ex food critic on food stamps [General]
2010 May 31
That is an amazing read. Especially after I read a few months ago about prominent "torontonians" complaining that life on a low food budget is impossible. Hah.
www.citytv.com
Good food doesn't have to be expensive.
That ex-critic is going to a get a job a-sap. And since he is not throwing every dollar away on herion, he'll be fine if he doesn'.t It's amazing at how far some ground beef and a huge bag of rice can go. Instead, we hear in the news reports about how impoverished people in north america "can only afford to eat mcdonalds". Bull... There are people in the world surviving on practially nothing. Heck, my own father would never put macdonalds or craft dinner in his mouth based on principle (and the fact that both are quite nasty). Rye bread and butter, and as a treat a can of sardines or herring. That will sustain a person for a fraction of the cost of take out. And trust me, the 500+ dollars Canadians get for social security, is more than enough for food. Look one can buy a huge can of re-fried beens, and some tortillia's and rice, and eat burritos for a week. Canned vegies + mince meat goes a long way, and a bag of potatoes is not that expensive. Tonns for food in a bag of potatoes. Variety is not necissary, if one needs to survive - they wil eat whatever. Damn, reading "memoirs of a boy soldier" by Ishmael Beah (former Seria Leonise child soldier), he would survive on raw rice. So, I think this article is spot on.
Good article.
www.citytv.com
Good food doesn't have to be expensive.
That ex-critic is going to a get a job a-sap. And since he is not throwing every dollar away on herion, he'll be fine if he doesn'.t It's amazing at how far some ground beef and a huge bag of rice can go. Instead, we hear in the news reports about how impoverished people in north america "can only afford to eat mcdonalds". Bull... There are people in the world surviving on practially nothing. Heck, my own father would never put macdonalds or craft dinner in his mouth based on principle (and the fact that both are quite nasty). Rye bread and butter, and as a treat a can of sardines or herring. That will sustain a person for a fraction of the cost of take out. And trust me, the 500+ dollars Canadians get for social security, is more than enough for food. Look one can buy a huge can of re-fried beens, and some tortillia's and rice, and eat burritos for a week. Canned vegies + mince meat goes a long way, and a bag of potatoes is not that expensive. Tonns for food in a bag of potatoes. Variety is not necissary, if one needs to survive - they wil eat whatever. Damn, reading "memoirs of a boy soldier" by Ishmael Beah (former Seria Leonise child soldier), he would survive on raw rice. So, I think this article is spot on.
Good article.
2010 May 31
Because all people on social assistance are heroin addicts... Of course these people all get what they deserve. I can't imagine why ilikerealfood has to keep asking why people get offended at what he says...
2010 May 31
When my family came from the Balkans, we came as refugees and had absolutely nothing. We had to start from the beginning. My dad wasn't able to get a job right away and we were on social assistance for awhile. There are four of us in the family.
In any case, we never suffered, and this is because my mom always made home cooked meals that were very cheap and we utilized what we bought really really well. This was already a learned thing coming from our country..people cooked at home and there was very little buying prepared food.
The key is to buy things that have the potential to feed you many many times, as long as you are willing to do a little work, and sometimes work is not involved(ie a big jar of peanut butter can last you a long time as long as you can make bread on the cheap..its a great value buy)
We always bought flour(we make home-made bread from our country). So bread became one of the easiest thing to provide at the cheap. It is much more filling than most breads out there and delicious too. We used that for all our meals, making sandwiches, plus my mom made burek(balkan meat pie), sirnica(cheese pie). So we really utilized it. We bought beans, rice, potatoes,; again, all things that will last you a long time and are really filling.
Now, having said that, let's understand that "suffering" means different things to different people. I don't think it makes sense to compare our "suffering" to those in Africa, quiet clearly they have it worse, but we are just used to a higher standard...so it doesn't make sense to compare. Though I agree with the poster above that people complaining that they can only have McDonalds are hard to feel sorry for.
I mean I feel I suffered at some point in my life. Maybe people don't think its major but it was to me. When I moved out initially I didn't know how to cook that well. I was responsible as well and didn't waste money for most part, I bought beans, rice, and all that, but since I wasn't a very good cook..the food was beyond bland, sometimes under-done, sometimes over-cooked...despite having food, I felt I was basically living like a home-less person because I just lacked the skills to take advantage of the ingredients. That feeling made me order more and so forth. McDonalds seemed like a pretty good option then.
