Why Can't Poor People Afford Healthy Food?

[koshergrl]

Actually fast food is more expensive than going to the grocery store and buying nutritious foods.
The fact is not only are poor people unhealthy, it is their laziness that contributes to their poor health.
Example...Why cook a decent meal when it's easier to trundle over to the closest fast food joint.

you think its cheaper to cook a healthy meal with meat, vegetable and potato than to buy something that fills your stomach from the dollar menu at mcdonald's? i'd dispute that.

also, if we're talking about cooking for a family, it is a lot cheaper to make something starchy and fatty (e.g., mac and cheese or pasta) than to prepare a balanced meal.

isn't that the real issue?

Yes it is...Stop whining.
Hell, a savvy shopper can buy a chicken or a turkey, take it home, use the breast for soup, take the legs thighs and wings to make three or four different dishes and have meals for the week.
Or one can buy a roast for $25 take part of it to make a dinner. Use part of it to make sandwiches or hot open faced sandwich for dinner, dice some of it up and make a nice noodle and meat casserole.....See where we are going here?
All of this nonsense put forth by you people is based on you feeling sorry for certain people.
So instead of teaching them how easy it is to make good meals at much lower expense, you bitch about the price of food.
That is a disgrace.
Again, all I see is whining and complaining.

I have never spent $25 on a roast. I get large, cheap cuts...

I still have the carcass of the Thanksgiving turkey in my freezer, lol. I don't know if I'm actually going to use it at this point...I made some yummy turkey noodles and we pigged on them for two days, but they are past their optimum freshness and are out the door now.

 

[koshergrl]

Though I have to say, I used a pretty old, dried out, frozen turkey carcass for soup stock a year or two ago, not sure if it was going to be worthwhile...and it still made some great stock for dumplings.

So...I probably will use it. Probably this weekend...with whatever leftover turkey breast I have.

 

[eflatminor]

How about no discounts on junk food, and discounts only on healthy foods?

Now you want to dictate what a seller can charge for the products he owns?

Good grief, is there any area you don't advocate government meddling?!

Tell you what, why don't you start a grocery store that inflates the price of junk food and sells healthy food at a discount. Good luck.

 

[koshergrl]

How about just make a law that makes junk food illegal?

Lol. Shut down all the McDonald's, close the Chinese restaurants, level KFC....make it impossible to purchase junk food NO MATTER WHAT.

 

[koshergrl]

With the added bonus of further depressing our economy.

Then you'd see people starving for sure.

 

[High_Gravity]

Because its too expensive.

Do you know that it is cheaper to buy a jumbo bag of potato chips and a 2 litre bottle of coke than it is to buy a loaf of bread and a bottle of water?

Ever got those catalogues in the mail with the latest specials from your local supermarket? How many times do you see soft drinks, chocolate, chips and cakes discounted, sometimes by up to 50%? Compare that to how many times you see a price reduction on healthy foods, like apples, oranges, bananas, and bottled water.

In KFC the other day, it was cheaper for me to buy a burger, a piece of chicken, three wings, a small popcorn chicken, a regular chips, a regular gravy and a can of Pepsi than it was to buy a salad and a bottle of water. I wanted a salad and a water, but when I compared the prices, I wondered why I should spend more money on a healthy item when I can get the unhealthy food a lot cheaper?

How many other families see this problem? How about no discounts on junk food, and discounts only on healthy foods?


I never used to understand why people claimed they couldn't afford healthy foods, but I understand now, because its true.

Actually fast food is more expensive than going to the grocery store and buying nutritious foods.
The fact is not only are poor people unhealthy, it is their laziness that contributes to their poor health.
Example...Why cook a decent meal when it's easier to trundle over to the closest fast food joint.

I don't know about that, when I was single in the Military and living off post I was eating take out every day, $5 for a shrimp fried rice or a taco meal, was way cheaper than spending a couple hundred dollars out of every paycheck for groceries. That was money I used to go out and hit the club.

 

[koshergrl]

One person can swing it...

But when you're talking about a whole family, no way.

 

[koshergrl]

And of course you can make fried rice with shrimp for less than $5 per meal.

You can get a bag of shrimp for $7, a couple of bags of rice for $2, and have enough for probably 10 meals, easy. With more shrimp than you'd get at the chinese place.

