a month on $200 with no assistance. And we eat healthy. We splurge a little too.
It's too expensive, sure. It should be half that. And some people live near a dollar store, I get that, they're eating cat food and Vienna sausages. But this meme isn't about those people. There are waaaay too many people complaining about the cost of groceries that won't eat anything that doesn't come out of a plastic package.