Can Low-income Families Afford to Eat Healthy Whole Food?

By Shawn Swanson

One dollar can buy 1,200 calories of potato chips, or 875 calories of soda, but only 170 calories of fresh fruit (Walsh, B, 2009). Webster’s dictionary defines whole food as “a natural food and especially an unprocessed one (as a vegetable or fruit)” The keywords to note are “natural” and “unprocessed”, but the term healthy also springs to mind. Low-income Americans are faced with a dilemma when it comes to food. Can low-income families afford to eat healthy whole food? It is a difficult question to answer due in part to the fact that the United States is a large and diverse country, and each community has its own unique obstacles. Many low-income families are inclined to believe that they have no other choice because it is cheaper to buy a McDonald’s cheeseburger than it is to cook a healthy meal. But is it really cheaper? Cost can be measured in many different terms. The cost of a bag of potato chips may be less expensive monetarily than a cup of fruit but the price difference is paid in terms of health. The United States is considered the most obese and unhealthy nation on earth. In the 20th annual survey of the health of all 50 states, undertaken by the nonprofit group “America's Health Rankings” it was reported that “while smoking has been the greatest challenge of the past 20 years, it will soon be overtaken by obesity.” ( Arnst, C, 2009) The nation is standing on the precipice. The question is not “Can Americans afford to eat healthy”, it is instead “Can they afford not to?”

Is it less expensive to eat at McDonald's?

The argument has been made that it is less expensive to eat at McDonald’s with its $0.99 cheeseburgers than it is to cook at home. This logic is called “subjective notion of affordability”, which basically means that it is assumed that buying a $0.99 cheeseburger is less expensive than making one fresh. Often this type of logic is used to describe produce. Many Americans perceive produce to be more expensive than, for instance, processed cheese. Although this perception is inaccurate the outcome is that these individuals avoid the whole-food section of the grocery store and head straight for the processed junk food.

Junk-food is not cheaper than whole-food, and the McDonald’s $0.99 double cheeseburger is the perfect example. The double cheeseburger at McDonald’s contains 3.2 ounces of “100 percent USDA-inspected beef”, 2 slices of processed American cheese, 1 hamburger style bun, 2 pickle slices, 1/2 ounce of chopped onion, ketchup and of course some mustard (McDonalds, 2010). In order to purchase the ingredients to make a McDonald’s style double cheeseburger, the first challenge will be to find meat of equal quality. This becomes an obstacle considering McDonald’s hamburger patties contain nearly 35 percent fat. In fact they are so high in fat and sodium that most grocery stores do not carry a facsimile. For this demonstration the low quality, high fat beef will be replaced with 80% Lean Ground Beef Steakhouse Patties with no more than 20% Fat. 3.2 ounces of 80/20 beef totals a whopping $0.25. Two slices of processed American cheese ring up for $0.35. A single bun costs $0.30. The burger is topped with pickles, onion, ketchup and mustard altogether totaling about $0.10(Prices are from recent Vons ad, 2010). The grand total for a homemade double cheeseburger is $1.00.Fast food is not cheaper, or healthier than home cooked food, but it is more convenient.

Food Deserts



Some rural communities are facing another type of food dilemma, and are living in an area considered a food desert. A food desert is an area void of grocery stores within a reasonable distance. “One study found people in urban, low-income areas had access to at least one convenience store and a liquor store selling convenience foods, but they had few supermarkets nearby. Available produce was limited, including little in the way of fresh fruit and hardly any vegetables.” (Economic Opportunity Report, 2004) Without access to healthy whole food how can low-income America change its eating habits? The simple answer is that they can’t eat healthy food without having access to it. The solution will have to involve federal support that includes incentives for opening small grocery stores in low-income communities.

