This is hardly isolated to the "poor". Living in the suburbs with the middle class most of my adult life has shown that given the opportunity those with more income simply go out to eat more. MSG, fats, chemicals etc. It is the "time" the "culture" and the "money". Our child has a ton of allergies/reactions. We had to start cooking everything from scratch even grinding our own grains for flours. On the various support groups I am always very shocked at how dependent America is on packaged foods. From pasta,breads,cereals to soup in a can the art of cooking for the family now seems to sit in cellophane and cans. Cooking with clean and healthy ingredients takes time. It take time to learn how to do it. I know many who know they "should" eat better but the though of learning how is overwhelming. I grew up in a home where most everything was made from scratch but when I became an adult I bought all the pre-made stuff too. It has taken me 4 years to figure out how to make my own breads,pasta's, condiments etc.. Because of the past 2 generations of cake in a box and bread in a bag as a population we no longer even know how to cook.
60
There are two different food cultures. The people buying vegetables and fish at Whole Foods are in a different food culture than the people at Safeway buying 2 liter Cokes and packages of cookies.
72
Next policy experiment? Set up food stations at these supermarkets (like Sam's Club) offering free samples of inexpensive and easy to prepare healthy foods made from non-perishable ingredients such as lentils so people can begin to develop a taste for healthy food.
65
Having worked with youth offenders ages 16-21, I believe that people will eat the type of food that they were raised with. My mother grew up on a farm and therefore I grew up with a kitchen full of fresh produce. In turn, my children grew up snacking on raw veggies and fruits. My daughter now has her own home and her kitchen is full of produce and vegetables are the center point of every meal, just like her grandmother used to cook.
People like to eat what is 'normal' for them. The young men I worked with wanted to eat the kinds of food they grew up with. They had been born into generational poverty and raised on sugary treats, frozen food and fast food, so this is what they wanted to eat. (Ironically, my mother had been raised 'dirt poor' on a farm in central Massachusetts in the 1940's). We went through great lengths to provide these young men with healthy food at the organization where I worked and most of the vegetables were thrown away untouched. How do you educate adults to want to eat food that is foreign to them and to not eat the food they were raised consuming? Huge question. Answer: people have to want to change their habits.
People like to eat what is 'normal' for them. The young men I worked with wanted to eat the kinds of food they grew up with. They had been born into generational poverty and raised on sugary treats, frozen food and fast food, so this is what they wanted to eat. (Ironically, my mother had been raised 'dirt poor' on a farm in central Massachusetts in the 1940's). We went through great lengths to provide these young men with healthy food at the organization where I worked and most of the vegetables were thrown away untouched. How do you educate adults to want to eat food that is foreign to them and to not eat the food they were raised consuming? Huge question. Answer: people have to want to change their habits.
112
A study was needed to prove this because liberals don't believe in the law of supply and demand. Were there demand for these foods, someone would attempt to fill the need in a high density area like New York City. The Robert Wood Johnson foundation which conducted this study is generally considered to be a liberal entity. From a free market perspective, both liberals and conservatives should be opposed to tax giveaways and crony capitalism that allows for such things as large government grants to build a supermarket.
32
Is it surprising that profit-seeking businesses respond to opportunity to make a buck? If an area lacks stores, the first conjecture should be that the market will not support them. Similarly, if an area lacks jobs, the first hypothesis should be that it not is not profitable to hire the workers who live nearby. Sometimes it may be comforting to reverse causality -- to suggest that outcomes do not follow from behavior but from where you "happen to live." But people's own behavior is part of the problem. We must not blame the victims but we must look honestly at the problems, which are social not geographical.
25
It is education and those poor less educated individuals don't understand why their eating habits are unhealthy. Part of this is cultural (you don't know any better), you grow up not knowing anything different and are afraid to try something new, and advertising makes you think processed food is good for you. As to Mr. Elbel, no one ever stated access alone would solve the problem. You are an educator, go educate and then rerun your study.
19
Why a study was necessary is beyond me. Of course, this result was so easily predictable. If the residents wanted fresh food there would
be merchants serving those desires.
Hasn't anyone in the deciding classes taken an undergraduate course in psychology or economics???
be merchants serving those desires.
Hasn't anyone in the deciding classes taken an undergraduate course in psychology or economics???
38
It's a shame that more column inches weren't spent on dissecting why - curious if it was the research findings or the author's opinions that fed the 3rd to last para, with the possible rationale.
Have to think the link to education is indirect at best. When a population is used to eating a certain way, then a new food outlet is dropped in, it's little surprise that eating behavior doesn't change - it's ingrained and part of the consumer's palate.
There are ways past that - which take time, and not coincidentally, education. Cooking healthier is a learned thing - maybe you grew up in a household that ate healthier, and absorbed how to do it, or maybe you struck out and learned how to cook on your own. With proper detail around the barriers to healthier eating (is it cost? Is it knowledge? Is it time? Is it lack of cooking equipment?), in-store & in-community education can begin to chip away at this.
Of course, more time, more money, all the while the fresh produce is still languishing untaken in the displays at the subsidized grocery store. It's the community's issue, ultimately - not the store owner's (they're making more net income from the Doritos than from the fresh broccoli), and not Big Food's, either.
Have to think the link to education is indirect at best. When a population is used to eating a certain way, then a new food outlet is dropped in, it's little surprise that eating behavior doesn't change - it's ingrained and part of the consumer's palate.
There are ways past that - which take time, and not coincidentally, education. Cooking healthier is a learned thing - maybe you grew up in a household that ate healthier, and absorbed how to do it, or maybe you struck out and learned how to cook on your own. With proper detail around the barriers to healthier eating (is it cost? Is it knowledge? Is it time? Is it lack of cooking equipment?), in-store & in-community education can begin to chip away at this.
Of course, more time, more money, all the while the fresh produce is still languishing untaken in the displays at the subsidized grocery store. It's the community's issue, ultimately - not the store owner's (they're making more net income from the Doritos than from the fresh broccoli), and not Big Food's, either.
15
Thank you, Barbara James. You beat me to it. Of course we can't rely on common sense. That would, indeed, put an end to some of the pointless studies we fund for scientists and policy makers. And if those studies aren't funded, why, what are those people going to live on? But that aside, it takes about one minute of thinking about why there is, or was, no decent grocery store in that neighborhood. Come on, people. Market capitalism is where we live. It is the basis of life in the United States. Rather than go through all the time and expense of doing a "study," why not just ask a businessperson why no grocery store was in that neighborhood? You would have found out right quick that the reason is because no money would be made from laying in an inventory of fresh produce. Why? Because no one would buy it. Why? Because they don't want it. If a grocery store would have been a profitable enterprise in that neighborhood, believe me, one would have been there. If enough fresh produce would have sold in order for a business owner to make a profit, someone would have been selling it. Please, let's stop doing these inane studies and just start thinking instead.
33
Common sense starts with affordability, Economics 101 and the quest for scarce goods. Dropping Whole Paycheck into a neighborhood doesn't change family income.
