Why are so many undernourished or underfed?

[OldWiseGuy]

With all of the public and private free food programs how can there be hunger in America. I don't get it. Any ideas?

 

[Locutus]

With all of the public and private free food programs how can there be hunger in America. I don't get it. Any ideas?

in my country these things are a choice. there is no genuine poverty.

eg: a family of four can live in govt housing at very minimal rent, collect upwards of $600 pw in benefits, and grow all their own vegetables from seed. as much of our govt housing is actually houses, not apartments, they can also grow fruit trees etc. they can obtain bread for less than $1 a loaf, and eggs are a cheap source of protein. if more protein is needed, sausage mince will work at about $4 per kg, or whole fresh chickens at $6 a piece. education and healthcare is all free, and public transport is heavily subsidised for those on benefits. entertainment options (movie tickets etc) are also discounted for welfare recipients. public libraries are free and provide books, dvds, magazines, and free use of computers and internet. clothing and furniture can be obtained for free (from refuse stations and dumpsters etc) or very cheaply from charity stores. our schools run clothing pools to recycle uniforms (we have school uniforms in this country), usually at around $1 or $2 a piece. I think that covers just about everything essential, and even a few non-essentials.

But if you insist on running a thousand power hungry appliances 24/7, owning a brand new huge tv, a flash car, smoking, drinking, gambling, and constantly shopping, none of that will work. As mentioned, it's a choice here.

 

[SkyWriting]

With all of the public and private free food programs
how can there be hunger in America. I don't get it. Any ideas?

Kids show up at school soaked in urine.
You would think there was a soap & water shortage.
Not so.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Kids show up at school soaked in urine.
You would think there was a soap & water shortage.
Not so.

True, and looking at our "crumbling infrastructure" you would think no one knows how to fix stuff. Maybe a college course in "How to Fix Stuff" is in order.

 

[SkyWriting]

True, and looking at our "crumbling infrastructure" you would think no one knows how to fix stuff. Maybe a college course in "How to Fix Stuff" is in order.

Along those lines....yes....people are lazy and don't take
responsibility for clean kids, feeding kids, and infrastructure.


Food programs just make people even lazier. Offer a food program
for breakfast and parents stop feeding kids lunch.
This is why there is hunger.

 

[BrianJK]

Along those lines....yes....people are lazy and don't take
responsibility for clean kids, feeding kids, and infrastructure.


Food programs just make people even lazier. Offer a food program
for breakfast and parents stop feeding kids lunch.
This is why there is hunger.

Wait, so the solution to child hunger is to stop offering kids food?

Help me out here...

 

[Kersh]

TBH, in the West, I think it's more often attributable to mental illness and drug addiction than it is to poverty.

 

[Locutus]

TBH, in the West, I think it's more often attributable to mental illness and drug addiction than it is to poverty.

Often. But more often it's multi-generational low expectations and disenfranchisement. No one is actually starving (the stats on obesity and low income testify to that), so no need to "fight".

 

[Kersh]

Often. But more often it's multi-generational low expectations and disenfranchisement. No one is actually starving (the stats on obesity and low income testify to that), so no need to "fight".

I can see that. It reminds me of when I was a volunteer for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program about 15 years ago. My "little brother's" mother was on welfare and (I think) SSI. During one of my conversations with him, when he was about 10, I asked what he thought he wanted to do when he grew up. His response was, "I want to be a fireman, or maybe just not work at all, like my mom." I found it sad that as young as 10, he was already considering the possibility of just relying on government benefits.

That said, I think that the multi-generational low expectations and disenfranchisement are not completely isolated from mental illness and substance abuse. For example, I think that a large portion of the multi-generational issues that we see stem in part from exposure to parents' drug use, both in utero and as they are growing up. From what I understand, there is a growing body of research to suggest that adults who had been exposed to alcohol or drugs in the womb have a far more limited ability to understand cause and effect (e.g., actions and consequences). If it's true that prenatal exposure hampers this part of the brain, and many children who are prenatally exposed grow up in the same dysfunctional household that made mom think it was okay to use drugs while she was pregnant, I can see how this would lead to a generational cycle that is incredibly difficult to break.

