Chicago school bans home made lunches for kids

[Nekio]

I work as a family physician in an inner city office in Pittsburgh. My patient's are 95% black and on Medicaid. I deal with childhood obesity nearly daily. I've been working on a nutrition initiative with a local charter school for almost a year now, because the kids have ZERO idea what "healthy food" even means. After speaking to their parents, I understand why: the parents have no fucking clue at ALL what constitutes healthy food. I ask if they're giving their kids juice, and they say "yeah, we have those Little Hugs bottles".

AKA: http://www.ephemeralstates.com/wp-co...ange_drink.jpg


The kids bring in their own breakfast. It constitutes this:
http://s8.thisnext.com/media/230x230...s_4B3C0F4E.jpg mixed withhttp://legacy.lclark.edu/~soan221/99...20dressing.jpg

That's literally what half the kids eat for breakfast. I've physically seen them dump ranch dressing into the bag of Andy Cap Hot Fries, shake it up, and start scooping it into their mouth. THE PARENTS SEND THEM TO SCHOOL WITH A BOTTLE OF RANCH DRESSING.

[alt]

This will get overturned eventually i'm almost positive.

[kyod]

^ is why CPS started this in the first place.

And it can't get overturned unless the principal changes it or the people down at Clark/Adams tell the principal to stop doing it. The only people blowing it out of proportion are those who don't live in the Chicago area. The people most outraged by this are those who can afford to pick and choose what to give their kids because they have the means.

People need to stop preaching from their ivory tower.

[Nekio]

P.S. Andy Capp Hot Fries mixed with ranch dressing looks crazy good, but out of principal I won't try it.

[shaddix]

I work as a family physician in an inner city office in Pittsburgh. My patient's are 95% black and on Medicaid. I deal with childhood obesity nearly daily. I've been working on a nutrition initiative with a local charter school for almost a year now, because the kids have ZERO idea what "healthy food" even means. After speaking to their parents, I understand why: the parents have no fucking clue at ALL what constitutes healthy food. I ask if they're giving their kids juice, and they say "yeah, we have those Little Hugs bottles".

AKA: http://www.ephemeralstates.com/wp-co...ange_drink.jpg


The kids bring in their own breakfast. It constitutes this:
http://s8.thisnext.com/media/230x230...s_4B3C0F4E.jpg mixed withhttp://legacy.lclark.edu/~soan221/99...20dressing.jpg

That's literally what half the kids eat for breakfast. I've physically seen them dump ranch dressing into the bag of Andy Cap Hot Fries, shake it up, and start scooping it into their mouth. THE PARENTS SEND THEM TO SCHOOL WITH A BOTTLE OF RANCH DRESSING.

Spoiler: show

http://www.imgur.com/URPG5.jpg

[Meresgi]

Except that's part of the problem, we assume poor people are also naturally stupid, which isn't the case. Even poor people know Soda is bad for them, but they drink it cause they want to.

They drink it because they want to and because 90% of the goddamn time it's cheaper then anything else. It's pretty fucked up. I walk to the grocery store most days now that my car has been fucked, and I see huge sales on soda every week (Buy 1 12pack get 2 free) yadda yadda. I swore off soda earlier this year and feel good about it, but then again I love to drink water so im fine and the water where I live tastes pretty good. Other people arn't so lucky, even in the same area as the town water tastes like horse shit 2 blocks over.

I mean if it costs 35c per can of soda or 70c for a can of V8 or w/e, because the soda is on sale, then poor people will get the soda.

Same shit for fast food, a dollar meal is bad for you, but fuck it, when you're out of a job, living unemployment check to unemployment check or w/e you're scratching by on, you don't give a shit, you just want something in your stomach.

[Plow]

Huh?

On another note, How does 32k/yr mean you are eating shit like McDonalds and Kraft Mac & Cheese? And wtf is "poverty level"? I could argue that Sean Duffy is living at Poverty level because he is driving a used mini van and isn't "living high on the hog". I understand that there are real poverty problems in America, but humor me as I tell you a little bit about responsible living regardless of income. I have a family of 6 (4 kids, my wife, and myself) that lives on 1 income of 33k a year. We live in an area where the poverty level for a family of 6 is 34k/yr gross earnings. We do not live "poor" because we know how to make responsible choices and are resourceful. (i.e. no lolcredid cards or debt of any kind, buy food INGREDIENTS [no yellow dye though] and make our own meals instead of opening a box of Hamburger Helper, use the community resources available from non-profit groups, etc.)

