Poor people can't afford healthy food

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for some perspective, OP. When I was little, both my parents worked part-time and went to school part-time. We owned our house, and my mom cooked from scratch.

People simply cannot do that today. The cost of living is too high, so many parents have to work two jobs. Your mother was lucky that she was able to make-do, but many people today cannot do that anymore. It’s just a fact.

People absolutely can cook from scratch today. So many posts ignoring other posts from current single moms and other non rich people about cooking from scratch.

I am a single mom with full custody. I work about 50 hours a week. I cook almost all our food from scratch including bread and desserts. I do ok but I am not wealthy enough where I can pay for a cleaning service or meal kits or order instacart for all my groceries . I shop sales and lean a lot on batch cooking and freezing things. I try to multi task as much as possible, so for many meal I make part of it I make enough to freeze for another time.

Honestly I think the answer here is that some people find a way if this is something important to them and other throw their arms up and say “oh well, there is no way to do this, my only option is McDonald’s dollar menu”.

Have you ever met someone less organized and competent than you are?

Look, I am truly not more special or smarter or more competent than anyone else. If I can make this happen I think most other people could too.

Sorry DP. Looks like Excuse Lady is back. Now all poor people have ADD or ADHD or “anxiety”.

No, many of them are just not very smart or good at things. This is why many of them are poor. I think many of you simply don’t understand the level of dysfunction involved in generational poverty. You may think you’re not smarter or more competent, but you are. I say this not as an excuse but an explanation.

This is very true.
Hence the problem of raising kids by such families.
It’s like the whole family including adults needs to be adopted or at least mentored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To people interested in cooking from scratch, especially lentils, beans etc. Please invest in a pressure cooker, a small one can be bought for $60.00 and it will change your life.

I come from a beans, lentils culture and a pressure cooker is the foundation of cooking plant based food from scratch.

I don’t like using my pressure cooker bc it makes me nervous, but I do want to increase bean consumption though. Do you think a slow cooker would be a good idea?

DP. What makes you nervous about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:total and absolute bs they can buy very healthy food with their food stamps, WIC, and their kids eat free at school (SBP and NSLP), food banks, pantries, TEFAP, SFSP tons AND TONS of programs FOR EVERYONE.

They can eat better. Not in typical red states but blue states have incentive programs. At farmer’s markets a SNAP card (food stamps) can get you half price items. Cities have small markets where vegetables and fruits are marked way down for snap card users. Families of four might get $800 per week for food. Simple basic food is the cheapest way to eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the rich folks on here saying poor people don't have a microwave are idiots. A microwave is $50-100. Everyone except the homeless have a microwave.

You sound stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for some perspective, OP. When I was little, both my parents worked part-time and went to school part-time. We owned our house, and my mom cooked from scratch.

People simply cannot do that today. The cost of living is too high, so many parents have to work two jobs. Your mother was lucky that she was able to make-do, but many people today cannot do that anymore. It’s just a fact.

People absolutely can cook from scratch today. So many posts ignoring other posts from current single moms and other non rich people about cooking from scratch.

I am a single mom with full custody. I work about 50 hours a week. I cook almost all our food from scratch including bread and desserts. I do ok but I am not wealthy enough where I can pay for a cleaning service or meal kits or order instacart for all my groceries . I shop sales and lean a lot on batch cooking and freezing things. I try to multi task as much as possible, so for many meal I make part of it I make enough to freeze for another time.

Honestly I think the answer here is that some people find a way if this is something important to them and other throw their arms up and say “oh well, there is no way to do this, my only option is McDonald’s dollar menu”.

What’s your job? Is it minimum wage? Regular office hours or swing shifts, evenings, weekends? Do you have a car? What’s your level of education? Where do you live in relation to a full grocery store? How many children do you have? Do you get child support? What is your neighborhood like in general? Did you grow up with a parent that made meals from scratch?

I mean, you have a freezer big enough to store things so you’re already ahead of many people.

These things matter in this context. Can it be done? Sure can, but here’s your trophy and your home made, low sugar, organic spelt cookie. For other people, it is a struggle. They don’t have the job, time, tools, resources, skills, whatever to be as awesome as you are.

I say this as someone who cooks from scratch more of less every day. I’m fortunate - I WAH and although I grew up poor, I also had a mother who cooked from scratch and showed me how. I’ve been precariously housed and was thankful I knew that to do. But I also had the skills, resources, education, and a whole bunch of things that afforded me that ability. I don’t judge. I’m grateful and I try to pay it forward.

You are really, really missing my point. It’s not that I am so great and deserve a cookie. It’s that cooking from scratch is possible. Again, there are many many excuses you can make for not doing something, or you can make it a priority. Also, at this point in history we have access to more information than people have ever had before. If you don’t know how to prepare food, there is a whole internet out there to help you.

Hey, it’s not me. I made a white bean dip this morning. I spent a good amount of my free time on food blogs and NYT. But I have that *privilege*

But are you really so blinded by status rage that you can’t figure out that figuring out how to do that is low priority to many people?

