Edwards Releases Plan to Combat Hunger

WRAL.com ^ | November 21, 2007 | AP

[Red Badger]

The Commodity Program, IIRC, was administered at the county level by the Agriculture Department. Each month, recipients would get a box, about the size of a case of eggs, with containers of peanut butter, flour, corn meal, butter, cheese, powdered milk and powdered eggs and whatever else the government subsidy programs would produce. Enough “food” to last a month. Kennedy, IIRC, wanted to “streamline” this by sending people checks to buy their own food, without the stigma of the plain government labels on their kitchen shelves...............

[kevkrom]

Oh, you can be "hungry" and obese at the same time. It's a matter of not getting the RIGHT foods.

True enough. Cheap food is loaded with sugars, starches, salt, and fats (typically the "bad" fats). Eating healthy food (fresh produce, non-prepared foods like poultry, meat, fish, eggs, etc.) is more expensive.

[ichabod1]

Yeah but... if you’re eating to live and not living to eat, your body can process that food very efficiently. Ice cream would be a wonderful staple if it wasn’t so good we eat the whole tub.

[fatnotlazy]

“Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Wednesday released his plan to fight domestic hunger and called on Congress to immediately take action to fund programs that provide food services for millions of Americans.”

****

So typical. Create a problem...then have the taxpayers pay through the nose to “fix” the “problem.”

[CSM]

I wouldn’t be to surprised if the Dems actually proposed soylent green.

[14erClimb]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/john_edwards_vows_to_end_all_bad

[RockinRight]

Um...considering we’re the fattest country on Earth (I admit I myself am part of these stats) I think Edwards is barking up the wrong tree.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

So John Edwards's target demographic is 500lb Americans who go to bed at night with hunger pangs because they didn't eat enough leafy green vegetables during the course of their daily engorgements?

I hate to say it, but that might be just enough of a demographic to get him some serious traction at the polls.

Which, of course, would assume that the DEM GOTV machine has a handy fleet of cranes & loaders to get these people out of bed and into the voting booths.

Or maybe they vote absentee.

[shhrubbery!]

Cheap food is loaded with sugars, starches, salt, and fats (typically the "bad" fats). Eating healthy food (fresh produce, non-prepared foods like poultry, meat, fish, eggs, etc.) is more expensive.

But if you look at all the "cheap" junk loaded onto the grocery store conveyor belt at by food stamp recipients, you'll see that a lot of it isn't cheap.

The food stamp program doesn't do the "poor" any favors, as it encourages them to get fat and to stay dependent on the dole.

I have a better plan than Edwards': Scrap the food stamp program and establish distribution centers where the truly destitute can pick up food. They will have to stand in line for it, and they will get only minimally processed, healthy food. It will be a mildly unpleasant experience, but (a) they're less likely to get obese on it and (b) they'll have incentive to get off the taxpayer teat.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Let’s reinvent the old food stamp program so people can buy cigarettes and booze.

[Dahoser]

...and asks lawmakers to reform the food stamps program to help more families get more assistance.

I'm all for helping as many people as possible, but this putz doesn't think about doing it through the teach a man to fish method, but rather the give a man a fish method.

[kevkrom]

the give a man a fish method

This works great if you're the provider of the fish -- you now have, fundamentally, complete control over the man if he's dependent on you.

[jmaroneps37]

Under president opie we will want for nothing! Oh happy day!