The Off Topic Topic

[Grey Fox]

Poor people have leisure time, and they can afford low calorie food. Veggies still aren't that expensive.

If you can find it. A lot of poor people live in a fresh food desert. Especially small town America that were served by a now closing Walmart.

[dps]

I have seen or read that veggies is actually hard to come by in poorer areas of the US. Propaganda or sometging to it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

The map with that is highly misleading, I think.  I would have assumed that those "fresh food deserts" were largely in poor inner-city areas.  The areas shown as being the worst on that map are largely rural areas;  those aren't places where the only local store is a convenience store that doesn't have much in the way of fresh food--there places where there aren't any stores, period--but where lots of people have veggie gardens, if they aren't farmers in the first place.

[Threviel]

But what about frozen? Nutritionally it's often superior to fresh.

[Oexmelin]

No. It's says "no car and no supermarket". Your farmers will have a car. These are poor rural populations, or populations living in small communities, in addition to inner city food deserts.

[Oexmelin]

But what about frozen? Nutritionally it's often superior to fresh.

In most of these places, you'll only have highly processed food, or cans. It's abysmal.

[crazy canuck]

Poor people have leisure time, and they can afford low calorie food. Veggies still aren't that expensive.

Would be nice if that was true.

The working poor work long hours and often multiple jobs/ weekends/ stat holidays/ etc.  Of course the unemployed will have more time away from work.  But that isn't exactly a solution is it   

And junk food is far more affordable.  Veggies are in fact relatively expensive and in some areas not accessible.

Food deserts are defined  as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and healthy food providers.

This has become a big problem because while food deserts are often short on whole food providers, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, instead, they are heavy on local quickie marts that provide a wealth of processed, sugar, and fat laden foods that are known contributors to our nation's obesity epidemic.

edit: http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts

[dps]

No. It’s says “no car and no supermarket”. Your farmers will have a car. These are poor rural populations, or populations living in small communities, in addition to inner city food deserts.

I wasn't talking about commercial farming operations, more subsistence farmers and the like.

[Razgovory]

Poor people have leisure time, and they can afford low calorie food. Veggies still aren't that expensive.

Yeah, that's what working two jobs get you.  Plenty of leisure time.

[Grey Fox]

No. It's says "no car and no supermarket". Your farmers will have a car. These are poor rural populations, or populations living in small communities, in addition to inner city food deserts.

I wasn't talking about commercial farming operations, more subsistence farmers and the like.

Those don't exist in the western world anymore.

[The Brain]

The poor can not afford nutritional low calorie food and subsist in cheap junk food.

In Sweden nutritional food is dirt cheap.

[Threviel]

No, it is not. Perhaps not super expensive, but not dirt cheap unless you want to eat carrots and potatoes.

[The Brain]

No, it is not. Perhaps not super expensive, but not dirt cheap unless you want to eat carrots and potatoes.

Yeah that's great cheap nutritional food. Onions are cheap too. If a person doesn't WANT to eat cheap nutritional food then that's a different thing than it being non-cheap or unavailable.

[Threviel]

There's a reason the Irish emigrated, potatoes and milk, while a complete diet, is not very fulfilling.

[derspiess]

I have seen or read that veggies is actually hard to come by in poorer areas of the US. Propaganda or sometging to it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

I'm not really convinced of the causality.  Poor folks like the taste of junk food and will go for that over healthier food when given the choice.

[The Brain]

There's a reason the Irish emigrated, potatoes and milk, while a complete diet, is not very fulfilling.

*shrug* Me and my relatives have eaten well and very cheaply when poor, others can too.