Presuming good economic opportunity makes for automatic access is ideology not capitalism. Low-hanging fruit abounds in regions like NYC and conservative snobs won't get it - because they don't have to. So, why provide aid or leadership, eh?
Even when the same process has proven successful bringing healthier food to schools without added cost.
Presuming good economic opportunity makes for automatic access is ideology not capitalism. Low-hanging fruit abounds in regions like NYC and conservative snobs won't get it - because they don't have to. So, why provide aid or leadership, eh?
Even when the same process has proven successful bringing healthier food to schools without added cost.
13
I can't believe that the researchers didn't imagine that this would happen. People make choices based upon their own preferences. Those preferences can be determined by education. Common sense, anyone? But it is good, it seems to me, to ignore common sense, because that won't contribute towards developing the scientific studies that bring in the grant money.
15
It's amazing how often in the history of science what was "common sense" and "obvious" turned out to be wrong. Having said that, I do agree it's not surprising that food preferences dominate. I remember two friends. One high school buddy would always eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch; the other, a college classmate, would always have a hamburger for dinner. They both really, really liked what they ate.
13
Education, education, education.
Bring different cultures doing demo's at the market of cheap healthy eat ideas and tips to inspire and educate others ways to cook and eat healthy inexpensively.
I live in an Hispanic neighborhood and have learned a lot from their culture about ways to cook healthy and reasonable! Plus the Mexican uses chilies and jalapeños which keep your immune system up and certainly bring a lot of fire to your digestion which can be good if done with balance.
Bring different cultures doing demo's at the market of cheap healthy eat ideas and tips to inspire and educate others ways to cook and eat healthy inexpensively.
I live in an Hispanic neighborhood and have learned a lot from their culture about ways to cook healthy and reasonable! Plus the Mexican uses chilies and jalapeños which keep your immune system up and certainly bring a lot of fire to your digestion which can be good if done with balance.
12
What a shocker. People prefer foods with lots of sugar and fat and salt combined with unpronounceable lists of ingredients concocted by food "scientists" specifically to make stuff taste better.
To combat that combination of seductive and addictive edibles that have been purposefully designed to hi-jack the human body's pleasure reward system, a person needs some serious cooking skills and knowledge along with a sustained desire to deal with it.
This is not about choice, availability or even money. It's fairly easy to eat well, or at least healthily, on a very limited budget, (I know, I did it for years). At least now with this research we have some data to show this, and maybe now we can try a more useful strategy.
Really, the only available public policy approach to this problem of obesity and poor dietary habits would be to teach cooking, nutrition, budgeting and maybe even gardening to kids, every year they're in school. Maybe then you'd make a dent.
To combat that combination of seductive and addictive edibles that have been purposefully designed to hi-jack the human body's pleasure reward system, a person needs some serious cooking skills and knowledge along with a sustained desire to deal with it.
This is not about choice, availability or even money. It's fairly easy to eat well, or at least healthily, on a very limited budget, (I know, I did it for years). At least now with this research we have some data to show this, and maybe now we can try a more useful strategy.
Really, the only available public policy approach to this problem of obesity and poor dietary habits would be to teach cooking, nutrition, budgeting and maybe even gardening to kids, every year they're in school. Maybe then you'd make a dent.
67
After the invention of the light bulb, it took years for manufacturers to use it to best effect. Likewise, if a homemaker has not had the regular availability of healthy foods for years (or ever), do you expect she will automatically begin using healthy foods often and well within a brief period? It takes time, exposure, tasting, and maybe lessons to allow the chronically poorly fed to make best use of newly available options.
22
Ironically, I think vanity did more to change the eating habits of many Americans than anything else. Vanity and fear. Every seriously conscientious healthy-food eater that I've ever met (and I'm one of them) became involved with learning about nutrition either because they were trying to lose weight or train for some physical sport, or because they became persuaded that processed foods were more or less poisonous, or both. It's way to much hassle to change the eating habits of a lifetime without serious inspiration. Factor in poverty and that hassle is many times compounded.
26
"Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It "
Giving anyone -- rich, poor, or in the middle -- easy access to healthy food doesn't mean they'll buy it. I have observed people of means fill market baskets with items from "inside the perimeter," and I have helped people at the area food pantry (who have to jump through a lot of hoops to qualify) fore go processed food and select whatever fresh food was available. For those at the food pantry it is a matter of what is available -- donated and purchased.
Giving anyone -- rich, poor, or in the middle -- easy access to healthy food doesn't mean they'll buy it. I have observed people of means fill market baskets with items from "inside the perimeter," and I have helped people at the area food pantry (who have to jump through a lot of hoops to qualify) fore go processed food and select whatever fresh food was available. For those at the food pantry it is a matter of what is available -- donated and purchased.
11
I could have told you this without a study. Also? Fresh fruits and vegetables are not that expensive. Why do we keep hearing that healthy foods are so pricey? It doesn't take a lot of time to make a salad, or a sandwich, or cook up whole wheat pasta (not any more expensive than white pasta) and throw on some steamed veggies with a jar of pasta sauce. I find it very, very hard to believe that people don't know what is healthy food and what is not.
26
I have a hard time with that too. My college educated husband does not know the difference between a protein and a carb even though for 18 years I have been trying to educate him. Some people will never have a clue because they have no interest at all in food planning and preparation.
18
I believe that one of the biggest problems that we face is the loss of practical classes in schools: in this case, home economics, but also shop, and similar courses. It may be that other classes may help one land a job these days, but on the other hand, these classes can teach students how to live within their means and abilities. Besides, there is always a need for these skills, so they can help land a job, as well.
115
I agree. Growing up in the late '90s (NOT too long ago) my husband was a high school student in Columbus, Ohio (a suburb of the city). His high school required every student to take either home ec or shop class. They also had to take care of a sack of flour, which is a level of responsibility I never learned in my elite, NYC prep school. I'm still terrified of children.
8
Maybe give each of them a crock pot as well. Takes away the cooking time factor.
10
I think the article seems to confuse "heavily processed" with "cheaper".
As a rule of a thumb, a more "heavily processed" food is significantly more expensive than the same less processed food. I.e. dry beans are cheaper than canned beans; raw potatoes (in bulk) are cheaper than frozen fries; regular pasta and sauce is cheaper than canned and cooked pasta; and frozen minced meat is cheaper than practically any product made out of it.
As a rule of a thumb, a more "heavily processed" food is significantly more expensive than the same less processed food. I.e. dry beans are cheaper than canned beans; raw potatoes (in bulk) are cheaper than frozen fries; regular pasta and sauce is cheaper than canned and cooked pasta; and frozen minced meat is cheaper than practically any product made out of it.
22
I think you are also negating the time and effort required to achieve the same amount of calories that one can get with processed food.
So (aside from questioning why canned, plain beans are "heavily processed"), the advanced planning required to soak beans for hours, then cook them, then incorporate them into whatever second recipe you are using them for, can be difficult if one is busy coping with the numerous other distractions that being poor can bring.
