tractor
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Post by tractor on Apr 10, 2014 18:45:26 GMT -5
OK, I know they probably do, but I had a visit tonight from my neighbor who went to the food truck today and picked up a bunch of free food. Good for them.
They sent their two kids up to our house with a large box of pre-packaged, mixed salad bags. They were part of the handouts today, and they don't eat salad so they decided we would want them. While it was a nice gesture, I'm sure they had to take them as part of a healthy diet plan or something and it was either give it to us, or they would throw it away. I tried my best to encourage them that they should eat leafy green stuff, but they wouldn't budge.
Our family will eat it, but ten bags of salad! I would bet there's someone starving out there who would love this food, but I guess we're going to be having salad for dinner the next two weeks. Too bad we don't have a potluck at work next week.
I wonder how much of this free food gets thrown away by picky eaters?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 18:55:43 GMT -5
I wonder how much of this free food gets thrown away by picky eaters? A retired priest told me they had to be careful what they put in the BackSnacks program because "if they [the kids] don't like it, they'll throw it away".
If they throw edible food away, they're not hungry enough.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Apr 10, 2014 18:56:35 GMT -5
I don't think people getting free food should be picky about what they don't have to pay for.
I probably would have donated a bottle of salad dressing from my fridge or pantry and told them to enjoy their meal with a little added flavor.
I hate to see food wasted - or those who need it being so picky about what's given to them. A fresh bag of salad sure beats a can of beans.
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sunshinegal1981
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Post by sunshinegal1981 on Apr 10, 2014 19:02:58 GMT -5
If they throw edible food away, they're not hungry enough.
This.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 19:07:59 GMT -5
I don't know . . . I truly believe that there are certain foods that I would starve to death rather than eat. It's not a long list, but I throw up every time I eat spinach. I have always wanted to LIKE spinach (I grew up with Popeye), and DH LOVES spinach. But I cannot eat it. I try, and try, and try.
Like the salad you mention, it wouldn't keep me from being hungry long.
Why would you give anyone 10 bags of salad, anyway, except someone is getting rid of it? I LOVE salad, but it would get old in a hurry with that much salad. That is especially true if no one gave them any dressing to put on it. It would also ruin very quickly. I can't keep a bag of salad a week, much less multiple bags for over two weeks, which is a minimum for a family to eat that many bags.
So the stupidity is less on the family that had to take it (after all, they gave it away instead of wasting it) and in the people who were forcing that much on them. I imagine they would cheerfully taken one or maybe even two bags.
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bookkeeper
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Post by bookkeeper on Apr 10, 2014 19:52:54 GMT -5
Free food gets thrown away all the time. School lunch is a great example.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Apr 11, 2014 5:43:54 GMT -5
I know it's nothing new, however you would think people would have a little choice on what they want to take. I do realize the problem is if you set a case of pop tarts on the table next to a bunch of freshly prepared salad, most people would choose the pop tarts.
I did find it funny that they were sure we would want to eat salad, they didn't bring us any extra pop tarts. We live substantially different lives, maybe they figured rich people eat a lot of salad? I can hear them now "I bet that Tractor family is up there right now eating salad and making fun of us po folks".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 5:48:31 GMT -5
Maybe they got 20 bags?
Im im guessing they had to take some because the bank got a huge supply of it and its perishable... Pop tarts last forever, not so lettuce...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 6:19:07 GMT -5
Free food gets thrown away all the time. School lunch is a great example. Well, don't get me started on the "free lunch" program. (Oops, you already did.) Yes, I've seen some pretty nasty pics of school lunches, but the schools sign up everybody they can because apparently having a high % of students on free/reduced price lunches qualifies the schools for other government giveaways. They really don't care if the kids throw them out. (DH has pointed out, though, that the % of kids on free lunches is also turning into a PC way to distinguish poorer school districts from the better ones. It's a 2-edged sword.)
DH grew up an a family that didn't have enough food in the house during some years when he was growing up. I was raised comfortably middle-class, but my paternal grandfather was beaten as a child because he fed a crust of bread to a stray dog. He had something like 10 siblings and that could have fed one of them. My maternal grandparents, who survived the Great Depression, were overweight because they just couldn't throw out that last little bit of food on the plate or in the serving dish. They'd eat it instead. Fortunately, my mother didn't adopt that habit but what trickled down to me was that you waste as little as possible. Leftovers get refrigerated, frozen, worked into other dishes. I make a point of using up things before they go bad. Even the cut ends of vegetables go into a bag in the freezer and DH makes broth. Maybe WE should get free food. We know not to waste it.
