Poverty and Obesity: a first hand experience

[Sajijoma 1,324]

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss and that you are going through a tough time. Good for you for not being "too proud" to get some help! I'm sorry you guys didn't have better food being offered to you. I know, I am guilty of this too, of going through the pantry to donate to our local church and picking either things I'm not a big fan of, or all the unhealthy sweet "treats" thinking that I was being nice because "they probably don't get much of these" type mentality. Next time I donate, I'm going to do better. Thanks for reminding me that nutrition is important in donations too!

[Babbs 14,680]

@@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.

That's why it drives me absolutely CRAZY when people make fun of impoverished people for being "fat".

What people don't understand is that just because you're overweight or obese, it doesn't mean your not malnourished. Most of those people and their kids are severely malnourished because they flat out have to shop quantity (bulk rice, bread, Pasta, etc..) as opposed to quality because of income limitations. Sure, with a little budgeting and planning you can choose healthier options, but will those make several meals to tide the family over until the next check or payday? Probably not.

And yes, I understand that government assistance is abused as far as what people are allowed to buy with it. But 9 times out if 10 it's just families just trying to stretch a budget the best they can with the staple foods that hopefully will make meals to last the month. That's why I hate it when people get all judgy about it.

[MSWDiet 64]

Hello all. I am new to this site but a long term user of similar sites.

Unfortunately, food banks often have to make do with what their supporters have available. Boxes like this offer full stomachs short term and mal nutrition over time. Yet, sometimes this is all there is for poor families who are not poor enough for food stamps.

We laugh at obesity because it is still ok to ridicule fat people. These families swallow their pride taking what's on offer; and, at times filling in the gaps with more poor quality foods from discount stores. They truly live in food Desserts resulting on higher than average risks of obesity and other health problems. Much of the country view this as a self imposed condition. Not true. Anyone can find themselves living this unfortunate scenario.

Having permanently lost 80% of my income, and qualifying for no food assistance, this could easily have been me but for the availability of quality discounted foods. Relative affluence of my neighbors meant access to healthy clearance items. Poor areas have few such options.

If we can, let's be mindful of the working poor. Supplement these food pantries with nutritious non perishables foods when we can. One donation at a time we can improve nutrition for those dependent on the surplus businesses donate.

What a difference we could make if we each dropped off two nutritious sale items each time we did our grocery run. Pantries and the families they service would be very appreciative.

[goodnuff 239]

This makes me incredibly sad. As others have stated I have been guilty of less than stellar donations. This post will change that. With your permission I would like to share this list on my Facebook feed to give others the same opportunity to see where change is needed.

[WL WARRIOR 690]

That would be great if you could share the list in order to motivate or influence others to donate healthy food. Thanks!

[dhrguru 1,238]

A small part of me wonders if some used that pantry specifically because they offered this type of food.

Seems irrational, but I certainly know people who would do that.

I'm glad your financial outlook is improving though.

[pink dahlia 2,513]

Thanks for sharing that story, I had no idea that was what any food pantry would give out ! Who could live on all that crap ? And we wonder why not only are we dealing with obesity as a nation, but is it also any wonder that our kids can't pay attention in school ? Can you say "sugar overload " ???

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Some other things that I have seen food pantries need that most people don't think of are:

Feminine hygiene products, herbs and spices, and pet foods. I will see if I can dig up a good list. My former church used to have a good list of recommendations.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Here is a pretty good list (from memory after reading the linked article, and what I can remember from food drives--I am sure I left off some things):

100% fruit juices

No sugar added canned fruit

Low sodium vegetables

Low sugar cereals

oatmeal

Canned and dried Beans

Nuts

Nut butters

Whole wheat Pasta

Granola bars

Olive oil/cooking oil

Pasta Sauce

Canned meats (tuna, chicken, etc.)

Canned meals (stews, chili's, etc.)

Low sodium Soups

Herbs and spices

Baking mixes

Toiletries

For food pantries that serve a lot of homeless people, single serve and easy open (pop-top) items are especially helpful.

Many of these things are on my NUTs list of post-WLS foods, so other than perishables, choosing items that you like to eat and are buying anyway is a good guide.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryankincaid/canned-food-drive#.gvqW0RWlK

[shellyd88 463]

@@Inner Surfer Girl that's the list I go by as well I usually go to the warehouse club as I have a membership there so we can get large pkgs and quantities as many families have kids to feed and need to stretch meals out I've been on both sides of that situation and it's an awful feeling to not be able to buy grocerys and basic personal items whenever we donate clothes to the women's shelter we also give things like Shampoo q tips deodorant razors soap tampons etc we also save any samples we get from magazines etc when my boss has huge catered party's there's tons of food that was never even open or used we drop it off at the city shelter last summer we were able to give them leftover food for over a 100 ppl to eat burgers hot dogs chicken ice cream rolls salads appetizers Condiments etc was great to know ppl that needed to eat could rich ppl buy so much food and eat very little but it got put to good use

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

It's hard not to think that obesity is used as some kind of population control. I mean it's ni secret that people who are obese are at higher risk for heart disease high blood pressure diabetes stroke and other ailments. It's also ni secret that it's an epidemic in a country which is slowly trying to separate people into rich and poor. I used to be the manager of a grocery store and people would come in with two types of assistance. Wic (women infants and children) and food stamps. Wic tells you what to buy. You have to get things like Peanut Butter fresh veggies non sugary Cereal eggs milk baby food apple juice and so on. Then there was food stamps. I would watch people buy cases of moutain dew I would watch people by cakes candy Desserts ice cream. It was almost absurd that the government the same government who foots the bill for Healthcare would let them buy 350 dollars in a month of Junk. I have been poor and I have been well off my problem is Portion Control and quick fast Food. I love healthy food I just eat too much. But I would never dream of pumping my 7 yr old full of the things I mentioned. I am sorry you got such awful options but if your options were that or to starve I guess they wouldn't be so bad. It's a shame though really because some don't know any better. You obviously have the wisdom to discern what moderation was for your son. My nutritionist now teaches me to shop around the outside of the store and not to go into the center where the processed stuff is. So I hit the fruits and veggies seafood meat deli dairy and try to make good choices for my family and myself on my new journey. I would never want to bestow a weight problem onto my children if I could help it as I know it's been very unpleasant at times. Praying your new job and pay increase works out and you can eat all the right foods and help others. Thank you for sharing your thought provoking paragraph.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Well at least the stuff from Hyvee is delicious. I will remember their bakery fondly.

This is disgrace in America. I think it would be nice to include some of those items as treats since people short on money can't afford treats, but it was almost all treats

[gpmed 623]

@@Soon2beslimSamantha I'm not sure it's a conspiracy to control population, but I have no doubt the stigma against the poor and overweight people go hand-in-hand. I think the fact that there's a correlation between poverty and obesity allows people to keep up the idea that weight is a moral issue and slows the impetus to find real solutions instead of simply ridiculing the overweight.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Can I just say how angry and sad it makes me that we are having to even have this conversation in the U.S. in the 21st century?

[gpmed 623]

Can I just say how angry and sad it makes me that we are having to even have this conversation in the U.S. in the 21st century?

I feel like I can say this about SO MANY topics. That is definitely where my cynical edge comes from.