How often do you change your own oil? I’m assuming you’re in DC so don’t need them, but do you change your own winter tires? What’s your clothing budget - how much do you repair? Do you sew your own clothes? I mean, any fool should be able to do these things but most people source out, but I guess they’re acceptable because they don’t make poor people fat.

Status rage? What now? I literally was so poor in my 20s I could not afford medication I needed and once almost ran out of gas, but literally had 0 dollars and no credit card so I had to use the change I scrounged from my car so I could get home and wait for pay day. I was not a mom back then but I had a few close friends who were single moms that worked and went to school and didn’t have a ton of time. They cooked at home a lot because it was cheaper than going out. Lots of stews, soups, casseroles, buying family packs of meat on sale and freezing it, etc.

I have nice clothes now because I can afford it. Back then I rarely bought clothes, because it wasn’t in the budget. I shopped on sale and had two pairs of jeans, two pairs of black dress pants, something like 5-8 shirts and a few dresses. I did not have tons of shoes either. Also, at this point buying clothes is more affordable than making them.

I think this thread could go forever at this point with rich people being like “some poor people have no arms and can’t stir soup, how can we expect people to cook?!?!” And other with lived experience beings like…well actually….

How strange. I have my seen any of your style of hyperbole in this thread. Do you always meet facts you don’t like with gaslighting and exaggerations as a means to shut down an argument you feel uncomfortable with?

Open your eyes. Examine without bias. Research. Volunteer. Help.

Honestly, put aside what you think you know, learn about poverty. The hats aside from the Thanksgiving soup
Kitchen cr*p people post about here around the time. Meet people and see what their struggles are. Many would be recognizable on here, if they had the time, literacy, and access to the internet you have.

+100000
I had it hard b cause I almost ran out of gas. Girl, be careful embarrassed you even posted that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the rich folks on here saying poor people don't have a microwave are idiots. A microwave is $50-100. Everyone except the homeless have a microwave.

You sound stupid.

NP: You sound...really stupid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for some perspective, OP. When I was little, both my parents worked part-time and went to school part-time. We owned our house, and my mom cooked from scratch.

People simply cannot do that today. The cost of living is too high, so many parents have to work two jobs. Your mother was lucky that she was able to make-do, but many people today cannot do that anymore. It’s just a fact.

People absolutely can cook from scratch today. So many posts ignoring other posts from current single moms and other non rich people about cooking from scratch.

I am a single mom with full custody. I work about 50 hours a week. I cook almost all our food from scratch including bread and desserts. I do ok but I am not wealthy enough where I can pay for a cleaning service or meal kits or order instacart for all my groceries . I shop sales and lean a lot on batch cooking and freezing things. I try to multi task as much as possible, so for many meal I make part of it I make enough to freeze for another time.

Honestly I think the answer here is that some people find a way if this is something important to them and other throw their arms up and say “oh well, there is no way to do this, my only option is McDonald’s dollar menu”.

What’s your job? Is it minimum wage? Regular office hours or swing shifts, evenings, weekends? Do you have a car? What’s your level of education? Where do you live in relation to a full grocery store? How many children do you have? Do you get child support? What is your neighborhood like in general? Did you grow up with a parent that made meals from scratch?

I mean, you have a freezer big enough to store things so you’re already ahead of many people.

These things matter in this context. Can it be done? Sure can, but here’s your trophy and your home made, low sugar, organic spelt cookie. For other people, it is a struggle. They don’t have the job, time, tools, resources, skills, whatever to be as awesome as you are.

I say this as someone who cooks from scratch more of less every day. I’m fortunate - I WAH and although I grew up poor, I also had a mother who cooked from scratch and showed me how. I’ve been precariously housed and was thankful I knew that to do. But I also had the skills, resources, education, and a whole bunch of things that afforded me that ability. I don’t judge. I’m grateful and I try to pay it forward.

You are really, really missing my point. It’s not that I am so great and deserve a cookie. It’s that cooking from scratch is possible. Again, there are many many excuses you can make for not doing something, or you can make it a priority. Also, at this point in history we have access to more information than people have ever had before. If you don’t know how to prepare food, there is a whole internet out there to help you.

Hey, it’s not me. I made a white bean dip this morning. I spent a good amount of my free time on food blogs and NYT. But I have that *privilege*

But are you really so blinded by status rage that you can’t figure out that figuring out how to do that is low priority to many people?

How often do you change your own oil? I’m assuming you’re in DC so don’t need them, but do you change your own winter tires? What’s your clothing budget - how much do you repair? Do you sew your own clothes? I mean, any fool should be able to do these things but most people source out, but I guess they’re acceptable because they don’t make poor people fat.

