You Can't Access Fresh Fruit and Vegetables In The Hood
I want to thank my good friend Hoover Alexander for sending me this story on NPR. Lack of access to healthy food plays a large role the obesity of youth and indeed all of us. Plain english version: You Can't Access Fresh Fruit and Vegetables In The Hood. Processed food and drinks which are loaded fructose corn syrup and salt to make them more palatable, are major culprits of obesity. However, these things are marketed and sold to us ceaselessly on virtually every corner.
We've got to start thinking differently about fundamental things like food and education... I'm just sayin'.
Alex Williamson, 8, is one of 17 million children who live in U.S. households where getting enough food is a challenge. Sometimes it's hard for the poor to eat healthy because it costs more.
Pam Fessler/NPRAlex Williamson, 8, is one of 17 million children who live in U.S. households where getting enough food is a challenge. Sometimes it's hard for the poor to eat healthy because it costs more.
Alex Williamson, 8, doesn't look very hungry — in fact, he's a little chubby. But Alex, who lives in Carlisle, Pa., is one of 17 million children who live in U.S. households where getting enough food is a challenge.
The Obama administration has pledged to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. A key element of that challenge is to make sure the food hungry children eat is nutritious. They're lofty goals that will be difficult to achieve.
Alex's mom, Connie Williamson, says she tries to give her son healthy food but doesn't always succeed.
"When he gets up on his own, he'll go find what he wants," she says. "He'll get a hot dog bun, or get a piece of bread. He'll get an ice pop or something."
And that's exactly what he did early one morning, before his family headed out to the local food pantry. Alex ate a blue ice pop for breakfast.
A Struggle To Eat The 'Right' Food
Hunger in America is complicated. It's not just getting enough food, but getting the right food — and making the right choices.
Connie Williamson says it's not easy on a tight budget. She spends hours driving around each month looking for deals. She has to stretch $600 in food stamps for herself, her husband, Alex and two teenage girls.
You can get leaner cuts of meat, but then they're more expensive. You can get fresh fruit every couple of days and blow half of your budget on fresh fruits and vegetables in a week's time, easy.
- Connie Williamson
"You can get leaner cuts of meat, but then they're more expensive," she says. "You can get fresh fruit every couple of days and blow half of your budget on fresh fruits and vegetables in a week's time, easy."
The Williamsons live well below the poverty line. And in the family's struggle to obtain enough food, nutrition sometimes takes a back seat to necessity. There's often a tug of war between the best intentions and some not-so-good eating.
For example, the Williamsons have a garden behind their apartment in downtown Carlisle. They grow lots of healthy food — zucchini, peppers and Brussels sprouts. But when Alex was thirsty after a walk, his mother gave him a plastic water bottle filled with orange soda.
Elaine Livas, who runs Project SHARE, the local food pantry, says she sees it all time.
"A gallon of milk is $3-something. A bottle of orange soda is 89 cents," she says. "Do the math."
Livas says low-income families might know milk is better for their kids, but when it comes to filling a hungry stomach, a cheaper high-calorie option can look pretty good.
Read Part 1 Of This Report
Project SHARE, like many food pantries and soup kitchens, is increasingly offering cooking and nutrition classes to help their clients get the most out of what they eat. And Alex Williamson is taking some of those classes.
"Because really, that's what we need, a transformation in how people view their relationship with food," Livas says.
A Third Of U.S. Children Are Overweight
The White House agrees. First lady Michelle Obama recently welcomed hundreds of chefs on the White House lawn. She was encouraging them to volunteer at schools to help cafeteria workers, students and their parents learn how to prepare more nutritious meals.
She noted that almost a third of U.S. children are overweight.
"Good nutrition at school is more important than ever," she told the chefs. "A major key to giving our children a healthy future will be to pass a strong child nutrition bill."
Children Living In Households Facing Food Shortages
1n 1998, 14 million children lived in households where getting enough food was a challenge. While that number has risen and fallen, it took a dramatic jump in 2008 to 17 million children, according to the USDA's most recent data. Below, NPR calculated the percent change per year of children in households facing this challenge.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
Credit: Adrienne Wollman/NPR
That's a big part of the administration's plan to end childhood hunger. President Obama has asked Congress for a billion dollars more a year to do things like make school lunches healthier and to expand access to subsidized meals for low-income children. Advocates say it will help kids learn better, and reduce health care costs.
There's a lot of support on Capitol Hill, but lawmakers are also increasingly nervous about new spending. Committees in both chambers have passed scaled-back versions, and it's unclear whether a bill can be enacted before year's end.
In an exchange at a House hearing this month with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) raised other concerns.
"I have no doubt there are kids that go to school hungry," he said. "But I have to admit, every time I hear that we have an obesity problem and everybody's going hungry, how do you reconcile the two?"
Vilsack said they're not all that different. He said there's a similarity between low-income families trying to stretch scarce food dollars with high-calorie processed foods, "and youngsters who are just flat out not getting fed because their parents don't have the resources to feed them."
Cassidy said he wasn't sure he followed that reasoning. And he might still be confused if he took a trip to the Williamsons' kitchen in Carlisle, where contradictions swirl about like stew. The refrigerator and pantry are often filled with food — but the family sometimes has to go to the local soup kitchen to make ends meet.
Hard To Make Good Decisions When You're Hungry
When asked, Alex says he worries about food all the time, and that he's always hungry. But later, he admits he has enough to eat. It's just not always what he wants. He says he especially doesn't like it when his mother makes Brussels sprouts for dinner.
His 14-year-old sister, Beanna, tries to explain.
"He more or less just worries about if there's going to be enough food that he likes or if we have something that he likes," she says. "He's really picky about what he wants."
