When many people discuss buying more produce (fruits and veggies) the most common complaint is how expensive it is. How can they afford to pay that much for fresh produce and still feed their family?!? Well, I think it’s a myth.
Based on my recent visit to the grocery store, the price of produce is actually pretty good. Let’s compare for a minute. A quick trip down the meat aisle will tell us that a chunk of meat of whatever shape or size will likely cost us about $3 a pound. And that’s the cheap stuff. No t-bones here. How about the other aisles. Hamburger helper? About $3. Plus a pound of hamburger, a cup or so of milk, and some margarine or butter. Chips? Doritos were on sale for about $2 a bag. I think that’s about a 10 ounce bag. Frozen Pizza? I saw some that were 5 for $10. Smaller ones, sure, but pizzas.
Now, lets take a look at produce. Apples were $1.49 a pound. Oranges were $1.89 a pound. Potatoes were about $1 a pound. Onions were $1.38 a pound. Broccoli was about $2 a bunch. The list goes on.
Sure, none of those, by themselves, is a meal. Very little of the first list is either. But, if you eat an apple before dinner or as an appetizer, it makes you fuller. Which means you’ll eat less of the other, more expensive stuff. Maybe you replace 4 ounces of steak with a 9 ounce apple. Even at a 2:1 ratio, you break even. If you manage to cut the meat even further back and replace it with other veggies, you’ll save even more!
And I won’t even go into the savings on medical costs that could be gotten from eating more fruits and veggies.
The bottom line is that expensive produce is a myth. It’s only when you don’t stop to consider that it’s replacing something else in a meal that you realize that. If you replace something, you can buy less of it at the store. And you will spend less. Sure, costs might stay the same, or even go up, if you don’t reduce what you buy based on your new eating habits. But, that food will last longer. Give it a try and then compare your budget sheets from before and after. I think you might be surprised by the outcome.
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June 8th, 2010 at 7:10 am
Medical costs and increased productivity. It’s hard to put a price tag on it, but you’re probably going to produce (no pun intended) better with some good quality food in your stomach. Better productivity, better results, more $ (if you’re shooting for that goal).
I’d say it’s worth it!
June 11th, 2010 at 4:02 am
[...] Beating Broke debunks the expensive produce myth. [...]
June 11th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Hmm, interesting take!
Sounds like a healthier and potentially cheaper solution all the way around!
June 11th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Junk food is more expensive up here in the great white north relative to produce. I think that beef is also more expensive, though pork is cheap. I guess this shifts consumption toward healthier choices, because when you go to a grocery store here, you generally walk past lots of vegetables, fresh meat, fresh bread, nuts, etc… and the junk food is relegated to one small section, as are the frozen pizzas and desserts
However, I recall when I visited the US that the portions were larger, the prices were lower, and the first thing you saw when entering a Walmart supercenter would be aisle upon aisle of pizzas, desserts, etc… just junk food upon junk food. I think there were 5 half-aisles devoted to chips alone. It was pretty much the opposite experience!
I enjoy my junk food every now and then, too, but it certainly shouldn’t be the main focus…
June 11th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Until about a year into my marriage (my 2 year is on this monday) I had never went grocery shopping. I lived at home during college, then basically bummed off the gf at the time (wife now) during law school.
I WAS SHOCKED how much junk food costs. It was at that moment I didn’t buy anyone’s crap about not being able to afford normal healthy food.
June 14th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Good topic, very good points.
If selective and smart with shopping, it is very easy to eat a healthy diet and do it for reasonable cost. Not just with produce, but with most foods.
For example: Sometimes I eat oatmeal in the morning, quick oats bought in a large container. The cost per serving comes to less than 10 cents! Add in some strawberries, a banana and some flaxseed, and you get a fully-loaded nutritional powerhouse that’s about 75 cents.
To me, that’s better than a fast-food breakfast sandwich for $2. Healthier and cheaper.