Question about childhood hunger in America

[AimeeM]

This is because of changing safety standards. They cannot take highchairs, playpens, strollers, cribs or carseats because they cannot check the recall notices on all of them. Even our thrift store won't take baby stuff like that.

Why can't they check the recall notices for specific brands/types - when there isn't exactly a surplus of items coming in that they have to check up on?

[LibraryLover]

My mother's ministry is feeding the poor. Her donation recommendations are:

 

Canned meats- tuna, salmon, chicken, even Spam, since it is full of protein. (I know it sounds squicky.)

Canned pinto beans- any beans, but she says folks tend to choose the pinto as they are the most familiar.

Large tubs of nut butters without HFCS. She likes to see Teddy brand.

Rice Cakes (yes, lots of people want these. Probably due to allergies.)

Shelf-stable milks

Apples

Microwavable rice, oatmeal etc.

Cheerios

Rice Crispies

Instant coffee

Canned soups, chili etc

Tea bags

 

She also tries to give out baby carrots and the like. It's harder to store these things, but she makes sure to have some of this on her mobile food truck. That's also when she gives out cheese sticks etc. Some weeks the donations are better than others. I've given her eggs, and she has a couple of mothers looking for healthier options. My mother has gotten to know folks, and has even been able to hook families up with furniture donations, linens, clothing etc. She knows the sizes of some of the children. People are really struggling, and many of the people she helps are working at crappy jobs.

Edited October 22, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Arcadia]

So I had 3 garbage bags full of nice boys clothes I can't donate to a place that clothes the needy. Or I have a dresser I'd be willing to donate to a woman leaving domestic violence and needing to furnish her appartment. I don't have cash, so I don't get to do anything.

 

I put out an email to my neighbors and a teacher who was mentoring a teenage single mom came and got all my gently used items for the single mum.

 

The shelters here only accept new too so asking neighbors was the easiest way. At least I know a baby is going to benefit immediately.

[AimeeM]

An unpeeled fruit or vegetable is in its original packaging! I'd laugh if it wasn't so stupid. Your genetic engineers have got a long way to go if they want lunches to grow prepackaged like they do in Oz.

 

Rosie

I'm not disagreeing with you at all.

I shop every two weeks ("big" trips; small in between). For every two week shopping trip, $50 is budgeted for the food bank. That's $100 a month. I would feel so much better about what I donate if I could split those trips - the first trip sustainable shelf items (canned goods, peanut butters, etc) and the second trip fresh produce or meats. Geez - do you know how much I could buy in the way of fresh, in season produce and meats for $50?!? Rhetorical question - I know you do, it just pains me a bit to think about how many apples, bananas, bags of carrots, etc I could buy with that money.

[Mrs Mungo]

Why can't they check the recall notices for specific brands/types - when there isn't exactly a surplus of items coming in that they have to check up on?

 

Because they can't go through every recall notice from the last 30+ years. You're only thinking in terms of your relatively new baby items, but people donate *all kinds* of old stuff and safety standards have changed drastically over the years. It's better for them (litigation-wise) to have a set policy in place than to try to figure out what items meet the standard and what items do not.

[Mrs Mungo]

Yeah we've just listed stuff on Freecycle or Craigslist. Someone came and took our crib.

 

Yeah, we sold our baby stuff on Craiglist, but my youngest is 11, so even that was quite a while ago.

[SKL]

I can't afford to just buy more expensive or specialty stuff for others than I do for my own family.

 

 

Once I attended a fancy hotel luncheon for "Shoes for Kids," on behalf of the donor business I worked for. One of the speakers explained the importance of providing new, popular (aka $100+/pair) shoes so that the recipients wouldn't have bruised self-esteem or whatever. That was the last time I donated to any similar charity. That is just ridiculous. I'm a 46yo woman with two graduate degrees and two professional licenses, and I've never spent anywhere close to $100 for a pair of shoes! I will never do so for my own children, as that would send a terrible message IMO. But "poor" kids need this? WHAT? The average person in the third world earns that much $ in a YEAR to feed his family! I'm sorry if that makes me a little cynical about how we view poverty in this country.

