When I began working in the voluntary food assistance arena I was surprised that people who are hungry would not eat certain foods. I thought that if someone was truly hungry, they would eat anything.
While it is true that someone is who clinically starving will eat just about anything, including non-foods, in order to fill their stomach and quiet their hunger, most of those who are hungry in our country are not at that level of hunger. And no one should have to be starving to receive food assistance.
What we eat is a cultural norm that varies from family to family and from region to region. If you grew up on a meat (here meaning beef), a starch and two vegetables washed down with a glass of whole milk you might find a piece of fish, a salad and a little bit of pasta with a glass of water not to your liking. If your family always had freshly baked bread at every meal, you might think that a loaf of plain white bread was not very appealing. If you’ve never eaten bagels and lox for breakfast, they might be a tough sell.
I met with a man the other day who is growing vegetables to give to the hungry. He said, “We’re not growing radishes. People don’t really like radishes that much. We are growing things that people will eat like tomatoes, squash, beans, and peas.” Now this makes perfect sense to me.
It is easy to assume that we know what people “should” eat. Let’s be honest and admit that adults are able to make choices about what they like and what they don’t. Making a range of quality food available to choose respects the individual and their decisions.
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