Quote:
Originally Posted by Nola Celeste
This isn't specifically diet-related, but I found this Newsweek article that I ran across while researching an article fascinating. The author explores whether food has become a mark of status and what it means to "eat well," especially for people with little money.
Here's the linky: What Food Says about Class in America
It's a few months old, but still well worth a read, I think. |
As someone who is living in NYC and working directly with the poor, I am very familiar with this trend. The social workers at my job do home visits and report back all the time about parents who work 80 hour weeks, and have no time to prepare "nutritious meals". Many of the poor mothers work as domestics for those rich "healthy eating" Park Slope dwellers. My young therapy clients describe days of starvation when their mom's WIC runs out, followed by days of eating high carb/ cheap food when the WIC is replenished on the month cycle. Many of my young clients report being taken care of by elderly relations who are too infirm cook.
When the moms come home and IF they have the energy and time to cook, they are paid so little that they can only afford no frills or store brand goods containing High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, dyes etc. Some clinicians at my job, talk about how its easy to choose healthy meals or cook for your family instead of buying fast food, however I find many of those people are just not familiar with the reality of being dirt poor and working very hard. Poor folks in cities don't have access to healthy food choices or gardens (even community gardens are usually run by people who have plenty of time and financial/political clout to get the city to approve their garden). This is why when you go through any low income neighborhood, the weight of the individuals you see is much higher than the weight of those you see in Manhattan or some nice commuter distance suburb
Great article on food, status, and cost from Newsweek