 

[koshergrl]

Obviously I give the whole meal thing some thought, lol. How/what to feed the fam for the least amount of $$ is my #1 priority pretty much every single day.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I don't know where people get this idea. I live in NYC, probably one of the most expensive places to buy groceries, especially fresh produce, in the USA.

I make a specialty dish, I happened to make it last night for two:
(and handily still have the receipt in my jacket pocket)

Garlic bulb - $.89
Scallion bunch - 2 for 1.99
Organic baby spinach - $3.99
Organic white mushrooms - $3.69
Lemon - .89
Olive oil (not form this purchase, but this stuff goes a long ways) - 7.99
red pepper - .69
boneless/skinless chicken breast - 5..99 lb. (bought 1.73 lb pckage of three) 10.36

45 minutes of my time = ~40.50

Time and materials = $70.99

 

[koshergrl]

We go through a ridiculous number of eggs. When the world collapses, I will have chickens. I should have them now. We go through 30 eggs in less than a week, most weeks. My daughter eats them for breakfast, plus you have to have them for baking. Oil/shortening/lard is another thing that you have to have that we go through gobs of.

 

[koshergrl]

I don't know where people get this idea. I live in NYC, probably one of the most expensive places to buy groceries, especially fresh produce, in the USA.

I make a specialty dish, I happened to make it last night for two:
(and handily still have the receipt in my jacket pocket)

Garlic bulb - $.89
Scallion bunch - 2 for 1.99
Organic baby spinach - $3.99
Organic white mushrooms - $3.69
Lemon - .89
Olive oil (not form this purchase, but this stuff goes a long ways) - 7.99
red pepper - .69
boneless/skinless chicken breast - 5..99 lb. (bought 1.73 lb pckage of three) 10.36

45 minutes of my time = ~40.50

Time and materials = $70.99

Which is why poor people have to be scrupulous in their planning.

And our time isn't worth anything, if you don't have the money to pay for it. Yes it takes me 2 hours to make bread, and my time is worth money...but if I don't have any money at all, then I have no choice but to put in the time, and it means eating, instead of not eating.

The most one person can get in foodstamps in any month is $200. Obviously, the above would not be a good choice...boneless/skinless chicken breasts @ $5.99 would be an over-the-top foolish purchase, as are the organic mushrooms and spinach...if you only have $200 for the month.

So you get a whole chicken for $4, you cut it up yourself and pull the breasts...you get old, discolored mushrooms on sale for $.99 (like I do, the girl is crazy for mushrooms, so I get them whenever they're on sale). And you get either a bunch of non-organic spinach that you will have to stem and clean (or you make do with canned or frozen).

I've never payed $1/bunch of green onions ever. I get them when they're 2/$1.

Garlic is something I also buy on sale, so I always have some on hand. I got 3 big bulbs from one of the Sunday school teachers at church on Sunday...so right now I have 6 big heads of garlic sitting on my counter...the old ones are so old I don't remember how much they cost. I think $.89 apiece is about right.

Anyway, suddenly your $70 meal is more like a $10/meal, and you have garlic and chicken for another meal.

 

[High_Gravity]

And of course you can make fried rice with shrimp for less than $5 per meal.

You can get a bag of shrimp for $7, a couple of bags of rice for $2, and have enough for probably 10 meals, easy. With more shrimp than you'd get at the chinese place.

That is true, I'm still trying to learn how to make it the way the Chinese do, I think their holding out a ingredient or 2 from us lol.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I don't know where people get this idea. I live in NYC, probably one of the most expensive places to buy groceries, especially fresh produce, in the USA.

I make a specialty dish, I happened to make it last night for two:
(and handily still have the receipt in my jacket pocket)

Garlic bulb - $.89
Scallion bunch - 2 for 1.99
Organic baby spinach - $3.99
Organic white mushrooms - $3.69
Lemon - .89
Olive oil (not form this purchase, but this stuff goes a long ways) - 7.99
red pepper - .69
boneless/skinless chicken breast - 5..99 lb. (bought 1.73 lb pckage of three) 10.36

45 minutes of my time = ~40.50

Time and materials = $70.99

Which is why poor people have to be scrupulous in their planning.

