primitives discuss the politics of eating

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024424421

Oh my.

Note: the primitive's quoting an article, not relating a personal experience.

eridani (40,353 posts)   Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:08 PM

Poor People's Food

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/29/1273436/-Poor-People-s-Food

I have for some obscure bureaucratic reason recently become eligible for free lunch in my building – at one time limited to the Assisted Living folks, it’s been expanded to any of us who live here. Because of my unexpected hospital stay, and my equally unexpected tripling of prescription costs in the last couple of months (from 10% of my income to 35% of my income, to be precise) I am taking advantage of it. I stopped having any money in the bank at all in the middle of the month. It’s a donated meal a day or none at all.
 
This leads me to ponder the fact that there’s not only a politics of food in this country, but a politics of eating.
 
When I had a middle class income (professor, grant writer, etc) and was married to someone who directed the elections for our state, I of course donated my time to various charities and causes, one of which was the free community meal at the local senior center, available to anyone in the neighborhood. (Possibly it was funded precisely the same way my current lunch was funded.) I wiped tables, served meals, helped clean up afterwards, chatted with people who were eating alone.
 
What I did NOT do was eat the food. I couldn’t stand it. Vegetables were cooked to a uniform olive green. Meat was neither the shape nor size of any known animal part. Gravies were rich and salty, but obviously came from cans and boxes, rather than meat juices. Fruits were canned and scarce.
 
<snip>

Now similar food is my one guaranteed meal a day. It tastes much better without the choice. Today, for example, I had some slices of pressed turkey on a piece of fluffy white bread with gravy on the top: a “hot turkey sandwich.” On the side were thoroughly cooked peas with bits of onion in them, and a scoop of reconstituted mashed potatoes with more gravy; salad was several pieces of canned fruit, and there was jello with a white pouffe in the middle unlikely to be whipped cream. It resembled nothing I’ve ever fed my family. I was hungry. It was good

Igel (19,262 posts)    Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:21 PM

1. Sounds like the food when I was in high school.

I wouldn't eat it.

Now I recognize it as "institutional food."

It's cheap to buy. You can buy it in large quantities.

It's cheap to store. You can leave it on the shelf (most of the stuff) or in the freezer (meat) indefinitely.
 
It's cheap to make in large quantities. Huge batches of spuds. Load up the convection oven. Boil 10 gallons of the spinach. Or peas. That's because it's mostly premade. So preparation is simple. No frying. Any expense in buying it mostly premade is saved in preparation time/complexity.
 
What's in portion sizes is perfectly uniform; what comes in a lump is easily scoopable for uniform portion sizes.
 
It's perfectly reproducible at any scale by whatever staff of whatever calibre happens to be in the kitchen. What you personally prepare for 20 today will be identical to what somebody hired at minimum wage 1 hour before lunch would prepare for 200 next month or a volunteer or a politician in need of a photo-op who came in for an hour would prepare for 800 people six months from now.
 
And best of all, nobody comes back asking for seconds because of gluttony. You gotta be honestly hungry to like it. Or have your taste buds thoroughly warped.

Herman D (8 posts)    Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:23 PM

2. My family eats well

We eat at home, not out , home cookin', made with lots of love.

Fresh vegetables are not expensive and they're the bomb. Americans don't eat enough of them.

Hey, when you are really hungry, I suspect some slop house called McDonald's could be called good.

Hang in there!

Bette Noir (3,512 posts)    Sat Feb 1, 2014, 01:39 AM

7. Fresh vegetables are very expensive

if you live in a part of the country where they don't grow.

I moved here from California three years ago. The first thing I learned is that v*****s are 3 times the price they were in California, and of very poor quality after spending four days on trucks.

Arcanetrance (2,196 posts)    Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:34 PM

3. I was the second in charge of a kitchen at a assisted living facility and I'll tell you honestly

most of what come in is pre-made from sysco

Mr.Bill (1,796 posts)    Sat Feb 1, 2014, 01:31 AM

5. I grow a lot of vegetables in the summer and share them with seniors in the area that appreciate

them very much. It makes all the work of gardening well worth it. I actually enjoy it and have the time now that I am retired.

