To be sad and appalled that a healthy diet is now beyond the reach of many.

[Darkesteyes]

Absolutely appalling. And it will have an effect on the NHS. Poorer people are bashed for being poor.. and bashed for being overweight. Why do I have a feeling its only going to get worse.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27225323

1.6 million children in the UK are growing up in severe poverty.

Read this quick page on Save The Children.

... or hoik up your pants, ignore the facts, and tell those children it's because their parents don't know how to cook

Its fucking sick making Garlic.

I wonder if any single reader is changing their mind about the real problem, Darkest?

:(

There's no pants hoiking in discussing parents who don't want to learn how to cook.

Not all children in poverty have parents who can't cook but some of them do, and that's what was being discussed.

Worra, the very first line of the article which prompted this thread says "Many people do not have enough income for a "decent diet", public health experts have claimed in an open letter to the prime minister."

It doesn't say 'many people do not know how to cook'. Unless you know better than the UK Faculty of Public Health?

Surely not being able to cook puts you, as a parent, at a real disadvantage.

And while the next generation are also being done a disservice in lacking suck a basic skill, this problem will be perpetuated.

I have lived in the third world. People would die if they could not cook. It's a complete disgrace people cannot and will not learn to cook their own food. Cheap processed shit is a false economy and I am saddened that children are learning to see it as a 'treat' to which they have a right.

GPs are reporting patients coming in with symptoms due to starvation. They are 'prescribing' food bank vouchers. Mental health units now keep biscuits & milk for patients, as starving people can't engage with therapy.

It doesn't say 'many people do not know how to cook'. Unless you know better than the UK Faculty of Public Health?

Ignoring your sarcasm for a moment...

We appear to have our wires crossed.

When you said, "or hoik up your pants, ignore the facts, and tell those children it's because their parents don't know how to cook", I didn't realise you were talking about the article. I thought your were talking about the posts on this thread...that were discussing people who don't know how to cook.

Monte, how would you like destitute parents to teach cooking & nutritional skills to their children?

It's like talking to a room full of Jamie Olivers!

Worra - half of the posters in this thread have decided to talk about parents who don't know how to cook. Because it's easier than engaging with the other half, who are pointing out what the real problem is.

There is no one real problem as far as I'm concerned.

As a PP said, not knowing how to cook will put any parent at a real disadvantage.

Even just knowing how to make a meal out of leftovers has been a great help to me at times, when there has been little money left to go out and by another meal.

garlic at least Jamie Oliver is trying to make a difference and teaching cooking skills.

Last year our food bank organised free cooking courses. Nobody came.

So it's a good question, I don't have an answer.

But accepting the received wisdom that people have to eat processed shit is defeatist. They don't.

I would love to know how to help more.

Monte, how would you like destitute parents to teach cooking & nutritional skills to their children?

In the same way destitute parents have taught their kids to cook for generations

My 22yr old niece was astonished to see me whip up some yorkshire puddings last week when she'd forgotten to buy frozen ones.

She had literally no idea they were made from flour, milk and eggs

"Food prices have risen by 12.6% above inflation over the past six years and rising energy prices this winter are likely to see more people forced to choose between eating and heating. People at food banks have started giving back food items that need cooking because they can't afford to turn on the electricity."

• Oxfam.

Starvation in the UK is now a subject of intervention by Oxfam, Save The Children, the Red Cross, and numerous other charities involved with world poverty.

In the UK.

garlic at least Jamie Oliver is trying to make a difference and teaching cooking skills

Yes while simultaneously bashing ppl for being on a low income I linked a webchat in here where he was asked about this. A little while later when he went on a radio show all he did was substitute the "flatscreen tv comments for smartphone comments.

Why? Because he knew it would stir up controversy which would garner publicity to help sell his £25 book.

Trying to make a difference

How come her parents don't know how to cook, then, Worra? Presumably they're related to you somehow?

(This isn't all that relevant to Darkest's thread topic, by the way, I'm just curious!)

The hoiking comes from people making the assumption that people can't cook instead of taking time to consider the bigger picture and addressing all issues.

Even if an individual can't cook lecturing them, making them feel shit will not fix things. An assets based approach would work better IMO. Identifying strengths and using them to help the individual feel valued and as a foundation for development and eventually having more strengths and so on.

I've got no problem with The World's Gobbiest Chef teaching people about food, Darkest - but a massive problem with the way he's twisted it to encourage victim-blaming!

I assume he couldn't actually cope with the reality. And gets lots of govt/media support for ignoring it.

YY Garlic EXACTLY

Her Mum (my sister) died when she was 9yrs old and her foster carers were either too busy, or just didn't bother teaching her.

She's got her own flat now though and is intent on teaching herself, with a bit of help from me and her flatmate.

Yep, useless. Unfortunately that doesn't feed the lie people are being told, like blaming the underprivileged does.

Cheers, Worra. I've got to say, 22 is a pretty normal age for people to discover the art of cookery :)