Posted on 08/18/2014 10:53:13 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
MADISON, Wis. – In the land of cheese and bratwurst, a surprising 740,000 Wisconsinites are worried about going hungry. A recent study by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health shows a significant portion of the state's population is worried about not having enough to eat.
Lead researcher Dr. Javier Nieto said it isn't just a problem in the rural areas of the state.
"We also found more than six percent of respondents in suburban, wealthier areas, also responding 'yes' to the question about whether families have been concerned about having enough food for their family in the past 12 months," Nieto said. "Our estimate is probably conservative, because our definition is pretty strict."
While there is a correlation between food insecurity and poverty, Nieto said it appears to be a problem in every part of Wisconsin.
"The prevalence of concern about hunger ranged from about 9.5 percent in the west and south to 14 percent in the northeast and southeast," said Nieto. "But again, differences are fairly small."
(Excerpt) Read more at publicnewsservice.org ...
Yep, my food insecurity is wondering if that bag of chips I selected in the vending machine is going to get stuck.
I can’t go shopping until I get my paycheck. Then, if rent, electricity, or a car payment is due, the shopping gets put off again.
Then, if it’s between kibble for the dog, or food for me, the dog wins, and I boil up some brown rice and open a can of beans.
I suppose I could apply for food stamps but I really feel I would be hypocritical if I did that.
“740,000 Wisconsinites are worried about going hungry.”
How many of these “740,000” have a family member on drugs?
The wife teaches inner-city.
There is almost ALWAYS a connection between a hungry kid, and a druggie family, at least in the inner-city. And that is with schools now serving 2-3 meals a day FREE, summer lunch programs, EBT,SNAP, WIC, etc....
I remember reading something about the questions they ask and how they ask them will result in a higher percentage of “food insecurity”.
And bring back public employee union rights! That will fix everything!
Appearances can be deceiving. The poor are often overweight because their diets are carbohydrate heavy, so “fat but malnourished”. Likewise, a lot of people are loathe to take government handouts, knowing their steep price in the loss of personal character; especially true because there are often time limits on such aid. That is, you can only have it for a fixed length of time, and only once, is sometimes true.
This is another good reason to set up church food banks, because it is “friends helping friends” more than charity, as well as people contributing work in exchange for aid.
Maybe they should blame the Obama-conomy
So their problem isn’t food availability, but their choice in nutritional balance. Cut back on spending money for carbs, and redirect it to achieving a variety. Money is there, just not allocated right.
There is a very small population of poor in La Crosse. The city has a very low unemployment rate and only a tiny (less than 5%) minority population. Most of the fat people are fat because they eat too damn much. Certainly, that includes a lot of junk they shouldn’t be eating, but it’s not because they couldn’t be eating nutritious food.
Carbs are a lot cheaper, tend to store longer, and often need minimal preparation.
According to the US Census, La Cross in 2008-2010 had about 14.3% of families and 24.0% of the population below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
The best way to find out the real story is to ask some clergyman, who have a much clearer view of how much poverty and hunger is there, because it is indirectly related to their job.
“We also found more than six percent of respondents in suburban, wealthier areas, also responding ‘yes’ to the question about whether families have been concerned about having enough food for their family in the past 12 months,” Nieto said. “Our estimate is probably conservative, because our definition is pretty strict.”
Wouldn’t preppers answer yes? Aren’t there a lot of preppers in Wisconsin?
Have you ever been to La Crosse? Go to one of the Walmarts and observe things. Tell me if you see any emaciated wraithes begging for scraps of food. You will see far more of the opposite. Poverty statistics coming from the usual suspects tells you just about nothing about many municipalities. Nobody is starving in La Crosse.
Ask some clergyman you trust. He will likely know what is real. Relying on observation can be deceptive.
If you’re eating so many carbs that you’re obese, you can afford to reduce the carbs and buy some nutritients.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/a-high-price-for-healthy-food/
University of Washington research (2007).
Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation...
Foods with high energy density, meaning they pack the most calories per gram, included candy, pastries, baked goods and snacks. Although fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients, they also contain relatively few calories.
The survey found that higher-calorie, energy-dense foods are the better bargain for cash-strapped shoppers. Energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods.
Lousy comparison. Cheapest junk food vs prime fresh fruit on calories is disingenuous. More honest would be to include the cost of enough junk food to get needed nutrients.
Junk food is expensive vs a BALANCED frugal purchase. Bread flour is $20 for a 50 pound bag, veggies are $1/lb frozen, other nutrient sources are needed only in small quantities and available in other cheaper forms than fresh from Whole Foods. I can feed you a nutritionally balanced diet on $1 per meal.
I know educated and informed people can do so. I once plotted out a six month plan for one person on food stamps where by the end of the six months, he could regularly feed a squad of people with balanced meals.
But most people have no education how to do this well. A large number spend food stamp money exclusively on rice and beans.
And that is also the other problem, that they don’t want to eat nutritious food. In WWII, a large part of the US Army would only eat grits. Though granted, their other choices of things like fatty, fried bologna and half-spoiled salmon were not that great either.
One veteran I knew who had a better appreciation of nutrition just gorged himself on salad on the one time it was provided, unknowing that the dressing was made with mineral oil, which made its presence known while he was standing in formation later.
He also noted that the breakfast bologna made him and some of his peers regularly throw up after breakfast, so they decided to stand outside the mess hall and vomit on its steps. The “good old days”.
In any event, try to avoid falling into the trap that caught Michelle Obama, because food, for better or worse, is one of the most important personal choices that people have.
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