I hope that someday when I retire I can find a way to volunteer my time to teach poor people to cook healthy, cheap meals so they quit eating Pop-Tarts (except as the occasional junk-food indulgence)..
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 6:36:22 GMT -5
A few months ago i posted something like this on facebook: Son: You are eating macaroni and cheese? Daughter: Well, its Kraft, so more like macaroni with processed cheese like powder and corn products. So, at least half the lesson learned, but she still chooses to eat it ... well, at least it was her pick for junk food. Guess it isn't any worse than the boy's doritos...
... and one of the ladies i know from school and soccer posted that I made her feel bad because I think of M &C as junk food and she thinks of it as part of a balanced dinner. There are honestly some serious differences in what people from different demographics learn about food, their access to food and education about food. Eta: Same with money i guess? ... Different financial educations. I once heard a girl i went to high school with... who is a nurse!, say she went to a training and they were saying pop tarts and sugary cereal were not good breakfasts, but if her kids didn't eat them, they wouldn't eat...
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 7:30:48 GMT -5
Sorry, but the mantra that eating healthy is more expensive is complete bunk. Yes, maybe you can't buy organic or more higher priced, less available veggies, etc. But you CAN eat healthy if you choose to. You can buy a huge bag of rice for cheap. Frozen veggies here are often on sale for 10 bags for $10. Carrots, celery, etc are not all the expensive. It is simply a choice.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Apr 11, 2014 7:33:41 GMT -5
I would have to be starving to death to eat liver. But I would have one hand clinging to my headstone while I pondered the choice
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 7:36:16 GMT -5
I'm throwing head cheese out. I'll pull leaves off the trees first and eat them if I'm starving.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 7:36:55 GMT -5
How do we make choices Shooby? Don't we make them based on our experience and knowledge? ... If you grow up with fruit loops rounding out a good breakfast and mac and cheese from the blue box with hot dogs and corn as a complete dinner... what will you gravitate to?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 11, 2014 7:45:38 GMT -5
I'm not a huge salad fan. I don't serve it too often at the house - once a month, maybe. The only salads I really like are the ones at the restaurant that are probably 800 calories from having very good rich dressing, nuts, cheese, fruit and croutons. At home, I throw out more lettuce than I eat, and if someone gave me 10 bags of salad all at once, it is likely that 9 of them would get thrown away. For the record, I love my vegetables, and rarely go a meal without serving at least one, but often two different vegetables. And I use a less generous definition of vegetables - I don't count potatoes or corn - those are starches. So, it isn't that I don't like eating healthy. I just don't like large quantities of lettuce without massive amounts of stuff to make it interesting, and I know the massive amounts of tasty stuff are counter-productive to the point of eating the lettuce - so why bother. A pop tart would probably leave me with less calories and almost the same amount of nutrition.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:04:16 GMT -5
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 8:14:16 GMT -5
How do we make choices Shooby? Don't we make them based on our experience and knowledge? ... If you grow up with fruit loops rounding out a good breakfast and mac and cheese from the blue box with hot dogs and corn as a complete dinner... what will you gravitate to?
Um at some point in your life you accept RESPONSIBILITY for yourself. I know that is a novel idea nowadays. But, you can educate yourself IF you choose too. If you don't choose to, then reap what you sow. But, you can't blame everyone except yourself for what you are shoveling down your gullet.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:30:50 GMT -5
Um at some point in your life you accept RESPONSIBILITY for yourself. I know that is a novel idea nowadays. But, you can educate yourself IF you choose too. If you don't choose to, then reap what you sow. But, you can't blame everyone except yourself for what you are shoveling down your gullet. It's work, but it can be done. I read a lot of inspirational stories on myfitnesspal.com from people who were raised on Pop-Tarts and macaroni and cheese and changed the way they ate- with wonderful results. I get so annoyed at my FB contacts who post recipes that supply 300% of your calories, cholesterol, sodium and carbs in a single meal. The latest- perfectly good cauliflower (I love cauliflower) baked with 2 cups of cheese, half a cup each of mayo and sour cream, and 6-8 strips of bacon.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Apr 11, 2014 8:31:10 GMT -5
For me it would depend on the salad.