I have a hard time believing you're feeding a family of 6 on 33k a year and don't see yourself as being in poverty, even if you live in a place with really low col. If you bought a $30k house, which is shit, let alone a $30k house in suburban Chicago, and paid it over 5 years, that's 20% of your money, depending on interest. So you're down to ~25k/year. Let's say you spend $5 a day on food per person. First off, you're largely living on starch. Lots of bread, potatoes, crackers, etc. Your meat selection is going to be very limited, and unless you're stocking up on shit like hot dogs and sausage, you're likely actually going to be *lacking* enough fat and calories to support a healthy growing child's lifestyle.

You've also just spent 11k/year eating VERY cheaply, <$2 a meal on average. You're down to 14k/year.

Telephone and internet are basically essential. Let's say you get a package deal for $50 a month, which would be a damn good price. $600

Let's say thanks to government grants and whatnot you can cover all utility bills with $100 a month. Realistic I suppose, considering you're housing 6 people in a $30k house. $1200

You're down to 12k a year. You don't have a car, or pay for transportation yet. You don't have a cell phone, or cable. You're not buying clothes or shoes. You essentially have to pay for a computer at this point, and a TV is barely a luxury. Your house needs furniture, bedding, cleaning supplies, yard care equipment, etc. etc.

If all of these basic requirement expenditures add up to 1k/month... then you're stuck on that <$2 per meal. You can't afford entertainment beyond your tv and internet. You can't pay the fees to get your children involved in sports. Vacation? Right... etc. etc. etc.


If you're housing 6 people in a 30k house averaging <$2 a meal (with no consideration for snacks I might add), and can afford basically nothing to do that costs anything, how are you *not* living in poverty?

I mean, compared to Somalia, sure.

[Acevalefor]

I have a hard time believing you're feeding a family of 6 on 33k a year and don't see yourself as being in poverty, even if you live in a place with really low col. If you bought a $30k house, which is shit, let alone a $30k house in suburban Chicago, and paid it over 5 years, that's 20% of your money, depending on interest. So you're down to ~25k/year. Let's say you spend $5 a day on food per person. First off, you're largely living on starch. Lots of bread, potatoes, crackers, etc. Your meat selection is going to be very limited, and unless you're stocking up on shit like hot dogs and sausage, you're likely actually going to be *lacking* enough fat and calories to support a healthy growing child's lifestyle.

You've also just spent 11k/year eating VERY cheaply, <$2 a meal on average. You're down to 14k/year.

Telephone and internet are basically essential. Let's say you get a package deal for $50 a month, which would be a damn good price. $600

Let's say thanks to government grants and whatnot you can cover all utility bills with $100 a month. Realistic I suppose, considering you're housing 6 people in a $30k house. $1200

You're down to 12k a year. You don't have a car, or pay for transportation yet. You don't have a cell phone, or cable. You're not buying clothes or shoes. You essentially have to pay for a computer at this point, and a TV is barely a luxury. Your house needs furniture, bedding, cleaning supplies, yard care equipment, etc. etc.

If all of these basic requirement expenditures add up to 1k/month... then you're stuck on that <$2 per meal. You can't afford entertainment beyond your tv and internet. You can't pay the fees to get your children involved in sports. Vacation? Right... etc. etc. etc.


If you're housing 6 people in a 30k house averaging <$2 a meal (with no consideration for snacks I might add), and can afford basically nothing to do that costs anything, how are you *not* living in poverty?

I mean, compared to Somalia, sure.

