Keke, do you love me, are you crazzzyyy? Our girl Keke Palmer decided to drop an unpopular truth bomb via her Twitter and add context after the fact, setting the internet ablaze with speculators upset with her delivery of an important message: Why is eating unhealthy so damn cheap and easy while the expenses of eating clean will have you considering a water fast just because?! Keke expressed her experience in a series of now-viral tweets:
"Healthy food is more expensive for a reason. It's fresh, good for you and gives you energy. Bad foods are bad for a reason. They last long they taste good because of tons of sodium and they aren't expensive because they're honestly not food. Mostly likely they are food-LIKE products"
When met with backlash, the self-proclaimed millennial diva refused to make apologies for her stance. But, can you blame her?
Right I'm confused haha like I get that some of them hated the idea. I'm not sure what more there is to do. https://t.co/Yl2jta6GT9
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) November 9, 2020
Now before I take you on this ride, let me address the obvious: yes if you have an EBT card, it is clear that you do not have an influx of money to spend on groceries in general, let alone fresh fruits and veggies while other long-lasting items are a priority. That's just basic survival. However, it comes a time when we have to question the way EBT is handled instead of questioning someone speaking out on it. Especially in our community where we have a predisposition to certain ailments (diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure being a few of them). OK?
Choo-choo, here we go.
To clarify my tweet was pertaining to issues w/ healthy foods being 2 expensive & thinking it should be free for those w/ EBT cards.
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) November 9, 2020
This was not a suggestion for solving all low income issues. Solely a hopeful solution 4 those with EBT that want to run it up w/ meat & produce.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to die of diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure that runs in my family if it is something I can do to control that. Diabetes and high blood pressure are diseases that do not necessarily have anything to do with weight, as it can be inherited genetically to any race or gender. There are plenty of people who appear to be in shape, but eat terribly and trigger morbid diseases. However, in our community, we are disproportionately afflicted with these health issues as a result of the systematic disenfranchisement of resources including, but not limited to affordable healthy food and nutritionists.
You never realize what healthy food is actually worth until you decide to eat extremely healthy and notice that everything is a million dollars .. !!!
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) November 9, 2020
I see corporations know the nutritious valuable off top. 🙄
Whenever I visit lower socioeconomic areas, I see a Wendy's within a five-mile radius of each other, and when I'm tired and hungry that 4 for $4 screams my name while I have to coordinate my Dollar Tree visits to make sure I don't miss out on the selection of frozen vegetables. I know I'm not the only one that has that dilemma of making a decision to eat healthy and feeling the financial constraints of that choice. Keke lives a life of luxury but her receipts for eating clean still have her reeling. If that's the case, what does that mean for us regular folk with a regular-ass budget?
Don’t bring being a Virgo into this sis haha it’s not wrong to want ppl to have free food sis that’s all I’m saying https://t.co/OX2lKui26K
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) November 9, 2020
Meanwhile, fast food restaurants accept EBT/FoodStamps/SNAP, making the decision to eat unhealthily a much easier thing to do in the moment. Processed food is always on sale, whereas fresh and organic fruits, veggies, and meats are sky-high in comparison and sometimes impractical in reality when you're concerned about making your purchases stretch. Presently, we are still knee-deep in a whole pandemic that puts people who suffer from hypertension and or diabetes at an increased risk for death, so nutrition is absolutely a priority moving forward.
Life is our birthright and we have to continue to advocate for more affordable healthy options when it comes to food in our supermarkets. Everybody should have the ability to choose whether they desire to eat clean without blowing their budget.
Keke was right about that!
Featured image by Parisa Michelle / Shutterstock.com