[Shamzanne]

I haven't read all of the responses. When I lived in a very rural town in Appalachia there was a market for WIC items - parents actually sold their kids WIC food. I was approached numerous times by people wanting to buy my juice.

[justLisa]

Once I attended a fancy hotel luncheon for "Shoes for Kids," on behalf of the donor business I worked for. One of the speakers explained the importance of providing new, popular (aka $100+/pair) shoes so that the recipients wouldn't have bruised self-esteem or whatever. That was the last time I donated to any similar charity. That is just ridiculous. I'm a 46yo woman with two graduate degrees and two professional licenses, and I've never spent anywhere close to $100 for a pair of shoes! I will never do so for my own children, as that would send a terrible message IMO. But "poor" kids need this? WHAT? The average person in the third world earns that much $ in a YEAR to feed his family! I'm sorry if that makes me a little cynical about how we view poverty in this country.

 

I agree with you there. Every year my husband's company sponsors a family for Christmas. I'm floored by what some people ask for. I would never have the ba**s to ask for stuff like that.

 

We tried to do the sponsor a family thing. The items on the lists were more extravagant than anything I by myself.

[Bluegoat]

So why can't food banks accept fresh fruit and veg? The likes of carrots, apples, pumpkins and potatoes can sit around for ages without being in the fridge. :confused:

 

Rosie

 

The same reasons the rules for preparing foods and serving foods and growing foods are becoming more and more stringent everywhere. Political lobbying by industrial food producers.

[QueenCat]

I agree with you there. Every year my husband's company sponsors a family for Christmas. I'm floored by what some people ask for. I would never have the ba**s to ask for stuff like that.

 

I know... I've been stunned at some of the requests. $300 game systems.... I think they should give families more guidance when making their wish lists. At least with a monetary amount. Our Angel Tree says to spend $50-75 but the requests are often far higher than that.

[Parrothead]

Our cellar is not a good place to store anything. And despite our best efforts it's a hit or miss based on the weather. For example, last year it rained too much. There is nothing we can do to deal with that problem. Stuff either just turned spongy and gross or didn't grow at all. And our yard is microscopic.

 

We do stick to stuff that usually makes it and can be frozen. So that helps.

 

It's mostly a hobby for DH. I personally hate gardening. I help him with the grunt work, but otherwise that's his thing.

A root cellar is a different animal from a basement type cellar.

[Renee in NC]

Time is a big issue too. I'm home all day, I cook for 9 people. I spend at least 2 hours a day cooking (often more) and about 1 hr on clean up, less if I have help. I have no idea how a person working long hours could possibly cook everything from scratch? Not to mention comparison shop (if they even have a working car)? And even with my constant cooking and ample supplies in the house, i *still* have at least one kid a day coming to me in tears because she's hungry and can't find something to eat in the fridge. Prepping food and making sure it gets to the child and making sure the child eats it isn't as simple as it sounds, especially if they're finicky or addicted to junk food.

 

As someone who works full-time and has 6 dc at home....absolutely. I have a working car, and I have a pretty ample grocery budget. I don't have time to comparison shop. I go to Sam's, I go to Food Lion, I get food. We don't eat a ton of processed food, but I am not cooking everything from scratch either.

[ktgrok]

I guess we are lucky here...we have the Mustard Seed ministry, and they take anything. They help low income people furnish their homes, provide clothing, etc. So they take clothes, bedding, furniture, kitchen wares, etc. And screen everyone to make sure it gets to those that need it.

[applethyme]

I think the schools should require all students to take home ec. With the focus on how to cook nutritious food from scratch. Since it is so easy to get prepackaged, frozen, and fast food many kids are just not learning how to cook anything that isn't just microwaved. Some of the recipes I use are from when my great grandmother taught home ec. I'm sad that I only have a few left but the ones I do have have been a blessing and life saver.

