Well, I finally found an overlooked issue for my campaign. I have recently discovered, through personal experience, that there is a quiet conspiracy to rid this country, and maybe the world, of “useless” people.
Before I continue, I want to add that on other issues, I’m against poverty, war and injustice and will tailor my take on these to my audience.
On to important matters.
While a web search brought up cheery articles about organic food being served in long term care facilities and even a few places where the residents were actually asked what they wanted to eat, the vast majority of nursing homes, especially for-profit chains, still have a long way to go in serving healthy food.
Breaded meat, mashed potatoes, canned vegetables, and iceberg lettuce salads all seem to be standard fare. Fresh fruit rarely appears. Even when the meals are well prepared, they are still high in cholesterol, sugar and carbohydrates and low in vitamins and fiber. Alternate options include: soup (to be eaten with teaspoons) salad with cocktail shrimp (boring but not lethal) and macaroni and cheese. These are all offered to people with heart disease, diabetes and a host of other medical problems.
These meals are supposedly designed by nutritionists. If so, I’d like to know where they studied. In a week of meals, I found almost nothing that a diabetic should eat. There was also little to interest the number of people who had lost their appetites through medication or depression. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there was no attempt to provide food for people who needed to lose weight.
The problems I discovered are not localized. I have heard reports from all over the country and would like to have more.
BECAUSE all the signs point to a systematic plot to assure that the group of people who are chronically ill and/or elderly, stay that way. Instead of healthy food, they are given medication for high blood pressure, diabetes and, most often, constipation. These are all conditions that can be helped with diet and exercise.
When I am elected Senator at Large, I intend to use my six years in office to find out who is behind this. How far does the conspiracy reach?
Let me know of your experiences. Solutions are also welcome. Here are links to two that I found.
Cassandra 
having seen the food my parents ate at nursing homes, I agree. potatoes, fried? sausages? for a heart patient?? really?
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I will open my comments by saying that my experience is 40 years old….but from what I’ve seen, little if anything has changed since then. And if that is true, there are two core reasons behind this: 1) let’s face it, it’s cheaper. What comes in bulk cheaply from Sam’s, Costco or some local restaurant supply? Not organic greens and fresh fruit, generally. And 2) it’s the path of least resistance. Whether or not it’s what’s good for them, it’s “what I’ve eaten all my life,” from the standpoint of the residents, and it’s what they demand.
My specific experience was a very short stint as kitchen staff in a nursing home, and diet issues were expressly why I quit: I was ordered to make desserts such as sugary cake with lots of icing for diabetic residents, and I had a real problem with doing so. I offered to bake alternative desserts, on my own time if necessary, and I was told in no uncertain terms that no, I had to feed the same sugary desserts to diabetics that were made for everyone else, because those residents *demanded* them, and would not tolerate being “left out.” (Fruit did make the menu….but only as “canned in heavy syrup” fruit. Cost and habit again.)
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Hurrah for your efforts, Sharan! Hospitals and extended care facilities both need better nutritional education and awareness of senior needs/issues, including tender gums or less than sharp teeth for biting. (Geriatric nutrition should be the new hot job.) Even in the SF bay area, home to the local and organics, I found the vegetarian menu at a local hospital virtually inedible. My cold veggie burger was coated in raw onions, a food many older folks cannot digest. So you’ve got my vote! If pols from out of State can ask me for money, I can vote for a candidate outside my State too!
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This idea that older people “demand” food that’s bad for them is ridiculous. I also heard a lot of “demands” for vodka martinis but no one rushed out to mix them one. What I didn’t see were alternative offerings or any attempt to let residents take part in choosing the menus.
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