Reply #134: ok, all you arguing about poverty and obesity [View All]

[kineneb]

And now from the voice of one of those dealing with these problems...

In the Real World (tm), the poor do not have the same food choices as those in the middle class. I am well educated and know how to cook. But when you run out of money before the end of the month, and all there is to eat is the stuff from the commodities give-away, you are stuck. There is no choice about buying fresh vegetables or fruit, There Is No Money. Fast food is obviously not an option. Then there is the exhaustion and depression of on-going poverty (subject for a different thread).

If you have food in the house, that is what you eat. If you are fortunate, there are canned vegies and fruit in the cupboard, otherwise, there are starches, maybe fats, and not much else. Rice and beans may be fine for some, but not everyone has the facilities to prepare them, and others cannot eat beans.

The rural poor have almost as many problems getting proper nutrition as do the urban poor. There are few grocery stores and a car is really needed to get there; prices are generally as high as in the cities, and cars take money for gas and upkeep My personal advantage is having a small garden, but we pay extra for that in the form of a higher water bill (this is California- stuff grows, but only if you water it). So the struggle continues.

Compounding our situation is the fact that as a dialysis patient, Hubby is supposed to eat a special high-protien diet; beans are not a question, they are not on his diet, and he is violently allergic to them. Priority goes to providing him a reasonable quantity of protien-containing foods he can digest. For the anti-depressants I must take, I also need a higher protien intake. I don't need lectures on my diet; I do the best I can, given our fixed income and the extreme stresses in my life.

Sometimes a box of mac-n-cheese just makes me happy.

rant /off