El_Johns (1,087 posts)    Sat Feb 1, 2014, 01:34 AM

6. My boss's "money-saving" lunch: ramen, a granola bar, crackers.

[Carl]

I have for some obscure bureaucratic reason recently become eligible for free lunch in my building – at one time limited to the Assisted Living folks, it’s been expanded to any of us who live here.

Why do I get the feeling that the author is omitting some dishonesty it used in appealing for the "free" lunch.  

[Skul]

Hey DUmmies...it's FREE!!!!
What a pack of ungrateful slugs.

[Texacon]

Wonder why the authors prescriptions mysteriously, tripled in cost ....  That's so strange ...

KC

[GOBUCKS]

Wonder why the authors prescriptions mysteriously, tripled in cost ....  That's so strange ...

"Medical" marijuana.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Too bad it wasn't a tofurkey slice and soy gravy, it's what you moonbats deserve.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I'd wager that none of these hypocritical puss-yards will complain about the institutional food served in military dining facilities.

[JohnnyReb]

The food in the gulags will be wonderful comrade.

[Delmar]

Response to eridani (Original post)Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:34 PM
Star Member Arcanetrance (2,199 posts)
3. I was the second in charge of a kitchen at a assisted living facility and I'll tell you honestly

most of what come in is pre-made from sysco

You can take that to the bank, seeing how it came from someone with the lofty title of second in charge.

 

[Chris_]

You can take that to the bank, seeing how it came from someone with the lofty title of second in charge.

 

Second in charge (sous) is generally responsible for inventory.

Just sayin'.

Sysco is pretty middle of the road stuff.  There are worst.

[I_B_Perky]

You can take that to the bank, seeing how it came from someone with the lofty title of second in charge.

 

That means there were only two.... the cook and the dishwasher. Wanna guess which one the dummie is?  

[Big Dog]

Shut up and eat your gruel, DUmbasses. That is the inevitable result of "to each according to his need".

[BlueStateSaint]

Second in charge (sous) is generally responsible for inventory.

Just sayin'.

Sysco is pretty middle of the road stuff.  There are worst.

I see what you did there!  H5!

[vesta111]

Shut up and eat your gruel, DUmbasses. That is the inevitable result of "to each according to his need".

Up here the food is awesome in the county jail. They even get homemade cookies and turkey with all the fixens on holidays.

The hospital down the road has such good food they put up menus in the elevators. At lunch or dinner time a stream of people come out with take out to eat at lunch or dinner at work.

In the South I noticed a lot of canned sliced Okra fed to the patients.  At first I did not know what it was, looked like green snails all the slime. Possibly the worse meals fed to captured masses I have ever seen.   Not a good place to go to the hospital or jail in the country.

Story is in the Maine State Prison back in time the prisoners rioted as they were fed Lobster 4 times a week.   Today some lucky people get road kill, Venison and Moose meat, a full belly keeps the people quiet. Possibly the reason for Food Stamps  

Who was it said an Army marches on its belly,   or, the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.??

        

[dane]

I only have experience with one nursing home here in N. Fla., the one my MIL lived in for several years.  Wife visited with her mom nearly every day, sometimes twice in the same day, making it a point to be there at a meal.  For a couple of bucks, guests could eat the same meal.  She said it was always good, and served with care.

MIL didn't always know who was visiting her, but she enjoyed the visit.

[Karin]

Sysco is only a distributor, nothing more, on a larger scale of the business I'm in.  It's the manufacturers who actually make this stuff of varying quality.  The worst institutional food is by far the K-12 Schools, as dictated by one Moochelle Obama.  The manufacturers are having a hell of a time concocting anything to their specs, and by the time it gets to the lunchroom, the kids are throwing it away. 

BTW, the OP said he used to be a professor and a grant writer.  A little strange that he's so destitute now that he relys on free institutional food. 

[GOBUCKS]

BTW, the OP said he used to be a professor and a grant writer.  A little strange that he's so destitute now that he relys on free institutional food. 

Identical career! That OP DUmmy is giving Jugs a glimpse of her future.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Identical career! That OP DUmmy is giving Jugs a glimpse of her future.

Hey, one person's problem is another person's opportunity...maybe she can get work writing grant proposals for food banks.

 

[Chris_]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VEjvxINq58[/youtube]