More Tips on Eating Healthy on a Budget

[Anonymous]

Given that my previous myTake is well-received, I now write this myTake to supplement the previous myTake. This goes with the eating-healthy-cheaply sentiment, but it is addressed to people who are stranded in food deserts in America.

Food deserts and obesity among the working poor in America are real. If an area is populated with convenience stores and fast food restaurants, which are notorious for stocking up junk food, then people don't really have a choice, and they are stuck with cheap, energy-dense junk food. A customer would be very lucky to find fresh produce there. I recently watched this documentary about food deserts, and this family could just find bananas at a convenience store. The mother belonged to the working poor class and had to juggle work and school (classes so that she could get a higher-paid job) and family. It was not easy for her to provide meals on the table, so sometimes the family had to skip a meal or eat canned ravioli.

Why is junk food cheap? It's because the US government is subsidizing big agribusinesses over small produce farmers. The government is also not providing enough funding for public schools, so public schools make deals with fast food restaurants and processed food companies in order to receive funding for education and offer food for the students. So, poor people not only become obese or overweight, but also extremely malnourished. Obesity is a sign of malnourishment and lack of education, not a sign of lack of self-control or laziness.

Obesity is a sign of malnourishment and lack of education, not a sign of lack of self-control or laziness.

Some poor people have their own transportation (car) and can drive to the supermarkets. Other poor people have to take the bus to get out of the food desert. Poor people can apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but they may be rejected if they earn only a few dollars above the threshold. Poor people can also look for food at food pantries, soup kitchens, food donation drives, and homeless shelters, even if the food isn't fresh or clean. It's better than nothing, though.

So, I write this list as a way to give ideas to survive in a tough environment. With knowledge of lifestyle habits in developing countries, I try to make my points tangible and clear. The main point is to get inspired from people in developing countries and how they learn to survive with the threat of famine and food shortage. If any of the points is not feasible, then please let me know by writing your thoughts in the comments below.

1. Write a Letter to your State Representative about the Food Desert(s) in your Area

America is a representative democracy, not a totalitarian dictatorship. In grade school, Americans learn the importance of their form of government and how they can fulfill their civic duties as American citizens. Voting is a powerful civic duty. Politics matters, because corporations send lobbyists to Washington, D.C., in order to legislate laws that protect profits. So, selecting a political candidate that will represent your values on an individual level and writing an informed letter to the State representative may be the best way that ordinary people can change the American lifestyle for the better.

The downside is that legislation requires a significant amount of time. In the meantime, people just have to make do with whatever resources they have available.

2. Invest in an Organized Communal Bank System

I got this idea by watching the documentary, Living on One Dollar (2013). Four twenty-something-year-olds from the United States, two of which were economics majors and two of which were filmmakers, headed toward rural Guatamala. They learned about the complex economic choices and struggles that the agricultural workers faced in order to survive. The poor, rural, non-Spanish speakers of Guatamala faced a constant food shortage and struggled to maintain enough calories for living (food, medicine, etc.). They were bony thin and very malnourished. Similarly, the United States has a food shortage problem. Fresh produce is hard to find in food deserts, so poor people trapped in food deserts are stuck with no food or processed food. They are starving and obese.

What I learned in the documentary is that the Guatamalans have a special banking system. Several families will put money in the pot, and when the money reaches a certain threshold, the money will be used to buy a high-priced item, like a very good stove or someone's wedding expenses. I think this is a great idea. In the United States, many people are very religious and attend weekly religious services. Church plays a dominant role in people's lives. I suppose it is possible to get some church members to donate money to a Fresh Produce Fund, and the money will be used to buy enough fresh produce for all. The community church can also offer healthy meals and cooking lessons for the neighborhood.

3. Invest in a Bicycle and Commute to Faraway Places

In the city, many people walk here and there. Walking is a slow method of transportation. Driving a car is much faster, but a car is very expensive. So, the best option is a bicycle. Many people around the world commute to places on a bicycle.

