How much does good food cost?

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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    I'd say its about choices - but also efficiency. I personally don't buy organic. Those who do, pay a little more for it.

    My biggest problem area when it comes to food and expenses is avoiding waste. All too often I end up throwing out things that go bad. Fresh fruits, veggies have a limited shelf life and I have to get better at shopping in appropriate quantities.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It depends...
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    We are rural part of Canada, food is extremely expensive here due to the cost of transport I would image. it is almost cheaper to eat takeout everyday. It's not uncommon for my husband and I to spend $1200-$1300/mo for the two of us. :grumble:

    That being said I could drive 2 hours into town (one way) and do my shopping there, but it's not much cheaper. The gas I would spend would out weight the saving in food.

    Yah I don't think most people in the US can get what our food costs here...maybe the woman in Hawaii...

    I too could drive 2hours to get to a costco...but how is that saving money? We have a loblaws and a sobeys here that's it...and I don't buy organic...

    It is cheaper for me to go to a drive thru and get 3 items off the dollar menu (chicken wrap, ff and soda) than it is to eat my lunch from home...

    In the summer I expect our bill to go to about 250$ a week due to BBQ season...and yes I plant a garden for the fresh veggies...but depending on where you live will define if it's expensive or not...

    I could spend 50$ a week on KD, FF, and mr noodle...wouldn't be healthy but it would be cheap and yes I could lose weigh (not a fan of noodles)

    and btw you get a nice big crisp Honeycrisp apple here in NB and it will cost you 3$
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    This reminds me of an interaction with my EX-fiance.

    In Norman, there's a Natural Grocers with a Wendy's next to it.

    We went in the store and he held up some organic bacon and said "$7 for a pound of bacon?! Look at all this delicious food, laughing at me because I can't afford it!"

    He was mad. It was actually kind of embarrassing.

    He left the health food store and went straight to the Wendy's drive-thru and bought a Biggie combo, the total was almost $7.

    I pointed out to him the irony of the situation.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    We spend about $700 a month to feed a family of 5 in Colorado.
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
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    For me, it depends on what store I go to, what items I need and what's on sale. Some weeks, I can get away with spending $50 to $75. Others, it will cost me $150. I also don't buy organic foods either or I'd be spending even more. I usually opt for frozen fruit and veg; lately nothing has been in season and the fresh stuff goes bad quickly and isn't very flavorful.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    I'm sure Hawaii and the coasts are different, I'm located in Norman, OK, in the middle of the heartland, notorious for it's extremely low cost of living. (Ironically, also low wages to accompany it!)

    That's the point though. In some places it's cheaper to eat a certain way and somewhere else it's not. Making a blanket statement one way or the other is ignorant and ignores that what is true for you isn't true for every.


    I spend a crap ton on food. I spend it without complaint, because I'm lucky enough to have that money, but not everyone is.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
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    for me & the BF we spend about $150 a week ,we eat mostly whole foods, meats, veggies and eggs primarily...no breads, no grains, and no diary for me, he eats very little of that, we never eat out. East coast canada , food is expensive, especialy organic...we could eat for $75 a week no problem, but choose not to, rather spend more on healthy foods.
  • Snapshotgirl
    Snapshotgirl Posts: 57 Member
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    In my opinion, it doesn't cost any more to eat healthy. Eating clean can be expensive, organic food does cost more. But eating healthy can be cost effective, eat foods that are in season, look for sales, use a crock pot for less expensive cuts of meat. I am eating far healthier than I used to, and my grocery bill has barely changed at all.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    We spend about $700 a month to feed a family of 5 in Colorado.

    If we got to McDonalds, all get extra-value-meals, and happy meals it's about $30. I can buy a package of nice steak for that. Mash potatoes and salad for $2 more.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
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    Buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale. Giant just had 5lb bags of apples for 3.99 last week. I stocked up and keep them in the fridge. Buy the large bags of red and green peppers instead of individual ones. You just have to look for deals.
  • IsabellaGiano
    IsabellaGiano Posts: 158 Member
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    Well guys, this discussion is very interesting, thanks for answering... by the way, do you know a way to go directly to the first comment you didn't read yet?
    Every time I go out and come back I have to go through all pages to find the right spot.
  • BuckTheBMI
    BuckTheBMI Posts: 106 Member
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    Hi-de-ho there neighbors! I think I may just be the friend in question that Isabella is referring to. My comment was originally around why I usually buy canned fruits rather than their unprocessed counterparts. An example would be unsweetened applesauce vs. a whole apple. I can buy six servings of the applesauce for less than the price of one apple.

