I'm one of the poor that is priced out of healthful eating. I'm not allotted Food Stamps because my family of 3 makes too much money. Too much money being $1,800 per month to feed, house, and clothe 2 adults and 1 child. So, we are forced to utilize food pantries after spending the $300 dollars (per month) we can afford for food after the rent & bills are paid for.
"A lot of low-income, disabled and seniors end up having Class B food," she said. "I believe organic and very fresh or frozen food would be optimum for me, but I have to make compromises because of the money."
Adam Drewnowski argues that economics is often left out of the equation when people talk about healthful eating.
"When you start looking at the nutritious food that you're told we ought to be eating, they cost a lot of money," said Drewnowski, director of the University of Washington's Center for Public Health Nutrition. "It's just amazing how nutritious food is becoming a luxury item and increasingly inaccessible to an ever larger number of people."
It's cheaper to eat energy-dense foods rich in starch, sugar or fat than it is to eat lean meats, fish and fresh produce, he said.
A Boston Medical Center study in 2005 found that the Thrifty Food Plan cost $27 more a month in Boston than the national average.
But not all numbers point to the Thrifty Food Plan being out of whack with reality. USDA researchers surveyed 34 food retailers in the nation's capital in 2000 and found that the plan averaged $3.19 less than the estimated weekly benefit. And a blogging mom and self-described policy wonk tried eating on the Thrifty Food Plan for a month using the maximum benefit and came in $50 under the monthly limit.
"Overall, I think it's realistic and not time-consuming," said Mark Lino, an economist with the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture who helped conduct the Washington, D.C., study. "When people shop on the Thrifty (Food Plan), they have to be more savvy shoppers -- buy in bulk, use coupons when they have them, buy generic versions of food. You have to use shopping skills."
Still, the USDA plans to revise the 1999 Thrifty Food Plan in coming months.
Some researchers, such as Diego Rose, a professor at Tulane University, say the USDA plan fails to take into account the time it takes working families to prepare meals.
Lino disagrees. "It does require some cooking time, but you're not required to stay at the stove for two hours."
Carol Tinkham makes more compromises when she shops ever since she was laid off from her job last summer. Her shopping and eating habits have changed, and she's noticed that she has gained weight.
"Being on a set fund, I couldn't eat the way I was used to eating," she said. "I couldn't afford all the good things I used to buy, like lean meats."
She used to buy locally grown grapes, plums and apples when they were in season, but it's rare if she can afford a red pepper at $1 or $2 apiece. These days, she tends to buy frozen dinners when they're on sale at 10 for $10.
"Normally, I wouldn't buy that, but you could afford to have those," she said.
Instead of buying lean meats, she opts for cheaper-grade hamburger. She knows butter is better than margarine spreads, but the latter is cheaper.
"You just have to watch what you buy," she said.
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