And our time isn't worth anything, if you don't have the money to pay for it. Yes it takes me 2 hours to make bread, and my time is worth money...but if I don't have any money at all, then I have no choice but to put in the time, and it means eating, instead of not eating.

The most one person can get in foodstamps in any month is $200. Obviously, the above would not be a good choice...boneless/skinless chicken breasts @ $5.99 would be an over-the-top foolish purchase, as are the organic mushrooms and spinach...if you only have $200 for the month.

So you get a whole chicken for $4, you cut it up yourself and pull the breasts...you get old, discolored mushrooms on sale for $.99 (like I do, the girl is crazy for mushrooms, so I get them whenever they're on sale). And you get either a bunch of non-organic spinach that you will have to stem and clean (or you make do with canned or frozen).

I've never payed $1/bunch of green onions ever. I get them when they're 2/$1.

Garlic is something I also buy on sale, so I always have some on hand. I got 3 big bulbs from one of the Sunday school teachers at church on Sunday...so right now I have 6 big heads of garlic sitting on my counter...the old ones are so old I don't remember how much they cost. I think $.89 apiece is about right.

Anyway, suddenly your $70 meal is more like a $10/meal, and you have garlic and chicken for another meal.

You're absolutely right on all accounts. I can make this same dish, only using less desirable ingredients, for about $4 per plate. I happen to eat well because i can afford too. But the junk food is, like others said, much easier. I could get a slice or two of the cardboard pizza (papa johns) on the same corner as the grocer for a $1 a piece.

 

[koshergrl]

I know it's easier, I've fallen into that trap...I spent months over the last year where I castigated myself daily for hitting the drivethrough instead of cooking...and I promise you, my bottom line seriously suffered. I kept track of what I was paying for what I was getting, and I just couldn't keep doing it. I cannot justify spending $10 every weekday picking up either breakfast or dinner at McD's or DQ. I can't justify spending $10 a WEEK on that...$10 = 3 gallons of milk, or 5 dozen eggs, or a dozen eggs and 5 lbs of flour...and those things LAST beyond the hour. In the end, I can't sustain it. I mean, I have to park my vehicle for at least a week at the end of every single month in order to put food on the table...if it was moneywise to use the drivethru, trust me, I would use it.

It's not. No matter how you cut it.

And largely because there just are never leftovers that you can do anything with. That dinner I made last night...I had 2 leftover chops, and leftover spinach, and applesauce. Those things will go on the table tonight as well, if they make it past lunch.

 

[Againsheila]

Actually fast food is more expensive than going to the grocery store and buying nutritious foods.
The fact is not only are poor people unhealthy, it is their laziness that contributes to their poor health.
Example...Why cook a decent meal when it's easier to trundle over to the closest fast food joint.

you think its cheaper to cook a healthy meal with meat, vegetable and potato than to buy something that fills your stomach from the dollar menu at mcdonald's? i'd dispute that.

also, if we're talking about cooking for a family, it is a lot cheaper to make something starchy and fatty (e.g., mac and cheese or pasta) than to prepare a balanced meal.

isn't that the real issue?

Works great, if the family has a roof over their heads, and a refrigerator and stove at their convenience. So, did you work in how much it costs to cook it? Including the pans they have to have to cook it with? <yeah, I know they are reusable, but they still have to have them and a place to store them>

 

[TakeAStepBack]

You have to be kidding me. When I was in college, I was dirt poor. Dirt. You know where I got my first pan when I moved to NYC? Off the street corner. I used it to cook everything. I lived on throw aways like that for years. I did just fine. I ate well enough. I haven't eaten junk food, including cookies, cakes, candy, etc in many years. Many.

 

[Meathead]

you think its cheaper to cook a healthy meal with meat, vegetable and potato than to buy something that fills your stomach from the dollar menu at mcdonald's? i'd dispute that.

also, if we're talking about cooking for a family, it is a lot cheaper to make something starchy and fatty (e.g., mac and cheese or pasta) than to prepare a balanced meal.

isn't that the real issue?

Works great, if the family has a roof over their heads, and a refrigerator and stove at their convenience. So, did you work in how much it costs to cook it? Including the pans they have to have to cook it with? <yeah, I know they are reusable, but they still have to have them and a place to store them>

This is about as goofy as it gets. Government largess provides housing, food stamps and subsidizes utilities especially for those with children. FFS, cry me a river!