So (aside from questioning why canned, plain beans are "heavily processed"), the advanced planning required to soak beans for hours, then cook them, then incorporate them into whatever second recipe you are using them for, can be difficult if one is busy coping with the numerous other distractions that being poor can bring.
30
My father grew up dirt poor...and beans was the staple.
10
It is much easier not to cook healthy, to just eat bad food. Let's just state the obvious.
I used to work long hours while my husband did not. I would make a whole week's worth of meals on Sunday and then put them in the fridge/freezer for us (really him) to eat during the week. This reason for this was to save money. It was and is expensive to buy convenience foods. I have been doing this ever since. Now with three kids, I get home around 7, not early but no 10pm. My habit of planning each week has really made my kids crave good and healthy food. But I must say it is very stressful for me and the hour+ I spend on the weekend I would rather be sleeping or having a cocktail! But I think in the long run it will be better for everyone.
I used to work long hours while my husband did not. I would make a whole week's worth of meals on Sunday and then put them in the fridge/freezer for us (really him) to eat during the week. This reason for this was to save money. It was and is expensive to buy convenience foods. I have been doing this ever since. Now with three kids, I get home around 7, not early but no 10pm. My habit of planning each week has really made my kids crave good and healthy food. But I must say it is very stressful for me and the hour+ I spend on the weekend I would rather be sleeping or having a cocktail! But I think in the long run it will be better for everyone.
59
Why would it surprise anyone that "fresher, healthier food is more expensive to buy than less healthy processed food?" or that poor people would not change their grocery store habits when more expensive food became available--but NOT more money with which to purchase it?
And why does it not surprise me that some commenters persist in blaming these poor folks for "poor choices" in food nonetheless?
And why does it not surprise me that some commenters persist in blaming these poor folks for "poor choices" in food nonetheless?
14
I am not poor but I will be soon if I continue to purchase fresh veggies. I was going to have some beets yesterday but at $1.25 each for 3 small beets I almost fell over. The quality of fruit and vegatables has gone down immensely in recent years and I suspect GMO is the cause of the weird texture and horrible taste of these items now. The watermelon I did purchase was so bitter that I had to throw it out as it was inedible. This is a common occurrence here in Michigan, so hard to get quality. I have also noticed several large grocery chains selling ungraded meat; these cuts of meat just say USDA inspected with no grading at all. I am finding it harder to eat healthily here in a major metropolitan area even with the farmers markets. many of which are selling food from other countries which I never saw until a few years ago.
16
Shocker. Social engineering doesn't work. Such means only one thing, they'll try this experiment over and over again.
23
Harder and much more expensively.
And people can be hooked on sugar as I once was. I would drink a two liter bottle of cola almost every night and when I didn't I would
eat a half gallon of ice cream. Quitting was *hard*, I had to taper off.
Apple juice first, then apple juice cut with increasing percentage of water until I'd kicked the beast. I still remember the first time, I passed the half gallon of ice cream half off and didn't buy it, a major effort in my drive to live clean.
And people can be hooked on sugar as I once was. I would drink a two liter bottle of cola almost every night and when I didn't I would
eat a half gallon of ice cream. Quitting was *hard*, I had to taper off.
Apple juice first, then apple juice cut with increasing percentage of water until I'd kicked the beast. I still remember the first time, I passed the half gallon of ice cream half off and didn't buy it, a major effort in my drive to live clean.
20
The biggest component is teaching people how to prepare, cook, and budget time and expense for their diets, not simply giving them a store.... Like one said, not just providing fish, but teaching how to fish.... This goes for any item, product, or service...
20
This is why I laugh at most sociological studies that get reported on these days. Often times the conclusions merely conform to the political correct dogma of the day.
Also some the comments about the poor having enough time to cook healthy are also silly. The poor eat unhealthy because want to it really isn't that deep.
Also some the comments about the poor having enough time to cook healthy are also silly. The poor eat unhealthy because want to it really isn't that deep.
18
One individual disparages comments about the poor lacking enough time to cook health-promoting foods, explaining that "The poor eat unhealthy because [they] want to."
Please consider this: a large percentage of poor people are priced out of homes in city areas where they can find jobs. They spend hours commuting by bus, subway, train, bicycle, or and/or on foot. Some must work two part-time jobs, geographically far apart, to survive. They return from those jobs to homes they must clean and maintain on their own and children who need loving care (no household staff!). They do indeed have very little free time.
Please consider this: a large percentage of poor people are priced out of homes in city areas where they can find jobs. They spend hours commuting by bus, subway, train, bicycle, or and/or on foot. Some must work two part-time jobs, geographically far apart, to survive. They return from those jobs to homes they must clean and maintain on their own and children who need loving care (no household staff!). They do indeed have very little free time.
67
I beg to differ. We need nutrition education in elementary school. Once the information about what's good for you or not is ingrained in your brain... it's hard to get rid of. It won't make everyone perfect but it's a crucial start.
18
Geez ML Chadwick: I lived in NY all my working life. One year I took eight buses a day--to get my child to school, get myself to another bus for a long commute to work, and reverse. I held a full-time job all the time my child was young, and I had to do all my chores on the weekend--including cooking for the whole week so we could just heat up our meals when I got home. It's hard but not impossible.
14
For several years, I volunteered in a food bank where, in addition to the bags of standard grocery items passed out, clients could choose three items from a well-stocked pantry to add to their orders. We were located in an affluent town, so the shelves included organic and gourmet items from fancy markets, and some bulk items like fie pound bags of flour. beans or rice, in addition to supermarket "fast food", like canned meals, rice-a-roni, hamburger helper, cookies, syrup, etc. My experience was that the fast food items were more popular by far with the core served population. No one could spare the time and trouble involved in preparing food "from scratch", and many of the clients would refuse to take anything labeled "organic". It was also pretty clear that very few of them were interested in any input from me as to what was a good choice -- they were interested in something easy to prepare or a treat, such as cookies. I think it's pretty hard for those of us who are well-fed, clothed, housed, and compensated to understand the desperate and overstressed lives the poor among us lead. I think it's easily imaginable that they just want to fuel up, as quickly as possible, and get on with it -- and that, given an opportunity, they would choose an unhealthy treat over something that's prescribed to them as "good for you".
106
I live in a non-affluent neighborhood in Manhattan that has an excellent farmers' market. My favorite thing to buy, unfortunately, are the fresh baked cookies and fresh apple cider donuts. I sometimes buy stuff for salads that week, but I never leave without my cookies.
2
People grab the Hamburger Helper instead of making it from scratch because it is often more expensive to buy everything separately. They can get the Hamburger Helper on sale for .99, but if they bought the ingredients separately it would cost more... the seasonings, the pasta, the vegetables, these all add up to more money than the prepackaged item. They don't take the bag of flour because they may not have all the other ingredients at home to make a meal out of flour. You can't just pour flour into a bowl and eat it. You need to mix it with other things to make a meal, and the person may not have the items or be able to afford them. Bread is a great example.. you can buy a generic loaf for 80 cents, but to make a loaf you need the flour, yeast, sugar, milk, butter..... all that costs a lot more than 80 cents.... The yeast alone costs more than the pre-made loaf, and a person in poverty may not have all those ingredients on hand - so they grab the pre-packaged meal instead of the flour.
