Why is healthy food more expensive?!

NickeeCoco

If you have farmland around where you live (I mean, not in the city, but outside of it), check out the farmers. A lot of farmers are starting delivery programs now. A local farm sends us fresh produce and fruit bi-weekly. We get the biggest bin they have (there's only two of us), because my husband is a vegetarian and I cook everything from scratch. We also like to juice.

For $45.00 bi-weekly we get (and this varies, it's what is in season):

- garlic
- green onions
- cooking onions
- 2 eggplant
- 2 large zucchini
- 2 lbs of green beans
- 2lbs of yellow beans
- two heads of leaf lettuce
- 2 large bags of kale
- five vine tomatoes
- 1 quart of blueberries
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 lbs of sweet peas
- 2 lbs of potatoes
- a dozen corn on the cob
- 8 peaches
- 8 nectarines

Then, bi-weekly, I go to Costco and buy:

- 1 package of pork loin chops - $13.50 (12 chops)
- 1 large bottle of grapeseed oil - $10.00
- 2 large containers of Greek yogurt - $6.50
- 30 eggs - $6.00

And once a month I go to the Bulk Bin and buy:

- 1 large bag of dried black beans $5.00
- 1 large bag of lentils $5.00

That's a grand total of $172 a month on food. And we entertain a lot. I think that's pretty damn cheap, myself.

Witchdoctor58

In the U.S., agribusiness is subsidized, so crappy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and GMO products are much cheaper to produce. Corporate welfare including tax breaks and low minimum wages means that big business can produce absolute garbage cheaply, while smaller producers who don't have lobbyists don't get the breaks. Therefore, their products cost more.

This is the economic basic for a lot of the junk food epidemic in the states. Obviously, this answer is simplistic, but it does explain much of what is happening with food supplies.

gigglybeth

I'm not saying I don't buy/eat it.. I just find it annoying its £1.50 for 8 oranges and 80p (UK Currency) for a pack of 30 chocolate biscuits! lol.. and this is at one of the cheapest supermarkets in the area! I know that was probably a poor comparison but there is so many examples.. I think I'm going to order online from now on! :laugh:

If you are anything like me, you can eat the cookies in a day or two (OMG I used to be able to pop Chips Ahoy like nobody's business). It's going to take you much longer to eat 8 oranges. They're just more filling. Plus, oranges are out of season right now, so they're going to me more expensive because they have to be shipped in from somewhere else.

EGSanz225

I do find fruits and vegetables to be much more expensive because I'm on a tight budget. If I can find a market by the sidewalk in NYC, I'm usually the first to check it out. I usually get a bag of bananas for a buck so it's not all bad. However, when I do crave turkey or Fish, I have to go to the supermarket where 2 salmon steaks are seven bucks -__-

jlahorn

..snip long list of great info...

That's a grand total of $172 a month on food. And we entertain a lot. I think that's pretty damn cheap, myself.

/applause

Nice list, seriously.

ebgbjo

I feel your pain. We buy a lot of fruits and veggies and they are expensive here in New England compared to the last several states we have lived in. $5 for a pint of berries where half are already bad is insane! Brown eggs can run up to $4 a carton and don't even get me started on the 85/15 (yuck) beef starting at $5-6lb!

We do frequent local farms and farmers markets, but their prices are pretty much on par with the grocery stores and after question a lot of them, they are bringing in products from all over the US and not just selling locally grown foods. Pretty disappointing really.

We do spend a lot on food, A LOT more than I care to admit for a family of 3, but at least my husband can get his seafood (*gag*) super cheap here. A lobster runs cheaper than steak and burgers.

Lizzy622

Unhealthy food is far more expensive. You lose days of work, have to buy bigger clothes and then go and buy pills, powders and promises to lose the weight.