 

[Locutus]

[QUOTE"Kersh, post: 69242708, member: 384166"]I can see that. It reminds me of when I was a volunteer for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program about 15 years ago. My "little brother's" mother was on welfare and (I think) SSI. During one of my conversations with him, when he was about 10, I asked what he thought he wanted to do when he grew up. His response was, "I want to be a fireman, or maybe just not work at all, like my mom." I found it sad that as young as 10, he was already considering the possibility of just relying on government benefits.

That said, I think that the multi-generational low expectations and disenfranchisement are not completely isolated from mental illness and substance abuse. For example, I think that a large portion of the multi-generational issues that we see stem in part from exposure to parents' drug use, both in utero and as they are growing up. From what I understand, there is a growing body of research to suggest that adults who had been exposed to alcohol or drugs in the womb have a far more limited ability to understand cause and effect (e.g., actions and consequences). If it's true that prenatal exposure hampers this part of the brain, and many children who are prenatally exposed grow up in the same dysfunctional household that made mom think it was okay to use drugs while she was pregnant, I can see how this would lead to a generational cycle that is incredibly difficult to break.[/QUOTE]


That is a factor. But the numbers are higher for plain old intellectual neglect and poor role modelling. The mothers referred to are less likely to engage with their young children, and lack of carer engagement is a known factor in developmental delays.

 

[SkyWriting]

Wait, so the solution to child hunger is to stop offering kids food?
Help me out here...

If the system is broke, then the solution is to fix it, not hide it.

 

[BrianJK]

If the system is broke, then the solution is to fix it, not hide it.

How would you fix the system to ensure children aren't hungry?

 

[Kersh]

How would you fix the system to ensure children aren't hungry?

It's not an easy problem to solve. Simply giving away free food or money makes people dependant on the handouts and unmotivated to develop skills necessary to feed themselves. But, if we simply let children starve, this also perpetuates the problem.

 

[BrianJK]

It's not an easy problem to solve. Simply giving away free food or money makes people dependant on the handouts and unmotivated to develop skills necessary to feed themselves. But, if we simply let children starve, this also perpetuates the problem.

I've heard the dependence claim before. It may be so but I've never seen any proof of it.

Even so, if it's a simple choice between the two you've stated, the choice is easy for me.

 

[Kersh]

I've heard the dependence claim before. It may be so but I've never seen any proof of it.

Even so, if it's a simple choice between the two you've stated, the choice is easy for me.

I have worked with the poor many capacities and I have seen it over and over again. Long term, it's illogical thinking to chose to rely on welfare. But, short term it seems common sense to many people. And, often the poor who were malnourished and exposed to drugs and other substances in their own childhoods lack the capacity to think in the long term.

 

[farout]

With all of the public and private free food programs how can there be hunger in America. I don't get it. Any ideas?

I do not know where you live. But I know in the area where I live there are families living in a 10'X20' shell of the new "TINY HOUSE" movement. The best wage some men can get in the winter is $8 to $10 an hour and 32 hours a week. Less than 2 miles from me is a man living in a a metal garden shed. He has a toilet, TV and a bed. He is a disabled man and even with some programs he still is forced to live as he does. Don't kid your self it is not that easy for some to travel 27 miles to fill out for food stamp card assistance, or any another help. Our area has a food pantry that gives out food one time a month, but is is mainly out dated sometimes stuff that the stores could not sell, like outdated garlic chips or pickles, or jam or corn things that go with something else. Often older sick adults do not have proper shelter, or heat. Life is very hard for some people.

Small churches are over burdened to help people, Recently in a town about 20 miles away the Pastor had to move on, because they gave so much in money to pay for peoples electric, food, gasoline, medicine that they did not have enough to pay for the pastor.