8
1) Food is often used as a drug. Sugar and fat feels good (short term). How often are food choices about nutrition? Sometimes they're about self- medicating.
2). The correlation of food choices to educational levels reminds me that people who go to college are often able to self- discipline and delay gratification, in addition to having better nutritional knowledge and habits.
There are too many stories of poor immigrant families carrying their food heritages into the States to believe that this is not able to be overcome.
2). The correlation of food choices to educational levels reminds me that people who go to college are often able to self- discipline and delay gratification, in addition to having better nutritional knowledge and habits.
There are too many stories of poor immigrant families carrying their food heritages into the States to believe that this is not able to be overcome.
28
I work with medical students and we assess communities for healthful assets like access to fresh foods and pollution in the environment. Students are asked to not only count food stores but to go inside and look at the prices. Because they are students and poor; the recognize immediately when foods are priced out of their budget limits. Articles like this one and the ones that say curing food deserts bring in higher income clients are ignoring the realities of being poor. A grocery with $1 per pound bananas will not improve the diet of poor residents.
Generations of adapting to canned foods will not improve blood pressure level overnight just because high priced veggies are available nearby. A bit of logic must be applied to policy and planning in order for it to be helpful.
Generations of adapting to canned foods will not improve blood pressure level overnight just because high priced veggies are available nearby. A bit of logic must be applied to policy and planning in order for it to be helpful.
17
A person working all day and coming home to kids with activities and homework--needs--will still not have time to cook healthy meals. And a person raised on junk food is not going to change their food preferences just because there is a new store nearby. A person with no money is not going to be able to buy healthy food to begin with because it is expensive. Our industrial food system has changed how we deal with small food budgets. No money--load up on starch because it is filling. Ramen, pasta, rice, potatoes, and cheap processed junk is what they can afford. No wonder they gain weight.
26
Healthy food is not more expensive then fast food or junk food. That is a widely held misconception. As for cooking after work there are lots of ways to accomplish that without making it too difficult and if you can involve the kids. I was a latchkey kid and helped to get dinner ready when I was as young as 7. No cooking however!
11
When people have access to healthier food and have TIME to cook at home maybe things will get better. Who knows what the answer is.
7
This article accurately reflects my own observations of shoppers in the small city in Texas where I reside. Although the city has a higher than average per capita income with excellent grocery stores, the eating habits of its residents are pretty bad. Texas has a high obesity and diabetes rate, particularly among Latinos, who comprise one-third of the city's population.
11
It's habit. Poor people have been eating poorly for years because of the cost and because it wasn't around, not because it's their culture. I'm Dominican and my mother always made beans, salads and all kinds of vegetables with dinner. The problem is that so many of these families are so far removed from the great grandparents and grandparents that used to cook, that they don't remember how to cook well at home. You can't just give them a supermarket and tell them to figure it out, you have to teach them. Personally, I've learned a lot about eating healthy from going to organic supermarkets with food and salad bars like Forager's and copying their dishes. And from reading and watching videos. Every time I go to the markets by my house and a Latin person sees me buying certain vegetables that are not common to our culture, they ask me how that's cooked. When I give people tips they use them and then end up incorporating them into their diet. Education, education, education.
87
I detect a strawman here. I don't think food access advocates ever claimed that a grocery store by itself would solve these problems, which have been decades in the making. This is why many of these organizations offer nutrition, cooking and budgeting classes and workshops as well.
48
Well with today's ethos of victimization, stories like mine are not fahsionable or PC. But somehow, growing up in a very poor/low-income home, my immigrant mother managed to cook and prepare healthy meals on a very tight budget. How much do rice and beans cost? A few packages of frozen veggies? Tilapia? Potatoes? Cabbage? Oat or cornmeal for sustaining porridges? Wholegrain flour? It really isn't that hard, people. Having both my mother and father in the household also helped a great deal.
72
Eilat, it may not have been hard for you, but it was for your Mom, who did the planning and cooking, and both your parents, in their daily efforts to make income and time support the family's nutritional requirements.
14
Your immigrant mother was more knowledgeable than most of middle class mothers who feed their kids junk everyday. Because she was an immigrant doesn't make her ignorant.
9
Not all in fact, I credit the fact that she was an immigrant to the reason why we did eat so healthy, felt nourished, had very little reason to visit Drs, and grew up to be adults knowing how to eat well and how to cook for ourselves. it was my mother who provided the example; in fact, it was she who was bewildered by the bizarre eating practices (microwave meals, fast food, junk food snacking, etc) of those in her new country. She always drilled into our minds that one can never be too lazy to cook for one's self, as one's health is their wealth and without it you have nothing.
25
Oh werid - you mean just throwing money (or tax rebates) at the problem doesn't actually affect people's underlying habits much? Same could be said education and healthcare.
This is such a deep, engrained, generational issue that a simple "let's build a Whole Foods in a projects" isn't the solution.
This is such a deep, engrained, generational issue that a simple "let's build a Whole Foods in a projects" isn't the solution.
14
Cost is a huge factor when it comes to fresh fruits an vegetables in many areas... at discounted stores "bad" and over processed food is often much less expensive. Parents on limited incomes buy imitation cheese, fake butter, convenience foods and items like Ramen noodles and .99 cheap frozen dinners or pizzas instead of fresh fruits ad vegetables because of that. When you can buy a dozen packs of Ramen Noodles for 2.50, they won't spend 2.00 for a green pepper. (Yes, I have seen them cost that much). Lower priced food stores have a very limited selection of fresh produce, and it is often of a lower quality compared to higher priced national market stores. Someone else mentioned on this feed that food pantries give "good" fresh foods away free - apparently they have never been to a food pantry. I have taken friends in need to them more than once - I have seen fruit with rotting black spots given out, terribly bruised apples and bananas, potatoes with 2" sprouts, oranges with green mold on them, among other things. People know what is healthy for them or not - but seeing these people trying to feed a large family on a limited income, sometimes cost overrides healthy choices. I do agree some people waste money on pop and sugary treats and expensive unhealthy options, but when Kool Aid is .25 a package and real juice is 3.00, what do you think a poor person will choose? People who have not had to live this way, or who have not witnessed poverty first hand have no idea...
43
Your comment, though insightful, ignores the entire point of the article: "Education of the shoppers was much more predictive than their incomes." So actually, people do not know is healthy -- that's the issue!
5
I never bought junk food when I was living on limited income, I just eat less and worked more to buy raw food and cook it myself. Offering junk food in the market is just wrong, for poor or middle class since the 1% lives different.
5
So much of the issues stems from the commercialism that we are faced with. The lack of education certainly does detract from their decision-making, but the large corporations make it seem like the people have no choice (or no better option) than to just continue purchasing from them.
