Poverty living...

[Constance]

When we had the greenhouses, we had a big cargo van for deliveries. At Christmas, my husband donated his time and the use of the van to deliver food baskets to the needy, and it was a real eye-opener for him. He had no idea of the abject poverty right here in our own back yard.

I agree with Corey that poverty is, in some cases, a disease. I've seen families who have lived in poverty for generations. Occasionally, one of the young ones will struggle to get out...sometimes they make it...more often, they don't.

 

[skilletlicker]

When we had the greenhouses, we had a big cargo van for deliveries. At Christmas, my husband donated his time and the use of the van to deliver food baskets to the needy, and it was a real eye-opener for him. He had no idea of the abject poverty right here in our own back yard.

I agree with Corey that poverty is, in some cases, a disease. I've seen families who have lived in poverty for generations. Occasionally, one of the young ones will struggle to get out...sometimes they make it...more often, they don't.

For a look at poverty living, Will Smith's latest movie, The Pursuit of Happyness will give you a moving and powerful look at how this disease affects those who may encounter it.

He plays Christopher Gardner, who, with his then small son in tow, went from real-life rags to riches by landing a good paying job as a broker.

Smith's own real-life son little Jaden Christopher Seayer Smith played his son in the film. It was both sad and heartwarming to me. It should be coming to pay-per-view soon.

I just had to put these two posts together.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Here is what I call the cycle of poverty it can start by someone getting pregnant too young probably drop out of school cant get a decent job have more kids live sometimes out of town because in town rent is too much,live with cheap rent but not heat efficient etc spend to much on trying to stay warm etc.Drive to town in an old gas guzzler with crappy tires spending alot to keep it going,car breaks down costs a fortune to fix.Cant get a decent reliable little economy car because of no or bad credit and cant come up with a down payment.
Kids get sick no health insurance hafto pay full price at the doctor.Cant afford birth control have more kids then rack up a huge hospital bill giving birth.Husband falls off the roof trying to patch a leak on roof hurt bad no insurance more hospital bills he cant work because of injury.Maybe they get a small windfall of money and then spend it on crap and eating out as they are so sick to death of trying so hard and yet not ever having anything.
And the list goes on.These people dont stand a chance of getting ahead with all the obstacles they hafto overcome.

 

[Claire]

Yes, folks, there is no such thing as free lunch, no matter how you look at it. The simplicity of a vegetable garden takes hours of work, gallons of water, in most places some soil amendment. Even then I've planted a lot, nurtured those little things, and when harvest time came around had zilch. All it takes is a couple of caterpillars or birds to destroy an entire crop. No, not a plague of them, quite literally just a hungry couple. After a few years you learn how to deal with the creatures, fungi, and weather in your area, but it can still mean that you've paid and worked your patootie off .... only to find yourself having to figure out what to do with those plants in the fall ... that never gave you a single thing. You have to love it to do it. Ditto hunting. We had a deer disease problem here and many who count on venison for part of their food budget were SOL. I don't let it discourage me, I do still have a small veg and good sized herb garden. But it is no guarantee. Hubby and I look at a shed in our yard and think about putting in a skylight so we can start our own seedlings, but I suspect it isn't going to happen. In fact, we don't need to cut corners on food, it just is second nature because of how we were raised.

 

[Claire]

mcgrew, you have a strong advocate in me. Mom taught my sisters and me that lesson very early; our family hasn't had an "accident" (many loved and beloved children, but no accidents) in two generations. I agree that it is the biggest contribution to poverty.

 

[ttbeachbum]

Brands of peanut butter not affected by the recall, are dirt cheap....STOCK UP!

I second that, It was a the only food source for a couple of months to pull me through.

 

[jpmcgrew]

You dont hafto have a garden to grow vegetables I grow all my tomatoes and such in large containers.I can grow at least 3 tomato plants in a 5 gallon container.

 

[Katie H]

It's interesting to see the evolution of this thread and everyone has made good points.

