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The Ten Most Recent Comments By Madinat

From Serious Eats

Junk Food Costs Less Than Fruits and Vegetables: Are We Surprised?

OMG. i had to JOIN, JUST so i could comment on this! i'm always amazed at how television tells us how we should be eating "fresh, local, green, organic" or whatever the latest buzzword is that season, but they never mention how much more EXPENSIVE it is!!! OMG. i grew up on WIC, which is kind of a food-stamp program where you get vouchers for "essentials" which include dried cereal milk eggs and canned "juice". lately it's been reformed somewhat, but guess what? beggers CAN'T be choosers! you got to pick from LIST of items of things that WIC would cover! that's just ONE example, i'm sure others here have similar stories of their own. let's just say i had no IDEA cheese was NOT supposed to be ORANGE until i got to college! (God bless those boston hippies, lol)

on another note, we DID get fresh roadside peanuts, peaches and watermelon, corn and tomatoes it WAS GA afterall. that was the one time of year us city slickers could get fresh, good fruit and veg at rock bottom prices. =)

Madinat at 12:19AM on 12/07/07

Responses to Comments by Madinat

From Serious Eats

Junk Food Costs Less Than Fruits and Vegetables: Are We Surprised?

I remember WIC - it was such a help to know that no matter how slow my clients were in paying me, or how few I might have at any one time, there was always food in the house. In CA, we got vouchers for cheese (U.S. made, but not just the orange stuff), real juice (or canned, but still juice, not sweetened flavored water), peanut butter, beans, eggs, certain packaged cereals (not the sugary ones), and milk (fresh or evaporated or dried). Now I think fresh vegetables have been added. Having the vouchers for the protein-filled basics helped us afford the fresh stuff. AND they gave everyone nutrition information, one-on-one. Sometimes the government programs actually work.

As of now, I don't need WIC any more, but I still cringe at the prices of the "fresh, local, organic" stuff - and I can't say I like buying nonorganic stuff that comes from countries that spray with whatever will kill the bugs. So I hunt through the ads to find in-season sales on unglamorous things like cabbage and carrots. I find most farmer's markets to be considerably more expensive that even the high-end grocery stores (except, again, for the things that are dead-ripe and therefore a bargain). Plus, you can't just pop in to the farmer's market on your way home from work - unless you are passing during the three hours a week that they are open. Eating cheaply and nutritiously is a considerable task, one that takes time, education, organization, and determination, but it can be done. I think that time is the most influential factor, followed by an enjoyment of cooking (without that, life will be very dull).

Likeswords at 11:44AM on 12/07/07