[georgrwasington]

No it's not. Poor people live in food deserts and buy 5000 calorie dinners for $2 at Dollar General. It's hardly discretionary to try to feed yourself real food. Now let's tie in the cost of healthcare associated with eating cheap junk food and you've got a problem. This is like an argument with someone who denies global warming.

[integration]

Unless someone is starving, spending more on food as income rises is discretionary. A proper food budget is stable, it should not change as someone earns more money.

As someone who ate well on minimum wage, you’re not going to convince me low-income families can’t afford food in America if they’re properly budgeting.

[mikeash]

I’m amazed that your personal experience was so representative that you don’t even have to consider that other people’s circumstances might be different.

[supreme_sublime]

As of 2012 food costs as a % of spending are the lowest in the US than anywhere else in the world. [0] During the Obama administration there was a massive increase in enrollment with the SNAP program. [1] Between government programs and charitable organizations I'd argue it is practically impossible for someone to go hungry through no fault of their own. You'd have to be unlucky on a cosmic level.

[0] http://www.ibtimes.com/us-spends-less-food-any-other-country... [1] http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-charts

[mikeash]

There’s a wide range of diets between “not literally starving” and “eating a nutritious and healthy diet.”

[your-nanny]

To abuse the phrase, anecdotes are not data, unless they're your own.

[dragonwriter]

> Unless someone is starving, spending more on food as income rises is discretionary

It's also not discretionary if at lower income levels they receive a greater share of direct food aid that isn't counted in their spending because they never exchange money or a money-denominated voucher for it.

> As someone who ate well on minimum wage, you’re not going to convince me low-income families can’t afford food in America if they’re properly budgeting.

Many of the poor:

(1) Aren't able to find work (and may not be able to work; permanent disability is a thing, and positively correlated with poverty),

(2) May not work find full time work when they work, and

(3) May be supporting non-working (and unable for age or other reasons to work) dependents on their part-time, intermittent, minimum wage income.

[rexaliquid]

If you don't mind me asking, how long ago was your experience with minimum wage? Also, did you have access to a store where you could purchase fresh fruits and vegetables?