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(Washington Post)   Marti Tracy can't afford all organic food anymore. She can't buy expensive individual servings, either. And now she's being forced to--perish forfend--clip coupons. If you can read this without weeping you're not human   (washingtonpost.com) divider line
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    More: Dumbass  
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21305 clicks; posted to Main » on 01 May 2008 at 7:15 PM (14 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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Because People in power are Stupid
2008-05-01 4:24:57 PM  
Who? Ohhhh, that Marti Tracy... I've seen her at the pr0n store spending all her money on sex toys.

Funny, she has money for sex toys but no money to buy groceries?
 
Ant
2008-05-01 4:29:25 PM  
Oh. My. Gawd!

Isn't all food organic?
 
Booklegger
2008-05-01 4:33:05 PM  
Ant: Isn't all food organic?

No. Table salt is most definitely inorganic.
 
what_now
2008-05-01 4:34:10 PM  
AGHHH!!! It's this kind of shiat that pisses me off. There is a REAL economic crisis, people are TRULY hurting, and this rag does a piece on people who have to clip coupons, and buy store brand items.

You want to talk about hardship? Go find a family of four with a $60,000 income that can't afford to put gas in the car to get to work.

Go find a single mother who's eating rice and beans! Hell, go find a college kid who works 30 hrs a week and is going to school full time!

Don't write She's even begun sending herself reminders on her BlackBerry so she doesn't forget a case of water on sale at CVS or the twice-monthly sale on milk at Kroger:

OH NOES!! I HAVE TO BUY THE CHEAP WATER BECAUSE I'M STILL NOT POOR ENOUGH TO DRINK OUT OF THE TAP!!!!
 
mediaho
2008-05-01 4:37:23 PM  
The first paragraph already infuriated me. Oh, Heaven forfend! You have to clip coupons even though it's the last thing in the world you can see your precious self doing. I can't read further. fark her.
 
R.A.Danny
2008-05-01 4:39:11 PM  
I came to say what what_now: said but in a less hateful and angry way. I was gonna post that pic of the tiny violin too. Now it's ruined.
 
BravadoGT
2008-05-01 4:41:31 PM  
It's almost as if you have to be smug AND wealthy to live an organic, "green" lifestyle...

images.teamsugar.comView Full Size
 
Szech
2008-05-01 4:45:26 PM  
Do you know what this is Marti Tracy?

**rubs fingers together**
 
Stoj
2008-05-01 4:45:55 PM  
Way to go, WaPo - doing a story that CNN did a few weeks ago.
 
what_now
2008-05-01 4:46:32 PM  
R.A.Danny: I came to say what what_now: said but in a less hateful and angry way.

I'm a terrible biatch, and I'm ok with that.

I have had to teach my boyfriend that generic food is the same damn thing, and that coupons are very very useful. At first, it didn't really sink in, until it was my time to buy groceries and I have enough left over for beer.
 
mediaho
2008-05-01 4:49:33 PM  
what_now: You want to talk about hardship? Go find a family of four with a $60,000 income that can't afford to put gas in the car to get to work.

But then the "journalist" would have to travel outside her suburban circle of comfort and maybe into the scary ghetto.
 
Temescal
2008-05-01 4:49:53 PM  
what_now: ...until it was my time to buy groceries and I have enough left over for beer.

Was it organic beer, at least?
 
Ant
2008-05-01 4:52:56 PM  
Booklegger: Ant: Isn't all food organic?

No. Table salt is most definitely inorganic.

When was the last time you consumed a block of salt?
 
NightOwl2255
2008-05-01 4:53:13 PM  
I must not be human.
 
what_now
2008-05-01 4:54:08 PM  
Temescal: Was it organic beer, at least?

boston.comView Full Size
 
what_now
2008-05-01 4:56:17 PM  
I should have clarified about this lesson:

what_now: I have had to teach my boyfriend that generic food is the same damn thing, and that coupons are very very useful. At first, it didn't really sink in, until it was my time to buy groceries and I have enough left over for beer that I did not share
 
dahmers love zombie
2008-05-01 4:59:45 PM  
"I find the whole thing a huge hassle, but I've reached a tipping point," said Tracy, a government human resources specialist who is pregnant with her second child.

Annnnd it was there where I stopped caring.
 
Grrr [TotalFark]
2008-05-01 5:15:16 PM  
"...but I just can't feed my family the way I'd like to feed them."

Even if it is explosively newsworthy, WaPo has no business publishing something this depressing - this freakin' horrific. I mean, this woman's nightmare is so unsettling, compared to other current events and the unpleasantness pertaining to food supply on other continents. I don't know how I'm going to get to sleep tonight.
 
liberalish
2008-05-01 5:24:40 PM  
FTA: "On Saturday nights, after the kids are in bed, she sometimes hits the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk before the sale ends at midnight. If she buys at the last minute, the milk will last through the next week. Sometimes she freezes it."