    More to the subject of the thread... I was watching a documentary (I know you can't always trust them because most of them do have an agenda) but they did an experiment where they gave a family a set amount of money to go shop at a grocery store's produce department and then again to shop at a fast food restaurant. The results were pretty mind blowing if you are judging by quantity (what will keep a family full) versus quality (what is best for them.)

    Apples at my local grocery store are $3 and up a pound depending on if you go generic or one of the specialty variants. The main issue is how big they are. They are huge. If I buy one for each weekday it ends up being close to 10 dollars... for one snack.
  • IsabellaGiano
    IsabellaGiano Posts: 158 Member
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    Anyway, I imagine that it also depend on how much fast foods cost where you live... in italy is not as cheap as in US, I know, so switching from fast food to healthy food is not expensive at all (and anyway very few people are fast food addicted as in the USA, usually in Italy people get fat because of eating just too much, to much pasta, too much fat, too much sweets, but overall the diet would be "healthy" as of type of food)
  • Erin_goBrahScience
    Erin_goBrahScience Posts: 1,215 Member
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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    In my opinion, it doesn't cost any more to eat healthy. Eating clean can be expensive, organic food does cost more. But eating healthy can be cost effective, eat foods that are in season, look for sales, use a crock pot for less expensive cuts of meat. I am eating far healthier than I used to, and my grocery bill has barely changed at all.

    That's because of where you live...
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale. Giant just had 5lb bags of apples for 3.99 last week. I stocked up and keep them in the fridge. Buy the large bags of red and green peppers instead of individual ones. You just have to look for deals.

    A 5lb bag of apples where I live is about 7 dollars, on sale. There are no large bags of peppers (there are small bags of the small sweet ones though.).

    But I suppose I'm just not looking hard enough for the deals. It's totally not a matter of location or anything!
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
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    I live in Baltimore (City), Maryland. Here's the average cost of food at my local supermarket:

    Avocado : $1.00 each
    Bananas: $0.50 a pound
    Tomatoes: $3.29 a pound (expensive, here)
    Apples: $1.49-$1.99 a pound depending on variety
    Strawberries: $2.50 a pound on sale, $3.50 a pound otherwise
    Lettuce (head): $2.50 each
    Carrots: $0.99 a bunch (about a pound's worth)
    Pineapple (fresh): $2.50 each on sale, $3.99 each otherwise
    Potatoes (russet): $4.50 for 5 lb. bag

    Chicken breasts: $1.29 a pound on sale, $2.49 a pound otherwise
    Ground beef: $3.99 a pound (80/20 only - 85/15 or 93/7 is MUCH more expensive)
    Ground turkey: $3.50 for 3 pounds on sale - $7.99 for 3 pounds otherwise

    Eggs (large size): $2.29 for an 18-pack
    Cottage Cheese: $2.50 for a quart package
    Greek yogurt: $1.00 per cup (5.3 ounce)
    Almond Milk: $3.00 on sale, $4.50 otherwise

    It's a bit expensive here but then I live in the Northeast, 50 miles from DC, which has a very high cost of living to start with. However, my market does have weeks where a lot of these items are on sale a good deal of the time - those weeks we make out like a bandit.

    I would estimate that we spend approximately 200 dollars a month for my husband and myself.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    In my opinion, it doesn't cost any more to eat healthy. Eating clean can be expensive, organic food does cost more. But eating healthy can be cost effective, eat foods that are in season, look for sales, use a crock pot for less expensive cuts of meat. I am eating far healthier than I used to, and my grocery bill has barely changed at all.

    That's because of where you live...

    I feel like we're the only ones reading our comments, and everyone else is too busy feeling good about not spending crap tons of money.

    I'd like to not spend crap tons of money. Do you know how many cute dresses I could have bought instead of spending money on fruit?!
  • seashell709
    seashell709 Posts: 123 Member
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    An example is a Fuji apple at the grocery store is anywhere from 1.50-1.99 a pound. The local fruit and veggie stand you can get much bigger and better apples for no more than 0.79 a pound. I love going to the local fruit and veggie stand. It's cheaper and the produce in my opinion is way better. Product tends to last longer at the local stand then buying these items at the local safeway, Albertsons or fred meyer.

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