this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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I hate when people bring up the poverty angle, unless it's more about people having to work more hours/multiple jobs and not having time to cook. Healthy whole foods are generally way cheaper than fast food or even junk food from the grocery store, at least in my experience
Not on a "per calorie" basis they aren't. And I'm not really sure by what other metric you can compare them. But look at how many calories of broccoli $3 gets you compared to potato chips. Then you have to add in the time of preparation.
Additionally, many impoverished people tend to live in "food deserts", areas without grocery stores, but many fast Food locations.
The deck is definitely stacked against the impoverished.
They most certainly are not. If you're buying unhealthy food only as snacks, you mistake your subset as all unhealthy food.
If you need calories and are on a shoestring budget, your options are potatos, bad bread, Coles cakes etc. You can eat for a week on a few dollars but you'll become overweight and eventually die of malnutrition. Your options become even more limited if you don't have a working stove due to being cut off your gas.
I guess I was thinking snacks first and foremost but cheap carbs aren't necessarily unhealthy. Protein sources are probably the most expensive and mixing in veggies is pricey on a calories/$ basis.
But rice, beans/legumes, and a lot of other basic staple foods are pretty cheap. Eggs are back under a dollar by me at least.
Not having the time/means to shop and prepare food makes sense, or if you're in a food desert and don't have much available conveniently.
Eggs are pushing $10/doz where I am ๐
You can absolutely put together a relatively healthy meal for reasonably cheap, I'm talking about "getting your gas cut-off" budgeting though.