Junk Food

I'm having an all around craptastic day. It's a mix of many things that made it that way, all of which I'd rather not get into.

Anyway, there is a point to me telling you I was having a crappy day and then not telling you why. Because I was having a crappy day, I went grocery shopping and bought a ton of junk food. A ton. I'm sitting here sipping Coke Zero (and trying not to think about what they do to it to make it zero calories) and pondering something a little odd.

When I got to the check out with my haul of treats, I was surprised at how cheap it was. Damn! I bought about as much as I do in a week (that's how bad my day was) and it was literally half the price I usually pay!

Now, I do eat mostly good, organic foods (not today!), and I know they're more expensive, but the price difference was still shocking.

I read an article awhile back about poor kids getting fat because their parents were having to choose between a bag of apples and eighteen cases of Kraft Dinner (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but when you think about it, you can see how it would happen) and it made me really sad... but I didn't realize how true it was until today.

If I've got this right... way back when... everything was made from scratch. It didn't matter if you were poor. Now, both parents probably work, things are hardly ever made from scratch, healthy food is expensive, and the kids are suffering.

I can't imagine feeding my child (if I had one) nothing but KD because I honestly couldn't afford anything better. I can't even begin to imagine what that must feel like.

I grew up in a pretty well off home. When I was really little, we were a little strapped for cash, but for most of my life, my parents lived down the street from houses that looked like castles and lived in a huge five level split with a pool in the back. I wouldn't say we were rich (we lived down the street from the castles, not in one), but I was definitely privileged.

My parents tried really hard to make sure my brothers and I knew that there were people who were struggling. They had me volunteer instead of work as a teen; took us to drop off presents at group homes at Christmastime; and, since my mom owned a gardening center, took us with them to the food bank at the end of the growing season with all of the extra tomato plants to see how grateful others were for what we couldn't sell.

But even after all of that education, I find myself struggling with the thought of KD vs. Apples and Whole Grains. I eat KD because I like it. I eat something better the next day.

I've been poor. Getting a job right out of college was tough and I struggled with crappy paying jobs for a couple years once I did manage to find a job. But even so, I've just had to worry about me. And if I really had been that broke, I have great parents who have the resources to make sure I have more to eat than hot dogs, KD, and cheap store bought perogies.

I hate that I struggle with the thought of this. I hate that I don't understand and can't imagine what it must feel like for families struggling to feed their kids.

Suddenly, my bag of chips and vat of dip doesn't look so good anymore.