Comments on: Hunger in the US

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By: louisvuitton78

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By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:34:25 +0000

I get strongly miffed about all this “hungry people” stuff. People get more than enough food stamps–it’s what they’re CHOOSING to put in the cart that’s the problem. They get more in food stamps than I spend on myself–so I know it’s MORE THAN SUFFICIENT to eat off of if they’d simply put down the television remote, pry their lazy backside off the couch, and get into the kitchen and make a real meal. Instead of more food stamps and more food pantries—money should be spent on teaching people how to cook. How hard is it to soak some beans or toss some water, split peas, salt, pepper into a pot? If I can make a meal of lentils, homemade bread, some vegetables, so can they. Instead, the carts are full of frozen pizza, Hot Pockets, and other nonsense and two weeks later the foodstamp allotment has been spent and they are “hungry”.

By: Mark N

Mark N — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:06:01 +0000

In general, legislation protecting wetlands from farmers and other folks who would drain them, fill them, or otherwise destroy them is a very good thing. Farmers can be a destructive bunch at times, especially the ignorant ones.

By: Anni

Anni — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:24:17 +0000

Sometimes people, “meaning well” make laws that do more harm. My western county (larger than several states) which contains a big city but also much rural land, has rules (made by those city folks who like to ride their bicycles through farm country on the weekends) that owners can only use 65% of any piece of land, must have wide setbacks from any water, may not clear brush or weeds, and label any place which has standing water in the winter a “wetland”. Sure does make it hard to farm.

By: Barb

Barb — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:18:53 +0000

Sharon, I read the USDA report your refer to.

The report was based on data obtained by surveying 44,000 households.

Representation questions asked include:

Worried food would run out before (I/we) got money to buy more
Food bought didn’t last and (I/we) didn’t have money to get more
Couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals
Adult(s) cut size of meals or skipped meals
Relied on few kinds of low-cost food to feed child(ren)

Judging by the raw data reported, of the people who answered “yes” to questions such as the ones shown above, very few frequently went hungry. Most of them reported that their “yes” answers only applied sometimes.

I live in one of the poorest communities in the U.S. and most of the people I encounter are overweight, many of them grossly obese. In the grocery store, I see fat people checking out carts full of soft drinks, white bread, boxes of sugary cereal, candy and so forth. It is not uncommon to see full carts that contain no nutritious food at all. For the cost of the junk people waste their money on, they could have bought fresh vegetables, whole grain products, beans, and other nutritious foods. Based on my observations, the problem in the U.S. (at least for people who live in houses or apartments with kitchens) is more ignorance or negligence rather than actual unavailability of food. This would not be true for people who are living on the streets, but I doubt that houseless people were included in the USDA survey.

By: Laurie in MN

Laurie in MN — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:08:22 +0000

I dig your daughter’s idea of rich — add some kitties to the mix, and some fabric to play with, and I’m *so* there! *grin* (And unless we all adopt casual AND formal nudity, there will be fabric of some sort. I DO live in the frozen North.)

I think all we can do is what we are doing, and maybe the tiniest bit more. Like drag someone else into helping us. (Like my Darling Husband. *evil grin*) You already have your daughter, so you’re ahead of me.

Hang in there.

*goes off to think about a world where everyone gets a roof over their head, a little bit of ground to dig in (and plenty of food), books for rainy days, and kitties to play with….*

By: MEA

MEA — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:25:17 +0000

Thanks Laurie — I just wish that if everyone (and I know that a lot of people are) did a little bit (or a lot) it would save the world.

My younger daughter, who lives in a bit of an either or world, kept saying she wanted everyone to be rich. After a while I realized that as far as she was concerned people were poor or rich — nothing in between. I asked her what rich was like and she said something along the lines of like us — a house, a garden, some books…

What I great world that would be.

By: Laurie in MN

Laurie in MN — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:33:02 +0000

MEA:
So sorry to hear about your conversation with that woman. I’m afraid it rather reminds me of conversing with one of my sisters-in-law (albeit on a different subject) — they know what they know and you are obviously not only mistaken, but *being* taken. *sigh* It’s frustrating and infuriating, and the feeling of beating your head against a brick wall is probably why the inertia sets in. Really hard to work up initiative to do more when you encounter that kind of resistance. That kind of rampant *negativity*.

The only idea I have is, any chance you could get that stubborn woman to come *help* you with what you do? Just so she can SEE what is going on in her community?

*crickets* *crickets* *crickets*

Yeah, didn’t think so. Blessings on you for doing what you do. You are good people.

By: MEA

MEA — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:48:09 +0000

My head is very sore — in all sorts of ways….

Just finished a long exchange with a women who think that by having food drives we are encouraging poeple to be poor.

She makes all the points about them not cooking, buying just chips, buying make up, buying things she never would on food stamps. Has never been to a soup kitchen, but knows they are full of grown men who can’t be bothered to get a job, pointed out that children can get free luches at school, that people can buy food in bulk, etc. etc.

And all that is true…but when I bring up a family headed by a 70 year old grandmother who literally can not open a jar or use a regular can opener, and is looking after an assortment of grandchildren — while living in a single motel room with a mini fridge and 1 hot plate (and no mircowave allowed) 5 under 7, inc. one who has such sever CP that she can’t walk, talk and need to be be fed, bathed, changed, dressed, etc. so the idea of her getting to someplace like Costos on the bus, having the money up front a membership (assumping they’d take food stamps) or even to a big grocery where you can buy bulk, and then getting it home, when if can’t manage to pour milk from a full gallon, is a bit of a stretch, (and I’ve lost contol of this sentance….)

Anyway, I was told, “I’ve never known anyone like that: I’ve never seen anyone one like that,” and I don’t beleive that anyone would be allowed to act like that.”

Well, I know of this woman — I do shit for her other than supplying clothing, toddle books, and sometimes a loaf of homemake bread or something as the little girl with CP goes to the special needs preschool where my daughter went, and I’m still in touch with the nurse there.

The women I’m so PO’ed out may know know anyone like that — but I do. And it’s after a conversation like that that I decide to need to step up and do something only to quickly fall back into the same old pattern of a little to help here, a little to help there — no amazing life changing differences either for me or for the people who need help.

Why, when we know so much needs to be done, do I just let intertia take over?