Flatbush Co-Op and Foodstamps

I can just hear the downtrodden in other countries saying, "Papa, in America, the downtrodden eats organic!"

Subject: America vs "other countries"

MeredithB wrote: I can just hear the downtrodden in other countries saying, "Papa, in America, the downtrodden eats organic!"

This is one of the problems of rising out of poverty; that others will still remain there. However, the fact that some may not have the same opportunities as others doesn't obligate those with the opportunities to not take them.

The mentality you just expressed, MeredithB, would be akin to asking an abused person to remain in an abusive situation because you know others remain abused. We can't help those around us until we help ourselves to a position where we can help others. It never makes sense to condemn the "downtrodden" to remain downtrodden just because others somewhere are also downtrodden.

The more people who can rise out of any oppressive situation, the more people we have on board to help others.

ORBIT

Many recipients of food stamps have off-the-books work (e.g. childcare, construction, sewing, cooking, moving companies, etc.), so I doubt that food stamps comprised the whole of their grocery resources.

^this.

also, if you're so worried about the use of public funds, consider applauding those who use their food stamps to support agriculture that doesn't destroy the land and poison the water, ultimately costing us all more money. eating organic isn't only about individual health.

more to the point, though, why is the flatbush coop more expensive? or is that only for non-members? the PS coop is a terrific place to stretch a dollar -- organic and not, the food is much cheaper than at the met.

Subject: Compassion or Contempt

tybur6 wrote: i know -- you don't want to reduce it to finances... and you want to talk about produce and not staples... so, a $2 lemon is MUCH better than a $0.30 lemon that you rinsed off? The supposed nutritional value gained is worth the enormously larger chunk of the limited resources used?

@Tybur, if you'd like to start a campaign in how better to budget your food money, that would be an inspired move on your part. Those in poverty could use all the support they can get.

And to everyone who stands in contempt and judgment of those who are in poverty who don't spend their money as you would see fit...

This is just another angle to consider, and again, this doesn't speak to all cases, and it's implicit in this discussion that we all know there will be those who exploit such systems of support for whatever reasons, but consider this, too:

What most of us who are above the poverty line fail to include in the equation of this contempt for your poverty-stricken fellow humans is that... THEY ARE IN POVERTY.

Many who are in poverty have not had the years of budgeting a bank account for experience, or the years of having more than what they need, or the years of knowing that more is around the corner; heck many of them have not had the proper schooling required to support that kind of thinking in the first place. Many were raised in that poverty and no nothing more. To immediately condemn these people over a few minutes of observation, or random observations, or even from a collection of observations, and from such a privileged standpoint only shows how far the gap is between you and your fellow struggling human.

Compassion is the bridge between our ignorance and kindness. And we can't find that in the cacophony of judgments and rhetorical questions asked just to make a sharp point against a people.

You may have the luxury to stand in judgment and contempt. Many who are in poverty feel they are in a completely different world, under the visible lines of society, and only know to eat when they can, to get what they can, take what they can, when they can, from wherever they can, because it's most likely not going to be there soon.

Poverty breeds a completely different set of values. LIVING is the main goal, along with family, friends, and EXPERIENCES, which is why so much is "wasted" on things we think they shouldn't buy. Live Now, is the staple mantra of a poverty-stricken society, not Stretch Your Budget.

Money is icing on the cake. Money in the life of someone in poverty has never seen the kind of bigger picture that the wealthier can enjoy. Budgeting is useless when you don't know what the next week or month will bring. So eat well now; enjoy it while it lasts... those are the kinds of things that MAY be motivating some of the food choices you witness and condemn.

Just something more to think about...

And a great idea if any of you who feel so strongly about this issue to actually go out and make a difference and offer your experience to programs designed to help those in poverty rise out of poverty.

Looking down your noses at them does nothing to help anyone, even if it makes you feel a false sense of superiority.

ORBIT

You people do realize that there ARE other fruit stores in Brooklyn where they do not have rotting fruits and vegetables, right? I don't get food stamps, but I also don't shop at the coop. It's not that difficult to hop on a bus/train for 10 min ride to get to a 'better' supermarket or fruit store... and it costs A LOT less than these food coops sound.