Even though I was brought up not wanting for anything, I was friends with and went to school with people who didn't have two nickels to rub together and, in some cases, no clue where their next meal would come from.

My parents always made sure the 5 of us children were clothed and fed. I didn't realize until I was grown and away from home that we were probably considered "rich" by many in our community. My daddy was a physician. A country doctor, really. Being the doc made him smart and where I lived, being smart equated to being successful which, in turn, meant rich. What many people didn't know were the numbers of daddy's patients who never paid or weren't charged because they had little or no money. More often than not, he was paid with baskets of fresh produce, chickens, sides of beef, fresh eggs, and the like. I can still taste Mrs. Hettie Bowe's strawberry jam.

Now, having said what I just said, we were not indulged. Nothing was wasted in our house and we didn't live extravagantly. When I was in the eighth grade, I worked in the school cafeteria in exchange for my lunch. Every Monday, daddy "paid" me my lunch money for the week...$1.25. As soon as I could, I got a job for my spending money. Occasionally I would babysit to for more income. Not much babysitting work was to be had, though, because folks in my community simply didn't go out without their children.

My brothers worked in the summertime for local farmers doing hot, hard farm work. None of the 5 of us were/are afraid of hard work.

When I had my family, I followed the same practices I'd learned growing up. And, I guess, the lessons stuck because all of our children appreciate the value of a job well-done and, too, don't shy from hard work. As children do, they learned from example. There was a time when, together, Buck and I worked 8 jobs to keep the wolves away from the door. Sleep during that period was a luxury.

I guess my point is, sometimes it would be so easy to give up. I just can't. I stubborn that way. When I see someone struggling, I'll help them as long as I see they are making an effort and continue to do so. As soon as it becomes my job to take up the slack, that's when they are back on their own. I've seen too many people with their hands out as their job. The Washington, D.C. area was filled with them.

 

[Claire]

Mcgrew, my two container tomato plants have had two bad years. Root end rot. So I spent the $$ for the plants and didn't get any fruit. I'm hoping that using them for peppers this year will help that problem. But you know what? It is time for us to start a line elswhere for help in growing food. I know it is only March, but it is time to think of it!

 

[jpmcgrew]

Claire,Did you drill some holes into the bottom of pot assuming its a plastic bucket?.I do that then add a good layer of styrofoam it can be an old styrofoam cooler broken into pieces or the packing foam make sure its not the cornstarch ones that melt away when wet.Lastly I mix a good bit of vermiculite into soil you can get it at Walmart real cheap it helps getting oxygen into the soil and keeping it loose.Dont get me wrong I certainly am not an experienced gardener but so far this has worked for me for about 6 years.
I notice yo are in IL in that case I would consider drilling a few small holes into side of container due to the high humidity.Another thing is to make sure you are not over watering.

 

[Claire]

Yes, they are large wooden barrels with holes in the bottom and plenty of air even between the slats. I just think I need to rotate my crops! I also grow tomatoes in the ground, and haven't had a problem with them (oh, dear, is there some wood nearby to knock on?). I find Early Girls to be the best tomato to grow here since we have such a short growing season. In the tubs I would grow patio tomatoes or plum tomatoes. I have several small gardens, and I think I just need to .... well, rotate.

 

[chasinmichigan]