Oh wow. My mother bought milk on sale and froze it all the time. I always thought this just made sense, since milk is something you know you will always buy (and bread). She still does this, even though my parents are both very successful.

/I distinctly remember her coupon clipping as a child. Gasp, were we poor?
 
chi_tino
2008-05-01 5:30:47 PM  
FTA: "On Saturday nights, after the kids are in bed, she sometimes hits the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk spending $1 in gas to save 50 cents before the sale ends at midnight."

FTFY
 
SchlingFo
2008-05-01 5:31:08 PM  
You farking horrible coont:

She's even begun sending herself reminders on her BlackBerry so she doesn't forget a case of water on sale at CVS or the twice-monthly sale on milk at Kroger
 
Raisin Conspiracy
2008-05-01 5:34:27 PM  
Have they had to cut back on the family colonics and chiropractic adjustments as well?
 
madmann
2008-05-01 5:48:32 PM  
I know times are hard, I've recently had to cut back from "hookers & blow" to "one hooker & some Sudafed".

The horror.
 
BobtheFascist
2008-05-01 5:55:46 PM  
"Clearly, I'm not unable to feed my family. But I just can't feed my family the way I'd like to feed them."

Well, damn, Traci. I feel your pain. Clearly, I'm not unable to afford a car payment. But I just can't afford the payment on the car I'd like to drive.

Welcome to adulthood, sweetie.
 
PolloDiablo
2008-05-01 6:07:18 PM  
I can't hold it against the woman in the article for being a bit forlorn about having to change her eating and shopping habits, the current economic climate effects people from all walks of life differently and her sacrifices (however miniscule) are unique to her situation; I do however have a problem with the Washington Post choosing to focus this article on a family such as hers when there are plenty of families that are concerned not with whether or not they can buy organic milk, but whether or not they can afford to feed their children at all.

I guess the argument could be made that the purpose of the article is not to once again bring focus to the poverty issue in our country, but to instead put the spotlight on how the effects of the economic downturn are beginning to truly be felt by those who would not normally concern themselves with the price of milk and bread, those that are more worried about their next pilates class than the price of rice; and as true as that might be, it doesn't change the fact that it simply makes for a slightly uninteresting and socially irresponsible piece of journalism.
 
SusanIvanova
2008-05-01 6:44:07 PM  
BravadoGT: It's almost as if you have to be smug AND wealthy to live an organic, "green" lifestyle...

Whole Foods doesn't deserve it's uber-pricy reputation. They do sell a lot of very expensive items, it's true, but if you do a apples-to-apples comparison to the local Cala for staple items, it's almost exactly the same price (at least it is around here). Butter, milk, most cuts of meat, most fresh or frozen produce, bread, whatever -- exceptions being fish and prepared foods. The el cheapo "365 Organic" brand they spam all over the store often costs a bit less expensive than the equivalent at a normal market, and is usually significantly better-tasting.

Now, it is more expensive that Costco and places like that. But compared to other standalone retail supermarkets, it's not out of line with the price at all.
 
puffy999 [TotalFark]
2008-05-01 7:19:31 PM  
what_now: You want to talk about hardship? Go find a family of four with a $60,000 income that can't afford to put gas in the car to get to work.

$60k income isn't exactly struggling, even for a family of 4. It's not rich by ANY stretch, but it isn't struggling (unless you're an ultra consumer whore).
 
Barakku
2008-05-01 7:20:48 PM  
SchlingFo: You farking horrible coont:

She's even begun sending herself reminders on her BlackBerry so she doesn't forget a case of water on sale at CVS or the twice-monthly sale on milk at Kroger

I have to tell the waiters to remind me when it's Taco Tuesday, just to save a few bucks. It's...*sniff* embarrassing...
 
mgyqmb
2008-05-01 7:21:21 PM  
I made $10,000 last year.

/student
 
janks369
2008-05-01 7:21:35 PM  
dnrtfa, but if the headline is accurate, i hope she gets stabbed to death

with something blunt
 
thesubliminalman
2008-05-01 7:22:18 PM  
Who ?
 
jakomo002
2008-05-01 7:22:46 PM  
A child dies every 12 seconds on the planet due to lack of access to fresh drinking water

None of them are impressed by this diva

4 died while I wrote this (took me a while)
 
Party-sized bucket of flan
2008-05-01 7:22:50 PM  
I'd say that ol' Marti should start growing her own vegetables, but she probably wouldn't want to get her nails dirty.
 
40oz_A_Knight
2008-05-01 7:24:32 PM  
1) Unmarried and calls her significant other a "partner" rather than "boyfriend" (heterosexual) or "girlfriend" or "wife" (homosexual)? Check.
2) Works in human resources but claims a fancy title? Check.
3) Buys name brand milk from Target? Check.

This week on You Might Be a Pretentious Coont...
 
Snakeophelia
2008-05-01 7:24:51 PM  
One of my undergrad professors told me that he married and had two kids while still an undergraduate, and ultimately supported his whole family just on his graduate school stipend. They fed their kids powdered milk because it was all they could afford, and he said his sons still biatches about how bad that stuff tasted.