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Become a single white male in their early twenties and see how much govt. assistance there is for you. I wouldn't have taken it if it was possible, but guys like me don't get to be on the dole. We just pay into it.

 

[Againsheila]

Poor people don't eat healthy food because it doesn't taste as good as junk food. Poor people will spend more for junk than healthy food even if healthy food was cheaper. A bag of chips costs $3.00, a head of lettuce is 59 cents. They buy the chips.

It has to do with the psychology of being poor. It's why the poor will spend $300.00 for a pair of Nike shoes. Food is one of the ways they indulge themselves. They can't afford a trip to Disneyland, but they can afford a cupcake. They can't afford a new car, but they can afford the shoes. The poor have given up on sacrifice today for a greater benefit at some point in the future. Even if that benefit is their health and well being. It's worse now because the poor are being conditioned to believe that they have no personal connection to their health and well being. That's the job of social justice. It's not their responsibility. Their responsibility is to be happy, which means as much pampering and self-indulgence as they can squeeze out of every day.

How many poor people do you know? None? I thought so.

I know many poor people, I have been very, very poor at times in my life. This is basic psychology. It's why poor people are more likely to be obese than a wealthy person. It's why there are riots at the latest NBA signature sneaker release. It's why an immigrant that comes here, even more poor than the poorest American and end up wealthy and successful.

A poor person making a decision on what to have for dinner will chose mac and cheese over vegetable soup because mac and cheese tastes better, it's more expensive but it tastes better and don't they deserve something that at least tastes good? They can't afford a steak, but they can afford a block of cheese.

Really, you were poor and you spent $300 on sneakers? I've been poor, I'm not now and I have NEVER paid $300 on sneakers.


When we were poor, we didn't qualify for food stamps. We had to depend on our friends and family and the food bank to help us through hard times. Oh, yeah, we could have sold our house and had enough to buy food but then where would we have lived?

BTW, vegetable beef soup isn't cheaper, and it does taste a lot better if it's MY vegetable beef soup.

Fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats are very expensive. So is a block of cheese, although the cheese does go further.

You will find though, that at least at our local food bank, you are much more likely to get macaroni and a block of cheese than steak and fresh fruits and vegetables. Even canned vegetables are rare, unless it's corn and that really isn't a vegetable anymore, it's just another starch.

As for immigrants coming here and ending up wealthy and successful, you do know that we have organizations, paid for with our tax dollars to show them how to work our system don't you? (I know this because I tried to get a job with one) We don't have any such organization to help our own citizens. Our government also offers them low interest loans to buy a business and lets them operate it tax free for a period of time, another benefit not afforded our own citizens. Heck, we have subsidized housing built strictly for immigrants that our citizens can't get into..and once they are in, they get to stay, regardless of how much money they make. Of course they are more successful, they get far more help.

I had a friend that lived next door to a Russian (who bought a house while on the dole) and my friend's husband was laid off from his job with no unemployment. Her Russian neighbor says to her "You need help, I'll show you how to get help" and took her down to DSHS. As they walked out of DSHS the Russian lady just shook her head and said "I don't understand a country that doesn't take care of it's own people." Yeah, my friend was turned down, as were we.

Been to your local food bank lately? It's mostly Russians and Hispanics, the poor Americans are lucky if they get anything. My husband was there when a crate of watermelon came in..the Russians surrounded it and passed off the watermelons to other Russians, no Americans got any. I was there when boxes of oranges came in, the only reason our family got any is because I have a friend who works there and she made sure to pull a box off for us before it was put out.

BTW, When I say "Russian" I mean people from the Soviet Union. No offense, but I can't tell them apart.

I don't think you know a single poor person. I give out lunches with my friend every Monday at the church to the needed. Many of those people are homeless. Some of them are families who, after paying rent, don't have enough money left for food. I talk to these people all the time and not one of them has ever spent $100 on a pair of shoes, let alone $300. Heck one of our guys came in one day, during the night, some kid stole his shoes. He walked to the goodwill in his socks and they gave him a pair of shoes and some extra socks. We've had people come into the church with shoes held together by duct tape. We have been fortunate in being able to find shoes that were donated that somewhat fit them.

So you'll just have to forgive me if I don't judge all poor people based on the way you behaved when you were poor.