So we simply can't always look at things as people making bad decisions..honestly sometimes people are suffering just because they aren't very good cooks or they lack the creativity and knowledge on how to spend less.
In any case, we never suffered, and this is because my mom always made home cooked meals that were very cheap and we utilized what we bought really really well. This was already a learned thing coming from our country..people cooked at home and there was very little buying prepared food.
The key is to buy things that have the potential to feed you many many times, as long as you are willing to do a little work, and sometimes work is not involved(ie a big jar of peanut butter can last you a long time as long as you can make bread on the cheap..its a great value buy)
We always bought flour(we make home-made bread from our country). So bread became one of the easiest thing to provide at the cheap. It is much more filling than most breads out there and delicious too. We used that for all our meals, making sandwiches, plus my mom made burek(balkan meat pie), sirnica(cheese pie). So we really utilized it. We bought beans, rice, potatoes,; again, all things that will last you a long time and are really filling.
Now, having said that, let's understand that "suffering" means different things to different people. I don't think it makes sense to compare our "suffering" to those in Africa, quiet clearly they have it worse, but we are just used to a higher standard...so it doesn't make sense to compare. Though I agree with the poster above that people complaining that they can only have McDonalds are hard to feel sorry for.
I mean I feel I suffered at some point in my life. Maybe people don't think its major but it was to me. When I moved out initially I didn't know how to cook that well. I was responsible as well and didn't waste money for most part, I bought beans, rice, and all that, but since I wasn't a very good cook..the food was beyond bland, sometimes under-done, sometimes over-cooked...despite having food, I felt I was basically living like a home-less person because I just lacked the skills to take advantage of the ingredients. That feeling made me order more and so forth. McDonalds seemed like a pretty good option then.
So we simply can't always look at things as people making bad decisions..honestly sometimes people are suffering just because they aren't very good cooks or they lack the creativity and knowledge on how to spend less.
2010 May 31
While we are throwing around stereotypes - as you may have seen in the news lately, the people of Arizona seem to think that immigrants are much more likely to commit crime than home-grown citizens. I'm sure the people of Arizona would believe that your family's success in this country was the result of criminal activity, iheartsamosa. That shows you how well stereotypes work, really, because I doubt that is true.
Yup, a lot of people make really bad decsions, but we should not assume the worst of everyone just the same.
If you are going to toss around this kind of stuff, then at least post a complete breakdown of how one could feed a family on the money you say can accomplish this task. i.e - prove it.
Yup, a lot of people make really bad decsions, but we should not assume the worst of everyone just the same.
If you are going to toss around this kind of stuff, then at least post a complete breakdown of how one could feed a family on the money you say can accomplish this task. i.e - prove it.
2010 May 31
And for the record "pete", I was not saying every body on social security is a heroin addict. Far from it! My point was merely to emphasize that if one does not have an all consuming addiction such as heroin, alcohol or gambling (or something similar), one can more than adequately feed oneself. This is why I said "since", implying that he isn't throwing money away. If he did throw all his money away on drugs, then his stretching of low income could not go as far as he said he did. Again, this is not to generalize or demonize those who are less fortunate, it was an apt point about the state of north America's poor, who more often than not, have ended up in such a position due to bad life decisions. This is why I compare North American poverty to poverty in other parts of the world. This is not to say that some people do not legitimately fall on hard times. I never said that and I will never say that. Ultimately, that is what the foodbanks, and food stamp systems are for. And as the article articulates, if one is creative, frugal and smart - food stamps and food bank can go along way. There is no excuse for lack of creativity, period. Like "i heart samosa", I and my parents immigrated to Canada, however in my case from South Africa. My father however, was a refugee from Poland, lived under communism and escaped to Austria. Over the years he managed to land a job in South Africa. When the political scene there become completely unsafe in the late 80s, my parents left everything (including an upper middle class lifestyle) and came to Canada. We started from scratch, and my child hood was a very similar experience as "i heart samosa's". So, before being overly sensitive to "uncomfortable truths", use your God given power of inference - and decipher what I was trying to convey. In your words pete, "I can't imagine" that I have to defend myself for talking about uncomfortable things.
And zym, you make a good point that Stereotypes are nonsense, however nothing can be categorized without them. Social science works on principles of stereotyping whether or not we like to admit it or not. - essentially I was just agreeing with the article you posted.