[Mrs Mungo]

I think the schools should require all students to take home ec. With the focus on how to cook nutritious food from scratch. Since it is so easy to get prepackaged, frozen, and fast food many kids are just not learning how to cook anything that isn't just microwaved. Some of the recipes I use are from when my great grandmother taught home ec. I'm sad that I only have a few left but the ones I do have have been a blessing and life saver.

 

I agree.

[justLisa]

I think the schools should require all students to take home ec. With the focus on how to cook nutritious food from scratch. Since it is so easy to get prepackaged, frozen, and fast food many kids are just not learning how to cook anything that isn't just microwaved. Some of the recipes I use are from when my great grandmother taught home ec. I'm sad that I only have a few left but the ones I do have have been a blessing and life saver.

 

We had home ec in hs. You know what we learned? How to use 6 basic pieces of clothing to combine several different looks for a complete wardrobe, and how to make a hot fudge pudding cake.

 

I kid you not there was not much more to it then that. Oh yeah, we sewed a stuffed animal from a kit.

[Parrothead]

Once I attended a fancy hotel luncheon for "Shoes for Kids," on behalf of the donor business I worked for. One of the speakers explained the importance of providing new, popular (aka $100+/pair) shoes so that the recipients wouldn't have bruised self-esteem or whatever. That was the last time I donated to any similar charity. That is just ridiculous. I'm a 46yo woman with two graduate degrees and two professional licenses, and I've never spent anywhere close to $100 for a pair of shoes! I will never do so for my own children, as that would send a terrible message IMO. But "poor" kids need this? WHAT? The average person in the third world earns that much $ in a YEAR to feed his family! I'm sorry if that makes me a little cynical about how we view poverty in this country.

:iagree:That is crazy.

[Renee in NC]

I agree with you there. Every year my husband's company sponsors a family for Christmas. I'm floored by what some people ask for. I would never have the ba**s to ask for stuff like that.

 

We tried to do the sponsor a family thing. The items on the lists were more extravagant than anything I by myself.

 

I know... I've been stunned at some of the requests. $300 game systems.... I think they should give families more guidance when making their wish lists. At least with a monetary amount. Our Angel Tree says to spend $50-75 but the requests are often far higher than that.

 

Yeah, I don't mind giving something nice just for the heck of it because they never get anything nice, but $1000 gaming systems? Um...no.

 

Yeah...I'm not joking. Someone once asked for some super mega awesome computer for gaming. :confused:

 

We were sponsored one Christmas. When the lady was asking what the kids wanted, she kept mentioning Ipods or video game systems. I told her no. I told her that used items were okay. I asked for household goods (toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc.)

 

I imagine *most* families do not ask for such huge, luxurious things.

[LibraryLover]

I think the schools should require all students to take home ec. With the focus on how to cook nutritious food from scratch. Since it is so easy to get prepackaged, frozen, and fast food many kids are just not learning how to cook anything that isn't just microwaved. Some of the recipes I use are from when my great grandmother taught home ec. I'm sad that I only have a few left but the ones I do have have been a blessing and life saver.

 

 

Sometimes people live where they can have a microwave, but not a stove/oven. Mom helps a few families who live in motel-type places. Most families have a small dorm fridge and a microwave.

Edited October 22, 2012 by LibraryLover

[k2bdeutmeyer]

We tried to do the sponsor a family thing. The items on the lists were more extravagant than anything I by myself.

 

This is not surprising to me, but wow....I just can't imagine. We've been on the receiving end more than once and I felt awkward even mentioning the TYPES of things my children like. I just felt like we should be grateful for anything we received, not asking for things - big or small. There is NO WAY I could ask for some big ticket item. The guts that must take.

[Rosie_0801]

Ours does accept that. They even have a garden. But compared to what they get in overall and what they can actually grow (because the climate here makes growing a lot of things difficult) it's very little. Plus the cost of storing those things is more than canned goods. So the space for it is limited.