4. Invest in a Wagon for the Bicycle

In addition to a bicycle, a wagon can be purchased and connected to the bicycle. The wagon will be used to transport people or things. A heavy, strong person may propel the bicycle, carrying the passengers behind him/her.

5. Use Meats Resourcefully

People should buy any type of cheap meat, not just the lean cuts. Some cuts may be cheap and fatty, but the advantage of cheap, fatty cuts of meat is that the fatty part can be separated from the muscle part in the kitchen and can be saved up as cooking oil and flavoring. The fat can also be used to add calories to an all-vegetable meal, in case supplies run low and the only thing a family can afford is a bunch of spinach and tap water to make spinach soup.

6. Make Soups

Buying a package of chicken breasts to make baked chicken nuggets may not be an efficient way to feed many people. Soups are more efficient, because you can fill a whole pot with water and dump whatever you want inside it. Any leftovers of the soup may be used for next day's lunch at work or school or next day's dinner and breakfast. Maybe one day, the family can just afford a whole chicken and puts that chicken into the pot to make chicken broth. The next day, the family can just afford turnips and puts the turnips into the pot. Then the next day, the family can just afford carrots and puts the carrots into the pot. The soup contents will be used over and over again. Every day is soup, because soup provides water and a lot of nutrients the body needs to survive. I think soup is a good form of peasant food or poor people's food.

7. When Food is Scarce, the Children and Elders have Priority

When food is scarce, the people that deserve the most nutrition are the children and the elders, because the children and elders are most susceptible to illness. People of reproductive age may have to sacrifice their own food rations for a day for the sake of the younger and older family members.

8. Do Not Buy Make-Up/Cosmetics/Beauty Products

Beauty products can be very expensive stuff. Instead of buying beauty products, people should invest their money in healthy food products, like fruits and vegetables. Eating healthy is a natural way to look beautiful. A healthy diet may not give everything to look beautiful, because some people are genetically built a certain way, and that trait does not fit what society deems as "beautiful" (i.e. very dark skin or short neck). However, I don't think people should listen to what society deems as beautiful anyway. A healthy diet is more important than vanity. Those two things are not necessarily the same and can conflict.

9. If Possible, Tell Your Children To Get On The Computer At School And Find The Nearest Supermarket Chains and Grocery Stores

Owning a personal computer, let alone Internet access, is a luxury that middle-class and upper-class people have. So, for people who cannot afford a personal computer, they may have to tell their children to use the school computer during after-school hours and search for supermarket chains and grocery stores in the neighborhood. I have no idea how feasible the idea is, but hey, a public computer is better than no computer, eh?

10. Get A Library Card, and Be Online

Public libraries are basically community centers for literacy and education. People should invest in getting a free library card and using online resources at the library. There is a massive wealth of information on the Internet, so people can find something -- coupons, promotions, supermarkets, grocery stores, anything!

11. Take Advantage of the Benefits of Being American and Living in a Developed Country

I believe that Americans should be aware of the advantages of living in a developed country. For a person in a developing country, clean water may be difficult to find, and waterborne disease is always a threat. For Americans, finding a clean water source may be considerably easier. They just have to walk to any public place (park, library, shopping center), and they can find a water fountain. If they can't find it, then they can ask a staff member for directions. Water from a water fountain has been chlorinated, so it should be safe for consumption. Water from a water fountain is also easy to extract out. People don't have to dig a hole to make a well. They just have to push a button, and the fountain will instantly squirt water into the air. Drinking water really cuts down the cost of buying food. Now, the money that was previously used to buy soda and juice can be used to buy more fruits and vegetables! I know soda is really cheap, but clean water is free and widely accessible. Clean water is also very hydrating, so it should be the most economic choice. The only plausible reason why soda is selected over water is that soda is highly addictive, and this addiction is killing people.

[John_Doesnt]

There's no way I'm gonna do any of those.

[Anonymous]

I like this whole take except for number 8