The other day I went to dinner at my friend's house - she had made a salad with dark greens, avocado, celery, cranberries, and a ton of other fresh veggies. It was delicious, and if she sold it in bags I would eat 10 a day.
The bagged salad that is all pale soggy iceberg lettuce and little limp carrot slivers? I'd throw it away too. No nutritive value and not filling. Why eat it, even if you're poor?
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Apr 11, 2014 8:35:35 GMT -5
How do we make choices Shooby? Don't we make them based on our experience and knowledge? ... If you grow up with fruit loops rounding out a good breakfast and mac and cheese from the blue box with hot dogs and corn as a complete dinner... what will you gravitate to? Um at some point in your life you accept RESPONSIBILITY for yourself. I know that is a novel idea nowadays. But, you can educate yourself IF you choose too. If you don't choose to, then reap what you sow. But, you can't blame everyone except yourself for what you are shoveling down your gullet. I believe people are capable of many things, and learining how to eat a healty diet (which is taught in HS home ecomonics around here) is one of them. We also have free programs through the park district (I've gone to some - they are taught by nutritionists), and classes at the local community college which are free if your income is below a certain level. In addition there are USDA nutrition posters on the busses all the time. Our local hospital has free classes on cooking for diabeties management all the time. We have a lot of ethnic stores that sell produce at really reasonable prices (yes, they may not be blemish free, but they still have all the nutrition needed). If people want to eat heathy there are resources available in my area to teach them how. May not be true for all parts of the country, but at least around here lack of knowledge is a really lame excuse. My parents didn't necessarily come from the healthiest cooks/eating backgroun (Dad is a southerner!), but they did better then their parents did, and I know my family eats more fresh fruits and veggies then I did growing up.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 11, 2014 8:39:01 GMT -5
Take a bag of salad and dress it up. I will add some cut up apple and pieces of Buffalo chicken to mine.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 8:40:28 GMT -5
I make a "Junk salad" . That is whatever is in the fridge or pantry. I will use nuts, some crushed up pretzels, zap some frozen peas, whatever cheese I have. Pretty much anything and everything can be on my Junk Salad.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:41:21 GMT -5
The bagged salad that is all pale soggy iceberg lettuce and little limp carrot slivers? I'd throw it away too. No nutritive value and not filling. Why eat it, even if you're poor? If you gave it to me I'd add some of it to stir-fries and saute the rest with a little olive oil and garlic salt and freeze it in portions to add to soup or future stir-fries. (And I've done that before leaving on a long vacation when there was lettuce in the produce drawer.) I know what you mean about iceberg lettuce- if DH is doing grocery shopping on his own and I want him to get lettuce my standard specification is "anything but iceberg". Still, I'd find a way to enjoy it if someone gave it to me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:41:38 GMT -5
Um at some point in your life you accept RESPONSIBILITY for yourself. I know that is a novel idea nowadays. But, you can educate yourself IF you choose too. If you don't choose to, then reap what you sow. But, you can't blame everyone except yourself for what you are shoveling down your gullet. It is really hard though. I grew up on frozen pizzas and mac and cheese. My Mom was always working evenings and I was cooking dinner for myself starting in 1st grade. Fresh fruits and vegetables were never around and I have no taste for them at all (especially vegetables). I'll eat them, but I have to force them down. Yes, I've learned how to prepare them as an adult. I was a fitness nut all through my 20's and biked 100 miles a day a lot, and really tried to eat right, but it was always a struggle because I hated the taste. I'm 45 now and I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 8:44:33 GMT -5
Well, again, you are CHOOSING to eat what you eat. And if you know better and still choose it, then you are actively choosing it. Junk food tastes good. We all know that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:44:54 GMT -5
Bagged salad tastes like chemicals to me. But if I was starving I'd eat it without complaint! This is another example showing the USA is going soft.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 8:45:23 GMT -5
I tried Dr. Oz's diet. And, after a couple of days, I decided I would rather drop dead tomorrow than spend my life eating like a rabbit.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 11, 2014 8:46:19 GMT -5
I will never eat liver. I don't eat organs of excretion. The liver is the filter of the body. Why would I want to eat that?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 8:46:42 GMT -5
To get bacon! At least that's why I ate it growing up.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Apr 11, 2014 8:55:01 GMT -5
I grew up eating liver sausage and onion sandwiches. Still love it to this day. DH is ok with it, but surprisingly DD loves it! For her it's a treat.
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