 

I don't understand why it costs more to store fruit and veg that don't need to be refrigerated than it does to store canned goods. Is there a law against leaving things that don't need to be refrigerated out of a fridge?

 

So, you take a vulnerable population -- families, children -- and you start handing out food. The food pantry, trying to provide healthy meals, gives out the fresh fruits and veggies that some anonymous donor provided. Maybe this donor is a wonderful person with the best of intentions, who doesn't know that his backyard garden has been soaked on e coli or salmonella. Maybe the donor is a crazy person who baked rat poison into the whole-wheat bread, because he or she is trying to single-handedly solve the homeless problem in that city.

I see what you are saying, but a food pantry can wash apples and ought to be allowed to.

 

:confused:

Rosie

[Parrothead]

Yeah I took home ec. We learned microwave bread pudding, and a homemade pie crust. Whoopie! :tongue_smilie: And it was kind of sad because we had fully decked out kitchens to work with. We rarely used them. I'm not sure why.

Wow! I feel old. We didn't have a microwave in the home ec kitchens. We had to go shopping for our ingredients, cart the lot to school then cook something. I don't remember what I made. It was a long time ago. And for the sewing part we had to make an actual wearable garment.

[Anne in CA]

I agree that those lists are just outrageous. I do my charitable giving in different ways. Last year our church gave gift bags to hundreds of homeless students and we gave needed items with a few fun inexpensive things thrown in. Cards with cell phone minutes were included for high school students because they need cell phones to "couch surf" and organize babysitting jobs and other things.

 

After reading this thread yesterday I got upset when my dd made some cupcakes and made a mistake with the frosting and we wasted three cups of powdered sugar, two egg whites and a cup of shortening. I need to chill a little I guess, but reading about people on this board doing without the days at the end of the month made me uptight.

[Bluegoat]

Hm, that's interesting. I guess I'll have to read up more on it. I love it too, but we didn't get anything out of it this year. I was so sad! It grew beautifully, but it never bulbed up.

 

Are you sure that it is the right kind of fennel? There are several kinds and only one will produce a bulb.

 

The other issue is heat - too much of it. If it gets too hot, the fennel will bolt - go to seed - and then it won't produce a bulb. The bulb won't start to form until you get cool weather. So you have to get through the hot weather without bolting, and then it should start to bulb up when the cooler weather comes in the fall.

 

To keep it from bolting you could try and plant it where it gets more shade or use shade cloth. And make sure you water regularly too.

[FaithManor]

I don't understand why it costs more to store fruit and veg that don't need to be refrigerated than it does to store canned goods. Is there a law against leaving things that don't need to be refrigerated out of a fridge?

 

 

I see what you are saying, but a food pantry can wash apples and ought to be allowed to.

 

:confused:

Rosie

 

But Rosie, what you state is common sense. Of course workers at food pantries ought to be able to properly wash produce. However, common sense, as Imp says, is a super power. Our government does not possess such fine, super power skills!

 

Faith

[Mrs Mungo]

We had home ec in hs. You know what we learned? How to use 6 basic pieces of clothing to combine several different looks for a complete wardrobe, and how to make a hot fudge pudding cake.

 

I kid you not there was not much more to it then that. Oh yeah, we sewed a stuffed animal from a kit.

 

That is crazy. I think everyone should have REAL lessons in life skills every year of junior high and high school. Basic cooking, basic housekeeping, basic bookkeeping, basic sewing, etc.

[SKL]

I think the schools should require all students to take home ec. With the focus on how to cook nutritious food from scratch. Since it is so easy to get prepackaged, frozen, and fast food many kids are just not learning how to cook anything that isn't just microwaved. Some of the recipes I use are from when my great grandmother taught home ec. I'm sad that I only have a few left but the ones I do have have been a blessing and life saver.

 

I disagree. I think it should be offered as a course for credit (I think it still is) but not required.

 

I had to take home ec for 6 weeks and it was idiotic. "This is boiling, this is frying, this is how you make a pizza out of a box. This is how you sift flour." Really? What a waste of time if you have other life plans besides homemaking.