MyChange4Life

I don't think 'healthier' food is more expensive. My family has just been hit with a temporary finical struggle and we're are being forced to eat more healthy because its cheaper. This week's grocery shopping consist of dry beans, rice,eggs, potatoes and got a couple bags of apples, got some veggies; broccoli, green beans (not canned, they were cheaper getting them fresh) and brussel sprouts, milk, cereal, and a huge box of the packet oatmeals and two cans of biscuits (I'm going to turn them into dumplings).

Got enough to feed 5 people and it looks like its going to last longer then a week. It all came to around 67 dollars. Our groceries normally would come out to around a 120 dollars for a week and that's not counting the take out food we would get now and then.

cwolfman13

I find it much cheaper. I'm not sure why people say it's more expensive. I always wonder what the definition of "healthy"means when people say this. I can buy a whole chicken for less than $5. I can then buy potatoes and carrots for another $5. I can eat that for a couple dinners and lunches, and then make soup with the leftover chicken and carcass. It's like a week of food for very little money.

QFT....

My grocery bill has gone down since I reduced my junk intake and increased my whole foods intake.

MzPix

I used to think this too but then I realized that I was using that as an excuse to eat crap because I was too lazy to grow, prep, cook, and store food in healthy ways.

I think this is a HUGE conversation that needs to be taking place on a national or even global level. I don’t know how bad it has become in the UK, but here in the USA, it has become dogma to use poverty as an excuse for obesity and poor eating habits. Any time someone tries to speak out and say otherwise, they are villainized for those views. This conversation encompasses some very touchy and not politically correct topics that make people side-step the true issues. It involves everything from self-sufficiency to government subsidy to food tax to school lunch.

I have some drastic points of view on the larger conversation, but I can reserve those for the proper forum. The bottom line is that either poor food choices or healthy food choices can be made on virtually any budget.

P.S. - Currently, for our family (2 full time people and 2 part-time people in the home), the monthly grocery bill is less than $200.

MyChange4Life

I'm sorry OP, I didn't realize you are from the UK so I don't know if you could follow a grocery list like I had mention for myself since I have no idea what types of food is accessible or cost-wise over there.

corgicake

Chocolate isn't the only thing that goes on clearance, at least around here. I've been getting lunches at a grocery store about a block from work since I forget to pack food lately and they tend to have things like bean soups for $1 (American). Loaded with sodium, but still better than McDonald's.

sharonfoustmills

some of the healthy food is more expensive than cheap krap junk food, but you know what? I'm worth it. YOU ARE WORTH IT!

buying chicken breast in large packs can really save you money, then just portion it into zip bags and freeze the extra to use later, always buy your zip bags at dollar tree store to save lots of money-- and guess what? Vegetable meat crumbles to put into recipes are now cheaper than any grade of ground beef

WendyTerry420

I think the problem comes in when assuming that some foods are "unhealthy." I have found that when buying *mostly* single-ingredient foods and cooking things myself, we have saved about $100/month in groceries. But then, I don't buy anything that is marked "healthy" or "organic" on the package.

CookNLift

it depends on where you shop. I get grass fed beef and vegetables at a little over the same price as shop rite sales. they cost more because there is more care put into growing your food (for some brands) and others its a marketing scheme, if you want to eat their so called "healthy" product it means it's "better" for you and you should pay more because they are making you believe they put more care into it.

cost of goods manufactured has a lot to do with how some companies create their product, if cows are eating grass then it will cost more to make a profit because in many instances the diet for grass fed beef is more expensive than feeding them corn or grain based food.

shrinkingbrian

Bananas and carrots are pretty inexpensive. Potatoes, beans, and rice are also inexpensive. My food budget is about the same even though I am eating fewer calories. Buy the big bag of carrots and then wash and peel and cut up into small chunks. They make great snacks and you can pretty much eat as many as you want until you're full since they are not many calories.

WendyTerry420

I used to think this too but then I realized that I was using that as an excuse to eat crap because I was too lazy to grow, prep, cook, and store food in healthy ways.

^^ This too!

jess6742

I actually find it to be the opposite. Cooking everything from scratch and in bulk saves a lot of money. A lot of fruits and veggies are cheap and go a lot further than things like chips and cookies.