As Beanna talks, Alex goes to the refrigerator for some chocolate. He gets upset when his sister tells him he can only have one piece.
It's not that uncommon for an 8-year-old to prefer chocolate over Brussels sprouts. But Livas, of the local food pantry, says a good diet is especially important for the poor, as a first step toward addressing their other problems, with things like work, health care and education. She says it's hard to make good decisions when you're hungry.
Livas says there's something else to consider. As the nation becomes more health conscious, she's noticing less healthy food coming to her pantry. She's getting more sugar-coated cereals, for example, than the high-fiber ones she used to receive.
"We can't really complain that the poor are heavier, when what we're donating is our kind of castaways," she says.
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Eating Nutritiously A Struggle When Money Is Scarce
In the Williamsons' struggle to obtain enough food, nutrition can take a back seat to necessity.
Low-Wage America
A Daily Fight To Find Food: One Family's Story
The Williamsons, who make $18,000 a year, say adults skip meals but kids get fed when food runs low.
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Joel Slowik (slowikjw) wrote:
I didn’t like this article. I think ultimately we just need to find a better way to educate folks about nutrition and how to make what may seem like a ‘bland’ meal come out delicious and nutritious. It would be better for news organizations to push that effort rather than writing stories about folks who cannot see that good food is cheap and plentiful.
I had too many thoughts about the article so I wrote them all down and posted them on my blog. If you’re interested you can read it here:
http://joelslowik.blogspot.com/2010/07/food-is-not-really-that-expensive-if.html
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:33:36 PM
Lisa Nichols (LisaNichols) wrote:
(cont.)
Okay, so maybe this family profiled doesn't meet your idea of the "virtuous poor". Yes, there are things they could be doing better. There are things ALL of us could be doing better. It's easy to say "Well, I wouldn't do that" or "I was poor once and I didn't do that."
For a truly eye-opening look at what poverty means, I highly recommend John Scalzi's essay, "Being Poor": http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:30:17 PM
Lisa Nichols (LisaNichols) wrote:
Okay, for all of you saying "poor people should just cook from scratch/grow gardens/etc.", let's look at the assumptions you're making about 'poor people':
1. They have land on which to plant.
2. They know HOW to garden.
3. They have a kitchen stocked with adequate pots and pans for cooking.
4. They have a working stove/oven.
5. They have a working refrigerator.
6. They know how to cook, or have access to a way to learn.
7. They have access to a supermarket rather than a convenience store.
8. They have access to high quality fresh produce.
9. They have time--they're not working two jobs, 16 hours a day.
10. They live in enough physical safety and stability to allow mental energy for cooking/shopping.
11. They have no illnesses, mental or physical, that inhibit cooking/shopping activities.
I could go on. These are all assumptions you can make if you're middle class or higher. Someone who's truly poor--and I mean raised in a cycle of poverty, not grad-student poor--cannot be assumed to have any of these things. (cont.)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:29:32 PM
Vince Cartledge (Vince52) wrote:
How much is a 50lb bag of rice? How much for dried beans? Potatoes? Half the world eats rice 3 meals a day everyday. I was at the store yesterday and a head of cabbage was 28 cents and an ear of corn was 17 cents. You can eat healthy cheap.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:27:25 PM
Peter Eastwood (PEastwood) wrote:
I am educated and have money and would not mind being fit and trim but this whole thing is a nightmare. The real problem is that eating healthy and exercising for most of us, poor or not, is a huge challenge. I find it confusing to calculate that given my exercise and activity - just how many calories do I need that will cause me to shed the pounds I don't need? Should we eat the high meat and fat diet or is it better to go vegetarian? Healthy recipes call for ingredients that take a lot of work to shop for and do not seem practical for everyday use. I like to run and will grudgingly lift weights but cross fit and insanity work outs are not something I am willing to do. Fruits and vegetables can be hit or miss for taste and some serving sizes leave me hungry. And who has the time to do all this stuff? I think we need figure out all this first before we can figure out how to make it cheap.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:26:56 PM
Mo Trapper (trapperbr549) wrote:
tom winn (dubba) wrote:
Hey! I think we should take MR MOE and his horse- ummmm mighty tasty box lunch?
-
I don't understand your post so I am not sure if you are directing that comment at me. If so, what does it mean?
Also, if it is directed at me, that is a mule.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:24:56 PM
Nathan Greatly (TakeItBack) wrote:
We have another problem in this country. We use BAD food to reward children (and adults for that matter!). It is not only with the poor.
"If you're good, I'll take you to McDonalds", "If you don't scream in the store, I'll buy you candy".
Numerous posts have been about these poor choices (pop, chocolate, etc) being a "treat" for the child because of his circumstances. A real treat would be a trip to the children's museum on free day, or a day at the lake...
We wonder why people make poor food choices as adults, we are conditioned so that bad food is what makes us "feel good" psychologically.I am not pointing fingers...I am one of those people.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:20:29 PM
tom winn (dubba) wrote:
Hey! I think we should take MR MOE and his horse- ummmm mighty tasty box lunch?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:19:05 PM
The Legos (thelegos) wrote:
Some farmer's markets take food stamps.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:12:39 PM
Ryan O (RyanP) wrote:
"Yesterday, my daughter read me "The Little Red Hen","
Wow, what a great comment. It sort of clashes with your other one regarding social services for unwanted children though.
Comment on: New 'Morning After' Pill Works Five Days Later, Too
at 6/11/2010 4:19 PM EDT
Are abortion opponents also gearing up to pay the medical, housing, education and nutritional costs of these unwanted children?
Somehow...I think not.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 2:10:28 PM