9
Eating well is a matter of being aware of what is healthful and, at the same time, being able to appreciate the difference between the exquisite flavors of good food and the nauseating flavors and aromas of junk. There aren't good groceries in low-income neighborhoods because most residents won't buy good food. Folks who don't want good food won't buy it.
They won't even take it when it's free. When I worked with young unwed mothers, we tried to teach them about nutrition and always had donated crates of fresh fruits and vegetables for them to choose from. Some of the fruit was accepted; the vegetables withered.
Visit any food bank. Every one I've ever visited is stocked with plenty of cans of stuff loaded, of course, with salt, sugar, and chemicals to die for. Packaged breads, rolls, cookies, crackers, cereals, mixes. Some frozen meats sometimes. No fresh produce.
Who is running these studies? Who are these nincompoops who cannot simply look at the shoppers in these "food deserts" and figure out -- without requiring thousands upon thousands of dollars for research -- that people won't buy good food if they don't want to eat good food?
They won't even take it when it's free. When I worked with young unwed mothers, we tried to teach them about nutrition and always had donated crates of fresh fruits and vegetables for them to choose from. Some of the fruit was accepted; the vegetables withered.
Visit any food bank. Every one I've ever visited is stocked with plenty of cans of stuff loaded, of course, with salt, sugar, and chemicals to die for. Packaged breads, rolls, cookies, crackers, cereals, mixes. Some frozen meats sometimes. No fresh produce.
Who is running these studies? Who are these nincompoops who cannot simply look at the shoppers in these "food deserts" and figure out -- without requiring thousands upon thousands of dollars for research -- that people won't buy good food if they don't want to eat good food?
23
I have visited MANY food pantries helping out friends with rides to them.... the reason why they do not often have fresh produce is because they rely on donated and often expired items. I have taken friends to these food pantries and they have been given bruised and damaged fruit - one friend was actually told to cut away the black parts on her bananas and then give the rest to her kids and they would never know, and a different pantry told her on a separate occasion that "mold won't hurt the cheese - just cut away the green parts - after all, blue cheese is made of moldy cheese". They gave out potatoes with 2" long sprouts, moldy strawberries and oranges, and wilted, expired bags of lettuce. Just because someone is poor does not mean they need to accept substandard food. They want good food but just cannot always afford it.
13
Mold on cheese is not at all harmful. Cut it away, wipe the cut with vinegar, and wrap the cheese in fresh plastic wrap. Bananas are fine when the over-ripened black sections are cut away. Bruised and damaged fruit is unattractive, but not always inedible. Good cooks know all this.
And, yes, food banks rely on donations. But all of them I've worked with actually tell donors to bring canned goods and other staples that have long shelf lives.
And, yes, food banks rely on donations. But all of them I've worked with actually tell donors to bring canned goods and other staples that have long shelf lives.
3
Most people in NYV know that the 'food desert' excuse was just that, as NYers of all ages routinely lug home heavy grocery bags from Trader Joe's, often taking a bus and walking a good 1/2 mile.
16
The art of cooking with knowledge of taste has to be a variable in changing poor decisions. Habits can change not necessarily Comfort Food .
3
Time is a huge factor in how people eat. Many would like to eat better; but don't know how to fit that into their busy schedules.
My well-educated, successful daughter and her husband eat way more junk than they should, because they both work long hours in high pressure jobs. Neither of them have time for meal planning, shopping and cooking. They know they need to change; they know how to eat healthy and have in the past. But tonight they'll order pizza again.
And I'm sure that people with far less resources are even more boxed in by their work lives.
We need to develop some way to broadcast healthy meals (with veggies) that take 20 minutes or less to prepare.
And we need to promote the idea that spending an hour or two on food prep on weekends can go a long way. (My own healthy meals get prepared in large batches and then are stored in the refrigerator or freezer.)
My well-educated, successful daughter and her husband eat way more junk than they should, because they both work long hours in high pressure jobs. Neither of them have time for meal planning, shopping and cooking. They know they need to change; they know how to eat healthy and have in the past. But tonight they'll order pizza again.
And I'm sure that people with far less resources are even more boxed in by their work lives.
We need to develop some way to broadcast healthy meals (with veggies) that take 20 minutes or less to prepare.
And we need to promote the idea that spending an hour or two on food prep on weekends can go a long way. (My own healthy meals get prepared in large batches and then are stored in the refrigerator or freezer.)
19
As an investment banker married to a wife also in finance, and two plus hour commute each day from the suburbs - the "we don't have time" excuse is just that, an excuse.
We make a home cooked dinner 5-6 nights a week - each usually taking less than 30 minutes to complete - but to us that is a much better use of our evening time than watching tv.
We make a home cooked dinner 5-6 nights a week - each usually taking less than 30 minutes to complete - but to us that is a much better use of our evening time than watching tv.
34
I completely agree. When I was working part time and self-employed, I was able to plan, shop and prepare healthy meals for my husband and me. Now that we are both working full time, more often than not we only get 2-3 home cooked meals a week, and those are mostly on weekends. There just isn't the time to shop, prep and cook and eat at a reasonable hour. I'm sure that poorer people have to work longer hours and typically have longer commutes than I do; when it's so much easier to throw a frozen meal in the microwave how can we fault them for it?
9
i eat a lot of bagged salads. I open the bag, sometimes rinse (but, I admit, sometimes not), throw it in a bowl, put some salt and herbs on, and eat. It takes maybe 2 minutes to prep if I rinse, and less than that if I don't. Now admittedly the salad is not a whole meal, but at least increasing the amount of vegetables in your diet does not have to be time consuming.
5
yeah... this is happening all over the country. it's not an access issue, it's a behavior change one.
my NPO, Appleseed, is helping an urban farm in North Long Beach, CA to solve this problem. the farm is in the Carmelitos Housing Project - super healthy produce grown IN the housing project sold at subsidized prices. access doesn't get better than that, but no residents buy. Proximity is one thing, but there are SO MANY other barriers to changing people's buying/cooking/eating behaviors - poor perception of the farm, EBT not accepted, not recognizing veggies, unwillingness to risk limited budgets on produce they're not familiar with, etc. etc.
at the same time, motivators aren't being tapped. it's not "if you build it they will come". it's "if you build it and give them a reason to come that beats out competition, they might come slowly" Motivators we're looking at include - need for food at the end of month when benefits have run out, single mothers caring about kids, people want budget strategies, yearning for a sense of community, fun and free food...
so we put together a strategy - change the CSA to match what residents want, while piloting ways of getting a core group of followers engaged; then, re-brand, before finally promoting to the community at large. yesterday we met to throw many ideas (tactics) out there for the first two steps. that went well. we'll start implementing in the coming months, and we do stand a chance to make a difference.
wish us luck!
my NPO, Appleseed, is helping an urban farm in North Long Beach, CA to solve this problem. the farm is in the Carmelitos Housing Project - super healthy produce grown IN the housing project sold at subsidized prices. access doesn't get better than that, but no residents buy. Proximity is one thing, but there are SO MANY other barriers to changing people's buying/cooking/eating behaviors - poor perception of the farm, EBT not accepted, not recognizing veggies, unwillingness to risk limited budgets on produce they're not familiar with, etc. etc.
at the same time, motivators aren't being tapped. it's not "if you build it they will come". it's "if you build it and give them a reason to come that beats out competition, they might come slowly" Motivators we're looking at include - need for food at the end of month when benefits have run out, single mothers caring about kids, people want budget strategies, yearning for a sense of community, fun and free food...
so we put together a strategy - change the CSA to match what residents want, while piloting ways of getting a core group of followers engaged; then, re-brand, before finally promoting to the community at large. yesterday we met to throw many ideas (tactics) out there for the first two steps. that went well. we'll start implementing in the coming months, and we do stand a chance to make a difference.
wish us luck!
