Just thought I'd share a little story

[Dace]

And while we are on the topic- I recently walked at a Relay for Life cancer fundraiser. There was no healthy food in sight. Everyone was chowing down on hot dogs, fries, funnel cakes and soda. Are you kidding me?? Have people at a cancer fundraiser not realized that this is life and death?? Everyone else seemed oblivious. I was the only one outraged. I kept thinking here we are raising money and one of the causes of the disease is being outright promoted here. What is up with that?

Because they were....sad isn't it?

 

[lorihadams]

My kids want to eat that junk cause they see everyone else doing it and they want to do it too. If I'm there I can control it but when I'm not, other people feed it to them. Take VBS for instance, I ask them what they did today and their reply was "we got to eat cupcakes and goldfish and cheeseballs, mommy!"

And then they come home and crash from the sugar and are no good for the rest of the day. Grrrrr.

If I bring fruit or veggies with dip to a church function it is the first thing to go. The other thing is that if people don't recognize a food they won't eat it. I have a hard time getting my kids to try new foods. I still put it on their plate and make them try a bite and some things have been successes but when you bring a dish that looks out of place to a potluck people tend to avoid it.

Sad really.

 

[mamagoose]

Perhaps, Dace, but then they should care enough to educate themselves. We all have access to the same resources. I wouldn't dream of getting a pet without researching how best to feed it. People should be willing to do at least a little bit of research about what to feed their children.

I do agree that our kids are overloaded with junk food. And I agree there needs to be fundamental change.

I disagree that we all have the same resources. Junk food is cheap and for some it is a way to keep food in their kid's bellies. A bag of chips is cheaper than a bag of apples. People with less money truly have less options and I think that a judgmental attitude does more to push people away than to rally them together towards a worthy cause/idea.

I agree. I'm VERY poor. Buying healthy means buying less. A hard sell for my husband with the huge appetite.

 

[Dace]

Lori, our cheer season is about to start and I will have to battle all of the parents to bring a healthy snack for their kids. They all send the same crap that they send to school....brightly colored little packages of junk. Once I get the parents to finally comply and understand what a healthy snack is (fruit, veggies, cheese, a 1/2 sandwich etc) then I have to deal with the onslaught of treats that comes with each game on Saturdays. It is always such a battle
Edited to add that this is not an issue of finances, I live in an area where money is not a problem for most. This is a case of convenience....more money than time.

 

[Dace]

Perhaps, Dace, but then they should care enough to educate themselves. We all have access to the same resources. I wouldn't dream of getting a pet without researching how best to feed it. People should be willing to do at least a little bit of research about what to feed their children.

I do agree that our kids are overloaded with junk food. And I agree there needs to be fundamental change.

I disagree that we all have the same resources. Junk food is cheap and for some it is a way to keep food in their kid's bellies. A bag of chips is cheaper than a bag of apples. People with less money truly have less options and I think that a judgmental attitude does more to push people away than to rally them together towards a worthy cause/idea.

I agree. I'm VERY poor. Buying healthy means buying less. A hard sell for my husband with the huge appetite.

I have been there and I understand the struggle. Keep on doing the best you can and just know that times will get better

Do you garden? That can be an investment up front but a great way to supplement your diet with some good healthy veggies.

 

[lorihadams]

see, that's what irritates me about the world we live in today.

It is easier for people to buy junk to feed their children when they have no other option. It ticks me off that fresh, healthy food can be soooo expensive that people don't have the OPTION to buy it for their families.

My grocery bill has been much higher because we didn't get to put in a garden this year cause we moved. I wonder what will happen to a lot of folks because of the wacky weather we've had this year and the lack of food production cause of it.

 

[Dace]

A CSA is about $350 to join, which is just way out of reach for so many. Until the governement decides to subsidize real food, like broccoli and carrots, Instead of 'ingredients' we will continue to face this cheap faux food issue.

 

[Bailey'sMom]

By resources Dace I mean for research, NOT financial resources. I agree that it is easier to eat well when you have less financial constraints.

 

[FarmerChick]

my family eats some junk
we like it

but the balance of our foods is 85% great fresh foods and about 15% crap when we go on vacation, or maybe to a festival and for convenience sake also

hot dogs are easy to feed alot of people at a fundraiser etc
for me, eating a hot dog to give a donation to the fundraiser is fine, cause it would be my only hot dog eaten for the year LOL

I agree tho in general, u have a fundraiser like cancer, promotion of nutrition should be included maybe u should contact the fundraiser and mention it cause it would maybe open someone's eyes which is always a good thing to do

 

[hwillm1977]

When you are taught that cereal is a good choice because it has added vitamins then it is easy to believe that spaghettios offer nutrition as well.

I had someone say to me at work the other day 'I never used to eat spaghettios because of all the weird preservatives, but now it says on the can they are preservative free so I eat them all the time'

She's in her 30's... just because it's preservative free doesn't mean it isn't chock full of chemical crap. (I have never read a label for spaghettios, so this is an assumption from me).

Edited to add: I also eat crap from time to time (I LOVE Mr. Noodles) but I am trying to make a real effort to eat more and more healthy, whole foods.