 

I very rarely cook. My kids eat. If I needed to figure out how to cook, I would. Necessity is the mother of invention. But nobody needs to cook produce, bread, milk, etc. And you don't need a class to heat up canned or frozen veggies, soups, ravioli, and a million other things. It takes about five minutes to learn how to cook eggs, boxed pasta, rice, and potatoes. (OK, maybe 10 minutes for some kinds of potatoes.) Everything else is gravy (no pun intended). That's what they invented cookbooks for.

 

A better solution might be to get some of these people working in a "soup kitchen" where they can learn the basics while helping others.

[Parrothead]

I disagree. I think it should be offered as a course for credit (I think it still is) but not required.

 

I had to take home ec for 6 weeks and it was idiotic. "This is boiling, this is frying, this is how you make a pizza out of a box. This is how you sift flour." Really? What a waste of time if you have other life plans besides homemaking.

 

I very rarely cook. My kids eat. If I needed to figure out how to cook, I would. Necessity is the mother of invention. But nobody needs to cook produce, bread, milk, etc. And you don't need a class to heat up canned or frozen veggies, soups, ravioli, and a million other things. It takes about five minutes to learn how to cook eggs, boxed pasta, rice, and potatoes. (OK, maybe 10 minutes for some kinds of potatoes.) Everything else is gravy (no pun intended). That's what they invented cookbooks for.

 

A better solution might be to get some of these people working in a "soup kitchen" where they can learn the basics while helping others.

Heating up prepackaged Frankenfoods is not cooking.

[Moxie]

Why are people surprised/appalled at what kids ask for on Angel Trees?? Poor kids are subjected to just as much marketing as the rest of the world. Of course they want the latest and greated electronic gaget. I just leave those tags for someone with a bigger giving budget.

[SKL]

Heating up prepackaged Frankenfoods is not cooking.

 

I didn't say it was. I said you don't have to be able to cook in order to eat, at least not in this country.

[LibraryLover]

Heating up prepackaged Frankenfoods is not cooking.

 

 

Ah, to be Oprah. "Everyone gets a fridge! Everyone gets a stove! Everyone gets a decent apartment with a community roof garden!!!"

[justLisa]

Ah, to be Oprah. "Everyone gets a fridge! Everyone gets a stove! Everyone gets a decent apartment with a community roof garden!!!"

:lol::lol:

 

She could probably swing that :tongue_smilie:

[Moxie]

When my sister was in high school, they started requiring "Life Skills". It was basic stuff like how a bank account works, some basic cooking and some other stuff (she didn't learn much). How pathetic that we've gotten to a place in our country that the majority of parents aren't teaching the very basic skills needed to live?!?

[Mrs Mungo]

I disagree. I think it should be offered as a course for credit (I think it still is) but not required.

 

I had to take home ec for 6 weeks and it was idiotic. "This is boiling, this is frying, this is how you make a pizza out of a box. This is how you sift flour." Really? What a waste of time if you have other life plans besides homemaking.

 

 

Disagree. Everyone should know how to prepare a couple of basic meals, run a washing machine, balance a checkbook, etc. People should be able to take care of themselves, even if they are not homemakers. My husband has male and female soldiers that he must send to finance classes due to bounced checks. He had a soldier's dad call his Congressman because the dining facility was closed on the weekend and the soldier couldn't feed himself, despite access to a full kitchen. Is it pathetic? Maybe. Is it necessary? I kind of think it is.

 

I very rarely cook. My kids eat. If I needed to figure out how to cook, I would. Necessity is the mother of invention. But nobody needs to cook produce, bread, milk, etc. And you don't need a class to heat up canned or frozen veggies, soups, ravioli, and a million other things. It takes about five minutes to learn how to cook eggs, boxed pasta, rice, and potatoes. (OK, maybe 10 minutes for some kinds of potatoes.) Everything else is gravy (no pun intended). That's what they invented cookbooks for.

