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Raw ingredients are pricy. In my neighborhood, a wealthy liberal enclave called Marin County, preparing something paletable from raw ingredients is usually mor
by hellbannedguy 5y ago
Raw ingredients are pricy.
In my neighborhood, a wealthy liberal enclave called Marin County, preparing something paletable from raw ingredients is usually more expensive than cheap salty starchy food.
There are no cheap cuts of meat at my Safeway.
Most people are horrid cooks. They might think they can cook, but usually it's just awful. (Learning how to cook is not my point though.)
Poor people have huge problems, and cooking a nutritious meal is down on the priority scale.
Plus---for many poor people, the little bit of enjoyment is eating something that tastes good. I can see why the poor gravitate towards the lousy quick food.
(My all means I am poor. I don't eat crappy food though. I was a cook in my teens though. I'm glad I learned how to cook, but understand those that didn't.)
- tomcooks 5y agoThanks for explaining and not downvoting while i'm honestly trying to understand something that makes zero sense to me. Sorry how can raw ingredients be expensive? I'm talking about staples flour, onions, carrots, beans, rice, etc. Is there a database with US staples prices somewhere?
- foldr 5y ago> Sorry how can raw ingredients be expensive? Literally just the price tags in the store. I once baked some pumpkin spice muffins for a friend in NYC who wasn’t in the habit of cooking (so I had to buy everything). Total cost: $45. I think it would have come to about $10 in London (where I live). Admittedly, he’d have had some flour and butter to spare after that. But you have to somewhat know what you are doing to take advantage of the remaining ingredients.
- whoisburbansky 5y agoI’m fairly sure when GP says raw ingredients, they mean things like fresh vegetables and cheap cuts of meat. Fresh vegetables are generally fairly expensive and cheap cuts of meat are close to nonexistent in food deserts. Staples like rice and beans are only cheap if you buy in bulk, but that requires a hefty capital investment upfront, which is usually impractical to begin with, and time commitment and skill to turn into an enjoyable meal. The time commitment is especially onerous for someone working juggling jobs just to be able to pay rent and generally make ends meet. All of that adds up to what less nutritious alternatives being far cheaper when you account for all the costs and for cash flow and opportunity cost in particular, at least in the short term. The cash flow problem makes it hard to optimize for the long term, so now you’re stuck unless you can invest superhuman effort from an already thoroughly exhausted body.
- maccard 5y agoJust checkout the Walmart website; a bag of onions is $2, carrots is $.80, and celery is $1.30. one pound of minced beef is $3.70 tinned tomatoes for $.50 and spaghetti is $0.80. that's a meal for 4 for $9 and takes ~30 minutes to prepare and clean up. Cooked well, that will lead you to a bland meal. Cooked badly it will be pretty awful. If you're used to high in salt/sugar it will taste awful regardless. Craft Mac and cheese is $1/portion and ready in less than 10 minutes with one dish. [0] https://www.walmart.com/grocery/search/ https://www.walmart.com/grocery/search/
- geoduck14 5y agoOh Mac and Cheese! Any one else here have parents put random stuff in your Mac to "balance the meal"? Mac with tuna. Mac with peas. Mac with what EVER was handy. Oh it brings back memories.
- sarlalian 5y agoRaw ingredients are more expensive than you would think, and while you can eat very cheaply (rice, beans, onions, a few spices), most people aren't particularly good cooks. Add in that for poor people in the U.S., many work multiple jobs if they live in a city, and who wants to cook after a 12 hour day of working.
- philjohn 5y agoThere's also the issue that people who are having to work long hours and even multiple jobs to scrape by are time poor as well ... after 12-14 hours of being on your feet, cooking a fresh meal takes second fiddle to just eating SOMETHING and crashing out to try and rest.
- refurb 5y agoThis seems like a big list of excuses to be honest. Understandable, human excuses, but excuses none the less. In season vegetables are dirt cheap. If not frozen, prepared, mixed veggies are a couple dollars for 5-6 servings (no need to wash or cut!). Chicken is easy to find at <$3/lb, same with hamburger. Rice and beans are dollars per pound. The real answer is, like most things that humans do that aren’t good for them (eat too much and end up obese, not exercise, not eat healthy, smoke, drink too much, not take medication or go to the doctor or dentist), is cheap, starchy food is just easier and lower effort.
- sva_ 5y ago>not take medication or go to the doctor or dentist Those things are cheap in the US now?
- refurb 5y agoI know people with insurance ($0 for a dental checkup) who haven't been in years. I know people who don't take their $4/month heart medication prescription and end up hospitalized. I know people that when faced with the choice of walking around the block for exercise would rather watch Netflix despite their uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and doctor telling them exercise will keep their blood sugar under control.
- SamoyedFurFluff 5y agoHow can I manage the cognitive overhead of being poor and also manage the cognitive overhead of managing my health insurance? Seriously, if someone has multiple credit card debt issues, car payment stuff, how to pay heat and electricity stuff, then needing to do possibly multiple jobs to stay afloat, how is someone supposed to figure out what doctor covers their insurance and then fight the insurance company over whatever inevitable bullshit the insurance company will come up with to try and weasel out of paying?
- refurb 5y ago
- WalterBright 5y ago> There are no cheap cuts of meat at my Safeway. When I was a kid, steak was a rare luxury. These days, you can buy a nice steak in the supermarket for $3 (I buy when they have a 2 for 1 sale). Heck, a bag of chips costs about that. You don't have to be much of a cook to cook it, either. Just put it in the frying pan. A dozen eggs is $1.99. The expensive stuff is the cookies, candy bars, doritos, etc.
- maxerickson 5y agoDecent steak is $10+ a pound. Good cuts of pork and chicken are $2 a pound. Beef is expensive. Even high fat ground beef is still $4 a pound.
- WalterBright 5y agoYou don't need to eat a pound of beef for a meal. 3 oz is just fine. Beef is dirt cheap compared to candy bars, frozen pizza and chips.
- maccard 5y agoA pound of ground beef is just shy of $4 in Walmart. You can't just eat ground beef on its own. A frozen pizza [0] is $2.70 and is tipping on 1800 calories, and is a decent meal for 3 people. Processed food is _so_ cheap. [0] https://www.walmart.com/grocery/ip/Great-Value-Rising-Crust-Pizza-Pepperoni-26-6-oz/214291255 https://www.walmart.com/grocery/ip/Great-Value-Rising-Crust-...
- WalterBright 5y ago> You can't just eat ground beef on its own That's right. But you can get a microwave for $9.99 at the thrift store. I see bread machines for a similar price. If you can follow directions like "gather the ingredients, dump them in the bread machine, push a button" you can make incredibly tasty fresh bread for next to nothing. Just yesterday I went to the thrift store, and donated a bunch of stuff I don't use anymore, and bought a bunch that I did have a use for. It's a cheap way to live without compromise.
- fdroidmstrrce 5y ago>Raw ingredients are pricy. This is completely false. You should stop propagating things you don't know about. Check out Efficiency Is Everything, you can eat for $1.50/day on raw ingredients.
- Aeolun 5y agoLolwut, you should at least specify your location. On $1.50/day I eat only rice and salad.