hexbear

There is often an element of learned helplessness at play as well, and I don't totally disagree that it matters that people are truthful about what the money goes to for trust reasons, but ultimately being poor is just expensive. how are you supposed to cook things like lentils and beans and veggies when you live in a tent or a car and are forced to move around constantly. just keeping food around can attract pests, you don't have space to store much in the way of cooking equipment let alone fresh produce, you don't have reliable access to grocery stores, etc. and ultimately why would you bother trying to live a basic lifestyle when the dopamine-hit slop is right there, hot and ready, and the grocery store (especially one with non-moldy produce) is miles away and swarming with security, cops, karens, etc who all don't want you there.

Every little aspect from buying food, food storage, food preparation, cooking, sanitation all have associated costs, risks, challenges, etc where getting $5 and getting enough calories worth of addictive taco bell food is very simple and has few externalities to deal with.