Thread: Why is there a hunger problem in the U.S.?

Originally Posted by lz6

The wife and I were going to travel from here to the Spokane area and over into Glen's general area to consider relocating. My heart issues precluded our trip planed for this year but we will give it another go in late fall.
: P

Just let me know when you are coming Bob, I will take the time to show you both around my neck of the woods

You probably already know this but Spokane has one of the best Heart Clinics in the US at least that is what I am told

Does that have anything to do with the lard rendering you're doing?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Not to be harsh, but gee, it ain't that hard to cook real food. The key is to buy 80% of your food from the produce section. Peel it, chop it, and put it in a pan.

that's true if you know how. A friend of mine volunteers at the local food pantry (free food to those who need it) and someone had donated canned beef. Even after explaining how to use it people still weren't interested (too much work?).
SWMBO works in a bakery that sells canned beef and homemade noodles. a customer wanted to buy some but didn't know ho to use it. After she explained how to prepare it the customer decided she didn't want them after all.

Forever burned in my memory is this, among others

MEAL, COMBAT, INDIVIDUAL

Beef, W/Spiced Sauce

B-1A UNIT

Originally Posted by mglindo

I am constantly amazed that people are so against businesses and/or companies that create jobs. They complain about low wages, pollution, noise, benefits. And then, when the business decides to move to a better business climate, they scream bloody murder. It's not fair they say. What about our jobs, they cry! Boohoo! Too damn bad, I say! What the hell did they expect!

Yes, businesses provides jobs. At least, while they are still there!

Now these crybabies are going to demand free stuff from the government.


Mike

Yea the old argument. let's roll back to 1900 when Companies paid slave wages and workers were basically slaves to the outfit. You don't come to work you don't get paid and the only excuse for missing a day from work was death and you better be thankful for the little you got. Regulations? who needs them. So what when the slag pile runs down the valley and wipes out a few hundred folks or folks get cancer from the water or air pollution. I mean, if you be a coal miner disasters and death and sickness are part of the job. Why should an employer have any responsibility for any of that.

No one is against companies and jobs but if you want the little guy to take it in the shorts to keep outfits here let them move cause that's what they will do anyway because no matter what the Govt does or doesn't do they can always produce cheaper in the Far East.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

No one is against companies and jobs but if you want the little guy to take it in the shorts to keep outfits here let them move cause that's what they will do anyway because no matter what the Govt does or doesn't do they can always produce cheaper in the Far East.

They don't always move to the Far East.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...in_london.html .

Oh, and Canada has a nominal corporate tax rate substantially less than the US. All this is after getting a 5 million dollar federal tax break a few years earlier.

Talk about taking it in the shorts.

Bob

My mother works for a food shelf and she says that they get a lot of food for free but have to pay the trucking. This is a good example of why it is better to give $ than food. She says that they get about 4 times the food if you give $. That is their little rural food shelf and I understand the frustration with charities using most of the money for administration costs.

There is a vegetable plant in the neighborhood that hires migrant workers at such a low wage that they use the food shelf that the plant does little if anything to support the food shelf. Don't get me going on the health care that these workers might need!

Originally Posted by BobH

They don't always move to the Far East.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...in_london.html .

Oh, and Canada has a nominal corporate tax rate substantially less than the US. All this is after getting a 5 million dollar federal tax break a few years earlier.

Talk about taking it in the shorts.

Bob

Of course. It happens within the U.S too when outfits leave the Union States and move to the South so they don't have to pay the higher wages and benefits.

Originally Posted by tintin

that's true if you know how. A friend of mine volunteers at the local food pantry (free food to those who need it) and someone had donated canned beef. Even after explaining how to use it people still weren't interested (too much work?).
SWMBO works in a bakery that sells canned beef and homemade noodles. a customer wanted to buy some but didn't know ho to use it. After she explained how to prepare it the customer decided she didn't want them after all.

Open can, dump into hot pan, and use spatula to cut into smaller pieces. Add canned or fresh vegetables to meat in pan. In separate saucepan, boil water for noodles. When noodles are cooked, drain water and add noodles to meat pan. Alternatively add contents of meat/vegetable pan to noodle pan.

IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, cooking does not have to be rocket science or anything you see on Hell's Kitchen, the Iron Chef, or any of those other cooking shows. IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, cooking and eating is really simple.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I wish the Food Stamp program were run like the WIC program. That is, restricting the FOOD that can be purchased to actually healthy stuff. IF you truly are hungry or your family is hungry, then good quality nutritious food should be the only thing you should be buying. That means no soda, no chips, and no candy. I know that the argument has been made that they should have the right to eat whatever they want but that should NOT be the case when it is a handout.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Not to be harsh, but gee, it ain't that hard to cook real food. The key is to buy 80% of your food from the produce section. Peel it, chop it, and put it in a pan.

Ah. If only it were that simple. The biggest problem is getting that real food to the food banks on a consistent reliable basis. There's also not enough of it around. Why? Well let's open up that big ass can of worms.

Would it surprise anyone to know North America throws away approximately 40% of it's food supply every single day. It's the second highest component of landfills. It equals 20 pounds of food per person per month. Are the scrapes from your plate the problem. Wrong onion breath! It's grocery stores. Why? Because most people won't buy food items that are one day past their due date. Is this date determined through scientific evidence compiled to help determine the real shelf life? The answer is sometimes. Other times it's just an arbitrary date picked by the food company. Gee no possibility of funny business there right?

Turning back to the food banks. Unlike the one in gissixgun's community a lot of them won't take past due date products even if the grocery store would deliver it to them for free (which in most cases they won't). So if we really want to solve whatever starvation issues exist one of the first areas that need to be addressed is how do we effectively divert the portion of the 40% wasted food that is still actually fit for human consumption to the food banks and to the people that need it.