And zym, you make a good point that Stereotypes are nonsense, however nothing can be categorized without them. Social science works on principles of stereotyping whether or not we like to admit it or not. - essentially I was just agreeing with the article you posted.
2010 Jun 1
I think you ( ilikerealfood ) summarized it quite well for me: "north America's poor, who more often than not, have ended up in such a position due to bad life decisions" Of course it must be one of your 'uncomfortable truths' that is is the poors' fault that they are poor. You have very little understanding of poverty, to make statements like this. I believe we can all come up with stories of our parents having to make do with less. I can pretty much guarantee you that if your parents were not of European descent, and instead lived in Soweto, you would NOT be here in Canada, living the 'good life' and preaching to us about poverty and struggle, no matter how much hard work they did.
2010 Jun 1
Don't you dare pull the "I’m white so I don't understand” card on me. There is a thriving black elite in South Africa, so your comments on Soweto can be thrown out the window. Race arguments are so ignorant, did I mention race once in any of my posts? Don't comment on a country you probably know nothing about. From your comments it seems you think I have no empathy for the poor, you couldn't be more wrong. The poor need empowerment not socialist excuses of external causes of poverty. And the "good life" you are talking about - can be achieved by anybody. It took 20 years to achieve the "good life" in Canada (ie: my father working 80 hours a week for meager pay, and my mother working part time jobs) - so how dare you say that my family’s success is due to skin colour. That my friend is pure ignorance. Heck the President of the USA is Black. I don’t even know why I am responding to such comments. arrg
2010 Jun 7
youarenotsosmart.com
The Misconception: People who are losing at the game of life must have done something to deserve it.
The Misconception: People who are losing at the game of life must have done something to deserve it.
2010 Jun 7
No, not homeless. I'd eat out of a trash can today if I knew a good one that had a good reliable source of food.
Used to always be the case when I was growing up that Tim Horton's bagged their day-old donuts in separate bags from everything else, and tossed them in the dumpster. We used to often go diving for those as kids. Even in university I did.
Used to always be the case when I was growing up that Tim Horton's bagged their day-old donuts in separate bags from everything else, and tossed them in the dumpster. We used to often go diving for those as kids. Even in university I did.
2010 Jun 7
I agree with Jerry :P
For the record, its not that I don't care about the poor, Christ himself told us to share with the poor: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." (Luke 14:13) Thus, I am not against charity and/or caring for the poor. My initial post was merely an agreement to the first article posted by zym. My response was very strong worded and polarizing. I probably had a bad day - I work for the beurocractic palace of puzzles called the Canadian government, so forgive me. Furthermore, I stand by my absolute resentment of "pete-in-ottawa's" race card comment. Totally uncalled for.
In sum, I do not except that North American poverty is completely external to the person. There is a re-occurring sense of entitlement which draws people into cycles of economic depression.
In the old days, luxury was only afforded to those who earned it - or who unfairly came into old/family money. Yes, unfortunately the world is not fair. It seems however that everybody is entitled to at least some level of entitlements. I have a bad example that one of my prof's used once: Although the less advantaged have a tougher time than the average person (say, people on welfare), even they have Tv's and Dvd players and computers - which are purely luxury things). This is one superficial example of entitlement - that everybody needs these things.
On another note however,
I believe in alms giving, I believe in soup kitchens, food banks, toy drives and habitat for humanity jazz. Heck the Salvation Army is probably the strongest advocate for the poor I have ever seen.
I do not however accept that the government takes a large portion of my tax dollars to inefficiently do as it sees fit in terms of socialist programs. I firmly believe that poor cultural education, reliance on socialist programs and lack of work ethic does cause serious problems among North America's less advantaged. There are thousands of other variables too, and surely a certain percentage of people will be systematically forced into poverty. Those are the ones who need our help.
The sad part is, if the government didn't take the peoples money, then the poor might not have any help at all. That my friends is a sad reality and paints a grim picture of human nature. Unless we are forced to give, we won’t give. That sickens me. This is an ideological divide folks, no hard feelings. The poor will sadly always be there. And I must say, although i have lived on tight budgets, and I grew up in an immigrant family (that had to struggle despite what pete thinks), I have never actually been in a situation of dire straights, so I guess I should soften my position a bit. But I'm an idealist and I believe that the idea of economic freedom and personally motivated charity are worth more than external excuses.
