My son has a conscience..

[Kris T.]

For his scout project, he decided to go around the neighborhood and collect food. I walked along with him. He actually got quite a bit (about 6 grocery bags full).

We went through the items here at home to make sure the items were sealed, not expired, etc.

With a sad face he turned to me and said, I hope the poor people like HFCS and red dye #40! He was REALLY bummed that we didn't get healthier food (like he sees at our house) to give to the food bank. Our daughter was looking on and kept saying, Pop-tarts? Ew. No wonder they gave those away..those are gross! We donated some healthy things from our pantry like canned beans and veggies.

Poor guy (but that he's got a good grasp of what it means to eat healthfully!)

He has to do another big project once he becomes a Boy Scout, but he thinks he'll either try to do an e-waste drive or collect old towels and sheets for the local SPCA.

Kris

[Jake]

So... I'm confused... you didn't donate all the things he collected, but only some of them?

[Kris T.]

No, we will donate everything (with the exception of a few items that were opened). Our family doesn't eat things like Pop Tarts, so I sacrificed some cans of organic veggies, etc. that we had in the pantry.

I was half-expecting the kids to ooh and aah over all of the 'treats', but really, they weren't interested and he actually felt bad that he had to give junk like that to the food bank.

Sorry I wasn't more clear...

[JRo]

I think that's pretty normal. Unfortunately in this country it's more expensive to eat healthy. The pantries around here ask for things like canned meats, veggies, and rice. Sugary cereals and things are not wanted, but I'm sure they'll take them.

I do a couple runs a year to Costco and get boxes of canned veggies, canned tuna, beef, salmon, turkey, etc and deliver them to the food pantries

[Froggyjean]

(threadjack) jaderosie, I love your avatar! i've noticed it a few times and it makes me laugh each time. thanks for the smile

[Charski]

Kris, what a neat thing for your son to do, and so cool that he KNOWS what's junk and what isn't - GOOD JOB, Mom!

[anniemo]

your son sounds lovely!!! what great young people you are raising.

it is not more expensive to buy healthy items. pop-tarts and boxed cereals are way more expensive versus canned goods - especially for the quantity and quality you receive.

[berries&cream]

If your son had come to my house he would have gotten carbs too... cause that is what I would give away. lol.

I have to disagree that poptarts are not cheap. The generic ones are $2 a box at my store, and have 6 poptarts in them at 200 calories each. That's $2 for 1200 calories of sugar, and they come in many flavors. The only cheap main dishes we have are ground beef, eggs and maybe tuna, At $.75 for a small can I'm not sure its all that cheap anymore!

Plus carbs are so cheap I go from spending $20 a week on groceries when not on LC to easily spending $60 a week, just for me!

A box of pasta and a cheap jar of spagetti sauce come to $3 and are easily 4 large meals for a single person. And Ramen noodles are $0.15. 10 lb bag of potatos $5. Pizza with 2 servings is $1. Loaf of bread and package of sugary bolonga $3... enough to make 10 sandwiches. Then of course think how much a bag of flour and sugar is! Certainly nothing that cheap in the low carb world!