Poor people can't afford healthy food

[Anonymous]

This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor people can become rich as well, so why didn't your mom do that?

The point is, OP, that of course some poor people can afford to eat healthy. Some overweight people can lose weight. Some dumb people can get smarter. All of these things are true.

But not ALL people who are X can do Y, for a variety of reasons. Your way of thinking is disgusting because it assumes that since your mom could do it (sample size of one), then all people in her situation can do it and therefore those who don't are lazy, stupid, unmotivated, fill in the blank with whatever you want.

For the record, I'm not poor nor have I ever been, but I don't judge people who aren't like me. Just because I managed to do X doesn't mean everyone can. I acknowledge that other people have barriers in their lives that prevent them from doing the "right" thing, such as eating healthy, and it's not my place to condemn them for not being "better" people. (I also acknowledge that such barriers did not exist or were removed for me and that is part of what has made my life easier).

It's interesting to me to see such judgment from people who had it hard - I know someone who came to the US at age six from Russia speaking no English and instead of empathizing with other immigrants she has zero tolerance for anyone who doesn't speak perfect English and hasn't assimilated into local culture. I would have expected an understanding of how hard it is to come from another country but instead she thinks everyone should do it the way she did.

Anyway, maybe check your judgment because it's not a good look.

You sound like a miserable b*tvh.

Anything but non-judgmental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

I get what you’re saying OP. I think teaching your kids to shop in season, budget, grow their own food, and cook everything from scratch are the best gifts you can give them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seem to have little or no empathy OP. Why judge people so harshly? It sounds like your mom did what she could, but that food does not seem healthy. Have you been to a store lately? Fruits and vegetables are very expensive. The only thing that isn't is Trader Joes pasta and pasta sauce. It wouldn't be healthy to eat that for long. Also, since you're so judgey, why was your mom a single mom? Why no man in the picture? She could have afforded more for you with a man in the pic.

Stews and grains aren't healthy now? Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

Right, so you think if other poor people just worked harder they would also be able to feed their families healthy food.

Why do you think many poor people don't feed their families healthy food?

[Anonymous]

Don’t argue with the crazy lady OP, whack job does this to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

You new here?

[Anonymous]

None of this works when the stove in your crappy apartment breaks and you’re scared to tell the landlord because if he comes in he’ll know you have more than the allowed number of occupants in your place.

Or when you have a slumlord who won’t deal with the mouse and/or roach infestation so you can’t store any food in bulk.

[Anonymous]

It can be done but there are significant barriers:

- is there a grocery store nearby that is open when you are free?
- is it close enough to transport the groceries you need if you do not own a car or rely on public transit?
- do you have a disability that prevents you from carrying relatively cheap bags of potatoes and apples and rice home? (as opposed to lighter ramen and cookies.)
- do you have education about nutrition and actually know what to buy?
- have you been exposed to healthier foods or have you grown up on hugs and spaghettos and "don't like" bananas and oatmeal?

[Anonymous]

^Oh yeah and the working stove, fridge, storage, and cooking equipment is also a real barrier.

[Anonymous]

do you have education about nutrition and actually know what to buy?

This. I wish I could remember what it was but I saw a documentary focusing on a few families and their struggles to eat healthy food.

A single mom with an obese daughter was heartbroken and frustrated that her daughter was not losing weight. They were eating lots of cold cereal. They thought it would help because they bought whole grain cereal. They thought that was the most important thing.

A lot of people don't know, and there are many reasons why that might be the case.

[Anonymous]

We were not poor but my low caste parents had no idea healthy eating was important so I grew up eating crap. It's complex and not just about income level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

I get what you’re saying OP. I think teaching your kids to shop in season, budget, grow their own food, and cook everything from scratch are the best gifts you can give them.

I think cooking from scratch is key. It doesn’t need to be fancy and mostly will be basic but can be done. No frills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. Wow. This has gone off the rails way faster than I thought it would. I absolutely do not think poor people are lazy, unmotivated, etc. I grew up poor. My family in Africa is poor. My family has the hardest working people I have ever met.

I think that it possible for the many of the working poor (of course not everyone in every circumstance) to eat healthier. If they don't, of course it doesn't mean they are lazy, unmotivated, or whatever judgment you would like to attribute to me. People have lots of things going on in their lives that they may not be able to control.

I am not poor anymore, but I can absolutely feed my family of 5 on $100 per week if we don't eat out.

Really? This thread seems designed to go off the rails

[Anonymous]

I agree with you OP. I grew up very poor too. Fruits were apples and bananas, veggies were whole carrots that needed peeling, peas, potatoes etc.
I think more needs to be done as far as education with creating meals on a budget in schools.