Let us at least all be thankful that we have enough resources in this wonderful country to be foodies. Sheesh, this thread got out of control fast. Let us eat and be happy! Oh, and share a little bit too. :)
Robert
For the record, its not that I don't care about the poor, Christ himself told us to share with the poor: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." (Luke 14:13) Thus, I am not against charity and/or caring for the poor. My initial post was merely an agreement to the first article posted by zym. My response was very strong worded and polarizing. I probably had a bad day - I work for the beurocractic palace of puzzles called the Canadian government, so forgive me. Furthermore, I stand by my absolute resentment of "pete-in-ottawa's" race card comment. Totally uncalled for.
In sum, I do not except that North American poverty is completely external to the person. There is a re-occurring sense of entitlement which draws people into cycles of economic depression.
In the old days, luxury was only afforded to those who earned it - or who unfairly came into old/family money. Yes, unfortunately the world is not fair. It seems however that everybody is entitled to at least some level of entitlements. I have a bad example that one of my prof's used once: Although the less advantaged have a tougher time than the average person (say, people on welfare), even they have Tv's and Dvd players and computers - which are purely luxury things). This is one superficial example of entitlement - that everybody needs these things.
On another note however,
I believe in alms giving, I believe in soup kitchens, food banks, toy drives and habitat for humanity jazz. Heck the Salvation Army is probably the strongest advocate for the poor I have ever seen.
I do not however accept that the government takes a large portion of my tax dollars to inefficiently do as it sees fit in terms of socialist programs. I firmly believe that poor cultural education, reliance on socialist programs and lack of work ethic does cause serious problems among North America's less advantaged. There are thousands of other variables too, and surely a certain percentage of people will be systematically forced into poverty. Those are the ones who need our help.
The sad part is, if the government didn't take the peoples money, then the poor might not have any help at all. That my friends is a sad reality and paints a grim picture of human nature. Unless we are forced to give, we won’t give. That sickens me. This is an ideological divide folks, no hard feelings. The poor will sadly always be there. And I must say, although i have lived on tight budgets, and I grew up in an immigrant family (that had to struggle despite what pete thinks), I have never actually been in a situation of dire straights, so I guess I should soften my position a bit. But I'm an idealist and I believe that the idea of economic freedom and personally motivated charity are worth more than external excuses.
Let us at least all be thankful that we have enough resources in this wonderful country to be foodies. Sheesh, this thread got out of control fast. Let us eat and be happy! Oh, and share a little bit too. :)
Robert
2010 Jun 8
Oh I agree people have crazy ideas of things they "need". e.g. I personally do not have TV nor a cell phone so I can vouch that these are not required. But part of the problem with "the masses" is simply advertising. It works. It is a form of brainwashing that is sanctioned by our government. If it did not work, companies would not spend billions and billions of dollars a year on it. Our entire consumer society is based on selling more and more sh*t to more and more poeple. It is the cornerstone of our society. Sadly. So in that sense, yes, society most certainly did make them do it. Most people are simply incapable of resisting the brainwashing. Our government condones - nay - promotes it. Being a responsible citizen is buying more and more worthless sh*t. Heck, right after 9/11 what did George Bush do - he stood up and told people to keep spending money! WTF?
I have to say, though, I find your comments about government waste rather humorous given that you say you work for the government :-)
I have to say, though, I find your comments about government waste rather humorous given that you say you work for the government :-)
2010 Jun 8
zym, you are totally right. I agree with you about most of what you said. And yes, your last comment is completely valid. Brainwashing happens, no doubt, look at any number of cults out there. Even further, look at the brainwashing of extreme secular liberalism, consumerism, and some of the trends in the "green" movement such as carbon credits (absolute bullcrap). Moderation is slowly being lost. I still do not think it is an excuse; free thinkers have been around for a long time, countering the "man" as it were. Those who are not smart enough to realize, may be damned by their own ignorance. It's unfortunate. Throughout history there has always been various "opiates of the masses" (to use Marx’s term *shudder*).