81
Thoughtful and practical solutions. I wish you all the luck in the world. Your efforts could become a template for others.
5
Love what you're doing! I'm really busy and don't particularly like to cook. When i see a vegetable, I see a problem -- how do I prepare it? Having a small recipe card suggesting ideas for simple prep as well as storage tips would solve the problem on the spot. You could also suggest staples to keep in the kitchen, such as salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, onions, favorite dried spices, etc. I wish my supermarket had simple recipe suggestions right next to produce -- I'd feel less stressed out when I'm grocery shopping, LOL!
5
Thanks so much. It's actually somewhat of a template we follow that can be applied to many different marketing efforts. It's called CBSM (community based social marketing), a methodology based on the assumption that there are barriers and motivators constantly at battle within a person, governing every action he or she takes.
So it's really important to first understand people in the community first (what are the barriers keeping people from doing something and what are the motivators that compel them to do something). Then, you can work backwards to develop a social marketing campaign that finds ways of removing as many barriers as possible, and using as many motivators as possible. That's what creates the chance for change.
So it's really important to first understand people in the community first (what are the barriers keeping people from doing something and what are the motivators that compel them to do something). Then, you can work backwards to develop a social marketing campaign that finds ways of removing as many barriers as possible, and using as many motivators as possible. That's what creates the chance for change.
7
This has nothing to do with education and everything to do with poverty. When you live in an apartment in which the landlord never calls the exterminator and the gas line hasn't been checked since 1994 you don't want to be attracting vermin by chopping vegetables and handling raw meat or taking your life in your hands by using the stove. You also don't have time to be doing these things, because you're working two jobs and making sure the kids can get to and from school safely and have some space to do their homework. Also, pickiness about food and the reluctance to try new things is a universal phenomenon, not confined to one culture; the difference is that those who are slightly better off have the time and energy to fight domestic food battles and have culinary adventures and the poor have more pressing issues to deal with.
If you want the poor to eat better, then create good jobs with strong unions and good schools and good health care and tell the financial service and criminal justice institutions to stop preying on them. Stop patronizing them for not patronizing the produce section.
If you want the poor to eat better, then create good jobs with strong unions and good schools and good health care and tell the financial service and criminal justice institutions to stop preying on them. Stop patronizing them for not patronizing the produce section.
140
Pickiness about food is not a universal phenomenon. We are taught by intelligent, educated (even self-educated) parents to try everything. We are told that we cannot reasonably say we don't like something without giving it a good try.
Good marketers know what sells where. They test market their products and services. What is described as "food deserts" in neighborhoods, are merely areas where smart business people know their goods will not be purchased by the residents. But there sure enough will be plenty of stores selling, liquor, electronics, tattoos, jewelry, and so on. Go take a look.
Good marketers know what sells where. They test market their products and services. What is described as "food deserts" in neighborhoods, are merely areas where smart business people know their goods will not be purchased by the residents. But there sure enough will be plenty of stores selling, liquor, electronics, tattoos, jewelry, and so on. Go take a look.
9
I would imagine that to some extent people's preferences reflect the kinds of things they grew up eating... probably another way the detrimental effects of poverty and low education are passed through generations!
21
"In general, fresher, healthier food is more expensive to buy than less healthy processed food."
This has not been my experience. It gets repeated a lot but I have not ever seen any proof it's true. Last Saturday I went to the smaller, drabber "ethnic" grocery near my house. The Anglos shop at the shiny place across the highway. I bought spinach, Romaine, 2 peppers, 2 tomatoes, a bunch of celery, a zucchini, a yellow squash, a head of broccoli, 1/2 lb of carrots, a cucumber, 6 large navel oranges, 3 apples and a whole pineapple. Cost: $12.52. I have been feasting on this all week. If you're paying a lot for produce, you're shopping at the wrong place. The shiny store across the way knows it's customers are not price sensitive and they will pay $2.59 for an avocado. At the ethnic place, avocados are often 3-for-$1. Their customers buy lots of fresh produce and cook it themselves. They're price sensitive and the grocery knows that and provides competitive prices on things they buy.
In any event, people are going to buy what they like. You can put a vegetable garden in everyone's front yard and many still won't eat the vegetables. My farmer's market always has plenty of turnips. I have no idea what to do with a turnip.
This has not been my experience. It gets repeated a lot but I have not ever seen any proof it's true. Last Saturday I went to the smaller, drabber "ethnic" grocery near my house. The Anglos shop at the shiny place across the highway. I bought spinach, Romaine, 2 peppers, 2 tomatoes, a bunch of celery, a zucchini, a yellow squash, a head of broccoli, 1/2 lb of carrots, a cucumber, 6 large navel oranges, 3 apples and a whole pineapple. Cost: $12.52. I have been feasting on this all week. If you're paying a lot for produce, you're shopping at the wrong place. The shiny store across the way knows it's customers are not price sensitive and they will pay $2.59 for an avocado. At the ethnic place, avocados are often 3-for-$1. Their customers buy lots of fresh produce and cook it themselves. They're price sensitive and the grocery knows that and provides competitive prices on things they buy.
In any event, people are going to buy what they like. You can put a vegetable garden in everyone's front yard and many still won't eat the vegetables. My farmer's market always has plenty of turnips. I have no idea what to do with a turnip.
34
You really think that what you bought would feed a poor family? For 12.52 a mom in poverty would buy a 12 pack of Ramen Noodles for 2.50, 3 boxes of generic fake macaroni and cheese on sale for 1.00, 2 loaves of processed white bread for .80 cents each and fake imitation American cheese for 1.49, fake butter for 1.19, 8 packs of Kool Aid for .25 ea, sugar for 2.50 to make the Kool aid, she may get a bag of potatoes for 2.50 to make fried potatoes with, or hash browns.... maybe a dozen eggs for 1.50 and maybe, if there is enough left, she may get a few bananas if they are not too expensive, maybe 1.00 for 2 pounds. This equals approximately what your little bit of healthy food would cost - and the healthy food would nowhere near feed a mom and 2 kids for a week. That is how poverty looks.
43
I apologize, I did miscalculate the cost on my other post... but you still get the idea. A person in poverty will go for quantity over quality when trying to feed their family. Two 2.00 frozen pizzas and a .25 cent pitcher of Kool Aid goes a lot farther than a 2.00 green pepper and a 2.50 pitcher of real juice when feeding hungry children.