this wierd i was just talking with my girlfriend about the time i ate bacon bits for 2 days because it was all i had. i think that was my lowest point of poverty by choice. i say that because i was a struggling musician at the time and it was no big deal.
i spent alot of time close to poverty in my teenage years and those were my most creative as far as cooking goes. i came up with all kinds of wierd and cool recipes like potatoe chip au graten lol. one time i met this girl from the suburbs and went to her house to meet her parents, when we got there the topic of discusssion was what was for dinner as they said they were going to have to go shopping cause there was nothing to make for dinner. their fridge, freezer, and cupboards were packed. i told her mom if she wanted i would make dinner for them and her mom was cool enough to let me do it. so i made italian ghoulash lol. they had so much fresh vegetables and meat it was one of the most funnest times i ever had cooking because they were all staring at me, this long-haired freak in there kitchen just going to town with all their food that they couldnt do anything with. her dad loved it even though up to the point of tasting it he was looking at me like he wanted to kick my *** for breathing hehehee.
my mom who had ten kids to cook for on a budget was the best and taught me how to make comfort food with little to nothing. she would experiment all the time and never put a bad meal on the table. even if it was just beans she would flavor them with bacon grease and tomatoes and a little chili powder. anyways thats all i have for now. love kills poverty sometimes

 

[CassiesKitchen]

If I may add my two cents, Anne is right, add beans to your diet. It's amazing how cheap they are when you buy them dry and process them yourself. Sure, beans take alot of time. But if you prep yourself to wash and soak your beans overnight and slow cook them all day, it will bring you sustenance. Combine it with grains like barley (not pearled... ), rice, oats, etc. you have a complete protein and good nutrition.

You want to cut out the gas factor: cumin works to a certain extent. But good soaking and rincing will take care of any excess oligosaccharides...

 

[mudbug]

love kills poverty sometimes

Amen, chas. Great story about your girlfriend's family.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Now, I might be crazy ... but I think Constance's original intent in this thread was a discussion about cooking on a dime, a meal on the cheap, surviving on more than a "pine float" for the least possible $ - how to survive and put food on the table during times of economic distress.

I don't think she intended it to be a discussion of socioeconomic philosophy, geopolitics, a debate on moral values, or a debate over the causes of poverty or "is poverty self induced?" It's not about movie reviews (although I can identify with Will Smith's new movie) nor is it about patio gardening (you first have to have a place to live with a patio ....).

We used to have a thread devoted to this idea ... what kind of evening meal can you put on the table for a family of 4 for $5 or less. What could you do with $10? If you were a working single parent with two children, and they got a free lunch at school - okay, they get free breakfast at school, too- how would you feed them on $50/week???

 

[Corey123]

You mean like people or families who are on a budget or a shoestring budget (but not homeless or terribly poor) and are trying to make ends meet in the home, including menu planning?

I can concur with that. Sorry for the mixup.

 

[skilletlicker]

Now, I might be crazy ...

I wouldn't necessarily disallow the possibility.

but I think Constances original intent in this thread was a discussion about cooking on a dime, a meal on the cheap, surviving on more than a "pine float" for the least possible $ - how to survive and put food on the table during times of economic distress.

I would not claim to know "Constance's original intent" but I would certainly applaud the one you described.

I don't think she intended it to be a discussion of socioeconomic philosophy, geopolitics, a debate on moral values, or a debate over the causes of poverty or "is poverty self induced?" It's not about movie reviews (although I can identify with Will Smith's new movie) nor is it about patio gardening (you first have to have a place to live with a patio ....).

I don't think she intended most of those things either, Beginning a thread does not entail proprietorship of the subsequent content. It is merely the beginning of a conversation.

 

[GB]

Beginning a thread does not entail proprietorship of the subsequent content. It is merely the beginning of a conversation.

This is incorrect. One of our rules (although admittedly one of the looser ones) is to stay on topic within a thread. If someone starts a thread about X then they have every right to expect the topic to stay about X. If the natural progression of the conversation goes to Y then a new thread should be started about Y.

 

[skilletlicker]

This is incorrect. One of our rules (although admittedly one of the looser ones) is to stay on topic within a thread. If someone starts a thread about X then they have every right to expect the topic to stay about X. If the natural progression of the conversation goes to Y then a new thread should be started about Y.

GB, Thank you for the clarification. I could have sworn I remembered comments about natural development of conversation being inevitable and necessary to adult discourse. If that is not is not allowed here, thanks for pointing out the the prohibition.

 

[chasinmichigan]

Wow
Wait a minute,
Huh?