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

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

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 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.

Funny thing about that date on the can. It doesn't mean anything except what the manufacture wants to put on it. There is no control over what and why the date is there. I know people eat can goods 5 years past date and guess what ? Never sick from it. It's a joke on you so you throw good food away. Back in the early days of commercial canning spoiled food was a problem from time to time. It's not a problem anymore.
Just a note France recently made it illegal for stores to throw food away. If they don't sell it they have to give it to charity. There are little glimmers of common sense in this world I just wonder why it isn't spreading. Oh Yeah , profit and attorneys. Don't want somebody to win 2 million in court because they ate food 2 week out of date. Got to make sure there is at least 5 years buffer on that date to make it through a court case.

Don't worry, there will be many Starving mouths to feed in the near future if the powers that be get their civil war started, I hope all of you have at least 6 months of food stored and means to defend it.

Another huge area for improvement are community gardens

Empty lots and areas in the inner city can be used for small "Victory Gardens" this is becoming popular again..
The reverse of this is about dumb enough to drive you to drink, city and towns not allowing gardening

We have a pretty good one in the middle of town here and from what I understand nearly 100% of the vegis go straight to the food banks and the Mission..

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Another huge area for improvement are community gardens

Empty lots and areas in the inner city can be used for small "Victory Gardens" this is becoming popular again..
The reverse of this is about dumb enough to drive you to drink, city and towns not allowing gardening

We have a pretty good one in the middle of town here and from what I understand nearly 100% of the vegis go straight to the food banks and the Mission..

Ron Finley- the "Guerilla Gardener" has some really cool stuff on exactly that.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Empty lots and areas in the inner city can be used for small "Victory Gardens" this is becoming popular again..
The reverse of this is about dumb enough to drive you to drink, city and towns not allowing gardening

At my house in Iowa City, the back yard was full of trees. I converted part of the sunny front yard into a garden. Iowa City is an extremely liberal spot in Iowa. Put it this way, the town is surrounded by these signs.



They made me so safe knowing that terrorists were not allowed to bomb our community.

Anyway, despite the high density of Birkenstocks in the area, half of the people walking past my garden praised me for it while the other half chewed me out for it. Some even went so far as to call the police on me for the garden! A few regularly threw bags of dog poop into it. The garden remained.

Originally Posted by Utopian

At my house in Iowa City, the back yard was full of trees. I converted part of the sunny front yard into a garden. Iowa City is an extremely liberal spot in Iowa. Put it this way, the town is surrounded by these signs.


They made me so safe knowing that terrorists were not allowed to bomb our community.

Anyway, despite the high density of Birkenstocks in the area, half of the people walking past my garden praised me for it while the other half chewed me out for it. Some even went so far as to call the police on me for the garden! A few regularly threw bags of dog poop into it. The garden remained.

Put out a sign that says "Thanks for the free manure!"

Angry people hate it when they think they are accidentally helping. OTOH, your lawn could be full of turds the next day.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Another huge area for improvement are community gardens

Empty lots and areas in the inner city can be used for small "Victory Gardens" this is becoming popular again..
The reverse of this is about dumb enough to drive you to drink, city and towns not allowing gardening

We have a pretty good one in the middle of town here and from what I understand nearly 100% of the vegis go straight to the food banks and the Mission..

Glen, You live in the heartland of America. Most of us are speaking through the crescent moon cut out in the door :<0) god I hope somebody doesn't tip this thing over before I get out.

Utopian,,, Around here you would see foot prints all through your garden and a lack of produce. There is a certain group of people that think if you leave it where they can see it, it must be free.

Our city had these free garden spaces around but I see now they come up for lease every year.