Obesity and Children

Another problem facing families’ struggling with money is the rate of Obesity amongst low-income children in the U.S. “In 2000, more than 10 percent of children ages two to four years old who were in federally funded programs were found to be overweight in 28 of 30 states studied” (Economic Opportunity Report, 2004) This problem has been linked to questionable federal regulations pertaining to food programs for the under privileged. This highlights a larger problem in the United States, and that problem is lack of education all the way up to the highest level of government. Even if a low-income family is trying their best to feed their families healthy food, low-income American children are being given cheap processed junk food in school. When the government gives children unhealthy food claiming it is healthy what is the nation left to believe? Often the uneducated choose to believe that the processed fried chicken nugget must be healthy since the federal government approves of it. This is a vicious cycle that must be stopped. Once again education is the key to solving this problem.

Is Healthy Food too Expensive?

Often the argument is made that it is too expensive to eat healthy food, but consider this “Americans spend less than 10% of their incomes on food, down from 18% in 1966” (Walsh, B, 2009) As a nation food is less expensive now than it has ever been before. “In June 2008, the cost of the USDA food plans for a family of two adults and two elementary school-age children ranged from $588.30 per month for the Thrifty Food Plan to $1,151.40 per month for the Liberal Food Plan.” (Golan, E., Stewart, H., Kuchler, F., Dong, D. 2008 November) These plans involve shopping and purchasing healthy whole food to be prepared at home. It is so easy to put blinders on, and to believe that it is not possible to eat healthy food. It is so easy to lay the blame for America’s health on the system. It is so easy to eat cheap processed junk food, but that doesn’t make it right. The truth of the matter is that healthy whole food in America is not only accessible it is also reasonably priced, and with a small amount of planning even low-income families can afford to eat healthy.

Low-income families can afford to eat healthy whole foods, but as long as Americans believe that a deep fried burrito is just as good as grilled chicken the problem will remain. Education must be emphasized not only at the bottom, but all the way to the top. Federal standards have to be revised to disallow soda and chocolate milk in the schools. Potatoes and corn cannot be the staple vegetables on Americas’ dinner table. Chicken nuggets are not a healthy alternative to chicken. While these gems of knowledge appear common to some they represent a road block to the majority.

Is There Hope?

Whole food must be made available. This is the most difficult problem and the simplest to remedy. The difficulty as of right now is that these communities have no real access to fresh food, with no hope on the horizon. The best solution is for the government to make it financially rewarding to open grocery stores within these communities. The world used to be filled with the little mom and pop grocery stores and it is time for a revival.

There is hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel. With education and planning many of those struggling with money have a reasonable opportunity to eat healthy. Americans’ first have to want to change. It is unreasonable to believe that an individual can be made to eat better, but if Americans are educated and offered a choice most intelligent people will choose to eat healthier. The government can help pave the way for education by redesigning its school lunch programs to offer healthy food to the children, and maybe those children will grow up to be adults who appreciate healthful eating because of it. Community education can also be helpful.

Americans have the right and the freedom to congregate and build community. Each and every one of us has the responsibility and opportunity to help educate those around us. Americans often choose to bury their head in the sand when just a little thing like writing a letter to your congressperson may be the spark that lights a fire that consumes a nation.

References

Arnst, C. (Nov 18, 2009). America's Greatest Health Threat: Obesity.  Business Week Online, p.NA. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from General OneFile via Gale:
http://find.galegroup.com.prx-01.lirn.net/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=lirn_crevc

Golan, E., Stewart, H., Kuchler, F., Dong, D. (2008 November). Can Low-Income Americans Afford a Healthy Diet? United States Department of Agriculture Website, Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/November08/Features/AffordHealthyDiet.htm

Prevalence of obesity rises among low-income children, study finds.  (Dec 20, 2004). Economic Opportunity Report, 39, 29. p.247. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from General OneFile via Gale:
http://find.galegroup.com.prx-01.lirn.net/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=lirn_crevc

Walsh, B. (August 31, 2009). America's Food Crisis and How to Fix It.  Time, 174, 8. p.30. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from General OneFile via Gale:
http://find.galegroup.com.prx-01.lirn.net/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=lirn_crevc