17
I like mine boiled and mashed with a touch of butter or margarine and a little coarse salt or herbs.
6
Food companies formulate and market processed foods to the masses. The right combination of salt, sugar, fat lights up pleasure centers in the brain. To turn around a lifelong diet of chips, soda, and processed food takes work and won't happen overnight. I suspect instilling fear to promote a healthy diet is ineffective. The approach needs to be behavioral with goals like replacing one meal a week with a plant based meal without processed food or sugar. Then move on from there.
12
"In general, fresher, healthier food is more expensive to buy than less healthy processed food."
This may be true for boutique or out-of-season foods imported halfway around the world.
But staple foods like milk, cheese, cabbage, bananas, carrots, onions, leaf lettuce, chicken, rice, bread, tortillas, peanut butter, etc are pretty inexpensive in my area.
Buying microwaveable food in colorful boxes is expensive. For people working 60 to 80 hours a week, time is a big problem. On the other hand, around 40% of the population isn't working outside the home and TV watching averages 33 hours a week for adults.
Teaching kids to cook healthy foods simply and safely is a major effort in schools around here, with nutrition education specialists paid (not much) by the state extension service.
This may be true for boutique or out-of-season foods imported halfway around the world.
But staple foods like milk, cheese, cabbage, bananas, carrots, onions, leaf lettuce, chicken, rice, bread, tortillas, peanut butter, etc are pretty inexpensive in my area.
Buying microwaveable food in colorful boxes is expensive. For people working 60 to 80 hours a week, time is a big problem. On the other hand, around 40% of the population isn't working outside the home and TV watching averages 33 hours a week for adults.
Teaching kids to cook healthy foods simply and safely is a major effort in schools around here, with nutrition education specialists paid (not much) by the state extension service.
67
I was curious, and tried to read the "study"... the supplied link led me to a second website, which led me to a third -- a paid-subscription-only online journal, with the option to purchase this ten-page article for $45. I'd guess that it's much the same with health{y|ier} food at that new Associated Supermarket in Morissania: you get what you pay for (and the only thing "free" is looking). The cost of neighborhood residents' housing didn't change -- neither did that of their utilities (public transportation did... it increased) -- and it's safe to say that those who do have jobs haven't seen a meaningful raise in their paychecks. Carbs are filling, fats are satiating, while cooking "whole" (unprocessed) foods takes time -- time which is more easily dedicated to social-media apps on "devices".
"If you build it, they will come"... but they won't change their buying or eating habits.
"If you build it, they will come"... but they won't change their buying or eating habits.
7
I think it's unfair to contribute these issues to laziness as you imply ("spending too much time on devices"). Having interacted personally with issues at non-profits, I can tell you education is a huge barrier. Learning how certain fruits and veggies are properly prepared is knowledge, time, and resource intensive.
I remember one event we held where we showed how much sugar is in pop (measure out the sugar and place it next to the can to show, "Hey, this what you're drinking! It's all sugar--and that's bad!"). It struck me how powerful this imagery was because it's information that I gained simply by the reading the label.
I remember one event we held where we showed how much sugar is in pop (measure out the sugar and place it next to the can to show, "Hey, this what you're drinking! It's all sugar--and that's bad!"). It struck me how powerful this imagery was because it's information that I gained simply by the reading the label.
3
"It’s possible that poverty itself explains a lot of the shopping variation. In general, fresher, healthier food is more expensive to buy than less healthy processed food. It also takes more time and resources to cook, and keeps for fewer days."
This is a huge problem, but while the government cannot do much about reducing the time and resources to cook (or how long food can stay fresh), it can certainly champion policies that reduce the price of fresher, healthier food. It's fair to say that this won't be a panacea for substantially reducing the obesity rate, but it's something that should be tried. The freshest, healthiest food should be the cheapest food, cheap enough, even, that families will prefer to make multiple trips to the grocery store than one large-scale, bulk purchasing of mostly unhealthy food meant to last for a week or longer.
The government has a clear interest in offering its citizens every possible incentive to consume the healthiest food and drink; yes, it should pick winners and losers and stop subsidizing products of little or no nutritional value. It will recoup any costs in long-term healthcare savings many times over. Just building a grocery store in an area that previously had no access to one, as we have seen, is insufficient. People actually have to purchase the healthy food and drink inside of them for the investment to work.
This is a huge problem, but while the government cannot do much about reducing the time and resources to cook (or how long food can stay fresh), it can certainly champion policies that reduce the price of fresher, healthier food. It's fair to say that this won't be a panacea for substantially reducing the obesity rate, but it's something that should be tried. The freshest, healthiest food should be the cheapest food, cheap enough, even, that families will prefer to make multiple trips to the grocery store than one large-scale, bulk purchasing of mostly unhealthy food meant to last for a week or longer.
The government has a clear interest in offering its citizens every possible incentive to consume the healthiest food and drink; yes, it should pick winners and losers and stop subsidizing products of little or no nutritional value. It will recoup any costs in long-term healthcare savings many times over. Just building a grocery store in an area that previously had no access to one, as we have seen, is insufficient. People actually have to purchase the healthy food and drink inside of them for the investment to work.
13
Education is the key....and maybe it would help if there weren't so many cheap fast food services nearby!
2
Fast food is not that cheap anymore, but you can get it NOW -- it is definitely fast -- and no cooking time.
But even that is not the appeal. Neither is taste, really.
The appeal? NO CLEANING UP. I am amazed that naive people do not realize this. I guess you all have cleaning ladies.
The main impediment is not shopping -- not cooking -- not the lack of a fancy kitchen or utilities being turned on -- it is the horror of having to clean up. The dishwashing. The scraping of pans. The arguing about "whose turn is it?" The soaking in the sink. The disgusting leftovers. The spoilage of the leftovers in the fridge. The smells. Getting up the next morning, and seeing the disgusting greasy pans and silverware and cookware still in the sink.
Everyone hates this. The wealthy can off-source it to servants. The middle class does it, but reluctantly. The poor will do what they can to avoid it. EVERYONE HATES CLEANING UP.
But even that is not the appeal. Neither is taste, really.
The appeal? NO CLEANING UP. I am amazed that naive people do not realize this. I guess you all have cleaning ladies.
The main impediment is not shopping -- not cooking -- not the lack of a fancy kitchen or utilities being turned on -- it is the horror of having to clean up. The dishwashing. The scraping of pans. The arguing about "whose turn is it?" The soaking in the sink. The disgusting leftovers. The spoilage of the leftovers in the fridge. The smells. Getting up the next morning, and seeing the disgusting greasy pans and silverware and cookware still in the sink.
Everyone hates this. The wealthy can off-source it to servants. The middle class does it, but reluctantly. The poor will do what they can to avoid it. EVERYONE HATES CLEANING UP.
