Poverty and Obesity: a first hand experience

[WL WARRIOR 692]

My family income level dropped quite a bit since my husband passed away. My job as a public school reading teacher doesn't help make up for that loss of income much, of course. My income is just a tad over the limit to receive government assistance, so I decided to let my insecurities go and make a trip to the local food bank.

I wasn't hoping to receive food to help my dietary needs, since I don't eat that much. It was more to help fill my son's never ending stomach. Getting milk, eggs, and bread for free was actually my purpose in going this one time.

Let me begin by saying that everyone there was extremely friendly and the process was quite easy. The place was packed and it was over an hour wait, which I didn't mind. Most of the people waiting were mothers with many small rowdy children. I'm quite aware of the stereotype correlating poor people with obesity. Looking around at the very overweight moms and kids, I could see why others might make that assumption.

When they called my name to get my food, I was ecstatic about the number of bags of food they were bringing to my car. I only have one kid and he is quite spoiled. His only comment about getting free food was: "It better be doughnuts and pizza because I hardly ever get that anymore." I told him not to count on it, but it ended up I was wrong.

Here is a list of foods that were contained in the five bags and four boxes:

7 Kings Size Peanut Butter Twix candy Bars

7 Bags of mini-Butterfinger pieces

3 bags of mini Reese's cups

2 six count boxes of Crispy Crème doughnuts

1 bag of 48 unbaked chocolate chip Cookies

1 bottle of light corn Syrup

1 bottle of dark corn syrup

1 canister of salt

1 bag of frozen Black pepper seasoned French fries

1 bag of frozen Barbecue flavored French fries

3 boxes of cereal: chocolate crispies, honey bunches of oats

Baked goods: chocolate muffins, marble cake, pound cake, waffles, chocolate covered brownies, lemon streusel cakes, long loaf of French bread, 6 birthday cupcakes, red velvet cake

3 large unbaked pepporoni pizza's from Wal-Mart

Little Debbie Snacks (zebra cakes, moon pies)

2 large canisters of Wrigley's gum

10 cans of raviolis

2 boxes of saltines

1 box of wheat thins

1 box with 12 small canisters of cheese its

7 small snack bags of teddy grahams

box of Kashi granola bars

box of peanut butter/chocolate power bars

canned goods: green Beans, Peanut Butter, cranberry sauce, creamed corn, mixed vegetables

box of 6 angus beef burgers

deer sausage

banana popsicles

chocolate fudge pops

4 rolls of TP

paper towels

box of spaghetti noodles

3 boxes of hamburger helper

bag of frozen cranberries

pancake mix

cornmeal mix

1 canister of chocolate milk powder

3 boxes of pink lemonade cake mixes

2 boxes of muffin mix (blueberry/cornbread)

1 quart of whole milk

6 large eggs

I'm not going to complain about this food. In fact, I am happy that I got what I hoped, which was the bread, eggs, and milk. I've already given much of the baked goods away because my son doesn't need it. We have enough income to buy healthier food in place of it. But what about the families who don't? I keep thinking about those mothers at the pantry with all their small children. They must HAVE to eat all this food, including the junk because they have no choice. This makes me sad. However, I am thankful that at least they have something to fill their stomach.

My neighbor did inform me that not all pantries give out the same kind of food. Some pantries actually have fresh produce donated by the farmers market. I'll actually have to keep this in mind in case we get into a rut again. My salary has gone up this school year and I've started my own after school tutoring service, so I think we are going to be financially set for awhile. Once we get ahead, I plan on donating some healthy food to the same food bank I just visited.

Edited August 11, 2015 by WL WARRIOR

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

That's an awful list, @@WL WARRIOR !

Amazingly awful.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

Wow. That explains a LOT right there. Like you said, it's good that these people are at least getting SOME food, but i have to wonder why so much of it is junk. Where are these food donations coming from that so much of the food is unhealthy garbage?

[Elode 8,093]

And this is why we grow a massive garden and donate fruits and vegetables every year.

[Djmohr 6,965]

Oh my goodness! I really truly am shocked and dismayed.

This is very sad, these young ones are likely to develop the same eating disorders at such a young age.

[beingfree 30]

my lord! there were more baked goods than meals! Gum? thank goodness you were able to get some necessary staples. If you ever get in a bind again try local churches 95% of the time they provide gift cards to major grocery chains. this way you can buy fresh and organic foods. Be well! ????????

[WL WARRIOR 692]

The baked goods came from two bakeries located in nearby grocery stores (Schnuks, Hyvee). They were most likely donated because they were going to expire in 0-2 days. I guess its better than throwing them out.

