{"id":309,"date":"2025-09-20T00:17:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T00:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puromartinez.com\/?p=309"},"modified":"2025-10-01T02:44:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T02:44:46","slug":"when-candy-and-a-snack-bar-was-freedom-and-why-puromartinez-fights-for-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puromartinez.com\/es\/when-candy-and-a-snack-bar-was-freedom-and-why-puromartinez-fights-for-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuando un caramelo y un bocadillo eran la libertad - Y por qu\u00e9 PuroMart\u00ednez lucha por algo mejor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to ask your father,\u201d explained my mother, a third-grade history teacher at the same school my sister Claudia and I attended in Brownsville, Texas. What I was asking for was no simple thing. It was parental permission for a responsible sixth-grade boy, such as myself, to walk during lunch to an adjacent property to the school called the Snack Bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I did my best to write down my request as eloquently as I could, stating sound reasons why I could be trusted. Why I used the face of a clean white paper plate for my letter, I\u2019ll never know. I do remember being excited and embarrassed – excited that my father agreed, embarrassed that I had to turn in that paper plate to my teacher because that\u2019s where my father signed his approval.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The El Jardin Elementary gang who made those first walks with me down a dirt path worn into the grass were Charley Whitlow, Kimberly Adams, Mark del Castillo, Dennis Kuehler, and Susan Hauff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an old wood-framed house with a screened-in porch and sitting area, two Mexican American ladies served us hamburgers, hot dogs, and snacks. I remember we all being mindful of our \u201cleft over\u201d food money to make sure we could all order from the candy window. My favorites were green Jolly Ranchers, Fun Dip candy, and Boston Baked Beans. Depending on the nickels and dimes we shared, we\u2019d also splurge on Blow Pops, Ring Pops, Wax Whistles, Pop Rocks, Big League Chew, and hot chocolate with marshmallows.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d finish with colored sodas from the vending machine\u2014red, orange, or purple. We\u2019d finish with laughter, conversations, and curious questions. We\u2019d finish with running around playing tag or football while on our little sugar highs. We\u2019d finish back at El Jardin with a sense of satisfaction, whether we truly understood it, that we got to be kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those days I cherish. I knew those times were special. I didn\u2019t know those were some of the best days of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Innocence to Poison<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We thought all that food was harmless fun. Childhood fuel. Innocence wrapped in cellophane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But looking back, it feels like we were the guinea pigs. What we thought was joy was really the testing ground for today\u2019s ultra-processed food empire. And now it\u2019s not just food. Snacks, drinks, tech, politics, even news\u2014so much of what we consume is designed to addict us, divide us, and drain us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mighty dollar has become the main ingredient. And too often, it\u2019s killing us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Numbers Don\u2019t Lie<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organization<\/strong> reports that global obesity has more than doubled since 1990, with adolescent obesity quadrupling. One in eight people worldwide now live with obesity. Children under five\u201435 million of them\u2014are already overweight. By 2030, the global economic cost could exceed $3 trillion a year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in the U.S., many of the chemicals and additives banned elsewhere are still allowed in our foods. It\u2019s not because they\u2019re safe\u2014it\u2019s because profit has more power than protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What We Lost<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I think back to those mesquite-shaded lunch breaks, I don\u2019t just remember candy. I remember freedom<\/strong>. Friendship<\/strong>. Innocence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that innocence is gone. Generation X was the test group. And the results are clear: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders. The systems we trusted with our childhoods betrayed us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why PuroMartinez Exists<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At PuroMartinez<\/strong>, we are reclaiming what was stolen: wellness rooted in culture, community, and real ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n