11
The people doing these studies and recommending program changes rarely have on-the-ground experience with a very low income life. If you're working two or more jobs, you won't have time or energy to cook raw veggies. If your gas is off, you won't cook at all. If you're depressed because of hopelessness and poor nutrition, you can't see ways to climb out of it through changing your food buying and preparation routines, and sugar, fat and carbs may be the easiest, cheapest depression antidotes available to you. And finally: if you're 20, 30, 40 or 50, and have been buying, cooking and eating particular foods most or all of your life, you are not going to change what you're doing overnight. You will evolve and learn, but it will take time, patience, education and logistical supports. And these things seem to be mostly missing from programs trying to solve this problem.
125
How much work does it take to open a can of black beans? Microwave a bag of frozen veggies? Boil up a dozen eggs and keep them in your fridge? That's one of the healthiest meals you could possibly have, and you can make it in minutes. Also really cheap. Pick at a rotisserie chicken for a few meals. Get cans of tuna. Keep some apples on hand. Eating healthy is not hard or expensive.
54
Open a can of black beans? A dollar or more to feed less than one person a day. (Why not recommend spending three dollars on four times the beans, in dry form, plus rice, for a wider range of nutrients in a form that can feed more than one person for a day or more?) Microwave a bag of frozen veggies? If you have a microwave, a freezer, and a supermarket or bodega that offers frozen veggies. (But where are your protein, grains, dairy and fruit?) Boil a dozen eggs? At 3 dollars a dozen, if your gas is on, electricity is on, and refrigerator is there and working. (One or more eggs may be a stopgap meal, but not a full one._ Pick at a rotisserie chicken? Not cheap. (When you're hungry, picking at food is not what you do.) Cans of tuna? Not cheap, and protein only. Keep some apples on hand? If you can get them, and keep them from rodents and other vermin. Clarkkent2, you're talking ingredients, not meals, from a perspective of what's cheap or easy to prepare in your experience, not from the situational conditions of the poor. Do you even realize that your perceptions, attitude and advice are short on understanding, and what's there is condescending? I don't mean to pile on, but really - picking at a rotesserie chicken for a few meals? Come on.
23
Walk into any home in America and open up a can of black beans and a bag of frozen vegetables and serve that for dinner. Sit back and watch the reaction. That is totally unrealistic. A rotissere chicken? They are nearly 7.00 and are not available at any low income or low priced generic store like Aldi's of Save-A Lot. Low priced stores in poor neighborhoods do not have things like deli's or bakeries or rotisserie chickens. Obviously you have never been to one. Many poor people have no transportation to go to the better groceries. A mom in poverty would buy 12 Ramen noodle meals for 2.50, a loaf of white bread for .80, a frozen pizza for 2.00 and Kool aid for .25 cents, and fake cheese for 1.19 for grilled cheese sandwiches for the cost of that one overpriced chicken, and have a lot more food - albeit unhealthy food - for the same price.
34
For over a decade I've been working with clients who want to lose weight and I see the same thing (except my clients have always had access to healthy food!). They generally CHOOSE not to eat healthy food - their habits are too strong.
There are 2 things that prevent healthy eating:
1) Misinformation
2) Inability to act on proper information
Tell someone to eat vegetables at every meal and they may think you mean eating carrot stick and celery - good luck making that happen (i.e. inability to act on proper information).
Here is a really good resource, The Top 50 Healthy Eating Blogs: http://makeyourbodywork.com/best-healthy-food-blogs/
I always pass this along to my clients because it helps provide an action plan. Most people have proper information when it comes to a healthy diet, but they don't know how to put it into practice. Having a resource like this, with thousands of easy, healthy meal ideas is a start.
My advice: This week your goal is to find 1 recipe that looks good, make it, and tell me if you like it. This practical start is where it all begins when it comes to healthy eating. Make it actionable.
There are 2 things that prevent healthy eating:
1) Misinformation
2) Inability to act on proper information
Tell someone to eat vegetables at every meal and they may think you mean eating carrot stick and celery - good luck making that happen (i.e. inability to act on proper information).
Here is a really good resource, The Top 50 Healthy Eating Blogs: http://makeyourbodywork.com/best-healthy-food-blogs/
I always pass this along to my clients because it helps provide an action plan. Most people have proper information when it comes to a healthy diet, but they don't know how to put it into practice. Having a resource like this, with thousands of easy, healthy meal ideas is a start.
My advice: This week your goal is to find 1 recipe that looks good, make it, and tell me if you like it. This practical start is where it all begins when it comes to healthy eating. Make it actionable.
29
If you continue to eat the way you have always eaten and that has made you obese, then you do not really want to lose weight, you just want a magic pill.
Of the 100 people in my department, there are only ten people who are slim and another twenty who could be considered not especially overweight. The rest are overweight to obese, even those in their twenties.
And yet at any breakfast meeting, the vast majority of people eat bagels and croissants and doughnuts, washed down with bottled juice. The few of us who are not overweight drink water or coffee and some will eat fruit.
Fact: You cannot eat everything you want. If you do, you will gain weight every single year past the age of twenty. Do as you wish, but do not kid yourself that there is some other way to lose weight than by restricting your calories by deciding if that soggy supermarket croissant is really worth it.
Of the 100 people in my department, there are only ten people who are slim and another twenty who could be considered not especially overweight. The rest are overweight to obese, even those in their twenties.
And yet at any breakfast meeting, the vast majority of people eat bagels and croissants and doughnuts, washed down with bottled juice. The few of us who are not overweight drink water or coffee and some will eat fruit.
Fact: You cannot eat everything you want. If you do, you will gain weight every single year past the age of twenty. Do as you wish, but do not kid yourself that there is some other way to lose weight than by restricting your calories by deciding if that soggy supermarket croissant is really worth it.
12
Is anyone looking at digestive comfort? Or gut microbiomes?
3
Education has to be the answer, starting in elementary schools. Free nutritional classes for adults. People need to know that food is a powerful tool for good health, and that bad food will steal their health and vitality. People need to understand that obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some cancers are lifestyle ailments, caused by the S.A.D.
7
I disagree. There is an overabundance of nutrition and cooking information available in the world today. You cannot force people to read it or act on it.
The problem is poor choices.
The problem is poor choices.
4
It's all comedown to the decision process. Education is a huge part of it. Educated person have a better chance to make a sensible decision that will be beneficial in a long term. Therefore to put a Whole Foods supermarket in low income neighborhood not going to solve the issue.
4
That.
If your kitchen is tiny, nasty and dysfunctional with crappy or no large appliances, if simple things like decent cookware, storage containers and decent cleaning supplies, not to mention a healthy and satisfying variety of whole foods, are hard to budget in and if you're exhausted and dispirited anyway, you're not going to blow a large portion of your meager funds assembling seared salmon with a tasty roasted broccoli side. You're going to stick something in the microwave or head for McDonald's.
On the rare occasions that you do cook, you're going to go for the familiar, greasy, starchy comfort food of your childhood.
You can't fix poverty by inserting unsustainable "options" into neighborhoods.
Rich people have no imagination.