It's not that hard to do. We live on about $2 a DAY, not per MEAL, for food which still allows us to eat healthy. Try buying your meats at the end of the day right before store close...they sell it for dirt cheap because it's either that or it hits the dumpster. My employer pays for my cell phone and I rarely use it for personal use anyway. We don't have cable. We rent our house for $800/mo and have a deal with the homeowner that he provides all the tools/equipment for upkeep and we provide the labor. The furniture we do have was purchased 10+ years ago when I was making almost double my current income(Thanks Madoff for fucking the housing industry) or else it was gifted to us. Our internet is $30/mo with a subsidy of $15 from the Oregon Education fund because we home-school. There's $15/mo internet. My computer is older and it was given to me by a cousin so it was FREE. Water/Sewer/Garbage is $70/mo. Electric is $275/mo average with Local incentives from Washington county because we have solar panels(Only enough to run the refrigerator but it qualifies) This gets us down to $200/mo which is our biggest expense. We own our vehicles outright and do all our own maintenance. I know how to turn wrench well enough that I have yet to have to pay a vehicle repair bill, just parts.

We spend about $22k/yr on our housing/maintenance/food/supplies. This leaves us about $6k/yr to pay for stuff like clothing, shoes, personal care, gas, sports fees, etc.

Also, we are very pro-active about events for our children. Just last weekend we organized a 10k run to help sponsor as many as 90 kids, including ours, to go to camp this summer. Raising funds for stuff that is outside our normal budget just means some extra time and work on the weekends to make it happen. Also, our church is instrumental in providing us the resources to do these fundraisers. i.e. using the parking lot for car wash, the gym for bake sales, the office for publication printing, etc.

I know I don't live in Chicago, but the point still stands that poverty is a state of mind to an extent.

[archibaldcrane]

Fuck, you're poor. 4 kids? Do you not believe in birth control?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 4G using Tapatalk

[kyod]

I know I don't live in Chicago, but the point still stands that poverty is a state of mind to an extent.

Not trying to be a jerk, but your comparisons aren't really fair for people who live in major urban areas. $800/month will get you a studio or 1 bedroom apartment in Chicago (maybe a 2 bedroom if the neighborhood is really dangerous). I doubt your 4 kids I would assume you want at least a 3 bedroom apartment (2 kids to a room, you and your spouse in one). That's about $1200/mo. If you own a car outright, you're paying $100+ for a street parking permit (and then however much it costs to park near your work if there's no free street parking). If you don't have a car, you're paying $2.50 each way for bus/train to your job, per person. Monthly pass makes sense, but that's about $100/$120/month. God help you if your job is in the suburbs and you need to take commuter rail. Depending on how old your house/apartment is, the gas bill can run as high as $400/mo in the winter months if you aren't on a People's Gas year-round payment plan. I could go on...

I wouldn't call poverty a 'state of mind.'

[Plow]

Fuck, you're poor. 4 kids? Do you not believe in birth control?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 4G using Tapatalk

we home-school

gonna go with a no, and also a lol, all is explained

[Acevalefor]

gonna go with a no, and also a lol, all is explained

Believe what you want, I was just showing you how one doesn't have to be part of the stereotype of low income=poverty in America. While there is a critical income level that you need, the "poverty level" in America is far from actual poverty.

kyod, I see your point completely. I don't live in a huge urban area. I live in Portland, OR and around here just about every property has off-street parking. It's vastly different on the west coast than it is in Chicago. The rental rates are actually higher out here right now, but we shopped until we found a house that wasn't in the best shape and made a deal with the owner for lower rent. The same house built the same year owned by the same owner 2 blocks from us is in much better condition and rents for $1400/mo.

Poverty as a state of mind is in reference to a way of life. I have friends that live on 12k/yr or less and live with 5 other guys in little more than a shack. They believe there is no way out of that and so continue to live like that just barely scraping by. Ever seen Swamp People on Discovery? That's poverty as a state of mind.

[Yugl]

gonna go with a no, and also a lol, all is explained

Saw and thought the same.

[Rhinox]

http://www.spiritual-revolutionary.c...tan-london.jpg

[takethistoyourgrave]

Back to the OP, this is exactly the way they do things throughout Japan, and I have no problem with it.

Granted, I was never a picky motherfucker, either.

I think it is more of a food-spoiling thing for Japan, though. Shit gets moldy immediately.

[Zeb]