API photo
It seems First Lady Michelle Obama is making good on her promise to volunteer in the Washington area, bagging up food for hungry children at a local food bank on the President’s 100th day in office. As you recall, she got big press as the lunch lady serving soup to the homeless last month.
Mrs. Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, joined more than 100 congressional spouses at the Capital Area Food Bank on Wednesday, passing out packages of wheat pasta and cans of pineapple as volunteers bagged 2,000 meals for low-income kids in the area. Foreclosures are still on the rise so this summer there will be considerably more than 2,000 meals, providing there’s anyone left with any money to donate the food. By summer the Swine Flu might have swept the nation! Nah, just kidding.
You know the old saying “Feed a man to fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Wouldn’t this be a better plan for feeding hungry kids? Packages of wheat pasta don’t offer much nutritional value and canned pineapple, is kinda high in sugar. Basically, this is a high carb diet. Maybe a little better than government cheese.
Just last month, the wonderful veggie garden was being cultivated at the White House, and homeowners have begun their gardens as well. What about food banks? Why aren’t they growing food to feed the hungry? Wouldn’t it be healthier to feed to kids apples? I’m talking about apples that have not been grown with Monsanto’s Roundup or sprayed with a kazillion pesticides.
You would think that poor kids would be skinny, considering they may not eat regular meals but studies show that poor kids have a tendency to be obese. Pasta is cheap and makes the food stamp dollar go a long way just like the food bank is doing by handing out grains. Most diets consist of canned goods and the old staple, mac n cheese.
Sure, the volunteering gig makes for a nice photo op but this is a smart lady who could initiate some worthwhile programs for the poor and hungry instead of just handing out pasta. I doubt that her own kids have a steady high carb diet. Quality over Quantity fills the tummy and promotes good health which is always a good idea considering the poor state of our health care system.