Status rage? What now? I literally was so poor in my 20s I could not afford medication I needed and once almost ran out of gas, but literally had 0 dollars and no credit card so I had to use the change I scrounged from my car so I could get home and wait for pay day. I was not a mom back then but I had a few close friends who were single moms that worked and went to school and didn’t have a ton of time. They cooked at home a lot because it was cheaper than going out. Lots of stews, soups, casseroles, buying family packs of meat on sale and freezing it, etc.

I have nice clothes now because I can afford it. Back then I rarely bought clothes, because it wasn’t in the budget. I shopped on sale and had two pairs of jeans, two pairs of black dress pants, something like 5-8 shirts and a few dresses. I did not have tons of shoes either. Also, at this point buying clothes is more affordable than making them.

I think this thread could go forever at this point with rich people being like “some poor people have no arms and can’t stir soup, how can we expect people to cook?!?!” And other with lived experience beings like…well actually….

How strange. I have my seen any of your style of hyperbole in this thread. Do you always meet facts you don’t like with gaslighting and exaggerations as a means to shut down an argument you feel uncomfortable with?

Open your eyes. Examine without bias. Research. Volunteer. Help.

Honestly, put aside what you think you know, learn about poverty. The hats aside from the Thanksgiving soup
Kitchen cr*p people post about here around the time. Meet people and see what their struggles are. Many would be recognizable on here, if they had the time, literacy, and access to the internet you have.

+100000
I had it hard b cause I almost ran out of gas. Girl, be careful embarrassed you even posted that.

WTF is “careful embarrassed”?

[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.

If you had ever experienced true financial hardship then you wouldn't have used Trader Joe's as an example of what is affordable. Try food lion or Aldi.

[Anonymous]

Price isn’t the only barrier, OP.

What is the point of these threads? Do you think you’re changing minds and lives? Or you just like to wax poetic about your family’s so-called accomplishments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. I am sorry I wasn't clear. My point was that I keep hearing that poor people can't afford to eat healthy, but it can be done. It just involves planning, and cooking, and accepting that you may eat the same meals several days in a row.

That is where people need guidance. Hard to do it all 10min before mealtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP. I am sorry I wasn't clear. My point was that I keep hearing that poor people can't afford to eat healthy, but it can be done. It just involves planning, and cooking, and accepting that you may eat the same meals several days in a row.

That is where people need guidance. Hard to do it all 10min before mealtime.

Do people need guidance that some things might take longer than 10 minutes? Please.

[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.

You new here?

I call bull, what are you buying and cooking that can feed a family of four on only $100 a week? DH and I, plus our baby is a family of 3 and it costs us $200 a week to eat. This is without buying fast food.

2-3 meals per day and snack items with current grocery prices are not inexpensive.

The OP's initial post is incredibly non-American. I don't want to hear about your rag story and fake morality about barely scraping by, it's disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s pretty funny that people are tossing around numbers like $60 and $100 for appliances as though these numbers are somehow insignificant to people that are living paycheque to paycheque. It’s insignificant to DCUM, but not to those where that may be a huge portion of their food budget for the entire month.

Exactly an Instapot is closer to $100. And even finding one at a thrift store is not cheap and people living in poverty would be more likely to hold on to $30 rather than buy a used Instapot because who knows if a secondhand item is not going to break in two weeks? And now they've just wasted $30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To people interested in cooking from scratch, especially lentils, beans etc. Please invest in a pressure cooker, a small one can be bought for $60.00 and it will change your life.

I come from a beans, lentils culture and a pressure cooker is the foundation of cooking plant based food from scratch.

I don’t like using my pressure cooker bc it makes me nervous, but I do want to increase bean consumption though. Do you think a slow cooker would be a good idea?

If you don't live at high altitudes you don't need a pressure cooker. I'm at 800 ft. I soak beans overnight or throughout the day and cook for an hour to 90 minutes. Then I may complete the dish the next day depending on what I'm making. Pressure cooker means 30 min or so, so you could make a complete meal in 30 min to an hour. Otherwise, you want to get the beans to a full boil at first which a slow cooker is not going to do. You could do that and then put in the slow cooker. (You want beans soaked first though).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all who are bashing beans and rice. Chipotle is one of the most successful fast casuals, and 80% of a typical bowl (by weight) is beans and rice.

What's your point? It's beans and rice loaded with oil and salt to make it hyper palatable. Plus with all the other toppings loaded with oil and salt to make it hyper palatable. It's not healthy.

I could probably eat a Chipotle bowl every day and be pretty happy for a few weeks.

I could not force myself to eat a bowl of homemade beans and rice with a modest amount of butter and salt for more than a few days.

Cooking food that is at once inexpensive, healthy, and palatable takes at minimum, a significant amount of skill. It really also takes a well-stocked pantry with spices, condiments, etc.

At home I cook onion, celery, garlic, and random other vegetable to go into the beans and rice, season with cumin and oregano. And I have some other dishes I make--bean soup, chile, lentil and rice salad, black bean, corn, avocado, tomato salad (if avocados are on sale). But I agree that it would be pretty monotonous to do all the time.