You Cannot Fix It

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As my lunch simmers in the crockpot, and I watch the birds feasting outside, I ponder an article I just read online. It was in my suggestions on my home page. The premise of the article is that all these experts who tell us that eating dinner at home and home cooked meals will cure all of our health and social problems are completely out of touch. They are out of touch because they do not know how real people live. They do not know how low income people have to eat to stretch their dollars. How exhausted parents have to take short cuts to just get something on the table. How sometimes schedules keep people from sitting down when the meal is done. I grew up that way. Food was never abundant, and often it was not fresh veggies and fruit but canned goods. To add to that my mother did not like dried beans, or pasta. Both of those can really stretch your money. Oh, yeah, mom had to deal with a house full of picky eaters. She did what she could. We always had a vegetable and a fruit. I learned to fill my empty belly with bread and gravy or bread and butter. I think that is why I am obsessed by good food now. I was impressed when she was older and on her own that she still considered herself worth making a meal for. That was important for her own well being. So this article says that low income families are lucky to afford the food that they can get. They cannot afford to experiment too much, because if the dish they try is inedible or ruined or the family just will not eat it it takes a lot out of the budget. There are ways to eat healthy and cheaply, but it is not usually like the ladies' magazines and cooking shows tell us. It is important to look at the nutrition value of what we bring home to cook. I do not necessarily agree with the premise of this article. You have to search for the best nutrition options. However, if you are having to work long hours just to pay the bills you may feel you do not have the energy. In that case you just buy what you always do, and cook it the same as you always have. We have started picking up commodities when the Senior Center has a disbursement. My sister does the same in her town. They give us some nice food. Lots of varieties of dried beans. Also dried fruits. My sister gives me stuff she thinks she will not use. I get to spend my money for meat and for frozen fruits and veggies. I am old, retired, and have no children here, so there are not so many taste buds to please. I do not know if we can fix the problem of people being hungry, even when they have a job. We can share, if we have food. We can set a good example. We can garden and we can try not to waste. I think those are my best solutions to food insecurity.