Oh, and his son is now huge and healthy and possessed of his own graduate degree. So, um, little Mrs Organic Whole Foods Mom? Maybe if you stayed home with your kids and spent more time with them instead of obsessing about whether or not you can buy pricey water and even pricier organic foods, they just might turn out okay.
 
NightSteel
2008-05-01 7:25:06 PM  
There's something poetic about these two WaPo articles being right next to each other. A woman gets the Silver Star for bravery under fire, doing things like running through a hail of bullets to drag people from a burning humvee, using her own body to shield them, and loading them up to get the hell out of there.

Next we have a suburbanite mom who *gasp* has to use her blackberry to keep track of sales.

I weep for America.
 
que.guero
2008-05-01 7:26:28 PM  
Glass ... Parking .. Lot
 
Daanon
2008-05-01 7:26:31 PM  
It's so nice to see a truly liberal story again in the paper. LMAO

On a serious note, someone explain to me why we can't lift the federal subsidies on corn and start planting more food? More supply, less demand, lower prices; then we can have our ethanol and eat it too!
 
austin_millbarge
2008-05-01 7:27:28 PM  
i235.photobucket.comView Full Size
 
flashfry
2008-05-01 7:27:39 PM  
what_now: You want to talk about hardship? Go find a family of four with a $60,000 income that can't afford to put gas in the car to get to work.

I am so confused by this and other such stories. Don't people typically sock away some cash for stuff like this? Before I even let myself have 1 kid I had 10k saved up. And I thought I was pushing it. I stil ldon't think I have enough saved up for two kids.

I mean, life is expensive these days, don't get me wrong. I am contributing significantly less to my savings than I would like, and may even get to a point soon where I am actually depleting savings.... but people who can't afford gas.... what are they thinking living so close to the edge? If I am that close to the edge I don't have another kid or even the first and I certainly get a second job until I am a bit further from the edge especially with a kid or two.

Drastic, unusual illness situations to the side of course (but even those can often be accomodated by city/county/state/federal assistance) people in such dire straits confound me.
 
GT_bike
2008-05-01 7:27:56 PM  
dahmers love zombie: "I find the whole thing a huge hassle, but I've reached a tipping point," said Tracy, a government human resources specialist who is pregnant with her second child.

Annnnd it was there where I stopped caring.

I have 5 kids so I'm getting a kick out of people who hate kids
 
stappawho
2008-05-01 7:28:06 PM  
what_now: Hell, go find a college kid who works 30 hrs a week and is going to school full time!

What's wrong with that? I did 20-25 a week and graduated no problem. But then again I'm pretty much full of awesome.
 
dirtyfarker
2008-05-01 7:28:28 PM  
She's reached "a tipping point" everybody!

I'm about to start cannibalizing my neighbors and she's upset that she can't buy the organic milk produced by free-range cows who get 4 hours of therapy every week.
 
I hate Chevy
2008-05-01 7:28:29 PM  
PolloDiablo: I can't hold it against the woman in the article for being a bit forlorn about having to change her eating and shopping habits, the current economic climate effects people from all walks of life differently and her sacrifices (however miniscule) are unique to her situation; I do however have a problem with the Washington Post choosing to focus this article on a family such as hers when there are plenty of families that are NOT GAY and concerned not with whether or not they can buy organic milk, but whether or not they can afford to feed their children at all and still donate their money to the GLBTG society

I know it's the gay thing you really have a problem with. I saw right thru you.
 
janks369
2008-05-01 7:28:37 PM  
also, ORGANIC FOOD IS BULLSH*T!! retards pay more for it because they're retarded
 
Tom_Neyman
2008-05-01 7:29:26 PM  
No one has pointed out yet that this is Bush's fault?

Anyone?
 
JaMorg
2008-05-01 7:29:41 PM  
puffy999: what_now: You want to talk about hardship? Go find a family of four with a $60,000 income that can't afford to put gas in the car to get to work.

$60k income isn't exactly struggling, even for a family of 4. It's not rich by ANY stretch, but it isn't struggling (unless you're an ultra consumer whore).


Depends on where you live. $60,000 in DC is a long maternity leave close to struggling. But then again, I am a single male who could get by (and has) on 16-18 a year, so what the heck do I know.
 
Seth_The_Wide
2008-05-01 7:29:53 PM  
FTFA:If she buys at the last minute, the milk will last through the next week.

Uh...what?
 
johnny_vegas [TotalFark]
2008-05-01 7:30:40 PM  
Hmmmmm....could this be the unifying "sun-source" thread that brings all Farkers together?
I have seen more disagreement in a BOOBIES thread.

/oh and fark you very much Marti
 
Raskolnikov's Angst
2008-05-01 7:30:49 PM  
farm1.static.flickr.comView Full Size


"I hated her, so much... That...Flames, on the side of my face..."

/me after reading that article
//maybe she shouldn't be drinking that trendy Archer Farms brand milk?
 
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