I had never heard of pantries giving out food cards. There must be a huge demand for those.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Wow. I certainly hope your visit was atypical. I have volunteered at MANY a food pantry run by churches, government agencies, and local community groups and I have NEVER seen such food passed out. As a matter of fact, I had no idea that there were pantries out there that even took baked goods and candy.< /p>

I would not go as far as saying that the food I have sorted and handed out was particularly healthy, but they were decent staples.

Our typical food packages included Soups, Peanut Butter and jelly, shelf stable milk, canned fruits and veggies, canned meats and pastas. There were some boxed cake mixes as well as frosting but usually only one or two per family.

Argh!

I am happy for you that things are on the upswing and I do hope all continues to improve. Thank you for this thread. I need to get back into being active in our local food pantries.

[Paige Dukes 59]

I saw this difference in the income brackets in my own family. My father came from a higher income family and no one in his family was overweight, while my mother came from a lower income family and there is a lot of obesity and obesity related comorbidities on that side. Not only were the quality in foods varied from both sides, the difference in my maternal and paternal grandmother's cooking styles were like night and day. My maternal grandmother tended to fry almost everything and portion sizes were unreal. Also family events were centered around grandma and her kitchen, the main event being when the meal was served. My paternal grandmother, however, was very health conscious and cooked with fresher, more wholesome ingredients and measured her portions carefully. Her only real food vice was baked goods, but that was only because she loved baking. She never bought processed foods, fast food, or premade confections. Also there wasn't much of a "food culture" associated with that side of the family. We treated meals at her house more like fuel for the rest of the day because she always had activities for us. The only time I was ever a healthy weight was when I lived with her for 2 years after my mother died.

While it may not be true for everyone, the stereotype about poverty and obesity rang true in my family.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

My cynical self says that as we rely less on public food assistance programs and more on donated food, unless the food pantries are very skilled, diligent, and pro-active about seeking sources of healthy food, this is what will happen.

What is usually excess? As you noted, baked goods and perishables that are close to expiration dates, shelf stable processed food, and food that either sits in store or consumers shelves. As the general population starts to have more healthy choices there is going to be a lot of corn Syrup that goes unsold and unused.

The food waste in the US is criminal, but there is no economic inventive to get it to the folks who need it.

Just one more thing in our country that is broken.

[jane13 2,256]

@@WL WARRIOR - I worked for about 10 years at a local grocery store and we donated all kinds of stuff to quite a few local food pantries.

One had usually a specific list of things they needed (ex: Peanut Butter, oatmeal, rice). We always obliged and employees also donated out of pocket.

The other one I remember DID have a lot of the local farmers donate stuff and that was sometimes okay, sometimes not. We donated bananas and fruit from our produce dept but the stuff from local farmers was not something I would eat in general (ex: Collards, turnips, rutabagas...)

A lot of times vendors would donate if they were there and the pantry folks were there looking for donations, they didn't want to transport it back to their warehouse. that's where the baked goods and candy primarily came from.

[Elode 8,093]

If people do want to help out these pantries with healthier versions of food the USPS does a food drive every year! My husbands favorite day of the year!! (Ha! Carrying all that extra weight on his route) anyway they get a TON of food, literally. The food you put out can make a big difference and it's easy, they give you a bag. Mark your calendar each year and (if you can) give vegetables, healthy Soups ect.....be mindful of what you give. It's a simple easy deed that can make a huge difference and you only have to go as far as your mailbox!!! It's the little thing!

[Bandora 136]

Wow- what a disappointing list. When we have canned food /non-perishable drives at work we have a set list of items acceptable for donation. candy is excluded as are any frozen items. I am not sure what part of the country you are in but in my state ( Arizona) you can sometimes find farmers markets or produce markets that sell for example 60lbs of veggies/fruit for 10$. Sometimes I split with a friend to make sure the fruits don't spoil. I freeze a lot of soups/stews when I needed to save a dollar too. Good luck to you!

[gpmed 623]

@@WL WARRIOR The link between poverty and obesity has been pretty clear to me since the time I began grocery shopping for myself. Ramen, mac and cheese, and other packaged foods are SO much cheaper than fresh, whole foods. I struggled financially in my first job and sometimes went into the grocery store with $15 or $20 to buy food for the week. I left with those less expensive options myself. It makes sense to me that food pantries receive a lot of processed food in donations. They're cheaper and have a longer shelf life. When I donate, I try to go for the lesser of evils and pick out canned veggies, healthy Soups or non-sugary cereals like plain Cheerios.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I heard Warren Buffet speak one time and he talked about how he and his wife lived on Mac and cheese when they first married so he could start investing. At that time, living on Mac and cheese was how I paid rent, I guess I would have had to live on just macaroni to have enough to start investing then.