Posted on 03/01/2010 11:19:34 AM PST by Zakeet
In general, the human body cares not where the fat, protein, carbs, and vitamins come from. If all are present in the proper amounts, any body — including a growing one — will do just fine with it.
Fresh foods, of course, are better than the preprocessed junk on the shelves, but that’s because said junk contains things in the wrong proportions, along with unhealthy additives (such as excess salt and other preservatives).
A balanced diet is a balanced diet, regardless of the actual source of the food.
A balanced diet does no good if a child will not eat it or will not eat enough of it to meet their caloric needs.
FRAUD in a federal program?? Will wonders never cease!
I like that idea.
Yea, verily - that’s what I’m talking about!
Funny, in your post #50 you supported someone's statement about providing generic rations. But because I choose to call such rations "kibble" for the sake of making a point, the idea won't work?
Fact is, you're a mom, and a mom who clearly cares about her kids. You will find a way to make it work out, no matter what personal sacrifices you have to make. That may mean relying on people in your community more. That may mean coming up with a medical exception for your case.
But for the vast majority of cases, a system like this would work just fine. Exceptions can be handled as exceptions, not as a rule for they the system as a whole would not work.
Rations as in beans and rice, milk & cheese. Real foods. If I misunderstood you I apologize but it sounded like you were talking about human ‘kibble’. When I think of kibble I think of bags of dog or cat food.
kibble2
vb(tr) to grind into small pieces
n US and Canadian ground meal formed into pellets and used as pet food
Makes you wonder how they get those kids in Somalia and Cambodia etc to eat cold rice every other day. I bet those kids would love what children in America reject. Makes a person wonder if American kids are picky because they have so much to choose from. I just don’t believe the human brain will let the body starve to death.
Many of those kids starve to death and are malnourished.
Not that it matters but my kids love rice and we eat it several times a week. (yes even cold)
Maybe in powder form instead of “kibble”:
1 part soybean flour
1 part rice flour
2 parts wheat flour
For every cup of this mixture, add 1/2 teaspoon nutrient concentrate (aka: ground-up multivitamins)
This way, there could even be a recipe book to go with. Mix with water and simmer for porridge, add water and yeast for bread, form into a flat disk and top with tomato sauce and cheese for pizza, etc.
It would meet the basic nutritional needs, would taste better than a lot of the junk food that’s out there, and would use up some of out farm overproduction. I’m sure there are other recipes out there that could work as well or better, but this is what I came up with while pulling the cat out of my houseplants :p
Are you in a situation where you could grow your own fruits and vegetables and can them? Maybe your children wouldn’t object to fresh vegetables. My mother used to buy meats and fruit on sale and can it. She even made her own ketchup and stuff.
This is news? I’d wager that about 1/2 of the recipiants do things similar to this. Many to avoid being caught will go with whoever wants to buy their allotment buy the groceries then recieve 1/2 of what was spent in cash.
Those children starve to death because there is no food, not because they refuse to eat. We have it very good in America.
I don’t want to seem combative but when issues like this come up it seems as though all people that have to rely on food stamps are vilified. Not all poor people are that way by choice. Not everyone that gets food stamps sells them for money, drugs or booze.
That's a result of a conversation on the subject that prompted this whole concept. That was something like 16 years ago, and it stuck with me.
The point isn't that it has to be actual "kibble", the term is just a placeholder for some type of basic, but still nutritious, food. To one extreme, it would seem quite simple to have a system where it was indeed "kibble" (or "cereal", if one dislikes the connotation that comes with "kibble") that has the generally-considered proper 30/30/40 balance plus vitamins. On the other hand, you would need to have different formulations for men, women, and children, and then within those groups a further breakdown for other dietary needs.
I just use the "kibble" image to put people in the mindset of what such a system is intended to accomplish.
I wish I could. My yard is very small. I plant what I can but for the past several years it has been ruined or stolen. I got some earth boxes last fall at a yard sale last fall and I will be trying those out on the porch this year. I adore fresh tomatoes and pole beans :)
In Wisconsin they are $15-$25.00 more than that.
And I hope you don't think I'm vilifying you. I'm saying that a cash/cash-equivalent system fosters an environment ripe for abuse by its very nature, and that my counter-proposal is intended to accomplish the actual goal of feeding people while eliminating the avenues for fraud.
I understand where you are coming from then. Basic foodstuffs would be fine and in fact is generally what we purchase for the most part. I’ll not lie, we do buy the occasional treat. I try to have one ‘special’ meal a week.
Sorry, I guess the ‘kibble’ reference got my hackles up a bit. My apologies.
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