 

I agree with Parrothead. Real food consists of more than canned veggies and ravioli.

 

I didn't say it was. I said you don't have to be able to cook in order to eat, at least not in this country.

 

You have to cook to be able to eat well, *especially* in this country.

 

Ah, to be Oprah. "Everyone gets a fridge! Everyone gets a stove! Everyone gets a decent apartment with a community roof garden!!!"

 

Isn't this a pleasant fiction? I *would* love that. :001_smile:

[SKL]

How pathetic that we've gotten to a place in our country that the majority of parents aren't teaching the very basic skills needed to live?!?

 

It probably isn't that. It's probably that a minority doesn't do it, and so the entire population has to be punished. Shotgun approach or whatever.

 

My mom taught me all I learned in home ec, and much more, many years earlier. Well, all except for the flour sifting - she told me about it, but it was already obsolete even then.

[Mrs Mungo]

It probably isn't that. It's probably that a minority doesn't do it, and so the entire population has to be punished. Shotgun approach or whatever.

 

My mom taught me all I learned in home ec, and much more, many years earlier. Well, all except for the flour sifting - she told me about it, but it was already obsolete even then.

 

You just said that you couldn't cook! So, *your* Home Ec class obviously didn't do much good. And sifting flour is not obsolete, it is necessary for certain outcomes.

[Beetkvass]

I didn't say it was. I said you don't have to be able to cook in order to eat, at least not in this country.

 

Well, most people can avoid doing most anything because there is always someone else you could pay to do it for you. But cooking is a practical skill and would help the overwhelming majority of students. Isn't this the childhood hunger thread still? Cooking skills would allow many people to save money and make their budget stretch further. And I would think it would help students whose parents can't or won't do it for them instead of having to rely on schools.

[LibraryLover]

When my sister was in high school, they started requiring "Life Skills". It was basic stuff like how a bank account works, some basic cooking and some other stuff (she didn't learn much). How pathetic that we've gotten to a place in our country that the majority of parents aren't teaching the very basic skills needed to live?!?

 

 

I see a renaissance of the home arts. More people are sewing, knitting, canning, gardening, raising chickens etc. The wait lists for a community garden plot in NYC is astounding. The number of roof gardens in NYC is astounding. I have a photo I took from Brooklyn apartment window, and what's being grow is miraculous.

 

Poor folks can't easily participate, but it's happening. A few years ago, who was really talking about CSA and the like?

Edited October 22, 2012 by LibraryLover

[SKL]

Disagree. Everyone should know how to prepare a couple of basic meals, run a washing machine, balance a checkbook, etc. People should be able to take care of themselves, even if they are not homemakers. My husband has male and female soldiers that he must send to finance classes due to bounced checks. He had a soldier's dad call his Congressman because the dining facility was closed on the weekend and the soldier couldn't feed himself, despite access to a full kitchen. Is it pathetic? Maybe. Is it necessary? I kind of think it is.

 

...

 

You have to cook to be able to eat well, *especially* in this country.

 

 

 

To your first paragraph, just because "some" people don't know how to do basic things does not mean that everyone needs a required course. Why not send everyone to jail because some people are criminals? Let's send everyone to remedial reading because some kids need the help. Makes no sense.

 

To the second para above, we'll have to agree to disagree on that. Like I said, I'm 46 and I haven't cooked anything serious in 34 years, and I'm pretty darn healthy (and so are my kids). Healthier than most people I know who are good cooks.

[LibraryLover]

This isn't my photo, but it's not as uncommon as one might think.

 

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://brooklynroofgarden.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/8-8-roof-garden-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://brooklynroofgarden.com/2010/03/26/roof-gardens-of-the-rich-and-famous/&h=360&w=540&sz=74&tbnid=cNIiizAG4QmCVM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__DbNBaEjpC789Lxj4lqrmySEW8Sc=&docid=ad2pt0g5eCHxcM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jn2FUMmsLoOC8QTo-4GQAg&sqi=2&ved=0CCcQ9QEwAw&dur=469

[SKL]

You just said that you couldn't cook! So, *your* Home Ec class obviously didn't do much good. And sifting flour is not obsolete, it is necessary for certain outcomes.

