Thoughts on Oliver Twist and Mama June

     When people used to think of "the poor," images of emaciated waifs straight out of a Dicken's novel generally came to mind--Poor unfortunate souls begging for a bit more gruel to hopefully stick to their feeble bones.  A century ago, this was the reality.  I won't be so blind as to say that all American's now have plenty to eat.  I know for a fact that children still go hungry.  However, one does have to wonder why so many of the poor these days look a whole lot more like...


This:

 










And a whole lots less like…

This:

Please Sir, may I have some more?

    















     Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying I'd prefer poor folks (or anybody for that matter) to look more like Oliver Twist than Mama June.  But I am saying that the correlation between poverty and obesity is every bit as much a problem as as the kind of hunger that prevailed in the poorhouses of yesteryear.  So, why is it that so many underprivileged Americans are overweight?  I'll tell you why.  Eating healthy is EXPENSIVE!  
     If you walk through the local Kroger, you will find sale after sale on all things bad for you.  Soda, potato chips, frozen burritos--those are the items that often are the most deeply discounted.  How many times have you seen fresh spinach or kale greens on the ten-for-ten sale?  Didn't think so. 
     Specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods are even worse.  I'm not downing these places, because they have wonderful selections of high quality items.  But what I am telling you is that $19 a pound fresh Alaskan Salmon, $10 a bag chia seeds,  and $7 cherimoyas are out of reach for people on a limited income.  That's a real stretch for me, and I'm gainfully employed and have a master's degree.
     Healthy choices at restaurants will also often cause you to dig deeper in your pocket.  For instance, Applebee's has recently introduced its Pub Diet.  None of the items on this menu are over 600 calories.  That's fantastic!  However, the items in this promotion are also some of the most expensive on the menu.  Even fast food establishments follow this trend.  Take Wendy's dollar menu.  Lots of fried goodness, but only a small side salad as any kind of healthy offering.  The regular salads will cost you upwards of five times as much.
     The price burden for getting healthy is tough on me.  Its even tougher on folks who are just barely scraping by.  I'm lucky enough to be financially able to make healthy choices--even if it does stretch the pocketbook sometimes.  I've got the means to choose healthy alternatives at the grocery, pony up a gym membership fee every month, and splurge on an exorbitantly priced exotic fruit just for kicks every once in a while.  I just wish everyone had that opportunity.  Is there a way to fix it?  I'm not sure.  I'm neither an economist nor an agronomist.  But something's got to give.  Everyone ought to be able to afford to make choices that promote their own health and wellness--regardless of what tax bracket they happen to occupy.