Oliver makes it sound easy - but what he and Clinton did not realize is something I knew ages ago. Which is - it's about money. I ate horribly when I was unemployed because the food that cost the least - was processed, pre-packaged foods. Things like hot dogs, hot dog buns, KFC fried chicken, corn on the cob, crackers and peanut butter, popcorn, hamburger meat, pasta, and bread. These are easy to make and cheap. If I ate out? I'd grab the dollar meal at McDonald's or from a vendor - which was a hotdog or a hamburger. Salad's cost $6-10.
Nods. Which is exactly why the lady he visits had a freezer filled with pizza - for $.50 a box.
they make the same point, the superintendent of the school and the woman in charge of the school lunch program tell Oliver that while his food looks great and the kids clearly like it, it is much more expensive than the processed foods they've been getting at a discount from their providers. They can't afford to buy and maintain fresh food in bulk and on a daily basis. Also they have to deal with the USDA which provides them with funding for the lunch program. USDA is the United States Department of Agriculture - whose first priority is not school kids, but agricultural companies and farmers. So yes, you have to have two breads at lunch - because that makes the wheat farmers happy, and meat - because that makes the cattle ranchers happy, and so on. Also yes. I remember when Reagan was President that catsup was declared a "vegetable" in the school lunch programs.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-03-28 08:23 am (UTC)and bread. These are easy to make and cheap. If I ate out? I'd grab the dollar meal at McDonald's or from a vendor - which was a hotdog or a hamburger. Salad's cost $6-10.
Nods. Which is exactly why the lady he visits had a freezer filled with pizza - for $.50 a box.
they make the same point, the superintendent of the school and the woman in charge of the school lunch program tell Oliver that while his food looks great and the kids clearly like it, it is much more expensive than the processed foods they've been getting at a discount from their providers. They can't afford to buy and maintain fresh food in bulk and on a daily basis. Also they have to deal with the USDA which provides them with funding for the lunch program. USDA is the United States Department of Agriculture - whose first priority is not school kids, but agricultural companies and farmers. So yes, you have to have two breads at lunch - because that makes the wheat farmers happy, and meat - because that makes the cattle ranchers happy, and so on.
Also yes. I remember when Reagan was President that catsup was declared a "vegetable" in the school lunch programs.