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Stimulating the Economy, Sticking it to Bush

Posted on Fri May 9, 12:39 PM in Livin'

I got economically stimulated today. As quick as the economy came, it went. I’m sure we won’t be seeing each other again for a long time.

The Hunger Task Force is coordinating a food drive with our mail carriers tomorrow. I thought, “Ok, good on ‘em—great timing with tax rebates, tax returns, and catching people in a good spring mood.” It worked for me. So, today I went to our usual grocery store ready to purchase some food items which were recommended on the HTF website. All seemed reasonable.

Here’s where I failed… See, we don’t eat foods that come in packages. Well, not a lot of them, anyway. I do, in general, have issues with processed foods and we do purchase a lot of “whole” fresh foods every week. We eschew the meal-in-a-box types of foods. Our exceptions have been cereals (which always include whole grain and fruit of some kind), baking products, certain bottled sauces, canned beans and tuna, and dairy items. This does not, in any way, put me above anyone else, but it’s just how we’ve functioned for the last 8 years or so. There are entire food aisles of the store that we never traverse…

Until today. And I knew, based on the list, that I was going to struggle. In addition to having issues with processed foods, I have real issues with the fact that in order to feed people who are strapped for cash, the industrial food complex makes it difficult for them to make healthy choices, and quite easy to make unhealthy ones. Yes, it goes both ways, and people could educate themselves on nutrition, but let’s face it; when you’re pinching pennies, you worry more about having enough servings for everyone at your dinner table, not the balance on each plate.

So, it took me an inordinate length of time searching through food items I never buy to make at least SOMEWHAT healthy choices for people I will never meet. I constantly kept thinking, “There’s got to be a better alternative…” but that would have involved making a beeline for the produce section, and since HTF doesn’t accept whole foods unless it’s specially prearranged, that option was out.

So here’s what I walked away with, for slightly less than $70:

Breakfast

• Mom’s Best Raisin Bran (22oz) [10 servings]
• Mom’s Best Honey Nut Toasty O’s (20oz) [19 servings]
• Classique Fare Pecan Pancake Mix (16oz) [10 servings]
• Vermont Sugar Free Syrup (12 fl oz) [6 servings]
• Juicy Juice 8-pack Grape Juice Boxes (7oz ea) [8 servings]

Lunch

• Healthy Choice Split Pea & Ham Soup (15oz) [2 servings]
• Healthy Choice Vegetable Beef Soup (15oz) [2 servings]
• Healthy Choice Chicken Dumpling Soup (15oz) [2 servings]
• Dinty Moore Beef Stew with Veggies (24oz) [3 servings]
• Dole Mandarin Oranges (25oz) [6 servings]
• Dole Sliced Peaches (25oz) [6 servings]
  (Interesting to note that Dole is now offering fruit in clear plastic jars, as opposed to the now-unhealthy-for-you aluminum cans.)

Dinner

• Swanson Dark and White Chicken Meat, Canned (20oz) [10 servings]
• Hormel Lean Ham, Canned (10oz) [5 servings]
• Enriched Spaghetti (32oz) [16 servings]
• Prego Mini-Meatball Sauce (26oz) [6 servings]
• Freshlike Sweet Corn, Canned (15oz) [4 servings]
• Del Monte Sweat Peas, Canned (15oz) [4 servings]
• Betty Crocker Potato Buds (14oz) [17 servings]
• Various dry gravy mixes (3oz) [16 servings] … because boxed mashed potatoes without gravy are definitely teh pleh.
• Riceland Long Grain Brown Rice (32oz) [22 servings)
• Annie’s Bunny Pasta with Cheese (6oz) [3 servings]
• Annie’s Arthur Mac & Cheese (6oz) [3 servings]

Just in Case

• Simulac Dry Formula (13oz) [15 bottles]

In the end, I suppose I can’t make people eat any healthier than they already want to. And in some cases, I certainly punted in my choices. Looking back, it looks like I skimped on lunch, but that may be due to my own proclivities (I eat very little midday, and what I do it is not processed) or maybe I am hoping that spaghetti leftovers can be used for lunches. Either way, I hope someone can put it to good use, and maybe enjoy some tasty meals.