Are things for school age kids better? Not for some, as at least 25% of kids come to school hungry in all the US. Those who make a good living in jobs doing social work and filling out forms are taking from our countries food budget. Those administrators get paid very good wages. I understand they must be in place to administrate food services, but the poor seem to always suffer.

I have always been blessed with plenty, but there are so many who are going without the very basics.

Why not go help in a food bank and see for your self.

 

[Kersh]

I've heard the dependence claim before. It may be so but I've never seen any proof of it.

Even so, if it's a simple choice between the two you've stated, the choice is easy for me.

I'm not sure how its an easy choice. Perpetuating a cycle of poverty that is increasingly difficult to break, causing increasing suffering over time or breaking the cycle, but causing a substantial amount of suffering now. It's a tough choice. Persoanlly, I think that government should get out of the "feeding the poor" business, which will certainly cause some short term discomfort. Meanwhile, the church needs to step up its efforts to mitigate the pain, especially to children, as we often do in the thirdworld.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

in my country these things are a choice. there is no genuine poverty.

eg: a family of four can live in govt housing at very minimal rent, collect upwards of $600 pw in benefits, and grow all their own vegetables from seed. as much of our govt housing is actually houses, not apartments, they can also grow fruit trees etc. they can obtain bread for less than $1 a loaf, and eggs are a cheap source of protein. if more protein is needed, sausage mince will work at about $4 per kg, or whole fresh chickens at $6 a piece. education and healthcare is all free, and public transport is heavily subsidised for those on benefits. entertainment options (movie tickets etc) are also discounted for welfare recipients. public libraries are free and provide books, dvds, magazines, and free use of computers and internet. clothing and furniture can be obtained for free (from refuse stations and dumpsters etc) or very cheaply from charity stores. our schools run clothing pools to recycle uniforms (we have school uniforms in this country), usually at around $1 or $2 a piece. I think that covers just about everything essential, and even a few non-essentials.

But if you insist on running a thousand power hungry appliances 24/7, owning a brand new huge tv, a flash car, smoking, drinking, gambling, and constantly shopping, none of that will work. As mentioned, it's a choice here.

Sorry to derail. “Flash car” I haven’t heard that since I was in the East End. Thanks for making my day!

 

[Albion]

With all of the public and private free food programs how can there be hunger in America. I don't get it. Any ideas?

The administration is steadily closing down the middle class. Today, there are more businesses closing their doors than starting up. That's happening for the first time in American history. Naturally, an economy that is contracting is going to be able to offer job opportunities to almost no one who wants to work hard and climb up the economic ladder.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I do not know where you live. But I know in the area where I live there are families living in a 10'X20' shell of the new "TINY HOUSE" movement. The best wage some men can get in the winter is $8 to $10 an hour and 32 hours a week. Less than 2 miles from me is a man living in a a metal garden shed. He has a toilet, TV and a bed. He is a disabled man and even with some programs he still is forced to live as he does. Don't kid your self it is not that easy for some to travel 27 miles to fill out for food stamp card assistance, or any another help. Our area has a food pantry that gives out food one time a month, but is is mainly out dated sometimes stuff that the stores could not sell, like outdated garlic chips or pickles, or jam or corn things that go with something else. Often older sick adults do not have proper shelter, or heat. Life is very hard for some people.

Small churches are over burdened to help people, Recently in a town about 20 miles away the Pastor had to move on, because they gave so much in money to pay for peoples electric, food, gasoline, medicine that they did not have enough to pay for the pastor.

Are things for school age kids better? Not for some, as at least 25% of kids come to school hungry in all the US. Those who make a good living in jobs doing social work and filling out forms are taking from our countries food budget. Those administrators get paid very good wages. I understand they must be in place to administrate food services, but the poor seem to always suffer.

I have always been blessed with plenty, but there are so many who are going without the very basics.

Why not go help in a food bank and see for your self.

Interesting, but that doesn't answer my question.

I couldn't work at a food bank, I'm too judgmental.