I do work hard for the government (and in a sense it is a blessing), yet at the same time I see so much mismanagement with my own eyes, that it sickens me. I am a co-op student so I will not be working for the feds forever. I'm off to law school next year, so I will not be staying around in the government sector for too much longer. As they say, "you don't work for the government, you just get paid by the government" and that is sad. My newest strategy is to try and avoid getting sucked into the current state of the world which sets me off on cynical tirades. I just try - the key word is try - to humbly watch from the sidelines; as you have seen this is not always possible. Ideology and reality don't always mix, but ideology is what pulls great people forward, or leaves them behind. As an avowed capitalist, the amount of waste, asinine marketing and the perceived inequality that is created in advanced societies troubles me, but yet, there are no plausible and/or beneficial alternatives.
ahh... no more politics, I get enough of it at school. I will however be easily persuaded by gourmet food marketing. Guilty.
I do work hard for the government (and in a sense it is a blessing), yet at the same time I see so much mismanagement with my own eyes, that it sickens me. I am a co-op student so I will not be working for the feds forever. I'm off to law school next year, so I will not be staying around in the government sector for too much longer. As they say, "you don't work for the government, you just get paid by the government" and that is sad. My newest strategy is to try and avoid getting sucked into the current state of the world which sets me off on cynical tirades. I just try - the key word is try - to humbly watch from the sidelines; as you have seen this is not always possible. Ideology and reality don't always mix, but ideology is what pulls great people forward, or leaves them behind. As an avowed capitalist, the amount of waste, asinine marketing and the perceived inequality that is created in advanced societies troubles me, but yet, there are no plausible and/or beneficial alternatives.
ahh... no more politics, I get enough of it at school. I will however be easily persuaded by gourmet food marketing. Guilty.
2010 Jun 8
Are you a polisci student too ilikerealfood?
I think you are missing the point in some ways. Everyone's life is a series of events and circumstances, some controlled by the person, others not. So first, we don't control everything in our life and getting the govt out of our life is not the way to solve that..not even close. Socialist programs are not the issue.
But furthermore, and more to the point, forget about terms like "hard-work", "work-ethic" because there is many people out there who did very little, didn't work all that hard, and they are doing quiet well. The world is not that simple to think those terms have so much relevance. They are nice words to throw around though. The fact is, we all have different strengths,(we aren't all hard workers and we dont have to be) that's less important - efficiency is important from the perspective of govt and functioning.
I'll use an example from when I worked at a coffee shop downtown in the c.d. howe building. I worked there a couple years. I got to see a great example there of how people with some power cheat their way to get even more. I had a couple of guys who would always ask for recipients, for tax purposes, because it was a "working lunch", yet 90% of the time, it wasn't. It was just a lunch, a break, colleagues having fun. How much did that person save by doing that and get back? A lot I'm sure. Why did they do that? Because they could. And because they know how to cheat the system.
In the same way, the person that is poor has issues gaining ground because they don't have the knowledge(of resources) to move ahead. The poor people that do make it do the same thing the govt worker that cheated to get ahead. They rather see the path to get ahead, they know their options, their resources, they have connections, and/or they take advantage(not necessarily by cheating, but other times even that)
That is what separates people.
I think you are missing the point in some ways. Everyone's life is a series of events and circumstances, some controlled by the person, others not. So first, we don't control everything in our life and getting the govt out of our life is not the way to solve that..not even close. Socialist programs are not the issue.
But furthermore, and more to the point, forget about terms like "hard-work", "work-ethic" because there is many people out there who did very little, didn't work all that hard, and they are doing quiet well. The world is not that simple to think those terms have so much relevance. They are nice words to throw around though. The fact is, we all have different strengths,(we aren't all hard workers and we dont have to be) that's less important - efficiency is important from the perspective of govt and functioning.
I'll use an example from when I worked at a coffee shop downtown in the c.d. howe building. I worked there a couple years. I got to see a great example there of how people with some power cheat their way to get even more. I had a couple of guys who would always ask for recipients, for tax purposes, because it was a "working lunch", yet 90% of the time, it wasn't. It was just a lunch, a break, colleagues having fun. How much did that person save by doing that and get back? A lot I'm sure. Why did they do that? Because they could. And because they know how to cheat the system.
In the same way, the person that is poor has issues gaining ground because they don't have the knowledge(of resources) to move ahead. The poor people that do make it do the same thing the govt worker that cheated to get ahead. They rather see the path to get ahead, they know their options, their resources, they have connections, and/or they take advantage(not necessarily by cheating, but other times even that)
That is what separates people.
zymurgist
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