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Food poverty?


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There is no food poverty in this country -and regarding kids going without a hot meal that is all down to the parents.

How many times do you see a mother pushing a pram with a child sat there eating a Greggs sausage roll or a pasty -that is their main meal of the day --half of the parents dont know how to cook a meal these days. :angry:

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There is no food poverty in this country -and regarding kids going without a hot meal that is all down to the parents.

How many times do you see a mother pushing a pram with a child sat there eating a Greggs sausage roll or a pasty -that is their main meal of the day --half of the parents dont know how to cook a meal these days. :angry:

 

I could die for a Greggs meat and potato pasty. I love them! :blink:

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Been a lot on TV lately about "food poverty", kids going without a hot meal, even stealing food. Do you believe folk can't afford to eat? :unsure:

 

No. But I believe many women can't cook or won't cook. I don't believe cookery is taught in schools these days like it usd to be. A lot of Women just can't be rrsed cooking so buy ready meals (that are more costly than buying the raw materials to cook two or three good meals for the price of one ready meal) to throw into a microwave. Perhaps that is where the idea of food poverty comes from. :blink:

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I'd be interested in going through the budgets of some of these folk who are claiming food poverty. Whilst I can imagine, those who arn't on benefits may struggle with energy and housing costs, I still find the basic ingredients to cook a meal are still relatively cheap. So what are they spending their scarce resources on; fags, booze, manicures? Food is an essential and therfore must be a first priority. Then, as other posters have noted, what exactly are they eating in the line of food? Can they cook or are they buying more expensive ready made stuff? :unsure:

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There is no food poverty in this country -and regarding kids going without a hot meal that is all down to the parents.

How many times do you see a mother pushing a pram with a child sat there eating a Greggs sausage roll or a pasty -that is their main meal of the day --half of the parents dont know how to cook a meal these days. :angry:

 

You say "There is no food poverty in this country" Artie. What evidence do you have to back up that statement? Save the Children as a well respected charity have said that there is in fact food poverty in this country and I would think that they would have done some research on the matter.

Whilst I would be as annoyed as you re parents feeding their kids junk food, I doubt that these are the kids that are regarded to be in food poverty.

Whilst the benefits system should ensure that no child is in food poverty, I can see that there could be times when it doesn't work, or as is indicated in the article on the news page, doesn't work quickly enough.

Another reason for food poverty - and one which is expected to cause increasing hardship is the lack of social/affordable housing. This affects working families as well as those on benefits. Rents in the private sector are proportionately far too high for those on low wages or benefits and if the food budget is spent on the rent then obviously there's less to eat.

Problems are not solved by turning a blind eye or refusing to believe they exist. These problems do exist and in a country as rich as Britain it is disgraceful. Food banks for starving kids whilst the bankers gorge themselves on the fat of the land! - and then people blame the poor for their poverty, just how low is the social morality of this country to be allowed to sink?

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Problems are not solved by turning a blind eye or refusing to believe they exist. These problems do exist and in a country as rich as Britain it is disgraceful. Food banks for starving kids whilst the bankers gorge themselves on the fat of the land! - and then people blame the poor for their poverty, just how low is the social morality of this country to be allowed to sink?

 

Good post Sha.

 

The Department of Health recognises food poverty as “the inability to afford, or to have access to,

food to make up a healthy diet.” So with that in mind every country in the world has some degree of food poverty.

 

Those who are most likely to experience food
poverty are:
■ people living on low incomes or who are unemployed
■ households with dependent children
■ older people
■ people with disabilities
■ members of black and minority ethnic communities

 

I do know that when my wife was a teacher, some kids arrived at school having had no breakfast and that's why breakfast clubs were set up. Many, seemed to live on biscuits and jam butties.

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As I said, I'll accept the arguement about energy and housing costs - but I'd like to look at the lifestyles involved in some of these alleged cases. EG: Can they cook? Do they drink, smoke, have hairdo's or manicures? Do they have Sky TV, Nike trainers, I-phones etc? Budgeting is all about priorities. :unsure:

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Another of your usual gripes against the "undeserving poor", eh? Ffs obs, what are people supposed to do when there's nothing left to cut back on and they're still struggling to live? Getting a haircut's hardly a luxury and not all hardship is down to fecklessness or poor budgeting.

 

Good posts Sha & wolfie.

 

I've known lots of youngsters at my college go without food and other necessities, there's some heartbreaking stories out there.

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Think one would have to go through each case to prove or otherwise their poverty status...

 

I'm sure you'd love to, but if such an exercise proved to you that some families were doing everything right (according to your particular series of moral hoops they need to jump through first) and still couldn't afford to eat properly, would you accept that as answer to your question?

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As I said, I'll accept the arguement about energy and housing costs - but I'd like to look at the lifestyles involved in some of these alleged cases. EG: Can they cook? Do they drink, smoke, have hairdo's or manicures? Do they have Sky TV, Nike trainers, I-phones etc? Budgeting is all about priorities. :unsure:

 

 

Why don't you do just that then Obs!

Take a leaf out of the book of Charles Booth, born into massive wealth, angered by social sympathisers who were claiming 25% of the people of London were living in abject poverty. He believed that those in poverty were nothing other than feckless wasters and out of boredom he set out to prove it. He organised an intensive study of the poor, even living amongst them for weeks at a time. What he found shocked him to the core, he realised that the amount of people in abject poverty was nearer 35% and that their circumstances were far more appalling than he'd even dreamed - and it wasn't their fault! they were trapped in the 'system'.

Booth changed his opinions and came to the belief that the state should have responsibility for the poor. Amongst other things he advocated old age pensions.

He is often termed as one of Britain's greatest philanthropists and reformers, but this is not entirely true as one of the main reasons for his unease with the level of poverty was that he feared it would lead to social unrest and worse - the possibility of a socialist revolution!

 

Ignorance may be bliss Obs but if you want to know the truth of the situation you could always go around one of the deprived areas of Warrington, talk to people and find out for yourself.

 

Refs; Charles Booth Labour and Life of the People

For further reading try Charles Mayhew London Labour and the London Poor

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I'd be interested in going through the budgets of some of these folk who are claiming food poverty. Whilst I can imagine, those who arn't on benefits may struggle with energy and housing costs, I still find the basic ingredients to cook a meal are still relatively cheap. So what are they spending their scarce resources on; fags, booze, manicures? Food is an essential and therfore must be a first priority. Then, as other posters have noted, what exactly are they eating in the line of food? Can they cook or are they buying more expensive ready made stuff? :unsure:

 

It's the in the wording of the questions you ask Ob's "So what are they spending their scarce resources on; fags, booze, manicures?" "Can they cook or are they buying more expensive ready made stuff?"

 

"what are they spending their scarce resources on?" and "what exactly do they eat" would have been enough, but you have illustrated your biased attitude with your own speculation "fags, booze, manicures" and made clear your critical attitude "Can they cook or are they buying more expensive ready made stuff?"

 

In your most recent post you use the term "so-called poor" a rather scathing term Obs implying disbelief.

 

If anyone wanted to find the reasons behind food poverty then they would need to keep an open mind.

I don't believe that anyone really does want to look into the causes of poverty because it's easier and cheaper to blame the people who are poor rather than address the problem - and God forbid! give the poor a fair share in this corrupt and grabbing society.

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