 

Actually I said I "rarely" cook. I had to cook the family meal 3 nights a week at age 12. This included roast stuffed chicken, meat loaf, and a dozen other meals at least. I hated it and never had any desire to cook after that.

 

What I was "taught" in home ec didn't approach the info in my first home cooking lesson that I got when I was in elementary school.

[Mrs Mungo]

Well, most people can avoid doing most anything because there is always someone else you could pay to do it for you. But cooking is a practical skill and would help the overwhelming majority of students. Isn't this the childhood hunger thread still? Cooking skills would allow many people to save money and make their budget stretch further. And I would think it would help students whose parents can't or won't do it for them instead of having to rely on schools.

 

Agreed. They would actually know what to do with a bag of dried beans. You can even cook that easily in a hotel room, if you have a crockpot.

 

I see a renaissance of the home arts. More people are sewing, knitting, canning, gardening, raising chickens etc. The wait lists for a community garden plot in NYC is astounding. The number of roof gardens in NYC is astounding. I have a photo I took from Brooklyn apartment window, and what's being grow is miraculous.

 

Poor folks can't easily participate, but it's happening. A few years ago, who was really talking about CSAs and the like?

 

I do agree that there is a renewed interest in homemaking skills. Even some of my (unmarried, in professional jobs) younger cousins have learned to knit, sew, cook, etc.

[Lovedtodeath]

One of my best friends is a single mom who works full time and lost her job last year. Yes, they eat a lot of convenient foods. She has to work a lot when she is sick and she had to ask for help to get her kitchen clean last time she had bronchitis.

 

Our church had brought us a basket with food for Christmas dinner (because we were new) and she cried when I gave it to her.

 

We tried to do the sponsor a family thing. The items on the lists were more extravagant than anything I by myself.

She had a quilt, gloves and snow boots on her Christmas list. :glare:

 

Let's not paint things with a broad brush.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Lovedtodeath

[Mrs Mungo]

Actually I said I "rarely" cook. I had to cook the family meal 3 nights a week at age 12. This included roast stuffed chicken, meat loaf, and a dozen other meals at least. I hated it and never had any desire to cook after that.

 

What I was "taught" in home ec didn't approach the info in my first home cooking lesson that I got when I was in elementary school.

 

You said this:

If I needed to figure out how to cook, I would. Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

You don't think that implies that you *can't* cook?

[SKL]

But cooking is a practical skill and would help the overwhelming majority of students. Isn't this the childhood hunger thread still? Cooking skills would allow many people to save money and make their budget stretch further. And I would think it would help students whose parents can't or won't do it for them instead of having to rely on schools.

 

That's why it should be optional. Not mandatory.

[Rosie_0801]

Can you post it? I wanna see!

Edited October 22, 2012 by Rosie_0801

[justLisa]

One of my best friends is a single mom who works full time and lost her job last year. Yes, they eat a lot of convenient foods. She has to work a lot when she is sick and she had to ask for help to get her kitchen clean last time she had bronchitis. She had a quilt, gloves and snow boots on her Christmas list. :glare:

 

Let's not paint things with a broad brush.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I did not say anything like that is extravagant.

[SKL]

You said this:

If I needed to figure out how to cook, I would. Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

You don't think that implies that you *can't* cook?

 

You are just being argumentative. It's been 34 years and I'd have to refresh my memory on the recipes. That does not mean I "can't" cook. I'd have to print out a mapquest to drive somewhere new, but that doesn't mean I can't drive.

 

Cooking for basic needs is hardly rocket science.

[LibraryLover]

Can you post it? I wanna see!

 

 

I post a link. It's not my photo, but it shows a great Brooklyn roof garden. There are lots of pix on Google image. It's really fun to see.